He strained with all his might, never expecting the fatty to possess such strength; the solid bronze coffin was actually overturned by him. Instantly, the corpse water, rotten flesh, and blood spilled out.

The Ge Mei sisters both turned away, unable to watch. Even Ma Xiong couldn't help but gag. Damn Fatty, what the hell was he doing? Why did he have to dump it all out? Wasn't it fine inside?

Now look at this mess—everything was spilled out. The putrid fluid flowed everywhere. The thing’s body was already soft and loose, and now it was smashed to smithereens by the fall. However, the organs and bones were still vaguely visible, looking like a pile of sticky, putrefied meat clinging to the ground.

But now, the corpse was clearly visible. It was the body of an obese woman, possessing four arms, four legs, and four [explicitly omitted due to placeholder]. Only the head looked human; even the torso appeared large enough for two people.

Ma Xiong stammered, "Fatty, look at the mess you’ve made. What do we do now?"

Fatty glanced at the ground covered in decay and looked somewhat embarrassed. "Forget about it, let's hurry and go. This thing has clearly mutated into a demon. It looks like we're in deep trouble."

But after only a few steps, they heard the sound of flowing water behind them, as if something was treading upon the water’s surface. Their scalps tingled. If their hair weren't long, it would have stood on end.

Lu Zong asked haltingly, "Did you guys hear something behind us?"

Ma Xiong glanced sideways at Fatty. "Fatty, move! I feel like that corpse has woken up. Didn't you see its belly expand just now?"

Hearing this, the two girls quickly moved toward the middle of the group, trembling with fear.

Lu Zong said, "Yes, I saw the corpse's belly move too. Could it be breathing? No way, how could it be this supernatural?"

The Company Leader stuttered, "Stop trying to scare people! We're all tied to the same rope now. If I die here, none of you will get the map either."

The others gave the Company Leader disdainful looks but said nothing, only urging everyone to move faster and quickly abandon this coffin formation.

Unexpectedly, when they reached the middle of the coffin array, the coffins suddenly lurched into motion, completely blocking the path ahead.

The speed at which these coffins moved was almost supernatural; before they could clearly see what happened, they had already shifted over ten meters, sealing off the road.

The group exchanged stunned glances, then looked back.

Behind them, the corpse had not followed, and everyone finally let out a slow breath.

Lu Zong suddenly thought of a possibility, his heart hammering rapidly: "Look at these thick, pure copper coffins—do you think they might all contain corpses like the one outside?"

As this question surfaced, the expressions on everyone's faces turned to sheer terror. Lu Zong even noticed that Da Wei’s nose seemed to be pushed up to his eyes. The expressions on their faces were truly unbearable to look at, except for the delicate faces of the two girls, which still held some aesthetic value for the onlookers.

Fatty suggested, "How about we open another one? Let's see what the heck is inside, what do you say?"

They exchanged glances. Since they had already opened one, what was there to fear in opening a second? With that, Fatty walked up to the coffin array and hastily moved one large coffin down from above, saying, "Everyone watch! Let's see what’s inside!"

Afterward, he took a deep breath, preparing to resist any corpse miasma. However, opening this one was surprisingly easy, and no mist billowed out. It was just quiet inside—nothing at all.

What was going on? Fatty and the others stared at each other, unsure what this meant. There was nothing inside.

Fatty reached in and grabbed a handful. "Nothing. There’s nothing inside—no corpse, not even two pillows for the dead. This is truly bizarre."

The Company Leader grumbled, "Impossible," and walked over, reaching in to check the situation himself.

Indeed, the bottom was completely empty. Nothing.

Lu Zong used Dongzi’s illuminating lamp to shine inside. Sure enough, aside from the rusty, mottled copper sheets, there was nothing else—just the greenish hue of aged copper.

Just then, Fatty suddenly shouted again, "Everyone, come quickly and look! There are actually two skeletons in this one!"

They rushed over to look. This time, Fatty had opened another coffin, and just as he said, there were two skeletons inside. Long since decayed, only bone structures remained, one resting above the other. Furthermore, their waists were pierced by a rusty sword or blade, keeping them pressed closely together.

Fatty exclaimed, "My God, how did these two corpses end up in the same coffin? And why are they both pierced through the stomach by a sword?"

Lu Zong joked, "Could it be that the monsters are trying to make lamb kebabs?"

This remark reminded Ma Xiong. Ma Xiong said, "Could the corpses here be the 'sufficient provisions' Fatty mentioned earlier?"

Everyone grew more confused. What did that mean?

Seeing their bewildered looks, Ma Xiong realized his words had been too vague and clarified, "Could it be that these corpses were the provisions Cao Cao prepared for his family?"

"Holy crap, Ma Xiong, your imagination is too rich! Why would Cao Cao's family eat people? Besides, aren't the people in these coffins Cao Cao's family? If they weren't his family but provisions, where did his real family go?" Fatty questioned.

Ma Xiong felt his throat go dry and could only cough, saying, "I was just speculating. Take it as a suggestion. Is it possible that these are actually Cao Cao's provisions, and Cao Cao himself intended to eat human flesh?"

"Damn it, Ma Xiong, you've gone too far! What you're saying is getting wilder. Can't you say something more realistic? How is that possible? Why would Cao Cao eat human flesh? Besides, isn't Cao Cao already dead?"

Ma Xiong looked at the Company Leader. "Company Leader, you’re an outsider, judge for us—which of our viewpoints is more practical?"

The Company Leader looked at Ma Xiong, then at Fatty, considering the coffins below. "If I were writing a novel, I would agree with Ma Xiong’s viewpoint. But right now, my life is at stake, so how dare I believe Ma Xiong?"

Ma Xiong shook his head. "Since no one believes me, I won't press it. To be honest, I don't want to believe what I said is true either; I’m just unfamiliar with the situation here. So, what should we do next?"

Fatty looked at the numerous coffins surrounding them and suggested, "How about we step across the tops of these coffins? They are packed so tightly; we must be able to cross them."

As soon as Fatty finished speaking, Dongzi's torch suddenly hissed and went out, startling everyone. Ma Xiong scolded, "Dongzi, what are you doing? Light the torch quickly!"

Dongzi hurriedly pulled matches from his pocket and relit the torch. Everyone noticed his face was covered in sweat beads, and his hands were shaking.

Seeing his condition, Fatty quickly asked, "Dongzi, what's wrong with you? Why are you sweating so much?"

Dongzi stammered, "I just—just felt a sudden chill on the back of my neck, like something breathed on my neck, and the torch went out. It scared me to death."

Fatty quickly pulled open Dongzi’s collar and checked his neck. Finding nothing unusual, he relaxed. "There are many small holes here. The external air pressure is clearly higher than down here, so maybe the outside wind blew in. It’s nothing. Don't be nervous."

As Fatty finished speaking, the torch extinguished itself again. Dongzi let out a terrified yell and threw the torch to the ground.

Fatty cursed, "Damn it, so timid!" Then he walked forward, relit the torch, and tried to calm everyone. "It's fine, it's fine, don't panic. Let's assess the surroundings first."

He helped the fallen Dongzi up and asked, "Dongzi, what happened? Did someone breathe on your neck again?"

This time, Dongzi was too frightened to speak clearly: "Just... just... an ice-cold... claw... grabbed... grabbed my neck. Scared me senseless." Dongzi swallowed hard, looking at Fatty.

Fatty stood up and paced back and forth. "If this torch goes out again later, everyone needs to stay calm and pay attention to the movements around you. If you feel a strong rush of air passing by you, memorize its direction and shoot that way. Of course, shoot toward the periphery, not toward the middle of the group."

Everyone nodded, waiting for the torch to extinguish again.

But a long time passed, and the torch didn't go out. While everyone was getting restless from waiting, the arms of the two girls finally grew too sore and they lowered their guns.

But the instant the two women lowered their weapons, the torch suddenly extinguished once more, and a gust of chilling wind swept past the two girls. They screamed in fright. Fatty pulled them back toward him and ordered Ma Xiong, "Ma Xiong, fire!"

Immediately, crackling sounds echoed through the vast tomb chamber. Ma Xiong waited until he was sure the surroundings were safe before stopping.

Lu Zong picked up the torch from the ground and relit it, surveying the area. Aside from the scorch marks from Ma Xiong's shots, there was nothing else.

After comforting the two girls, Fatty walked over and looked in the direction the creature had rushed. "That thing flew incredibly fast. It was gone before we could even get a clear look. I really don't get it."

At this point, Ge Mei, who hadn't spoken before, opened her mouth: "Professor Fatty, I felt that rush of air pass right under my feet. It didn't seem like it was flying."

Fatty asked doubtfully, "What? Passed under your feet? It wasn't flying?"

Ge Mei nodded and asked Ge Rong, "What do you think?"

Ge Rong breathed heavily. "I also felt it pass under my feet. It wasn't flying overhead."