The two women explained, "For some reason, a group of people suddenly rushed in just now, carrying guns. We didn't dare to go out, so we hid. They didn't find us and left, and then the gunfight started. A short while later, that group came back in, passing through here. We were afraid there might be more people behind them, so we didn't dare to come out until you arrived..."

Fatty picked at his ear, saying impatiently, "Stop talking, stop talking! I've heard it so much my ears are calloused. I don't care why you're here, the bottom line is this: hurry up and get out, it's dangerous here."

It was clear the two women weren't planning to linger either, hastily trying to make their exit, but unexpectedly, the massive stone gate that Cao Mu had entered the subterranean palace through suddenly slammed shut with a deafening bang, sealing the exit completely. Not a sliver of light remained.

The Ge Mei sisters screamed in terror, constantly calling out for Professor Pang.

Fatty, with great magnanimity, walked over and led the two women toward the undeveloped section, saying, "It seems heaven has delivered them to us. Why don't we let them follow us?"

Ma Xiong cursed, "Damn it, don't you know women are inherently jinxes? Bringing them along in here is undoubtedly digging our own graves."

Fatty pinched their delicate wrists, saying, "No, no, look! Their wrists aren't even as thick as Fatty Ye's fingers."

Lu Zong shushed them, saying, "Whether you bring them or not is up to you, but you are responsible for their safety. Now, let's hurry and cross over; it's best if those people don't find the Demon Pagoda."

His words clearly signaled his agreement to let the two women follow, even though it wasn't explicitly stated—the situation was effectively two against one.

Fatty cautioned them to stick closely behind him and absolutely not make a sound unless something happened.

Dongzi shone his gunlight ahead and said, "It looks like they've gone far. We should hurry and chase them."

Lu Zong nodded, putting his gun away, and said, "Ma Xiong, I have a strange feeling about this tomb. Logically, even if they were clearing out the trash with gunfire, they wouldn't need to be shooting at the tomb walls so much. Why do I notice that most of the shots hit the walls?"

Fatty replied, "That's simple. They must have encountered something, which is why they were shooting randomly, naturally hitting the walls."

"Professor Pang, what could they have encountered?" Ge Mei asked curiously.

Fatty adopted his precise, formal tone again: "Naturally, it wouldn't be a pervert."

Ge Mei laughed at Fatty's joke. Lu Zong, annoyed, smacked his forehead; this world was completely upside down.

"Shhh, quiet, listen." Old He suddenly spoke up.

Everyone knew Old He was a geomancer, and when he spoke, something strange must be happening. They quickly held their breath and listened intently.

They heard an even more hurried breathing sound approaching, like gasping due to extreme exertion.

Ma Xiong raised his gun, scanning the surroundings: "Is anyone else here? Come out! I'm here to save you!"

Fatty turned to look at Ge Mei and asked, "Are there others in here?"

Ge Mei shook her head. "I didn't see anyone. I was watching very closely. It seemed like they were all dragged out. Oh, right, in the instant the lights went out, I thought I saw one or two red shadows flickering nearby. I assumed it was a hallucination."

"Red shadows?" Fatty exclaimed in surprise. "Right! How did we forget that detail? Not good! Everyone, quickly gather together, back-to-back, form a circle. Keep track of the breathing near you. If anything seems abnormal, just start shooting randomly."

Without time to think further, everyone quickly formed a circle back-to-back, surrounding the Ge Mei sisters in the center. One couldn't help but wonder if this was what society referred to as 'caging the beauties.'

Ma Xiong, panting heavily, asked Fatty, "Fatty, what exactly is going on? What is that thing?"

Fatty explained, "Have you forgotten the Blood Corpses we saw in that ancient tomb in Xinjiang? This is a Blood Corpse. Actually, I knew there were Blood Corpses here when I was digging the drainage shaft, but I carelessly forgot about it. Thinking back now, I’m genuinely terrified."

"Oh, right, but the tomb wall here looks like it’s only a single layer. There shouldn't be any hidden compartments for storing concentrated sulfuric acid or anything," someone remarked.

Fatty countered, "That's why I say this tomb isn't that simple. This place is incredibly malevolent; we need to be cautious."

Suddenly, Fatty felt a gust of foul, hot air blast across his cheek. Startled, he shrieked and began firing wildly in front of him. He was frantic.

After a moan of pain, there was the sound of a heavy object hitting the ground.

Dongzi shone his searchlight down and nearly shrieked; thankfully, he managed to clamp his hand over his mouth just in time. Yet, he stared down in shock and asked, "What in the world happened here?"

Fatty, however, walked over with surprising composure to examine the already horribly decayed corpse and said, "This is a Blood Corpse. Heh heh. After the things in the concentrated sulfuric acid within the wall layers corroded its skin, it turned into this state. Truly pitiful—failed in tomb raiding, only to be set up by others, ending up looking neither human nor ghost."

Suddenly, a roar echoed from behind Fatty, and something lunged onto his back. Fatty was knocked off balance, his head hitting the ground with a heavy thud. Blood gushed out.

Fatty clutched his head, feeling dizzy, and urgently shouted, "Ma Xiong, save me quickly!"

Hearing Fatty’s cry for help, Ma Xiong switched on his searchlight, saw a Blood Corpse crouched beside Fatty, and without thinking, opened fire directly at it.

Rat-tat-tat-tat—the bullets rained down on the Blood Corpse like hail, tearing its flesh until it was riddled with holes, not unlike the openings in honeycomb briquettes.

Lu Zong quickly stepped forward, tore a strip of cloth from Fatty’s clothing, and wrapped it around his head. Fatty felt slightly better. Supporting his head, he stood up, glared at the Blood Corpse lying on the ground, and cursed, "Damn it, daring to ambush me! But this evens things out, as Fatty Ye invaded your territory first. Don't worry, I’ll conduct rites for you when I return." With that, he swaggered off again. The two girls had been paralyzed with fear until Fatty walked over and urged them to hurry. They snapped back to reality and followed without a word. Though, they probably regretted it; this was their first outing and they encountered this. They should have waited until they at least earned their PhDs.

They continued for several more sections; the path seemed calm, and nothing inexplicable occurred. Yet, Fatty felt a persistent unease. Perhaps it was due to his profession that he harbored such anxiety. He tried to comfort himself with this thought.