No sooner had we reached the ground level than Nobita started shouting, “Any treasures? Now that Old Man Xiong is here, after risking life and limb, I absolutely can’t afford to lose out again.”

I handed him a pistol loaded with ammunition, then tossed him a backpack stuffed with food and water. “This is all there is.”

Nobita peered into the backpack and sighed, “Say, didn’t you guys mention there were white marble statues up top? Why didn’t you just drop those down?”

I cursed him, “You’re like a snake trying to swallow an elephant—drop them? They’d smash you, you fat slob!”

Grandpa watched us from the side, adjusted his spectacles, said nothing, and walked straight into the deepening darkness.

The three of us had no choice but to follow.

Grandpa held a compass; he knew the direction of the large gate we had entered through, so he led us forward.

As we walked, we observed the familiar surroundings: the enormous mushrooms still clustered densely around us, and occasionally, giant stag beetles would poke their heads out, sizing us up, the uninvited guests.

However, aside from that, we found no trace of the Crab God or the girl in white; even the loitering caddisflies had vanished.

We only discovered the lingering corpses of those caddisflies from our previous fight here, alongside a large amount of decomposed remains.

*At this moment, I remarked, “Our previous guess was right. By now, it’s probably time for those giant moths to go out foraging. We’re safe for now.”

Hearing this, Nobita asked us, “You saw those huge moths too? Good heavens, you have no idea! We were nearly killed the moment we got in here. That proboscis of theirs can extend and retract; it’s lightning fast when it strikes. Several of us were pierced instantly. Afterwards, we could only run. The thing chased us, knocking down huge mushrooms. We only managed to hide by scrambling up the wall of the cavern…”

Seeing Nobita’s lingering terror, I wanted to laugh. I desperately wanted to tell him that we had watched him flee in panic from the giant moths from below.

*I smiled without speaking, patted him, and said, “If you hadn’t used flashlights back then, maybe not so many of you would have died. That thing is attracted to light. So, once we get out, we must switch off all flashlights.”

“So that’s how it is. I understand the principle of moths drawn to a flame, but why didn’t I think of that at the moment?” Nobita said remorsefully.

I thought to myself, when faced with mortal danger, who has the capacity to think clearly?

After Nobita finished speaking, we continued our trek. After walking for less than ten minutes, we passed through the piles of decomposed remains surrounded by mushrooms, and soon arrived at the main entrance.

The door was still only cracked open. It was noticeably colder outside than within, and a cool draft swept in from the opening, successfully dispersing the foul air that had clung to us for so long.

This trip to the Palace in the Trees had either smelled of moldy wood or rotting corpses—neither scent was tolerable for a human.

We extinguished our flashlights and covered every object that could emit light before slowly filing out the doorway.

I was the last to exit. Before stepping out, I couldn't help but glance back, muttering inwardly, “I wouldn't come back to this hellhole even if you paid me five million.”

Then I reconsidered, adding, “Don’t even think about sending me back down to this underground palace for ten million.”

The air outside was indeed cool and refreshing. Even without seeing the sun yet, I felt completely satisfied.

After all, I had nearly died several times inside and almost never made it out.

Grandpa’s tent, set up previously near the entrance, was still there. Only one of the nine tents held a faint light—the one occupied by the guard Grandpa had left behind.

However, after Grandpa went in, those three men had fallen victim to the White-Clothed Girl’s poison, and they still lay motionless beside the tents.

Grandpa walked slowly over, squatted beside one man, felt for the pulse in his neck, and then fell silent.

The three of us approached to look. Indeed, all three were dead.

But contrary to my expectations, they hadn't died from the gu poison reaching their vital organs; rather, they had been bitten to death, with multiple wounds visible to the bone across their bodies.

This was likely the work of the yu creatures. These three men were already incapacitated; if attacked by yu...

I felt a pang of regret for not moving them into the tents earlier; perhaps a few lives could have been saved.

*As if reading my thoughts, he patted my shoulder and said, “Let’s go. I don’t want to spend another second in this pit.”

So, our group crossed the plaza in front of the appraisal building and entered the collapsed corridor through a gap.

Considering Grandpa’s stamina, we stopped beneath the large tree in the corridor and each found a large boulder to sit on and rest.

I looked along both sides of the corridor and noticed that both ends dissolved into endless darkness.

I began to speculate about the structure of the entire complex. When the Wei people built this place, perhaps this corridor served as the central, longitudinal hallway connecting the front courtyard in modern architecture.

The Russians had been here for who knows how many years; they must have thoroughly mapped out the layout of this underground palace. That’s why they built the elevator shaft leading down in the direction we came from, and the one going up was likely on the other end of the corridor.

Imagine, if the Russian contingent had a thousand people, many would be using the elevators daily. To avoid congestion and transport specimens to the surface more quickly, they would employ a system with separate ascent and descent shafts. To prevent cargo jams, separating the up and down elevators at opposite ends of the underground complex would be ideal.

I shared these thoughts with the others, and Nobita immediately agreed.

So, once rested, we headed toward the opposite end of the corridor, the direction opposite to our arrival.

After walking about ten meters, I noticed that the collapse on this side was far more severe than the other end.

The walls on both sides had caved in completely, raising the corridor floor so much that it barely resembled a corridor anymore. We were scrambling over bizarrely shaped rubble; if one wasn't careful, a foot could slip into a crevice between the stones and get stuck.

Since we couldn't use flashlights, we had to proceed cautiously, using both hands and feet. After about twenty minutes, we reached the end of the corridor.

By this time, our hands were covered in scratches from the stone debris, and Grandpa was wheezing like a broken bellows. Only * remained unscathed, thanks to his night vision.

It was also thanks to *’s night vision that we managed to stay on course under his guidance.

After panting heavily on the ground for a while, I asked * where we had arrived.

*spoke in a low voice out of the darkness, “Our analysis before was correct. This pit is shaped like an inverted trumpet. Ahead of us is a stone wall, and at the very bottom of that wall is a fissure about three meters high, overgrown with trees.”

At this point, Nobita started whining, “Hey, since we’re almost there, turn on a light for Old Man Xiong! I think a sharp piece of stone just ripped my crotch. Let me check quickly.”

I scolded him without warmth, “You fat idiot, a ripped crotch is just a chill at worst, nothing to look at! You aren't looking, and we have zero interest in seeing.”

Nobita gasped for breath and said, “Fine, fine. I’m just worried some bug crawled in. Let’s not rest; let’s go quickly.”

With that, Nobita moved over to Grandpa and hoisted him onto his back. We continued forward.

The next five minutes were easy as the ground was relatively level, with only Nobita complaining incessantly beside us.

Passing through the dense thicket of trees in the fissure, * exclaimed excitedly, “It’s really here! I see the wire mesh for the lift! Hurry!”

*’s words energized me. I thought, finally, we can leave this wretched place! As long as I can see the blue sky and white clouds, I’d be willing to be scorched by the fierce sun of Lop Nur!

We stopped caring about caution, turned on our flashlights, and jogged ahead.

Sure enough, before our eyes was a wall of wire mesh covered in vines—the door to the elevator lift.

Through the gap in the mesh, I could see the control panel inside, marked clearly with “UP”!

I pulled out my Silver Fish Knife, haphazardly slashed through the vines, and then pried open the rusted elevator door. I was the first to squeeze inside.

The moment I entered, I frowned. Inside the lift, three dead men in white lab coats were leaning against the inner wall. They were clearly the Russian researchers from that time.

I quietly murmured, “Forgive me, gentlemen, for having to keep you company temporarily. I hope you three will be accommodating and not cause trouble, allowing us to reach the surface directly.”

Then I ushered the other three inside.

Nobita cursed loudly upon seeing the three dead bodies, calling it bad luck.

*said to him, “Why are you acting like a petty ruffian? You claim to want to be a tomb robber, yet you show no reverence for the remains of the deceased.”

Nobita pouted, lowered Grandpa down, pulled the wire mesh door shut, and exclaimed, “I’m suffocating down here! Hurry, let’s go up!”

I nodded and pressed the red button on the control panel.

The button lit up with a red glow, and the elevator vibrated once, but quickly, the red light went out, and the lift remained still.

I pressed it a few more times; the result was the same.

I then glared at Nobita and cursed, “You fat idiot, it’s all your fault for talking nonsense! Now look, we can’t go up. Hurry up and apologize to them!”