His head slammed right into Ma Xiong’s stomach. Ma Xiong had just arrived, not yet grasping the situation, only feeling a vague figure rushing towards him. Helplessly unable to control his own body at that moment, he could only follow the inertia forward.

Finally, after a dull thud, he experienced a thorough agony, a pain sharper than the crossing itself. Instantly, his abdomen felt as if a thousand-degree fire was burning, then surging upwards from his gut.

He felt dizzy, as if the world was about to collapse. But to maintain his masculine resolve, he fought to stay standing. Yet, the flashing stars in his mind ultimately encouraged him to fall to the ground, panting heavily, unable to recover for a long time.

Lu Zong was badly injured; after all, it was his head. The collision felt like the aftermath of a comet striking the earth, and stars constantly flickered before his eyes. He tried to reach out, but couldn't lift his hand. His head swam giddily; he felt the earth continuously spinning, whirling endlessly, unsure when it would truly stop, or if it had to keep spinning with him along for the ride.

After an unknown period of rest, they slowly managed to catch their breath. Ma Xiong was less injured, and his constitution was better than Lu Zong’s. He stood up, looked down at Lu Zong still gasping on the ground, and showed not a shred of pity. Instead, he angrily rushed forward and cursed, “Damn it, Lu Zong, what the hell are you doing? Trying to cause trouble? Feel like our crossing was too easy, huh? Get up now! Don’t think I’ll think you’re a crab just because you’re lying there.”

Hearing Ma Xiong’s voice, Lu Zong slowly moved an arm. He fumbled blindly but touched nothing. He resorted to pushing himself up with both hands on the ground, slowly bending his legs as he prepared to stand.

He felt rested enough, so standing up was relatively easy for him. However, his vision was still blurry, but he could still make out that the person before him was none other than his good friend, Ma Xiong. He apologized repeatedly, “Ma Xiong, I’m sorry. I couldn’t quite make you out before, so I was going to try crossing again just to see if you’d actually arrived. Who knew we’d run into each other like this? Are you okay?”

Ma Xiong coughed. He had intended to give Lu Zong a piece of his mind, but upon hearing Lu Zong’s mild tone, he couldn't bring himself to scold him. He replied, “Nothing, nothing. As long as you’re alright, that’s what matters. I’m a grown man; why would I care about something so trivial, hah. Let’s move on quickly and see if we can find an exit.” With that, he brushed the dust off his clothes, shaking off his fatigue. He had no idea where they were now, nor what dangers lay ahead. The only thing he could do was persevere until the end, and he felt completely confident about finding a way out.

Lu Zong didn’t answer, but instead looked around, instantly feeling suspicious. He asked, “Lu Zong, why aren't you following closely behind me looking for the exit? What are you staring at? Hurry up. We broke through the first barrier, but who knows how many more stages lie ahead.”

Lu Zong quickly replied, “Coming, coming. I just feel something is strange. Haven’t you noticed anything unusual right now?”

Seeing Lu Zong’s nervous demeanor, Ma Xiong also asked anxiously, “Spit it out! What strange thing did you discover?”

Lu Zong pointed to himself, then pointed to Ma Xiong, counting softly, “One, two. Didn’t you notice our party is missing someone? Compared to when we were in that space just a moment ago?”

Ma Xiong finally remembered he was referring to his physical body and replied, “Did you forget? That person was you! You were just one being split apart. Now, you two have finally reunited.”

Lu Zong then uttered an ‘oh,’ scratching the back of his head, pondering, “No wonder I couldn’t find him earlier; he must have slipped into my body.” Ma Xiong quickly retorted, “That’s not accurate, absolutely not accurate. It should be said that you slipped into his body. Your physical form was just an empty shell; you are the consciousness, which is why you thought you were the master. It’s a shame your body couldn't fight you for dominance. Otherwise, you would definitely have been defeated back there.”

Lu Zong scratched the back of his head and smiled sheepishly, then followed behind Ma Xiong, walking forward. The tent ahead looked incredibly distinct, vividly real, a stark contrast to what they had seen before. Though clear now, the tent appeared tattered, as if carved by a thousand years. Without hesitation, he hurried to keep pace, fearing falling even half a step behind Ma Xiong, for as the saying went, one wrong step leads to many.

Those tents looked terribly worn, especially in the southwest corner. If not for the glaring red flags bearing the character ‘Cao’ (), he might have dismissed them as mere debris.

Ma Xiong walked quickly while closely examining the tents. He glanced back at Lu Zong, who also wore a look of curiosity, and asked, “Lu Zong, do you have any idea what those things are? Why were you so eager to come to this place?”

Lu Zong looked around, then closed his eyes, seemingly in deep thought. In reality, he was trying to sense if he could receive any information from Fatty. To his disappointment, he found he had lost all contact with Fatty. He stopped speaking, instead glancing at the tent ahead, saying, “Actually, Fatty called me here just now. He said that once we crossed over, we could find the exit, and then he could save me. I believed him implicitly and came.”

Ma Xiong felt a bit unsettled, unsure if they should approach those tents. Those tents were swaying in this windless, desolate desert, as if agitated by an unseen breeze. He felt a flicker of curiosity, sensing vague danger ahead. However, retreating now meant no path back, as the space they just came from was behind them, and on either side lay endless desert, where they might lose their way before reaching any end. The path ahead, though perilous, at least offered a place to stand, something to shelter behind. Isn't that just human nature? One always feels more secure by anchoring oneself to something tangible.

The two walked forward a short distance again and neared the tents. Just as they were about to enter the territory of the tents, they heard the sound of a horn blast. Both immediately halted their steps, trying to discern the source of the sound ahead.

They strained their ears but heard nothing unusual. They exchanged a look, and Ma Xiong leaned close to Lu Zong’s ear and whispered, “Lu Zong, did you just hear a howl? A wild beast’s howl?”

Lu Zong’s previously unfocused eyes looked vaguely at Ma Xiong, then he nodded affirmatively, “Yes, yes! You heard it too? Ma Xiong nodded repeatedly, saying there might be danger ahead. Maybe we should hide here for a bit; perhaps some monster is waiting for us inside.”

At the mention of a monster, Lu Zong’s deep eyes, which struggled to focus, instantly brightened. He looked around nervously and said, “Yes, yes! I think we should hide quickly. Maybe there really is an ambush waiting for us inside.” To soothe his own growing anxiety and comfort his wounded spirit, he deliberately changed ‘monster’ to ‘ambush.’ But the word ‘ambush’ gave Ma Xiong a headache—it seemed their preferences were vastly different.

Ma Xiong looked at Lu Zong curiously and said, “You’re that eager for an ambush to be waiting for us inside? Shameless! You’re a grown man, yet you’re afraid of monsters.”

Lu Zong naturally retorted, “Of course I’m scared! I’m not Ultraman; I can’t fight little monsters. Can’t I avoid them if I want to?”

Ma Xiong looked helplessly at Lu Zong’s pitiful expression and ignored him, stepping forward and signaling Lu Zong to follow. Lu Zong asked nervously, “Ma Xiong, where are you going? Shouldn’t we observe from here?”

Ma Xiong cursed, “Do you think we’re the Chinese people now? This isn't the US bombing Iraq; we don’t need to be so jumpy. Any creature that can survive in this wasteland won’t be some highly advanced being. Let’s go check it out. Trust me, the two of us can definitely defeat that monster.”

Lu Zong still cautiously surveyed the surroundings, saying, “That’s not right, Ma Xiong. If there’s a monster inside, why are there human footprints here? Look.” He pointed to the area he had just walked from.

Ma Xiong didn't even look, merely glaring slightly in the direction Lu Zong pointed and cursing, “Are you an idiot? We just came from there. Are those footprints not human, or are they the tracks of a turtle?”

Lu Zong was quite sure of himself. “Quick, look! These footprints are different from ours. They are walking in the direction we came from. Neither of us turned back, so how could there be footprints from the return journey? I’m certain there is some sort of ambush in there.”

Ma Xiong also grew tense. He took two steps back and said, “It looks like we need to plan this carefully, or we’ll definitely fall into their trap.”

As the words left his mouth, they suddenly heard another human scream emanate from within the tent. Their nerves tightened again.

Lu Zong immediately guessed, “It looks like a fight broke out inside, and the loser is being tortured in there.”

Ma Xiong looked at Lu Zong in astonishment and asked, “How do you know that? Can you see through things, see inside the tent, or can you calculate future and past events?”

Lu Zong shook his head and said, “I guessed.”

Ma Xiong stared at Lu Zong in disbelief. He never expected his imagination to be so vivid.