He immediately sat down cross-legged on the spot, beginning to regulate his breathing.

I reached him and asked, "Are you alright? That last blow..."

Subject 2 shook his head and said, "I'm fine, just need a moment to regulate. You need to check on Subject 12 first; that's more urgent."

Seeing his ashen face despite his steady tone, I nodded, turned, and hurried toward Subject 12.

Subject 12 was lying face down. His back was covered in a repulsive green ooze, and situated below his shoulders and around his waist were four bloody punctures.

These four wounds were about the thickness of a thumb, the blood had stopped flowing, and the edges of the injuries were blackened.

I examined the four holes closely and realized they were incredibly deep, almost piercing bone.

There must be some connection between the puncture wounds and the green fluid, but since I hadn't seen the source clearly before, I couldn't identify what was clinging to Subject 12’s back.

However, one thing was certain: the entity that inflicted those four wounds must possess some capacity to control the human mind.

The instant that thing was shattered, Subject 12 snapped back to consciousness.

I carefully rolled Subject 12 over and found his eyes tightly shut, unconscious.

I checked his breathing and then flipped open his eyelid; he was severely weakened.

Gaining two injured comrades instantly was no small burden for me.

And now, besieged as we were, this felt like adding ice to snow.

I pulled out the water skin at my waist, forced a mouthful into Subject 12, and then pinched his philtrum repeatedly.

After five or six attempts, he slowly regained consciousness, looking at me with vacant eyes, and asked, "What happened? What did I do?"

I said, "You don't remember? You nearly killed me just now!"

Subject 12 touched his forehead and mumbled, "I'm truly sorry, I don't know why that happened..."

I helped him sit up and asked, "Do you remember anything before your consciousness vanished?"

Subject 12 continued rubbing his forehead and said, "Let me think..."

After about ten seconds, Subject 12 suddenly cried out, "That's right! There was a toad, a massive toad, and it had long hair! I told you all to look, but none of you did, and then I was... I was pinned to the ground by that toad..."

He looked slightly faint after speaking.

I quickly supported him, frowning, "Don't get agitated, speak slowly... A long-haired toad? What on earth was that thing?"

Subject 12 took a moment to steady himself, "I don't know either. It felt truly bizarre; I've never seen anything like it before."

Hearing this, I suddenly recalled that Old Man Li had also mentioned that the first thing Da-Zhu said upon returning after disappearing was "toad."

What was the connection between this string of events and the toad? I couldn't fathom it.

Could it be that people turning into monsters was also related to the toad?

If that were true, perhaps Subject 12 had also fallen victim!

With that thought, I urgently asked, "Are you feeling any discomfort anywhere? Do you sense any changes in yourself?"

Subject 12 shook his head, saying, "I don't feel anything specific, just a lot of dizziness."

I observed Subject 12 carefully and indeed found that aside from being exhausted, he appeared otherwise unharmed.

I thought, to hell with it, we'll deal with it if something happens.

With that, I said to Subject 12, "Stay still. You have four deep wounds on your back; let me give you some quick bandaging!"

Subject 12 didn't reply, just kept clutching his forehead, complaining of dizziness.

After quickly disinfecting and bandaging Subject 12, I urged him to put his clothes back on, as the weather, while not bitterly cold, was conducive to catching a chill.

Then, I helped Subject 12 walk toward Subject 2.

From a distance, I saw Subject 2 still sitting with his eyes closed, meditating.

Approaching him, I asked, "How are you? Feeling better?"

Subject 2 gave no reply, his expression unchanged, save for a trace of blood still visible at the corner of his mouth and a frighteningly pale complexion.

Subject 12 said to me, "How did he get hurt? He looks severely injured."

So I helped him sit down and recounted the entire sequence of events.

After listening, Subject 12 sighed, "It's all my fault for letting my curiosity get the better of me and treading where I shouldn't have. I'm truly sorry."

I shook my head with a bitter smile, "It's not your fault; you couldn't have known this would happen, right?"

Subject 12 continued to sigh, "Regardless, I instigated this. So if Subject 2 is truly in trouble, I am willing to take responsibility."

I glanced at Subject 2 and said, "He can still meditate and regulate his qi. That suggests it's probably nothing fatal; he just needs time to recover. Look at those high monks in those martial arts films—no matter how severe their injuries, they heal after sitting for a while. Maybe Subject 2 also has some special technique."

Subject 12 managed a weak smile, "Then let's not disturb him. If we interrupt, he might suffer qi deviation."

I nodded, "Yes, yes, when practicing the Yi Jin Jing, one absolutely cannot be disturbed."

So, Subject 12 and I found a spot beneath a small mound of earth formations and sat down.

This spot offered no shelter from the wind. To let Subject 12 rest properly, I remained silent, just staring blankly at the few scattered stars overhead.

Subject 12 closed his eyes, seemingly entering a state of self-repair.

I realized then that trying to leave tonight was impossible; we had to wait until both men recovered before we could devise a plan to get out.

If Subject 12 had set up the previous formation, perhaps now that the mechanism was disabled, we could leave quite easily.

But in any case, speaking now was useless; we could only wait out the night here.

Truthfully, I had no standards for where to spend the night. I'd slept in desolate mountains and in a small shack over a river sluice gate. I'd encountered many terrifying things, but none had broken me.

However, the critical issue now was that I could not sleep.

For one, I had the responsibility of caring for two injured men. Secondly, if that long-haired toad or some other mechanism was triggered again, I needed to be prepared; otherwise, we would truly be wiped out.

I idly counted stars for about half an hour, and Subject 12 showed no reaction, presumably having drifted off to sleep.

Subject 2, not far away, remained perfectly still, just as before.

I wondered if sitting in that posture would cause his legs to fall asleep.

Then I thought, monks meditate often; perhaps they are accustomed to numbness—it shouldn't be an issue for him.

When alone, the mind inevitably wanders.

Watching Subject 2’s posture, I began to scrutinize whether he was breathing at all.

I remembered that in TV shows, white smoke appears above the head during healing, but Subject 2 had nothing. This state looked exactly like what happens when a venerable monk attains Nirvana.

If I dragged him off and cremated him now, perhaps we could even find a sarira.

Lost in these thoughts, I curiously edged closer to Subject 2.

I carefully squatted in front of him, looking at his face.

Under the hazy moonlight, his face seemed coated in frost, chillingly cold.

Seeing his eyes tightly shut, seemingly in pain, I quietly plucked a stray blade of grass from the ground and held it near his nose.

Logically, a human breath should be enough to move that blade of grass.

But the grass I held before his nose didn't stir at all.

A chill went through my heart. I stared fixedly at the grass, but there was still no sign of respiration.

Panicked, I hastily felt for a pulse on his neck—there was none!

Flipping his eyelid open again, I saw that his pupils were dilated; he was dead!

My hand trembled, and the blade of grass was carried away by a slight breeze, drifting into the distance.

Incredulity washed over me. The man known as an XX-Class individual, just... gone?

Did he die prematurely from revealing too much celestial secrets, or was it the severity of his injuries?

I gently laid his stiff body down and undid his clothing. I saw that the entire right side of his chest had collapsed inward—it must have been from a severe impact!

How could someone sustain such a grievous wound and simply meditate it away?

I regretted not insisting on examining Subject 2 earlier, not taking some emergency measures...

After a moment's thought, I shook my head; this must have been broken ribs piercing his lungs. In such a condition, even immediate hospitalization offered almost zero chance of survival.

Looking at Subject 2’s serene appearance, a wave of despondency hit me. Could the life of such a powerful being be this fragile?

I hadn't even witnessed Subject 2's true capabilities, and now he was dead so simply.

I looked back at Subject 12, hesitating whether to wake him, but ultimately decided against disturbing him.

I found the compact collapsible entrenching tool from the supply box and began digging a grave in a suitable spot.

I could have chosen to carry Subject 2's body out, but considering I would have to manage an injured man through the maze during the day, with potential further danger, I decided to bury Subject 2 here first and summon more people to retrieve the remains once we got out.

Tears streamed down my face as I dug. I remembered Subject 2 saving my life twice—once on the plane and once on the road. Without him, we would have died long ago.

And though he was rigid and single-minded, he was actually very good-hearted; I had benefited greatly from his care on this journey.

In the end, my tears were mostly for the feeling of an unfulfilled heroic ambition.

I kept digging until dawn broke. As the first sliver of morning light touched the earth formations, I heard a strange sound.