So I hastened the speed of my digging downward, realizing that although the hole was getting deeper, the black, circular metallic object seemed larger than I had anticipated.

Just as I was staring perplexedly at what I had unearthed, I suddenly thought I heard voices speaking.

I froze instantly, beginning to look around wildly, trying to pinpoint the source of the human sounds.

Listening intently with my ear cocked, I realized the voices were not just one person, but the sound of many people talking and laughing.

There was even the clink-clink sound of iron cages opening, and the swish-swish of chains being dragged.

These sounds came from all directions; although noisy, they were relatively faint, as if coming from a great distance, yet they echoed clearly within the vast, empty amphitheater.

Hearing these noises made the hair on my scalp prickle; it was truly bizarre.

But I knew this might not indicate the presence of many people nearby; it was highly likely a natural phenomenon.

This natural phenomenon had been mentioned before—the phenomenon of Nature's phonograph.

This meant that events that had occurred here previously were recorded by magnetic materials embedded within the walls, caused by some unique atmospheric or magnetic conditions.

For instance, after the liberation, many people claimed to have seen palace maids in traditional attire walking around the Forbidden City in Beijing; this was most likely the result of this very natural occurrence.

And the more secluded a place, the more prone it was to such strange occurrences.

Recording the sounds of the old Colosseum was not such a rare thing in itself.

With this thought, my mood eased slightly; I forcibly suppressed my rapidly beating heart and continued digging into the object buried in the mound of yellow sand.

However, I hadn't dug for long when I felt movement—shadows—shifting on the grandstands above my head.

I knew this could very well be an illusion generated by the phenomenon I had just considered, but I couldn't resist shining my tactical flashlight in that direction anyway.

The 'Wolf Smoke' flashlight in my hand allowed for adjustment of both the beam focus and the illumination distance.

But as soon as I maximized the focus, the light shot from the torch concentrated into a small spot.

I watched the white beam of light from my flashlight pierce through the swirling mist and strike the opposite grandstand, and a dark silhouette instantly flashed away from the illuminated patch.

When I moved my flashlight to follow, the dark shape had vanished without a trace.

But at that moment, the voices seemed to be growing louder, and I felt as if something within the mist was stirring restlessly.

Swish… swish…

As I looked around nervously, I seemed to see the gate beneath the opposite grandstand slowly rising, and something was emerging slowly from within the doorway.

"This is too theatrical, isn't it?" I muttered to myself, "Am I about to personally experience an ancient gladiatorial contest from millennia ago?"

In the distant mist, the silhouette, about half a person's height, gradually closed in on me.

I felt a surge of tension, thinking that if some ancient monster had truly survived to this day, I was about to have my hands full.

Drawing the Silver Fish Short Sword from my waist, I stepped back two paces, reasoning that if such a massive beast charged, even the sharpness of the Silver Fish Short Sword would likely put me at a severe disadvantage; it would be best if I found something else for defense.

I looked around and spotted an iron shield on the ground, mostly decayed, but the surrounding steel ring remained sturdy.

So, I picked up the shield, holding it in my left hand, my short sword in my right, facing the massive silhouette.

Gradually, the object in the mist revealed its true form: it was a gigantic Russian Brown Bear!

This bear was powerfully built; even walking on all fours, its body was as high as my chest. If it stood upright, I estimated it would be over two meters tall.

The bear exhaled white plumes of breath, baring its teeth, and saliva dripped continuously from its lower jaw.

The fur on its back was raised, its four legs as thick as tree trunks, and it advanced toward me with heavy, steady steps.

But what was strange was that this brown bear lacked particularly sharp eyes; looking through the thin fog, the areas where its eyes should have been were merely two black hollows.

Another peculiar detail was that this bear wore a silver cuirass that reached its waist, inlaid with numerous glazed beads, making it look exquisitely ornate and martial.

I knew this was no ordinary bear; the way it walked indicated it was a trained animal.

I felt a sense of oppression that the armor could still gleam brightly after such a long time, looking as new as ever.

But there was no time for further contemplation, as the brown bear stopped not far from me, let out a deep, heavy growl, and reared up on its hind legs!

It spread its arms and emitted a series of muffled roars, engulfing me entirely within its shadow, like a massive tree.

Seeing its razor-sharp teeth and claws, cold sweat instantly streamed down my forehead.

The brown bear gave no hesitation, and its enormous, fan-like paw swung down with a whoosh toward the crown of my head.

I was nearly wetting my pants, thinking that a blow to the head would surely send my brains scattering like watermelon pulp.

So, I quickly ducked my body down, and the bear paw sliced right over my head.

I rolled on the ground to the side, thinking how fortunate I was to be agile; that was a close call.

But reflecting on it carefully, something felt wrong, because as the paw swung past, I felt absolutely no rush of air.

As I pondered this, I saw a round object roll past my feet with a gurgle.

At first, I couldn't make out what it was, but when the object stopped, I let out a sharp breath.

Because it was a bloody human head!

The head was horribly disfigured; the entire face had caved in around the nose, and there were several deep, bone-exposing gashes across it, clearly the result of that recent swipe from the bear's paw.

My heart sank, and I muttered to myself, "Did I... not actually dodge that blow?"

I hastily touched the head around my neck and, finding it still attached, breathed a sigh of relief.

After some thought, I believed I understood what had happened.

But there was no time to dwell on it, as the brown bear let out another low growl and charged toward me, using all four paws.

Almost out of pure reflex, seeing such a thing charging, I retreated backward.

But after only a few steps back, I felt someone rapidly rushing toward me from behind.

Before I could even turn around, that person slammed into the back of my head.

Then a miraculous thing happened: the person passed right through my body.

It was a strange sensation; I swore this was the first time anyone had ever passed through me.

I stared blankly at the person's receding back, then looked down at my own body, finding nothing amiss.

When I looked up again, I saw that person engaging in combat with the giant brown bear.

Although I could only see his back, I instantly noticed the muscles bulging on his arms; he held a spear in one hand and a shield in the other—tall and mighty—the first word that sprang to mind was "Warrior."

The bear’s massive paw descended like heavenly thunder toward the warrior's crown, the momentum terrifyingly impressive.

But the Warrior raised the shield in his hand and intercepted that thunderous blow. It was then, looking at the pattern work around the edge of the shield, that I recognized it was the very one I was currently holding...

But the brown bear was no pushover; its other paw swung toward the Warrior’s arm.

The Warrior was agile, rolling on the ground to evade the bear’s attack, and then thrust the spear in his hand toward the brown bear’s lower back.

I thought the bear was done for, but the sharp tip of the spear struck its silver armor, only eliciting a shower of sparks without piercing it at all.

The brown bear roared and turned, lunging at the Warrior again.

The Warrior was now wide open, able only to parry with his spear, but the bear seized the shaft of the spear in its jaws; with a crack, its sharp teeth instantly pulverized the weapon.

Then, the bear pressed its entire body down onto the Warrior in an ungainly posture.

The Warrior protected his head with his shield but had nowhere left to move; he was completely pinned to the ground.

I thought, this is it; the stands erupted with gasps of dismay.

Then, total silence descended.

Seconds ticked by, yet neither the bear nor the Warrior beneath it moved.

Just when I assumed the Warrior had been crushed to death beneath hundreds of pounds of bear, he suddenly began to push up from the ground, supporting the bear's body inch by inch.

Seeing him bracing one hand under the bear’s belly and locking the other around its neck, I realized that during that brief struggle, the Warrior had managed to strangle such a large bear with his bare hands!

What kind of strength was required for that? I was utterly stunned.

The Warrior then lifted the entire bear carcass with both hands, and cheers, seeming to come from near and far, echoed across the entire arena, while countless figures surged on the grandstands.

Seeing this scene, my fear evaporated, replaced by a slight excitement.

This Warrior must be the hero revered by the people back then, I mused, slowly walking around to face the Warrior, wanting to see what he looked like.

The moment I saw his face, however, I was utterly shocked, unable to speak for a long time.

After a moment, I took a deep breath and stammered out, "This... isn't this me? Good heavens."

The reason for my astonishment was that the Warrior before me looked almost identical to me.

What relationship did this man have with me? I felt a stirring of wonder.

At that moment, the Warrior gently set down the bear carcass in his hands, for the iron gates surrounding the area were slowly opening.

I saw numerous powerfully built wild beasts emerging from the thin mist toward the center of the square—about fifteen or sixteen of them, none smaller or weaker than the brown bear just slain.

The Warrior seemed invigorated by the sight of so many beasts, letting out a long cry toward the sky before charging toward the nearest animal.

It was only then that I noticed the Warrior was wearing a shackle around his ankle, as thick as a human arm.