After Qu Ruilin and the others finished discussing the conditions for taking action, our group ambushed behind the stone platform, keeping a close eye on Duan Jinyan's situation.

At this moment, the person who was crawling on the statue had reached the statue's waist. After finding a foothold, he started hammering the iron rod upwards again.

At the foot of the statue, Duan Jinyan was sitting on the ground resting, while Hua Bao and another person were hammering iron rods into the wall next to them.

"Their behavior is a bit strange; it doesn't seem like they're planning to climb up."

Seeing what the leopard and his companions were doing, Song Laosan frowned and said, "If they want to climb the statue, they can just lower the rope. There's no need for them to do anything down there!"

"It's to secure the rope."

Watching the leopard and the other person's movements, I guessed their intention: "They did this to secure the rope that was hanging down from the statue."

Wei Shengnan frowned: "If their goal is to pull the rope, doesn't that mean they don't actually want to climb up? If that's the case, it will be much more difficult for us to take action."

"If they're not planning to run from up there, it will actually be easier for us to take action."

I pointed in the direction we came from: "If they want to retreat, they will definitely take the back passage. That passage is very narrow. If we ambush them there, our success rate will be higher."

Although Qu Ruilin was determined to seek revenge, he wasn't foolish enough to rush up and become a target. Seeing Qu Ruilin and his group's actions, he said, "Let's see first. If they all climb up together, then we'll make our move."

The person climbing the statue was an expert; he climbed all the way up the statue and quickly reached shoulder height.

Seeing him arrive at this position, we all stared intently at him, wanting to see what Duan Jinyan was really up to.

After climbing onto the statue's shoulder, the person began to climb up the arm that was holding the torch.

Upon seeing this person's actions, Duan Jinyan and the others below the statue immediately stood up and grabbed the rope below.

Seeing these people's actions, Song Laosan had a look of sudden realization: "So, all that iron stakes they used were just to secure the rope and protect the person up there. It's just a safety rope, why all the fuss?"

"ah!!"

According to records, when Song Laosan was speaking, the person climbing on the statue suddenly let out a scream and then fell from the height.

"pull!"

When the leopard saw the person fall, it immediately let out a shout and tightened its grip on the rope. The person fell about three or four meters before being pulled back by Duan Jinyan and the others.

The leopard tightened its grip on the rope, looked up, and shouted, "What's it like up there?"

The man hanging in mid-air replied in a pained voice, "It's more sinister than I expected; the distance is twice as far!"

"Hold on a little longer, at least let the thunder ring out!"

After shouting this, the leopard began to pull the rope with Duan Jinyan and the others, hoisting the man in the air up.

"So that's why Duan Jinyan and the others didn't leave anyone to guard the gate, but instead all came to this place. It turns out they needed someone to pull the rope."

Old Song didn't know much about what happened at the tomb. Hearing their conversation, he nudged me with his elbow: "Xiao Duan, what are they talking about? What do they mean by 'the thunder sounded'?"

I replied, "They're going to plant explosives! As for the other things, they must have discussed them beforehand, but I don't understand them."

Qu Ruilin watched as the person was slowly hoisted up in the air, and made a move to get up: "While they are pulling the rope, it's an opportunity to rush up."

"No! Duan Jinyan is ruthless and heartless. Once he discovers our whereabouts, he will not hesitate to loosen his grip on the rope!"

Wei Shengnan grabbed Qu Ruilin's arm: "Wait a little longer."

The man hanging in the air was a skilled climber. The ropes that had been thrown down earlier were attached to different iron spikes, allowing the people below to control his direction in the air like a marionette.

The man was hoisted about two meters up and shouted down, "That's enough, keep it up!"

Upon hearing the man's words, the three men below each grabbed a different rope and pulled the man toward the statue's arm.

After the man approached the statue's arm, he opened his shoulder bag and started fiddling with it. But he only lasted about ten seconds before his body went limp as if he had been electrocuted. The bag in his hand fell from the sky and landed with a thud.

"put!"

Upon seeing the man's appearance, the leopard immediately released the rope in its hands.

The man seemed to have fainted, his head tilted back, motionless.

Seeing the man's appearance, the leopard called out from below, "Old Donkey! What happened? Give me an answer!"

Seeing that the man did not respond, Duan Jinyan began to lower the rope: "He must be unconscious. Lower him down and bring someone else up!"

Looking at the busy group of people, Song Laosan was completely bewildered: "Wait, what's going on? This guy was just talking a moment ago, how come he suddenly went silent in less than half a minute?"

Wei Shengnan spoke quickly, "I think Duan Shenxing is right. That meteorite is very likely to be radioactive. When this person first landed, he should have been within the radiation range. He wanted to install explosives within the defined range, but he underestimated the intensity of the radiation."

Qu Ruilin looked at me: "Why did they blow up that statue?"

"Do you remember what that guy who fainted just said? He said the expected distance has doubled. I think that distance is very likely referring to the radiation range."

After thinking for a moment, I gave an answer that surprised even myself: "When Duan Jinyan was searching for the Miao Jiang Immortal Palace, he knew that there was something here. So their initial purpose in coming here was to get this meteorite. That's why when I shouted outside to tell Duan Jinyan that there was a radioactive meteorite inside, they were not afraid at all, but instead sped up the opening of the third door!"

You've all seen the intensity of this meteorite's radiation. Even from three or four meters away, it can make people faint. This proves that the content in that mural I saw is real. The radiation from this meteorite can evaporate human flesh within a certain range, creating an absolute no-go zone. The person who was hung up was very likely to have fainted from the pain!

The meteorite was right on top of the torch in the statue's hand, but the people below couldn't climb up to take it away. That's why Duan Jinyan wanted to blow up the torch, causing the meteorite to fall, and then find a way to take it with him!