Chapter Twenty Laser Array

  Fang Kai furrowed his brow, seventy percent certain: "I suspect this hidden passage isn't straight, but rather curves downward. If so, the exit might be right beneath our feet."

  "What's under our feet?! No way, Kai Zi, what are you talking about? I don't quite get it." Fat Dong shrugged his shoulders and spread out his hands, unable to comprehend Fang Ke's speculation. However, there was someone who could react quickly, and that person was Qiao Mu Si.

  "Whoa!" Chomps exclaimed in surprise, "Kai, you mean the entire tunnel might be curved, or even semi-circular?" "Bingo!" Fang Kai gave Chomps a thumbs up and smiled, "That's right! So I have a time-saving plan. It's just that it might be a bit dangerous."

  "What's going on?!" Chomps and Fat Dong looked at each other and exclaimed in unison.

  Fang Kai gave a mysterious smile and said, "The method... follow me." As soon as he finished speaking, Fang Kai flashed in front of Fat Dong, then lay down and started rolling downwards. Qiao Mu Si and Fat Dong were left staring with their eyes wide open, and by the time they reacted, Fang Kai had vanished into thin air.

  "What are you still dazing about, hurry up and go!" Pang Dong patted Qiao Mu Si, the latter nodded, and the two of them quickly followed Fang Kai, rolling towards the front of the hidden passage.

  "Ah!!!!"... Suddenly, a narrow and dark corridor came one after another cry of surprise.

  About twenty to thirty seconds later.

  "Oh my, what a terrible idea, Kexin! You've got me with a sore back and waist." Pang Dong said, leaning against the wall with a silly grin. Beside him sat a speechless Qiao Masi, while in front of them, Fang Kei still wore a smile on his face.

  Fang Kai smiled and said, "Hehe", but didn't bother with Pang Dong, instead looking around. After a moment, he sighed and laughed, "I'm also speeding up the efficiency... Alright, stop messing around, take a look." As he spoke, Fang Kai pointed behind him, where a faint light was visible.

  Unless something unexpected happens, the exit should be just ahead.

  But as Fang Kai and the other two stepped into the radiant area, their faces suddenly turned deathly pale. Before them appeared a familiar staircase. The stairs were winding and uneven, made entirely of human skulls! Moreover, like before, the skulls were black, apparently having been treated with poison.

  It seems they have walked back to the entrance.

  "My goodness!" Fat Dong exclaimed, feeling his head spinning with dizziness.

  "What...what's going on?" Fat Dong stared with his eyes wide open, looking at the strange skull staircase, and was speechless. The three of them had clearly fallen from the hidden passage, so how did they end up back at the entrance?

  For a moment, Fang Kai, Qiao Mu Si and Pang Dong all fell silent.

  Finally, it was Fat Dong who broke the deadlock. He muttered a few words, his voice somewhat hesitant: "Kai Zi, Qiao Mu Si, why don't we just head back the way we came? This staircase is too eerie, too ominous." Fat Dong's massive body trembled slightly, and he felt a chill run down his spine. However, as soon as he finished speaking, Fang Kai shook his head decisively: "It's already impossible to turn back now; our only option is to move forward."

  Fat Dong was about to retort, but unexpectedly, Qiao Mu Si also nodded and said in a low voice: "Kai is right, Dong. We need to move forward. We fell from above and only fell once without changing direction, so this ladder must be different from the previous one."

  Qiao Mu was calm as usual, and now he spoke reasonably, so Pang Dong had to admit it. "Sigh, okay, I believe you." Pang Dong shrugged, at this point, there was no other choice for him anyway.

  Fang Kai patted Dong's shoulder and said with a smile: "Alright, let's go. We don't have much time." And so, the three of them stepped onto the stairs one after another.

  "It's indeed a bit different. Chomps, did you notice that the stairs we walked through this time seem narrower than last time?" Fat Dong suddenly spoke up halfway through their walk, and Fang Ke and Chomps couldn't help but stop in their tracks.

  "How did you know?" Now it was Fang Ke and Qiao Mose's turn to be surprised.

  Fat Dong smiled and said, "Hey, you're sleeping, Qiao Mu Si didn't notice, but I remember it clearly. I measured it before, the previous steps were 0.4 meters wide, but now the steps under our feet are only 0.35 meters wide!" Fat Dong stroked his chin, feeling a bit relieved. As long as he wasn't trapped in a loop maze, he didn't care how they walked.

  Although Pong Dong spoke confidently and forcefully, Fang Kai and Qiao Mu couldn't help but have some doubts. Qiao Mu was silent, while Fang Kai furrowed his brow and asked: "Pangzi, are you sure you didn't measure incorrectly?" This matter is of great importance, they can't afford to be careless.

  "Kai Zi, why don't you believe me? Don't I deserve your trust in your eyes? Hmph!" After being rebuffed several times, Pang Dong couldn't help but get angry, his tone becoming much heavier. Facing Kai's questioning, he had a resentful expression.

  Upon seeing this scene, Fang Kai hastily shook his head and smiled: "Nothing's wrong, I just wanted to confirm it again. Alright, since we're not going back on our tracks, let's continue." Taking advantage of the opportunity, Fang Kai beckoned to the remaining two people, skillfully sidestepping the conflict with Pang Dong.

  "Kai zi, you... *sigh*." Watching the two people in front disappear from view, Pang Dong was still unhappy, but could only follow after them. "Hey, wait for me, hey!"

  The surroundings were shrouded in a thick, black fog, and the sound of eerie, mirthless laughter echoed up and down the entire staircase. The laughter seemed to emanate from within the fog itself, yet at the same time, it appeared to originate from within one's own skull, sending chills down the spine.

  Because of the experience, the road ahead became much easier, and the three quickly arrived at the last step. Looking around, the "White Desert" was gone, the dark green lake was also gone, and there was only a stone floor below the steps, indeed different from before.

  "Haha!" Fat Dong burst out laughing, and was the first to climb down to the steps below. Fang Kai and Qiao Mus exchanged a glance, both shook their heads, and then followed suit.

  "I'm telling you, Fatso, can't you just be quiet for a moment? This whole road has been eerie and unpredictable, I don't believe there aren't any traps here." Looking at Fat Dong making such big movements on the stone floor, Fang Kai couldn't help but laugh and cry. After finishing speaking, he turned around and whispered to Qiao Mu Si: "You take the detector and go scan the surrounding area to see if there's any fluctuation of Crystal Warrior remains, I'll sort out my thoughts."

  Chomps nodded and then took out a Siglo scanner and walked over to the edge of the stone floor, beginning his survey.

  However, Fang Kai's words did not enter into Peng Dong's ears. He strolled forward while examining the patterns on the surrounding walls. Upon closer inspection, it was not difficult to discover that the walls were all built with stone, and many reliefs were carved on the walls, including various ancient Egyptian gods. Such as the god of the underworld Osiris, the eagle god Horus, the cat goddess Bastet, Anubis, Amun, and Ra, etc. These relief sculptures were vivid and gave the vast "secret room" a mysterious atmosphere.

  Fat Dong was more and more fascinated as he watched, occasionally uttering "tsk tsk" sounds of admiration. Just when he was completely absorbed in the scene, suddenly, he caught sight of a strange spectacle.

  The originally still eyeballs of the gods suddenly moved, and a colorful light of various colors jumped on them.

  Fat Dong rubbed his eyes and muttered, "Heavens, I mustn't be mistaken." Fat Dong raised his head again, took a closer look, and this time he couldn't help but swallow hard: "This time I really didn't make a mistake!"

  Only a colorful light column was seen shooting out from the god's eyeball, fiercely shooting towards Pong.

  "Damn it!" Fat Dong cursed and rushed to Fang Kai's side, panting: "Kai, Kaizi, look... quickly!" Fat Dong shook his hand and pointed behind him. Fang Kai furrowed his brow, staring in astonishment at the colorful light pillars.

  "What's going on? Jorms, come back quickly, the situation has changed!!" Fang Kai shouted loudly, and from a distance, Jorms raised his head just in time to see a beam of light shooting towards him.

  In that flash of lightning, Jorms ducked down, shielding the Siglo scanner. The beam barely grazed a strand of Jorms' golden hair suspended in mid-air, striking the wall and somehow bouncing off onto the stone floor.

  Chomsky swallowed hard, and despite his calm demeanor, he couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat. To think that just one second was all it would take for him to bid the earth farewell forever.

  "Jom, come back quickly!" Fat Dong shouted, Jom nodded and was about to stand up when another beam of light shot over. This beam intertwined with the previous one, trapping Jom in a small area.

  So Jorms escaped and could only walk around with his head bowed in the gap.