Prologue Ⅲ

　　"No... no more path?" Chen Qinghe suddenly came to a halt and instead began observing an inconspicuous stone in front of him. Its cross-sectional area was roughly large enough to accommodate one person. Clearly, someone had deliberately placed it here to block the way forward.

　　And there was a vivid red cross on the stone. Judging by its hue, it had obviously been painted just recently.

　　"This is..." He tentatively wiped at the red cross with his finger, and sure enough, a trace of crimson was left on his fingertip.

　　"Look here." Xiao Jiu took the lead, raising a flashlight and kneeling down on one knee to examine a sentence hidden at the bottom of the stone. It should have been in a more conspicuous place, but perhaps due to some inexplicable reasons, it had ended up here.

　　"The path ahead leads to true hell. Please turn back quickly! Turn back! Turn back! Oh, noble and holy deity, please forgive my ignorance. I will not utter a single word about encountering you here. I only beg you to spare my insignificant life."

　　The words were written neatly, as if afraid that others wouldn't understand their meaning.

　　"Ah!" As the cold and eerie atmosphere grew more intense, a sudden scream nearly became the final straw that broke the nerves of everyone present.

　　Ali plopped down on the ground and trembled as he pointed at the red words.

　　"This... this is my uncle's handwriting. It can't be wrong, it can't be wrong."

　　After saying that, he buried his head and refused to look at the scene before him again. Even though all of this might have been within his expectations, who knew? There were things that no matter how much mental preparation one made, they were still hard to bear.

　　After this passage, everyone fell silent again. They looked at each other and suddenly felt that their sworn brothers, who had been so close in the past, now seemed so strange.

　　And it was precisely because of this tacit silence that an even more unbearable truth surfaced.

　　The surroundings didn't quiet down just because everyone was looking at each other. Instead, there was an intangible restlessness floating around.

　　There was a subtle but distinct mixture of noisy human voices in the air, almost tightening the nerves of everyone who became aware of it. Images of the wall paintings they had just seen flashed through their minds - brutal hunting and eating of raw flesh, inhumane live sacrifices...

　　"I can't take it anymore. I want to leave, I want to leave." Xiao Jiu seemed unable to endure it. He muttered to himself as he intended to walk out.

　　"Calm down. We can't get separated now. Think about it. Since Ali's uncle was able to return safely, it means this stone must be able to block those things inside. We'll be fine, we'll be fine."

　　Dong Fatty grabbed Xiao Jiu, afraid that he would quietly fall behind the group without a word. And amidst this almost irrational behavior, Chen Qinghe acted extremely oddly. He was overly enthusiastic about what the stone was blocking off, to the point that he even proposed the absurd idea of going down to take a look himself.

　　"I want to go down and take a look. Really, don't stop me."

　　"Are you crazy? This is a matter of life and death!" Dong Fatty shouted at Chen Qinghe. But it seemed that this shout instantly triggered a significant reaction. The chaotic sounds around them grew louder, causing Dong Fatty to involuntarily cover his mouth.

　　It was a sound of wriggling, colliding with stones, and whimpering.

　　And it intensified because of Dong Fatty's shout.

　　That floating sound seemed to hint that there was indeed something down there. Could it be the deity with a human head and serpent body? Or the reluctant mountain god from the legend... or perhaps...

　　The notes ended right at the ellipsis. The author left too many possibilities, but in the end, they were all heavily blacked out, leaving only faint outlines visible under the light.

　　"I can't take it anymore. I really can't!" Xiao Jiu ran off like a madman. Seeing this, Ali followed suit. After all, he had just been putting on a brave front. He had practically experienced what was happening here twice already.

　　Seeing this scene, both Dong Fatty and Chen Qinghe felt somewhat guilty. They exchanged glances and remained silent for half a minute.

　　"I know your personality. I can't persuade you. All I can say is, proceed with caution. If anything happens, turn back immediately. Don't hesitate! Don't hesitate! Don't hesitate!"

　　Dong Fatty's face turned solemn. He turned around and jogged outside, leaving Chen Qinghe standing alone.

　　Since this diary was written by Dong Fatty, there was no further account of what happened afterward...

　　But at that time, Chen Qinghe came out alive. It was already night when several companions waited for him at the cave entrance. Although, humanely speaking, they should have gone back into the cave to reunite with him, the mental states of Xiao Jiu and Ali were far from stable. Plus, Dong Fatty had to ensure their safety, so the situation became awkward.

　　Not long after, Chen Qinghe walked out with his head down. He approached Ali and whispered something in his ear.

　　"Take me to see Uncle Amuli Zhen..."

　　That day, Dong Fatty and the others only heard Chen Qinghe emphasize from behind the door that he had finally followed Amuli Zhen's example and sealed the cave entrance. Most of their conversation revolved around this topic...

　　I dare say I understand Chen Qinghe's personality as much as Dong Fatty does because... he's... my father. I only remember that my father was a highly courageous scientist, but just like Amuli Zhen, he never once mentioned this incident to me.

　　So to this day, I still don't know what those young men saw in the cave.

　　Later, I followed the research institute to work in a bustling city on the eastern coast, and these things gradually faded away. However, I didn't know they would suddenly attack me as dead memories one day.

　　You think that's the end? Actually, the reason I'm telling this story is that while cleaning up clutter, I coincidentally found another diary of my father's. Through it, I finally learned what my father saw that day.

　　That day, my father moved the stone aside and jumped into the cave. Then, holding a flashlight, he finally reached a corner after walking along a winding stone path arranged like snake scales.

　　To the right of the corner, there was a snake's tail wriggling like a gecko's severed tail, accompanied by a continuous sound of rummaging for something...

　　When my father shone his flashlight over, a huge shadow loomed on the wall...

　　My father swept his gaze along the shadow and saw a human elbow bent in an unusual way...