My blood ran cold as I looked at the swarm of monsters.
It wasn't their appearance that terrified me. Honestly, after the initial shock of seeing them, I had already regained my composure.
What chilled me to the bone was that they possessed a "social structure"!
The so-called social structure refers to a phenomenon where many creatures gather to accomplish a single task.
Currently, only two types of such structures are known: one is faith, and the other is genetics.
A faith-based social structure is a special construct created by humans.
For humans to survive in nature, they must band together. To maintain stability among individuals when gathered, faith is essential.
Only with faith can conflicts be avoided. Once conflicts are avoided, this social structure becomes stable.
The other type of social structure is caused by genetics. For instance, ants, from the moment they are born, have their entire lives predetermined. Worker ants are destined to labor from birth, and the queen ant is born as a queen.
Their social structures are encoded in their genes.
As for these monsters before me, I had no idea which category they belonged to.
However, regardless of their social structure, creatures like these are incredibly difficult to deal with!
Imagine if a queen ant commanded all her ants to devour a person. Those ants would not falter; they would complete their mission even at the cost of countless lives.
The leading monster stared at us for a long time. It was impossible to discern its expression, nor did I know what it intended to do.
Just as it raised its hand, a series of gunshots, "Bang! Bang! Bang!", startled me.
Yang Hanxue had acted first, firing several shots at the leader!
I must say, Yang Hanxue's aim was remarkably accurate. Nearly every shot struck the leader's head.
Yet, to everyone's surprise, after being hit by so many bullets, the creature merely shook its head and did not fall.
It raised its hand, placed it on its head, and literally dug out the bullets lodged in its skull!
The moment the bullets fell to the ground, green fluid seeped from its head.
"Roar!!"
With a furious roar, all the monsters instantly charged towards us!
Yang Hanxue raised his gun and fired a few more shots, quickly depleting his ammunition!
Cornered, we had no choice but to rush down the steps, huddling together before the stone pedestal.
"What are these things?" Wang Yang asked.
"I don't know... they look a bit like lizardmen," I replied.
"Damn it, we're done for this time!" Wang Yang cursed.
Just as I prepared myself for battle, the monsters did not charge at us. Instead, they milled about on the steps.
"What are they doing?" Wang Yang asked.
Yang Hanxue surveyed the surroundings, seeming to have an idea, and said, "These things probably won't dare to come down."
"Won't dare to come down?" I was a bit puzzled, as there was nothing unusual around.
The leader cautiously approached the edge of the steps, appearing uneasy and letting out repeated roars.
I watched as it attempted to step down, but each time it lifted its foot, it reflexively pulled it back.
It was as if there was some kind of barrier on the steps.
This put me at ease.
If so many monsters had truly charged at us, it would have been disastrous.
"They really won't come down!" Wang Yang exclaimed, a mischievous glint in his eyes.
He took off his diving goggles, then slowly walked up the steps. When he was less than a meter away from the monster, he directly flung his goggles at it.
I was stunned!
"You better come back!" I shouted.
He paid me no mind, seemingly relishing his prank.
I couldn't help but laugh and cry, watching the monster stomp its feet in anger.
"Roar!"
The monster roared and retreated, and soon all the monsters withdrew back into the passage.
Seeing this, Song Bing retrieved his Nepalese knife and sheathed it back onto his belt.
With all the monsters gone, we finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The temperature in the stone chamber had become quite warm. Wearing my diving suit, I felt sweat accumulating inside, making me incredibly uncomfortable.
Yang Hanxue resumed his search for the key. I couldn't fathom how he knew the key was definitely hidden within the walls.
Song Bing returned to my side, looked up at Yang Hanxue, and asked, "What is he doing?"
"Looking for the key. Head Yang said that to open this stone pedestal, we must find the key," I replied.
Song Bing looked puzzled and glanced at the stone pedestal.
After about ten minutes, Yang Hanxue had felt nearly every inch of the surrounding stone walls but found nothing.
Wang Yang lit a cigarette and sat nearby, staring at the stone pedestal, lost in thought.
Seeing everyone occupied with their own thoughts, I simply sat on the steps to rest.
For some reason, I had a feeling that Wang Yang's objective was the same as Yang Hanxue's: to open the stone pedestal.
What exactly was inside this stone pedestal?
"Found it!" Yang Hanxue's voice echoed clearly in the stone chamber.
He pulled out a leather bag from a crack in the wall.
Honestly, I was dumbfounded when I saw the leather bag.
How could there possibly be a leather bag here?
Before I could express my astonishment, he took out a golden lock from the bag!
This golden lock was here?!
I could say with one hundred percent certainty that the golden lock in Yang Hanxue's hand was the very same one Sister Ying had bought at the Guangling auction!
Because the design and appearance were identical!
Could it be that Sister Ying had also been here?
As this thought crossed my mind, I became even more confused.
If Sister Ying had been here, why didn't she take what she wanted herself?
Why did she send Yang Hanxue instead?
And if Sister Ying had been here, why was Yang Hanxue still searching for jade?
Wouldn't Sister Ying have simply told him the location?
Before I could ponder further, the stone chamber suddenly began to shake, trembling violently as if an earthquake had struck.
I quickly held onto the steps, steadying myself.
"What's happening? Is this place going to collapse?" Wang Yang exclaimed.
Yang Hanxue said, "It must be the stone turtle starting to move..."
Hearing him say that, I suddenly remembered that the stone turtle hadn't been here before. We had found this place by searching for jade.
"Is this giant turtle alive?" Wang Yang asked.
Yang Hanxue explained, "The stone turtle contains air, which gives it buoyancy. When it encounters ocean currents, it moves."
At first glance, it seemed plausible, but upon closer thought, achieving such a feat with just buoyancy seemed unlikely.
"We can't delay any longer. If our oxygen runs out, we'll all die here!" Yang Hanxue said with a grave expression.
With that, he quickly rushed down and knelt before the square stone pedestal, examining it.
He seemed to be looking for a keyhole.