The only remaining path was that slippery, rusty pipe.

"What...what should we do...is there any way we can catch up with them?"

Aiqi was crying, her legs were so weak she could barely stand.

Meng Nan gritted his teeth and took the lead in attempting to climb.

But the pipe was too slippery. He had only climbed a few steps when his foot slipped and his whole body plummeted downwards.

Hu Jiang cried out in surprise and pounced on Meng Nan's wrist with lightning speed. Yuan Ke also reacted immediately and grabbed Hu Jiang's other hand tightly.

The three of them, like grasshoppers strung together, teetered precariously on the edge of the pipe, with a deadly abyss below.

After a tremendous amount of effort, they finally managed to pull Meng Nan up, albeit with great difficulty.

The four men collapsed to the ground, panting heavily. They were covered in cold sweat and grime from the pipes, their faces filled with lingering fear and despair.

Ultimately, they had to resort to the most clumsy and dangerous method: crawling forward, inching forward little by little.

They even used strips of torn clothing to barely connect their wrists to prevent anyone from slipping off.

After an unknown amount of time, when they had almost exhausted all their strength and courage, they finally climbed to the opposite platform one after another.

However, the platform was already deserted.

The formidable Instructor Zhou had already led the remaining few away.

The passageways ahead were all interconnected, and they had no idea which path was the right one to take.

*

During the break, a rare sense of relaxation filled the dimly lit passageway.

Zi Xi and Mona were chatting when Wen Zhuli, who quickly got into the conversation, joined them, and they sat together and talked in hushed tones.

Mona did most of the talking, with Wen Zhuli adding or asking questions as needed, while Zi Xi listened quietly, nodding occasionally.

A few steps away, Zhou Ying sat alone in a hollow in the cold rock wall, as if trying to blend into the shadows.

He crossed his arms and remained silent, his hat brim pulled low, revealing only his tightly pursed thin lips and his sharply defined jawline.

But his gaze seemed tangible, shooting at Wen Zhuli like knives time and time again.

A strange sense of restlessness churned in his chest.

He watched the harmonious atmosphere flowing between the three of them, a harmony he couldn't quite fit into, especially Zhou Zixi's unguarded profile.

A sharp emotion was gnawing at him; he knew it might be called jealousy, but he couldn't quite grasp it, nor did he know how to alleviate it.

He was used to instilling fear or obedience, rather than being accepted.

When Zhou Zixi and Mona looked at him, they always did so with awe and fear.

And that look in his eyes, as if he wanted to run away, made his chest feel even tighter.

He could only let the atmosphere around him grow increasingly oppressive, wrapping himself in a colder silence, sulking to himself.

The topic somehow shifted to this bizarre and terrifying underworld.

"...Honestly, whoever created this godforsaken place is definitely a psychopath!"

"Monsters and traps, what do they care about human lives? Playing this kind of obstacle course game is just a pervert."

Mona couldn't help but start complaining, her voice filled with the resentment of surviving a disaster.

Zi Xi's heart jumped into her throat.

She suspected that this Zhou Ying was Wen Zhaoye.

So if Zhou Ying is indeed Wen Zhaoye, then Mona's unrestrained insults, calling him a pervert, are practically direct attacks!

"That's not entirely true! Perhaps... perhaps..."

Zi Xi immediately spoke up, eagerly trying to defend Mona, but couldn't find the words to refute her for a long time.

Any explanation sounds weak and far-fetched; even she herself wouldn't believe it.