Ma Xiong, however, looked at the angry Lu Zong and retorted, "Do you think I'm just fooling around right now? I'm contemplating the major issue of our survival; I don't have the leisure to think about what happens after death. But, you know what, I think I've figured out how we can survive, how we can defeat this huge monster before us."

As soon as Lu Zong heard that Ma Xiong actually knew how to survive, he hastily asked, "Oh? Then tell me quickly, how can we get out of this monster's mouth?" In Lu Zong's view, they were clearly roast duck in the mouth of this ferocious Ao Bai beast; how could cooked duck possibly be wasted?

But Ma Xiong didn't see it that way. He knew that their true strength at the moment should be their strength within this world. Their strength in this world meant that as their identity in this world, they should be stronger.

After all, they were hailed as the Peerless Duo; that wasn't just idle praise.

Ma Xiong glanced at Lu Zong and said reassuringly, "Lu Zong, since we were born into this place, there must be God's arrangement. God arranged for us to be here, clearly treating us as novel protagonists. Since we are the protagonists, we definitely won't die. Come on, let's work together. I don't believe that with the strength of the two of us, we still can't beat this monstrous thing in front of us."

With that, he grabbed Lu Zong and stared fiercely at the beast directly ahead, ready to charge at any moment. He even made a couple of provocative gestures, wondering if the monster could understand them. However, Lu Zong didn't share Ma Xiong's good spirits. He felt the flesh on his entire body starting to twitch, especially his hands, which were shaking violently. He wasn't sure if they should charge. There should be two outcomes to charging: one was being eaten by the beast, and the other was the beast eating Ma Xiong, leaving him to escape. He looked at Ma Xiong's extremely confident appearance and felt that their time was running out. During this time, he might as well enjoy himself a bit. But what could he possibly enjoy here? Should he sacrifice his color [i.e., his physical attractiveness/life]?

Helplessly, at this moment, he could only follow Ma Xiong's lead. Despite knowing a lot of scientific knowledge and more Chinese history, he would still end up being swallowed alive by this monster. He wondered if the monster would chew a couple of times when swallowing him to ensure a more thorough death.

Finally, the monster charged. Seeing this, Ma Xiong showed no weakness and quickly stepped forward, placing his foot on the creature's foot. But Ma Xiong let out an 'ouch' and cursed, "Damn it, why is your foot like a stone?" Then he saw the monster's two tusks attacking him. Ma Xiong dared not curse further; instead, he pulled Lu Zong, leaped lightly, and easily pulled Lu Zong onto the monster's nose. Ma Xiong and Lu Zong immediately began stomping again.

But it was useless; their stomping on the nose had no effect on the monster, which even closed its eyes as if enjoying it.

Suddenly, with a huff, a powerful gust of air blasted towards them. He felt a massive force pushing him outwards, so he quickly stopped and looked in the direction the wind came from.

The two saw a thick, foul-smelling white mist spewing from two cavities, which seemed to be writhing. The humid air was mixed with a strong stench.

Only then did they realize that these were the monster's nostrils. Now they regretted it a little; if this monster needed to breathe, wouldn't they two little specks be blown into the creature's cranial cavity?

Just as they were terrified and preparing to leave that spot, a powerful suction force pulled them towards the monster's nostrils. Despite desperately gripping the beast's whiskers, the whiskers eventually snapped, and the two were instantly plunged into boundless terror. It seemed their earlier prediction had come true—they had just finished speaking and were immediately sucked into the monster's nose. A sticky substance instantly enveloped them both. Ma Xiong inwardly groaned and tried to stand up, but he felt the surrounding space vibrating violently, making it impossible to keep his footing. It seemed they had successfully been sucked into the monster's nose.

"What do we do next?" Lu Zong asked. He knew nothing about the creature's internal structure or basic information, and thus had no idea how to deal with it.

Ma Xiong's voice was clearly a bit dejected: "We originally planned to enter its mouth, but I didn't expect this thing to eat through its nose. However, this is actually more advantageous for us." With that, he pulled Lu Zong and hurried forward.

Lu Zong was startled: "Could it be that this thing is tired of living? It's not too late to get out now, Ma Xiong, what are you doing? Let's get out of here quickly. I can see an exit ahead; look at the light!"

But Ma Xiong completely ignored Lu Zong and just desperately dragged him forward. Just as they reached the upper part of the nose, they suddenly saw a crimson object extending towards them. It was entirely blood-red, soft flesh blocking the light, and it kept elongating towards them.

Alas, the tongue wasn't as long as expected. It only extended to less than a few centimeters below Lu Zong before stopping, as its tongue had reached its maximum extension.

Lu Zong stared at the tongue with lingering fear. If he had been licked by that massive tongue, his path forward would have been ruined.

"Hey, Ma Xiong, what should we do now? What is that place ahead? Do you know? If you don't know, don't go in! It's so dangerous ahead for the two of us. I actually want to go back right now." Lu Zong's voice trembled, betraying his inner fear.

But Ma Xiong wasn't faring much better. He tried to keep his voice calm: "Lu Zong, based on the commonalities between human and beast internal organizations, we should be able to enter its cranial cavity through the nasal passage. Its fatal spot, its weakest point, is its brain tissue. We can choose to attack its brain tissue, and then we can kill this huge monster. What do you think, Lu Zong?"

Saying this, he turned to look at Lu Zong. Lu Zong's face calmed down slightly, losing its earlier tension, and he said, "Fine, that's a decent plan. Ma Xiong, today is up to the two of us. If we don't have the ability, we will die inside. It will be our own doing; we chose this voluntarily. After death, we must not become lonely ghosts haunting relatives or enemies and disrupting the order of the human world. If we survive, I've decided I won't do this anymore; I'll just stay home quietly. If possible, I'll go back; if not, I'll strive to make a living here. I refuse to believe that such a vast world cannot accommodate the two of us."

With that, he thrust out his palm and punched Ma Xiong's chest. Ma Xiong merely looked helplessly at Lu Zong, not returning the punch. Instead, he simply patted Lu Zong's head and then walked forward. Lu Zong followed Ma Xiong without hesitation. After walking for an unknown amount of time, Ma Xiong suddenly stopped.

Lu Zong tensed up immediately and hurriedly asked, "What's wrong, Ma Xiong? Why did you stop? Is there danger ahead?"

Ma Xiong's voice was somewhat excited: "We've arrived, Lu Zong, we've finally arrived."

Lu Zong quickly looked up ahead and indeed saw it: some sticky, bulging matter. He didn't know what was inside, but it should be the brain, as it was trembling.

Ma Xiong and Lu Zong walked forward. Lu Zong was so nervous he even held his breath, wondering if he and Ma Xiong would be buried alive inside the creature if the monster's brain matter ruptured.

Ma Xiong looked at the stunned Lu Zong and said, "Lu Zong, see how big this thing's brain matter is."

Lu Zong followed Ma Xiong's instruction and looked at the brain matter, only to see that the endless pulp and white matter stretched nearly a meter long, accounting for one-third of its body.

This thing—Lu Zong and Ma Xiong were both stunned because, from a zoological perspective, it was impossible for the head to occupy one-third of the body. Moreover, in their view, this creature should have been quite advanced.

But at this moment, their perception changed. Perhaps this thing possessed human or even higher intelligence. But what exactly was this thing, and where did it come from? Was it truly a monster, as the Demon Tower suggested? Were all the creatures imprisoned in the Demon Tower of this type of monster or demon? Did their return to this place also owe to the Demon Tower?

They didn't know, but they wanted to know. So, they began to explore. They no longer cared about their lives; if they died, they died. Their lives were completely salvaged. It wasn't a pity to lose them; it was better to live.

Ma Xiong stepped forward and kicked the cerebral cortex, but alas, he didn't know what the cerebral cortex was composed of; it wouldn't budge. Its outer layer was as hard as stone, impossible to deal with using fists or feet. Only then did they realize the seriousness of the situation.

Ma Xiong looked at the astonished Lu Zong and said, "Lu Zong, take revenge yourself. This thing sucked the two of us in here. No matter what, we must get revenge." He gave Lu Zong an encouraging look.

Receiving Ma Xiong's encouraging look, Lu Zong immediately became energized. He summoned his courage, walked up to the cerebral cortex, extended both his feet, and delivered a spinning kick. However, the stone was truly too hard. As soon as he finished kicking, Lu Zong cried out and fell to the ground: "Ma Xiong, I sprained my ankle, I can't move! Rub it for me quickly!"

Ma Xiong sighed helplessly, looked at Lu Zong, shook his head, ignored him, and walked up to the cerebral cortex, touching it. He said, "Lu Zong, what do we do now? Should we retreat the way we came and announce to everyone: 'We successfully visited this thing's brain'?"

Meanwhile, the spectators watching the beast fight were enjoying themselves immensely. But who knew that the pair had suddenly been sucked into the monster's nose? This was a first in history; previous beast fighters were always swallowed whole! But now, the pair had made an international joke of history—they were eaten by the monster using its mouth.

Although everyone was anxious, anxious about not witnessing the bloody battle, they were extremely patient. For the sake of the excitement, for the anticipation, and more so to see the monster's joy in eating its own kind, they waited patiently, holding their breath.

But after a long time, there was no movement from inside, and even the monster seemed a little drowsy. However, the fight wasn't over yet; since he hadn't eaten the two, he couldn't claim victory. He could only wait boredly for the two to emerge.

Lu Zong and Ma Xiong were equally stuck in the monster's head. They both knew how severe the consequences would be if they went out now. But the air inside seemed to be getting scarcer as their breathing lessened.

"Oh, right, Ma Xiong, don't you still have a handgun on you? Maybe the handgun can do something?" Lu Zong shouted in surprise, as if he had found a way to survive.

Ma Xiong's nerves immediately tightened. It seemed they didn't have to wait here to die. He quickly patted his body and, sure enough, felt the handgun. The excitement in his heart was beyond description.

"Lu Zong, you're amazing," Ma Xiong praised Lu Zong a few times and then frantically searched his body for bullets.

Alas, they had no bullets on them. Perhaps they had been misplaced when Ma Xiong changed clothes, or perhaps their clothes simply didn't have any. Ma Xiong felt the world turn dark; that sense of disappointment seemed ready to suffocate him.

"Ma Xiong, don't be disappointed! Check if there are any bullets left in the gun; maybe there's one inside?"

Ma Xiong quickly flipped open the gun and looked. His hope reignited. He saw a perfectly loaded incendiary round lying quietly inside.

"We're saved!" Ma Xiong roared. Because his voice was indeed loud, amplified by the resonance of the monster's nasal cavity, it created a natural loudspeaker effect. Ma Xiong's voice echoed across the fighting arena: "We're saved!"

Instantly, those listless soldiers, those soldiers who thought the pair were dead, were amazed by that shout. It seemed the two were not dead yet, and their fight was still ongoing. They felt an inexpressible excitement in their hearts; battles like this were rare, and how tragic it would be if it ended so quietly.

But Ma Xiong's roar had reignited their interest; the battle was clearly still on.

Lu Zong quickly urged Ma Xiong: "Ma Xiong, hurry up, hurry up! I'm about to suffocate, hurry!" With that, he walked to a corner, preparing to shield himself when the incendiary detonated.

But Ma Xiong hesitated. "This place is all damp; how can this incendiary burn? We only have this one chance; if we miss it, it's gone."

Lu Zong instantly froze. He hadn't really considered this problem carefully. He thought hard but finally became excited: "Ma Xiong, this is heaven helping us! We have excellent conditions for burning! Look, this thing's head is full of phospholipids and grease, all things that fuel combustion. If the incendiary burns inside, it will surely burn intensely. Then, we hide in a small corner, and once this monster is completely burned to death, we can leave through its nostrils. Wouldn't that kill two birds with one stone? Not only will we win, but we might even become famous celebrities, don't you think?"

Ma Xiong looked at Lu Zong, the look of surprise and joy evident on his face: "As expected of a scientist; this bit of knowledge wasn't learned in vain. Alright, I'll fire the incendiary now. You quickly find a place to hide."

Just as Lu Zong turned, he suddenly seemed to remember something and shouted, "Ma Xiong, wait!" He then took off his and Ma Xiong's shirts, walked to the opposite side, smeared the cloth all over with phospholipids and grease, and then walked back to Ma Xiong, saying, "Ma Xiong, shoot this cloth in a moment; I'll hide first. Be quick with your reaction later! This stuff burns fast."

With that, he bent over and burrowed into the soft flesh.

Ma Xiong's palm began to sweat. Shooting the cloth wasn't hard; what was difficult was that the monster seemed to anticipate something and began to move, which made his aim less accurate than before.

"Ma Xiong, shoot quickly! Haven't you noticed this thing's movements are getting more and more violent?" Lu Zong yelled frantically from below.

Ma Xiong didn't have time to think; he aimed the gun and fired.

A flash of light shot from the muzzle of the gun. The sharp sound tore through the air with a bang. Immediately afterward, the two saw the incendiary hit the cerebral cortex and fall onto the ground. It didn't land on the cloth as they had predicted.

Lu Zong felt a moment of suffocation. Even with just that one shot, the creature clearly felt pain and began to thrash even more violently. As the incendiary burned, it failed to ignite the grease beneath it, and it was about to go out, extinguishing their hope like the tiny flame.

But then an earthquake occurred; the two felt a world-turning upheaval. Lu Zong felt that he must be lying on his back now—the monster had likely rolled over.

The incendiary rolled off, and by coincidence, it rolled onto the cloth smeared with grease. The cloth ignited with a whoosh, and then burst into flames.