I understood his implication, for having seen so many of those green-spiked creatures before, whether to proceed further was indeed a question.

The two of us fell silent for a moment, and I spoke to *, "Back in the lift, a cluster of flames managed to drive those monsters back, didn't they?"

nodded, unable to resist touching the spot on his neck where that creature had stabbed him.

I looked at him and continued, "I surmise those creatures don't fear fire. They are merely desperately trying to extinguish the flames, not recoiling in terror. Perhaps the fire only triggers something else they dread."

nodded, pondering for a while, then said, "I have an idea. Let's start a fire right here and see what happens."

His thoughts mirrored mine perfectly. Soon, we gathered several dead branches and some dry leaves, arranging them into a simple bonfire.

I took out my lighter and ignited the leaves. The flame quickly caught and climbed the branches, and soon a blazing fire roared to life, radiating a sliver of warmth in the vast underground space.

and I had no time to savor the warmth the fire brought; instead, we stood vigilantly, watching for any change in our surroundings.

One minute, two minutes...

But after more than ten minutes, nothing unusual occurred.

and I exchanged glances, both offering a wry smile of resignation.

Finally, after some discussion, we decided we had to venture deeper into the dense woods to investigate.

However, for safety, we found some shredded cotton batting and plastic in the tent and fashioned two torches.

We left some water and food for Xiao Wang, and to prevent getting lost on our return, we did not extinguish the bonfire, as the smoke would linger for two or three hours, serving as an excellent landmark.

Then, with * taking the lead and me following behind, the two of us proceeded into the heart of the thicket.

The direction we were heading was toward one of the three spots where the luminous orbs had landed. If we could reach it successfully, we might finally see what that thing actually was.

Not long after entering the woods, I realized that the path we were taking had clearly been maintained; many obstructing large trees had been felled, making our progress far less arduous than before. Perhaps this was a route originally cleared by the Russian researchers.

We moved forward cautiously, using the torches to scout the area. After perhaps ten minutes of walking, * stopped and turned to me, saying, "Come look at this."

I walked over to * and saw what he was pointing at: a cluster of thorny shrubs, commonly known as brambles.

A section of the dense thicket had been pressed down, creating a narrow opening just wide enough for one person to pass, leading deep into the darkness.

I crouched down for a closer look. This type of thorny shrub was an uncommon variety, characterized by fewer leaves and the ability to produce thumb-sized, spherical berries in the summer. However, due to the prolonged subterranean environment, these shrubs had mutated, becoming thinner, their thorns longer, and the growth far more densely packed.

Judging by the breaks in the thorns, someone had cut a path with a blade, and the cuts looked quite fresh.

So I said to *, "I think Boss Wu probably just passed through here. Should we check it out?"

nodded in agreement, then raised his torch and led the way.

The path previously opened by that person was irregular, winding sharply through the dense trees, and * and I were not moving quickly.

As I walked, I held my torch up to examine the trees on both sides. I noticed they were all common drought-resistant species: tall ones included wild jujube trees and poplars, while the lower growth comprised cycads and other shrubs. This composition somewhat aligned with the environment in most regions of Xinjiang.

Lost in observation, I was drawn to a massive cycad, estimated to be over five hundred years old. This specimen was taller than many cycads I had seen on the surface. It was baffling how it had grown so large underground, lacking sunlight and nutrients.

As I marveled at this tree, I unintentionally noticed the canopy of a tall wild jujube tree adjacent to it seemed to shift slightly.

Instantaneously, I became alert, quickly calling out to * ahead of me in a hushed tone.

asked what was wrong, and I pointed toward the wild jujube tree, saying, "There seemed to be some movement over there."

Hearing this, * immediately grew cautious. He racked the bolt of his rifle, handed the torch to me, and studied the tree with his flashlight.

After scrutinizing it for a long time without finding anything, * drew the military knife from his waist, declaring he would go take a closer look.

Just as he prepared to move, the trees directly above us suddenly trembled, shedding a few leaves.

had already taken a few steps forward, but upon hearing the sound, he turned back to look at me.

I was about to look up too, but *’s face instantly paled. He frantically waved his hand at me, signaling me not to look up.

I mouthed the question to him, and he whispered back, "Don't move... Don't move at all..."

As he spoke, he slowly raised his pistol, aiming toward the spot above my head.

At that moment, a chilling sensation—a cold gust of wind—brushed the back of my neck, raising goosebumps all over my body. Simultaneously, the light from the two torches in my hands began to shake violently.

Finally, I couldn't resist looking up, and that single glance nearly made me lose control of my bladder and bowels.

As I looked up, my eyes locked onto a green face covered in sharp spikes. The thing was hanging upside down from the tree like a monkey, puffing its cheeks out to blow at the torches in my hands.

I thought to myself, could this be the legendary 'Ghost Blowing Out the Light'?

Seeing me look up, the creature bared its teeth in a grimace, opening its mouth full of sharp fangs as it lunged toward me.

At the critical moment, * fired. With a sharp crack, the bullet whistled over my head, causing the thing to recoil backward.

I took the opportunity to duck and quickly scrambled to the side.

But the green-spiked creature did not flee or attack further; instead, it remained hanging upside down, issuing sharp squeaks.

Actually, I had found it strange earlier; when we encountered these things before, they usually charged forward violently. But this time, the creature had only used its mouth to blow at my torches—a truly bizarre action.

While we were still in stunned disbelief, the green-spiked creature unnaturally began to retract inch by inch into the tree canopy, as if being dragged backward by something unseen.

and I froze, staring blankly as the monster screamed with heart-wrenching intensity before finally disappearing completely into the foliage.

Then, the tree canopy above us erupted in massive commotion; huge sections of the crown shook violently, showering down leaves, and a giant black shadow rapidly darted through the branches, soon moving far away.

Once the sound of the shaking trees completely faded, * and I exchanged surprised glances.

What in the world was that? A giant snake or a large bird?

We couldn't be certain what it was, but it was undoubtedly a massive predator.

Regaining our composure, * and I decided to press on, eager to see what other anomalies this forest held.

I put my expertise to use, observing the posture of the surrounding trees and recording details in my notebook, while also collecting samples for later study.

Unknowingly, we continued forward for about another half hour when I noticed the ground becoming increasingly damp.

A swamp might lie ahead, so I asked * to halt for a moment.

took up a position on guard while I crouched down and picked up a dead leaf for inspection.

I found that the dry leaves here were thoroughly saturated with moisture, leading to rot. There were white fungal organisms on the undersides of the leaves, but upon turning over the thick layer of decaying foliage on the ground, I found no insects of any kind, nor any amphibians like tree frogs or salamanders.

In reality, this wasn't unexpected; the scarcity of species in underground caverns was understandable, and the lack of leeches was certainly good news.

"Well? Any findings?" * asked me.

I shook my head and gestured forward, indicating we should continue.

So, we stepped deep into the humid layer of fallen leaves, but before long, a colossal object blocked our path ahead.

Upon seeing the shape of the object, I was instantly overjoyed, because what stood in our way was a statue, an artificially carved stone effigy!