Ma Xiong was certain Ge Mei must have seen the statue. He hurried over, but caught only a fleeting impression of the stout Ge Mei whispering something into the ear of Fatty, after which Ge Mei seemed completely unfazed.

Ma Xiong rushed forward and found Ge Mei lying on the ground, embraced by Fatty, who was carefully trickling water between her lips. Ge Mei coughed once, then slowly came around.

“Ge Mei, what did you see just now?” Ma Xiong asked urgently.

Ge Mei shook her head, clearly disoriented, and mumbled vaguely, “Nothing, nothing, I can’t recall. My mind is such a mess. I just remember that statue…”

With that, she looked up at the statue, and the others followed her gaze, only to find, with astonishment, that the statue had vanished. Ma Xiong’s heart gave a sudden, unpleasant lurch.

He pressed her further. “Then why did you call out for Professor Fatty? Did you see Professor Fatty?”

Fatty roared with laughter, looking at Ma Xiong, his tone remarkably casual. “How could that be? Weren’t you right here with me just now?” Ma Xiong glanced at Ge Mei, who seemed to be concealing something, nodding slightly. “I was just panicked, that’s all, I blurted out Professor Fatty’s name. Truthfully, I didn't see the thing clearly either, only that the corner of its mouth twitched.”

Its mouth twitched? He looked at Fatty with suspicion. “What do you mean? Did the statue’s mouth just move? Is that statue alive?”

Just then, Lu Zong, standing some distance away, suddenly shouted, “Fatty, holy hell, we found the exit!”

Fatty quickly pulled Ge Mei and Ma Xiong along, following the sound to Lu Zong’s side. “Lu Zong, is this the exit?” Fatty asked.

Lu Zong turned back, his expression freezing instantly. He stared fixedly at Fatty, then looked down toward the opening, examining Fatty with disbelief, his voice trembling slightly. “Fatty… where… where the hell were you just now?”

Fatty frowned, confused. “I was right here in the center of this large plaza. What’s wrong?”

The Company Commander and his men also rushed over. “Lu Zong, you found the exit?” the Commander asked.

Lu Zong glanced at Fatty, seemingly unwilling to say more. He forcefully swallowed, then said, “Oh, nothing. My eyes played tricks on me; it’s actually blocked off. Let’s move quickly.”

He turned to leave.

Suddenly, one of the Company Commander’s subordinates spoke up. “Wait, this hole isn’t blocked. I can’t see the bottom of it; it seems bottomless. Look!” He bent down and slipped into the opening.

One minute passed. The Commander called out, “Xiao Zhao, what’s it like down there?”

Silence.

Two minutes crawled by. The Commander shouted again, still no reply.

It wasn't until ten minutes later that a loud, smacking, chewing sound echoed from within—the sound of large gulps being taken, as if someone were ravenously tearing into raw flesh. Goosebumps rose on everyone’s skin. They quickly ordered everyone to scatter, putting distance between themselves and the hole.

When the sounds from inside finally subsided, a torrent of turmoil churned in their minds. They truly couldn't fathom this place or how to explain the string of bizarre events. In Lu Zong’s and Ma Xiong’s minds, Fatty grew increasingly mysterious, as if he held the reins to everything happening here.

When Fatty and the Commander’s group prepared to search for the exit again, Ma Xiong pulled Lu Zong aside. “Lu Zong, why were you so scared when you saw Fatty just now?”

Lu Zong, still shaken, replied, “Guess what I saw?”

Ma Xiong asked with intense curiosity, “Saw what?”

Lu Zong enunciated carefully, word by word. “You probably won’t believe this. I saw a bulky figure right behind me, and I assumed it was Fatty, so I told him to get into that hole, and he went in. But right after he disappeared into it, Fatty materialized right behind me. Damn, it scared the life out of me.”

Ma Xiong felt something was deeply wrong. “Did you get a good look at that person’s face? Any distinguishing features?”

Lu Zong shook his head. “That greasy body had its back to me the whole time; I couldn’t see anything. Besides, I just assumed it was Fatty, so I didn't pay attention. It wasn't until Fatty appeared behind me that I realized things weren't as I imagined. Also, that guy who just crawled in was seriously unlucky. We told him not to go in, but he still insisted on crawling in—it’s not a woman’s warm embrace, what’s so great about crawling in? Ah, the world is going downhill.”

Ma Xiong watched Lu Zong’s contemplative expression, then looked at Fatty. A sense of worry settled in his chest, and he told Lu Zong, “If we see Fatty again, hit him first. That way, we can verify if it’s really him, and on the side, we can get some revenge. Damn this old rogue, keeping secrets from us; he deserves a beating.”

Lu Zong nodded and turned back to searching for a way out.

Lu Zong noticed Ma Xiong standing stock-still and suddenly thought of the statue. He pulled Ma Xiong toward the statue in the center of the plaza. “Do you think the mechanism might be inside this statue? Let’s take a look.”

He began searching the stone pedestal upon which the statue rested. It was obvious that the first thing they saw when they entered wasn't a statue but something living, otherwise it wouldn't have run off. The platform beneath, however, was undeniably smooth, clearly meant to support a genuine statue.

Ma Xiong suddenly recalled the schematic map of the Demon Tower that the Commander had. He found the Commander and asked to see the map.

The Commander produced it, and sure enough, they located the Great Fog Pit. They then searched the edges for an exit, but found no markings for one.

Could the exit not be below the pit?

Lu Zong muttered to himself, looking up at the rim of the pit. “Ma Xiong, maybe we should search around the top of the pit and let them search inside the hole.”

Ma Xiong nodded in agreement. They prepared to look for the few steps they had descended, only to discover that the stairs were gone. The surrounding area was nothing but smooth stone walls, without even a visible crack.

Ma Xiong quickly called out to Fatty. “Fatty, damn it, the ladder we came down on is gone.”

Fatty scurried over, surveyed the surroundings, and cursed, “Shit, it really is gone. What the hell is going on?”

Lu Zong proposed, “Do you think the exit might be up there?”

Fatty shrugged. “Who knows? Now we’re all trapped here.”

At that moment, a sharp cracking sound, like something hard breaking, echoed from the surrounding area. The four looked up hastily, trying to pinpoint the source, only to realize the sound seemed to be coming from all directions at once.