Shi Jinzhe adjusted his perspective and carefully examined the white wall in the distance once more, not missing a single detail.

After a moment, he confirmed that the white walls were different from the white maze. The maze was closer to marble and had obvious artificial traces, while the white high walls had no cuts and reflected a pinkish-purple afterglow under the setting sun.

"Stop looking, there are still seven areas to see, let's hurry up."

Shehra pulled one of his hands down and jumped onto Shi Jinzhe's back. "The ground is too dirty. Carry me."

“…Hmm.” Shi Jinzhe grabbed her legs to steady Shehe’s body before walking forward.

As the journey continued, the number of indigenous people dwindled. By the time they reached District 19, there was no trace of any indigenous people left. Meanwhile, a persistent stench permeated the air, with the foul odor becoming visible to the naked eye.

To protect their sense of smell, all five of them wore face shields. Ji Hui walked at the front with a powerful searchlight. As the light flashed, he heard Shi Jinzhe behind him say "wait."

"Take another picture in the direction of two o'clock."

Ji Hui shone his searchlight and found a person lying face down in the mud.

He walked over, picked up a branch from the ground, and poked the man's body. A pale, thin face lay on its back; it was a dead man.

“Dead.” He used a branch to lift the corpse’s robe, revealing a body with prominent ribs, clearly indicating malnutrition before death.

The bodies had already left imprints on the damp earth. Ji Hui brought the searchlight closer, and the light inadvertently shone on a ditch to the right of the bodies. The light dispelled the darkness and allowed everyone to see the large number of corpses crammed into the ditch.

The corpses, piled up like sandbags, were stacked in the ditch, each one emaciated. Due to their thinness, some of their overly thin arms had been broken off, protruding at bizarre angles from under different corpses, twisted as if the person at the top had grown multiple arms at the same time.

As Yan Ruoying approached the ditch and looked down, she couldn't help but exclaim, "This must be a mass grave."

“I think it looks more like a mass grave.” Pu Sheng’s usually innocent and naive face turned serious for once, and Yan Ruoying could actually see anger on his face.

“There are not only commoners here, but also wealthy people.” Shi Jinzhe told them to look carefully. “Those sleeves, several of the arms have clothes made of expensive fabrics, brocade and silk, which are not materials that commoners can afford.”

"I'll go down and take a look." Ji Hui placed the searchlight on the ground, clasped his hands together and bowed to the corpse in the ditch before jumping down. Then he found the gentlest slope and went down.

He searched through the corpses that Shi Jinzhe had mentioned, moved the dead bodies on top, and found that the ones below were indeed wealthy people dressed in fine fabrics.

Ji Hui put down a few pieces of clothing, examined the body again, climbed up, and handed it to the others.

Yan Ruoying picked up one of the pieces: "Look at this one, there's gold thread on it."

Shi Jinzhe picked up a blue piece and said, "Not only that, this sleeve is also inlaid with sapphires. They're not very big, but the whole thing is sapphires."

Ji Hui: "This place is not specifically for burying the poor. I saw bones wearing jade rings and gemstone bracelets underneath. If they were criminals, these rings and bracelets would definitely have been taken off. But they've rotted and no one has come to pick them up. I think this place is specifically for burying the dead."

Yan Ruoying: "If no one has committed a crime, does that mean the people here are not buried?"

"Can you roughly tell the ages of those corpses?" Shekh suddenly asked.

Ji Hui: "I don't know how to tell bone age, but I can roughly tell the face of someone who has died recently, probably someone who looks to be between forty and fifty years old."

Shekh patted his broken shoulder. "Did the skill test reveal anything?"

"Hmm." Shi Jinzhe's face was tense, clearly this discovery made him feel uneasy. "No one's bone age is over fifty; their lives were all taken away rapidly."

Yan Ruoying was skeptical. "...What do you mean? Does it mean that people here automatically die when they turn fifty?"

Shi Jinzhe affirmed, "Yes."

No one knows better than him how to extract life force. All the corpses here have had their life force completely drained.

Shekh reminded him, "Those four middle-aged men before we entered the city weren't young either. Such high walls must have a protective function. Plus, with three large, uncontrolled cities, guarding outside the walls must be very dangerous. You saw the guard team we inspected this morning. Strong, young men in their twenties are the most suitable for guarding. How can we send men in their forties to deal with the crisis outside the walls..."

"Because they're getting old. Since their life force will be drained after they turn fifty anyway, they might as well use their last bit of energy. That's why there are no elderly people in this city. As for the disabled, they'll probably suffer the same fate." Shi Jinzhe murmured, "Drained life force..."

Life is hard to control, and he is the only one who has this kind of skill so far. But there are things in this world that can extract life force. Is it that the world boss here has a skill similar to Mu Bai's, or is there something else that can do it?

After thinking it over, Shi Jin realized that the former possibility was too low. If there were a second Mu Bai, the system would not let go of such a big fat sheep. There must be another reason.

"Hey, could you guys take a look over there..." Yan Ruoying pointed to the far distance and instructed Ji Hui, "Lower your light a bit, just thirty centimeters off the ground."

Pusheng, "The last district ahead is the twenty-fourth district. What do you see?"

Ji Hui knelt on the ground, his gaze level with the light. After a few breaths, his voice softened, "Come and see."

Only Pu Sheng responded to him; the two of them, undeterred by the filth from rolling over the dead man's body, lay down together on the ground.

Pu Sheng exclaimed in amazement, "What a huge eye! It's carved from stone! How did you see it?"

Yan Ruoying: "My intuition is that something is watching me from over there..."

Ji Hui got up. "This is the direction. Quick, let's head to District 24."

The night breeze carried a chill as the five hurried toward District 24.

Upon entering the Twenty-Fourth District, broken stones were scattered all over the ground.

Shekh asked to get down, and as soon as he landed, he stepped on a large rock.

She raised her hand, revealing the front of the stone, and recognized that it was carved with a finger.

As they walked further in, they discovered various stone carvings of eyes, bodies, and fingers, varying in size and material, but mostly made of stone.