I frantically waved my hands, saying, "Wait! What is going on! What... what are you doing? Stop undressing!"

Xiao Bai paused her movements and turned to me, saying, "What is wrong with you, alien? Do you find me unattractive?"

I stammered, my own face burning red, "No, you are very beautiful, the most beautiful woman I have ever seen, but... but..."

A look of anger flashed across Xiao Bai's face. "But what? But you don't like me? Aren't you human males supposed to love beautiful women? Now that I am willingly offering my first time, you reject it?"

I waved my hands again. "No, I like you very much, but, but we only just met... I mean, doing something like this is too sudden, isn't it?"

Xiao Bai replied, "Do you think I want this? In the current Ilherez Wars, the power of our race is constantly weakening. If this could secure peace, what is such a small thing? This is also good news for your Earth; the crisis facing your planet is beyond anything you can imagine."

I remained completely bewildered. "Wait a moment, why do you trust this prophecy so completely? Even if it is the command of your chief god, think about it—it makes no sense. Even if we were to sleep together, how could that possibly affect the war?"

Xiao Bai pursed her lips and stated, "I don't care! It is the will of the gods, and as a subject, I must obey."

With that, she lunged toward me again.

As I dodged her, I said, "Hey, hey! Really, don't be like this. How about we try to open this coffin first? Don't you want to see what's inside? We'll have plenty of time later."

Xiao Bai, having worked up a sweat chasing me, panted for a moment before saying, "Fine, all right. I'll help you open the coffin, and then you must yield to me."

I gave her a look of utter helplessness, but to buy time, I had no choice but to agree. "Deal. Once the coffin is open, we can discuss everything else."

Xiao Bai straightened her clothes and said, "But this Toad King is already dead, lying here unable to move. We have to move its corpse first, or we won't be able to open the coffin anyway."

Knowing this was a genuine difficulty, I stroked my chin and remarked, "If only my psychokinesis would return, this would be a trivial matter. But now..."

Xiao Bai asked, "By the way, I never asked—why did your superpower suddenly vanish?"

Not knowing how to explain it to her, I said, "Actually, my ability requires medication to maintain it. But now that the medicine is gone, I can't use it anymore."

Xiao Bai continued to press. "Do your two companions have any medicine?"

I recalled that, for safety, I had stored my belongings, including the medication, at the luggage deposit in Yuanmou County town. Retrieving it now would be impossible in time.

So I told her, "The medicine has to be retrieved from the county town. I fear it will be impossible for the next few days. The medicine I brought was supposed to last a long time, but I didn't expect this excursion to be so draining."

As I was speaking, my mobile phone suddenly rang.

Clearly, there was no signal here. However, this phone had been modified to include an enhanced walkie-talkie function, allowing internal personnel to connect over relatively short distances even without reception.

This meant that Agent Number Two and the others were nearby.

The thought that they were coming brought a wave of relief, as I knew that if Number Two and Number Twelve were present, Xiao Bai would never dare to push things too far with me.

This thought flashed through my mind, followed by a wry smile. I wondered if there was something wrong with me; other men in this situation might have already succumbed and even enjoyed it. Perhaps I wasn't entirely against it, but the abruptness of the situation was hard to process.

Moreover, for a virgin, the first time often carries more weight. While a man's virginity might not be considered as valuable, breaking through that psychological barrier wasn't something to be taken lightly.

Thinking these thoughts, I moved to answer the call.

In truth, the moment I picked up, I considered that the voice on the other end might not be Number Two or Number Twelve. Such odd occurrences were common; I had heard countless strange noises over phones and communicators, and even a call from an alien wouldn't be surprising.

But deep down, I desperately hoped it wasn't another voice, because that would signify that Number Two and Number Twelve were in extraordinary danger.

Crucially, whoever was using the phone besides them was unlikely to be benevolent.

"Hello!" I tried to speak as soon as the connection was established.

Two seconds passed with no response from the other end. A sense of caution began to creep in, and I lowered my voice. "Hello..."

Still no sound, not even the faintest ambient noise.

I looked at Xiao Bai, and she looked back at me; we both frowned, finding it utterly bizarre.

Then, a faint crackling sound emerged, followed by a distinct clack as the call disconnected.

I felt deeply unsettled. I immediately dialed the number back, signaling Xiao Bai to be quiet.

Though the call connected this time, no one answered.

Simultaneously, I strained my ears to listen to the surroundings, and what I heard nearly made me fall right onto the floor: a low, humming vibration emanating from beneath the Toad King.

Xiao Bai had obviously heard it too. She stared at me, immobilized by fright, her face turning whiter than paper.

I swallowed hard, forcing out the words, "What in the world? Is the dead Toad King calling me?"

Xiao Bai shook her head slightly. "That can't be... Could it be coming from inside the coffin...?"

Suddenly, I realized the truth: perhaps Number Two and the others were trapped inside the coffin and were trying to signal me for help!

I turned my attention to the coffin beneath the Toad King, slowly approaching it. I tapped the outer wall and shouted loudly, "Is that you! Number Two, are you in there?"

After tapping a few more times and calling out repeatedly, there was no response from inside, only the occasional faint humming vibration, like the sound of an active line.

When I hung up the phone, the sound instantly ceased, plunging the area into a deathly silence.

I drew a sharp breath and met Xiao Bai's gaze; neither of us had any answers.

After a long pause, I finally whispered, "It seems the only way is to find a way to open this coffin."

Xiao Bai nodded, and we both crouched down to examine the structure.

We quickly discovered it was a rare stone sarcophagus. The material was the same as the nearby stele—an unremarkable black basalt. This stone was extremely durable but relatively brittle, formed by volcanic activity, making it highly heat-resistant.

Circling the edges of the coffin, I muttered to myself, "Well, another nested coffin."

Xiao Bai asked, "What's a nested coffin?"

I explained, "Look, there's no seam where the lid meets the body. This means it doesn't have a lid; it's a structure where an inner shell is fitted into an outer casing, or perhaps it has a hinged top panel or a lift-out structure. Regardless, this type is called a nested coffin."

Xiao Bai, clearly unfamiliar with the term, asked, "How is that different from a regular coffin?"

I replied, "There's a big difference. Because they don't use nails, the seal is much better, meaning bodies inside decay less easily. Furthermore, nested coffins are usually elaborately designed by master craftsmen, so they often contain hidden traps—very dangerous. I remember when I was underground in Heizhugou, we opened one, and the three of us were nearly burned alive. The flames from that mechanism could melt stone; anything touched by it would die instantly."

Xiao Bai’s mouth dropped open. "Wow, there are mechanisms that powerful? I've never seen anything like that. Is it similar to the thermal weapons on our planet? Boyfriend."

I froze. "What? What boyfriend?"

Xiao Bai said, "Isn't that what you Earthlings call your partners? Since you agreed to sleep with me, and I’ve never been in a relationship, of course, I should become your girlfriend! Are you just planning to sleep with me and then refuse to take responsibility?"

I was momentarily speechless. "Why are we back to this? It's not that I don't want to be responsible for you, it's just that I don't want to..."

Xiao Bai’s eyes flared. "Are you going back on your word?"

I quickly waved my hands. "No, no, I didn't mean that. You misunderstood... I... I..."

I couldn't find the right words, so I switched topics. "Let's open the coffin first. We can talk after that."

Xiao Bai instantly softened her demeanor. "Okay, boyfriend."

I gave her a helpless look but didn't argue further.

Xiao Bai then asked, "So, how do we open the coffin, boyfriend?"

I said, "Since it's a nested coffin, we don't necessarily have to open it from the top. So the Toad King pressing down on it isn't an issue. Let's look around the sides for any mechanism."

Xiao Bai crouched down and pointed to a corner of the coffin. "Is it this one?"

I felt a pang of exasperation. "You found it that fast?"

I leaned closer and saw exactly what she was pointing at: a protrusion on the side of the coffin resembling a nipple or boss. I gently pressed it with my hand, but it didn't react. It seemed like a natural bump in the stone, not a mechanism.

Just as I was about to give up, the circular protrusion began to move on its own.

It slowly wobbled, pushing itself outward bit by bit. At that moment, I realized this bump wasn't meant to be pressed; it was meant to be pushed out from the inside. Furthermore, it couldn't be pulled out from the outside because there was nowhere to grip.

As the boss slowly emerged, my heart leaped again, because this clearly indicated there was something alive inside the coffin.