I noticed that the physiques of these soldiers were much more proportionate compared to the pot-bellied ancient corpses we encountered outside, though their stomachs still protruded, it wasn't as severe.

It seems there's a considerable difference between the build of the combatants and the non-combatants.

It’s truly hard to fathom what state that civilization was in back then, and what its social structure was like.

After searching among these soldiers for a while, I discovered two other types of weapons. One was a spherical object, resembling a ceramic ball, highly polished but completely black, with no holes, etchings, or any patterns on its surface.

However, my intuition told me this thing was probably very dangerous, perhaps something like a [self-censored term].

If it were the flute-like weapon in my hand, even if it misfired, as long as it wasn't aimed at me, it wouldn't cause much harm.

But if this sphere were a [self-censored term], after all this time, it certainly wouldn't be as controllable as before; a slight movement could cause it to explode, and there would be no way to dodge it then.

So, I simply skipped over that item without tampering with it any further.

Next, I found another strange object; it looked a bit like a lighter, but it was longer and wider than a standard lighter.

This thing was hard, entirely deep brown, wrapped in leather on the surface, and likely contained a metal core inside.

Crucially, there was a tiny, thin slit at the front end of this object. I brought it close to my nose and could actually smell gunpowder.

Holding it in my hand, I found it fit perfectly across the width of my palm.

Could this be a lightsaber? A sudden, whimsical thought struck me as I secretly speculated.

But a lightsaber should have a button, yet after searching all over, I couldn't find any mechanism to press.

Just as I thought I had guessed wrong, a wisp of white smoke curled out from the thin slit at the front of the object.

I cursed inwardly, "So it is a [self-censored term]!"

As I prepared to toss the thing away, I suddenly realized something seemed off, because the smoke produced by this [self-censored term] was far too faint, barely better than mosquito repellent incense.

I grew increasingly curious about its purpose, so I brought my nose closer to smell the smoke.

Unexpectedly, as soon as I inhaled that smoke, I felt a ringing in my ears, my heart raced, and my breathing became tense, making almost every hair on my body stand on end.

Then, I felt an inexplicable surge of excitement, like having had two glasses of wine.

I quickly pulled my nose away, and goosebumps erupted all over my body. I shivered, experiencing a wave of unprecedented delight and comfort.

Taking a deep breath, I shook my slightly hazy head, looked at the object in my hand, and muttered, "Damn it, this thing is just like a [self-censored term]. The folks from the last civilization weren't exactly saints either; they liked this kind of mental drug."

I had intended to throw it away, but then I felt something was different, because my mental state was surprisingly better than before inhaling the smoke; I felt completely relaxed, as if I’d aged ten years younger.

But [self-censored term] makes one decadent and listless. This suggests that what I held might have been something this civilization used to stay alert.

In that case, this is a good thing, capable of boosting a soldier's combat effectiveness.

With that thought, I pocketed it without hesitation.

Scavenging for treasures is a habitual action in our tomb-raiding profession, and I didn't see anything wrong with it.

But recalling Da Xiong's Mojin Xiaowei rituals, I still paid my respects out of custom, saying, "Esteemed sirs, to each what is needed; this junior trespasses, forgive me, forgive me."

After uttering those words, I suddenly remembered Da Xiong and wondered what he was up to now. The days spent adventuring with him now felt like a dream.

For some reason, whenever I am separated and alone, my mind starts wandering.

Perhaps I am not as secure as I imagine; whenever I am by myself, thoughts of death creep in.

But despite my apprehension, holding this trumpet-like weapon in my hand gave me a significant measure of confidence.

Weapons created by the previous civilization must be more advanced than those of our own, right?

The reason they headed toward destruction must be because their civilization had developed to an extreme.

I switched the Yehuo weapon to my other hand, let out a long breath, and continued moving forward.

Although the insects above were ferocious, they couldn't get close for the moment, but those small creatures in the darkness were particularly concerning.

However, if they didn't reveal themselves, I couldn't actively approach them; inviting unnecessary trouble wouldn't be a good thing for me.

I recalled times during expeditions when I often got distracted by secondary matters and forgot my original objective.

This time, even if the sky fell, I had to reach the end of this path first to search for the traces of the Toad King.

Thinking this, I cast aside all reservations and strode forward.

To be honest, walking this path was quite tiring. Although there were many horizontal grooves in the ice surface that could be used for leverage, it was still an uphill path prone to slipping.

The first quarter was fine; the slope wasn't too steep, but later on, the incline gradually became precipitous, making it almost three steps forward and two steps back—extremely strenuous.

To conserve energy, I was basically moving on all fours; you can’t imagine how awkward that felt.

Even though the weather was cold, such strenuous activity caused my body temperature to gradually rise.

I considered loosening my clothing to cool down, but remembering this was still an icy wasteland, getting sick or developing a fever here would mean I'd be finished, so I refrained.

In that moment of hesitation, I suddenly heard that strange sound again coming from not too far away.

It sounded like a man weeping, deep and utterly miserable.

I looked up overhead and saw that I was near the end of this frozen path; at the terminus stood a massive set of double doors, towering there.

These two doors were about twenty meters high and over ten meters wide, both constructed entirely of ice.

The reason I could see them so clearly was that inside these doors, there were strips of light, similar to what I’d seen before, arranged in a pattern.

That pattern was none other than the characters '0016', but for some reason, it was imbued with an aura of death.

When I saw this number earlier, that feeling of desolation and sorrow surged up uncontrollably.

My mind felt muddled. I stared blankly at the great door, wondering where it led. Could there really be such a place as hell?

As I was thinking, the man's crying sound I heard earlier echoed again.

Upon closer inspection, I realized the gate wasn't tightly shut; there was a very narrow gap in the middle.

Because the doors were so huge, I had initially overlooked this small fissure.

Looking closely now, I could see something stuck in that narrow gap.

Focusing more sharply, I saw that the round, bloody object was actually a human head.

My heart sank, because something still bleeding absolutely could not be an ancient corpse; it had to be a person with flesh and blood. Whether living or dead, I couldn't tell yet.

However, judging by the faint weeping, it was likely still alive.

I rushed forward, trying to see who was trapped there. When I approached, I froze.

Even standing beneath the doors, I still couldn't clearly make out whose head it was.

For some inexplicable reason, the head was jammed right in the middle of the door gap. This meant that even with my height of 1.8 meters, the head was still [distance] meters above me.

How could he have jumped that high to get stuck? It was an unfathomable question.

Or perhaps, what entity lifted him that high and wedged him there?

The only immediate solution seemed to be forcing the doors open so he would fall, but given the severity of his injuries, I wasn't sure if that was the right course of action.

After much consideration, I decided it was better to first figure out how to get inside the doors to check the condition of his body.

I first peered through the gap and saw what looked like a palace carved from ice inside, with many huge pillars vaguely visible under a faint blue glow; everything else was obscured by darkness.

But I didn't notice any immediate dangers lurking beside the doors.

Listening carefully again, I realized the weeping wasn't coming from the head's mouth, but from somewhere deep within the doors.

I couldn't see the source of the sound yet, but it was very close.

So, I called out, "Who! Who is inside?"

The moment I spoke, the sound instantly stopped.

Clearly, the other party had heard me, so I asked again, "Is that Da Zhu, or Old Man Li? I've come to save you."

As if in response, a strange kaka-ka sound came from inside the doors, like someone choking on a fish bone—deeply unsettling.

"Are you hurt? Can't speak easily? Then just stay there, I'll come save you right away!" I said, even as I began pushing the door.

I exerted a great deal of effort, but couldn't budge the door even a fraction. Instead, sticky substances smeared onto me; raising my hand, I saw it was blood dripping from the head overhead, running down the door frame—gently.

I wiped the blood off my clothes and spoke to the person inside, "Help me push a bit; it seems a bit difficult for me alone."

The person inside didn't reply, but instead, there was a jijiga-ga sound, like sharp claws scraping across the ice surface.

I immediately grew alert, as this did not sound like something a human could produce.

Out of caution, I stopped pushing and took out a flare from my case, firing it into the door gap.

With a poof, white light illuminated everything inside the door.

At that moment, I saw a giant black insect, resembling a centipede, rapidly crawl past me under the glare of the flare.

However, the centipede's legs were bizarre; they looked exactly like human hands dipped in black paint.