I glanced back at *, who was lying on his side, curled up, sleeping soundly. "Actually, what I wanted to ask you about was that mural overhead. I just have a feeling that mural isn't right," I said, deliberately steering the conversation away from *.

Daxiong nodded, asking, "What's not right about it?" "First, how can that mural be colored? Back then, there shouldn't have been any color murals, and even if there were, they should have faded by now. Second, who painted it?

Was it the original owners, the Wei people, or the Lingyusi who occupied this place later? I doubt either group would go to such lengths to systematically destroy human civilization," I explained. Daxiong countered, "If that's the case, then perhaps the mural wasn't painted but inlaid with some special, non-fading material.

As for the painter, it must have been the Lingyusi. They were banished by Qin Shi Huang and probably wanted revenge on society—that makes perfect sense." I shook my head. "If you were planning something evil, would you first sketch it out in a notebook and show it to others for viewing?

That defies common sense." "Oh, right..." Daxiong said, seeming to grasp something. "So you mean the mural was painted by your grandfather's people?" I shook my head again. "That's not right either.

The sheer scale of the work is too much, and they had no reason to do something like this." "Then what's the situation? I don't understand," Daxiong said, frowning. I held up two fingers to him.

"Two possibilities. The first is that someone came here in modern times and painted this mural to warn future generations not to trigger the mechanisms here. The second possibility is...

that it's not a mural at all, but a hallucination, and someone is making us see it." "A hallucination? How could we all see the exact same one?" Daxiong exclaimed, astonished. I stroked my chin, pondering for a moment.

"I once read in a book that the wing scales of the Ming'e moth can induce hallucinations, specifically designed to manipulate the mind. You inhaled quite a bit of it when you were with your grandfather and the others, and later * and I inhaled more, but none of us have experienced hallucinations yet. That's highly unusual.

I suspect that everything that has happened to us might have been an illusion." Daxiong seemed to recall something and suddenly sat up from the ground. "I knew it! How could that skinny guy Yun have been shot and still not die?

And do you remember that shot I fired from under your armpit that hit him dead center in the forehead?" I nodded and asked, "What about that shot?" Daxiong sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Actually, I completely missed. I hit you dead center in the back.

I saw it clearly!" Hearing this, my eyes snapped open wide, and cold sweat beaded on my temples. I thought, Am I an illusion too? Or have I somehow been resurrected with immortality?

Seeing the change in my expression, Daxiong quickly said, "It’s fine, it’s all an illusion anyway. Maybe in reality, that shot didn't hit you. Don't worry about it.

Besides, you seem completely normal in every other way, except for that right hand..." At his mention of it, I looked at my right hand. The thorns hadn't receded at all; they still pricked painfully when touched. Pain couldn't deceive me.

Just then, Daxiong asked, "If we are in a hallucination now, how do we break free?" I thought for a moment. "It’s like a dream. If we try too hard to escape it, we’ll only fail, unless we do something impossible within the dream." "Something impossible in a dream?" Daxiong touched the back of his head.

"Exactly. Think about it: sometimes you are acutely aware that you are dreaming. What do you usually do then?" I asked him.

Daxiong suddenly chuckled mischievously. "When I know I’m dreaming, I know I can have whatever I want, so I usually arrange some romantic encounters for myself, or maybe I stumble and find a check for ten million." I sighed, speaking seriously. "This isn't the time for jokes.

Those are things you can do in a dream. I'm talking about things you cannot do." Daxiong shook his head. "It’s useless.

Hitting yourself in a dream doesn't hurt. But when I was pregnant with that monster, the pain was tearing my soul apart, and even then, I didn't wake up from the illusion. This hallucination must be incredibly powerful." Hearing this, I frowned deeply and said to him, "Then there is only one way left.

You can't truly die in a dream. Come on, shoot me again, or stab me, or let’s try killing ourselves." Daxiong recoiled in horror. "No!

We can't do that! What if this isn't an illusion? Then you would really die." "But don't you feel sick of being deceived?

If this is all an illusion, then everything we've done means nothing," I argued. Daxiong sighed. "Xiao Chuan, I’m not trying to lecture you, but life itself is often a dream.

Even if everything we see now is a hallucination, what’s wrong with not waking up from the illusion? Your grandfather is by your side now, agreeing to go home with you and live the quiet, stable life you always wanted. Isn't that what you desired most?" I looked deeply at Daxiong, considered it for a moment, and then let out a helpless laugh.

"What is it?" Daxiong asked, his brow furrowed as he watched me. I didn't answer him directly, but instead asked, "How did you and Grandpa get down here?" Daxiong realized I had given up on destroying the illusion and let out a slight breath of relief. "We came down in a helicopter.

Mr. Wu paid to hire a chopper from Urumqi. But when we landed at the bottom of the cavern, we were attacked by those green-spiked monsters.

The helicopter was destroyed, and we got separated from Mr. Wu and the others. I don't know where Mr.

Wu and Liang Qian went, or how they are doing now." I nodded and asked, "When you came down, did you see anything like a lift or elevator?" "A lift? There's such a thing?" Daxiong asked, confused. I nodded.

"Yes. * and I came down using a lift, but that one could only go down, not up. So there must be a lift somewhere at the bottom of the cavern that can only go up and not down.

If we can find it, we can get out." Daxiong frowned. "That doesn't make sense. If you used a lift, was it like a scenic elevator descending along the cavern wall?

If so, we should have seen you. I even fired two flares back when I saw you guys up there." I suddenly realized. "So you were the one setting off the signal flares...

Too bad. We were originally following the cavern wall, but then we were forced into a tunnel inside the wall. We found a lift in the room at the end of that tunnel and descended to the bottom.

Otherwise, we could have linked up with you back then." Daxiong rubbed the stubble on his chin, thought for a moment, and said, "I get it now. It must be like this: the shape of this cavern is an inverted cone. So even though you walked along the wall for a distance, taking the lift straight down still brought you to the bottom.

Finding the other lift should be easy then—we just need to follow the edge of this inverted cone." I nodded. "That seems to be the only way. But before we leave here, I still want to go check out that large cavern belonging to the Crab God.

That girl in white might really be my cousin, and I can't just leave her behind." Daxiong, however, advised, "I suggest you don't bother. Even if you find her, it won't mean much. If the Crab God killed that girl in white, then all you'll be risking your life for is a corpse.

And if she’s alive, with her abilities, she could definitely get out on her own..." I shook my head. "Don't try to talk me out of it. I have to go see." Daxiong couldn't argue with me, so he just pouted and said, "Fine, I'll go with you then." I smiled slightly, nodded, and then involuntarily yawned.

"I'm just too exhausted. I need to sleep for a while. You keep watch." Daxiong agreed with a nod and went off to tend the fire by himself...

Walking over to the ground mat, I looked at Grandpa again. His brow had smoothed out, and his expression was incredibly peaceful. I wondered if he had heard our conversation.