Everyone tidied up and followed Hawoer forward.
They entered a desert area with giant stone formations all around, dazzling the eyes. Hawoer led them into a narrow path. "Follow me, and keep your heads down. There will be sharp stones above; be careful not to hit your heads."
The group obeyed Hawoer's instructions. After about ten minutes, they finally emerged from the stone formations.
Hawoer was fumbling around on a large stone. Zhou Zhe curiously approached and asked A Wu, who had been silent, "What are they doing?"
A Wu glanced at him and replied, "Looking for the entrance."
"Entrance?"
"Yes, the Hellfire is underground. This place is a secret guarded by our tribe for generations. Only Hawoer's family knows how to get in."
It was clear that Zhou Zhe's understanding of Hellfire was likely limited to the information found on search engines before the apocalypse.
This was why, at the beginning, Qin Chuan had agreed to let Hawoer and his people lead, causing Zhou Zhe great confusion.
If the mutant's information were leaked, how would they explain it to these people afterward?
Xu An was fine, as she was a resident of the Lighthouse. But what if the other few insisted on staying with them, and Qin Chuan would absolutely not agree to bring these people back to the Lighthouse?
The outcome for these people would be predictable.
After receiving his answer, Zhou Zhe retreated to Qin Chuan's side and whispered, "Boss, you knew earlier, right? That the other one wasn't Hellfire?"
"Mhm."
"Then why didn't you tell me!"
"It was written in the资料; if you didn't read it, that's your fault?"
With that, Qin Chuan continued walking, leaving Zhou Zhe bewildered in the wind. Putting aside the fact that the doctor's provided资料 was entirely in English, except for the pictures, the thick stack of materials was estimated to be nearly a hundred pages.
Their captain... had actually read it all?!
As Xu An passed Zhou Zhe, she saw him standing there looking foolish and couldn't help but remind him, "Why are you standing here instead of catching up?"
Only then did Zhou Zhe quickly catch up.
As Xu An approached, Hawoer in front found the switch. He twisted a part of a large stone, and the sand on the ground poured down as if from an hourglass.
Then, a pit about ten meters wide appeared before everyone's eyes.
Xu An finally understood why Hawoer had not allowed her to go looking for Hellfire herself. Danger was secondary; without Hawoer, no one would likely know that Hellfire was hidden underground.
The group followed Hawoer down the passage. The ground was covered in a lot of yellow sand, and Xu An sank into it with every step, needing to exert effort to pull her feet out.
At this moment, an arm appeared beside her. The person said nothing, but Xu An inexplicably understood their meaning.
"You can hold onto me."
However, upon seeing the owner of the arm, Xu An instinctively chose to ignore it and walked past the arm.
Zhou Zhe, watching from the side, was amused but received a warning glance from Qin Chuan. Before he could even curl his lips into a smile, he sheepishly retracted it.
After passing through two passages, Xu An clearly felt that the air in this area was much hotter than outside.
Ana said to Hawoer, "Brother Ale, how much longer? I feel so hot."
"It should be soon. You feel the heat because we're getting close to the lava. Everyone be careful not to touch the walls with your hands; it can burn your skin."
Xu An also felt a hint of surprise. She hadn't truly felt anything when Hawoer was just talking about it, but now that she was experiencing it firsthand, she understood the "danger" Hawoer had described.
If Hawoer hadn't been leading the way and constantly reminding them, the people behind them, even if they didn't die, would have likely been injured.
Despite telling herself not to meddle and restraining herself, Xu An couldn't help but wonder.
The previous rabbit-headed monsters had luminescent mushrooms, so would there be any this time?
Could she seize the opportunity to pick some up? After all, luminescent mushrooms were rare finds; she had only encountered a few in over a year.
However, her spatial ability remained silent, giving her no hints, which made Xu An suspect she might be wrong.
"Later, you and Zhou Zhe figure out a way to lead everyone out. I'll proceed alone," Qin Chuan suddenly said softly, approaching Xu An from behind.
Xu An reacted instinctively, thrusting her elbow into Qin Chuan's chest. Qin Chuan blocked it with his hand, and in the confined space, she could even feel his breath on her head.
"Then why did you bring them in?" Xu An asked. Although she had been confused at first, she later understood that Qin Chuan likely knew about the existence of two Hellfires.
But, as Old Liu had said, how could it be such a coincidence that Qin Chuan knew Hawoer was the guide?
"Some things are better left unknown. You know that these people cannot follow 'us,' right!"
Xu An fell silent. She understood that Qin Chuan had deliberately emphasized "us." They shared a common secret—the Lighthouse.
Xu An wouldn't impolitely pry if Qin Chuan didn't say anything, but her hope of picking up some treasures was likely dashed.
"Does Zhou Zhe know your plan?"
"I'm telling him now."
Xu An looked at Qin Chuan's confident expression and thought he had a plan all along, only to realize it was a last-minute idea, leaving her speechless.
However, before Qin Chuan could tell Zhou Zhe his plan, an unforeseen event occurred.
Several monsters suddenly rushed out from a corner, lunging crazily at the group. They were small but incredibly fast. Before Hawoer could warn them, the monsters climbed the passage walls and lunged for Hawoer's neck.
Seeing this, Qin Chuan quickly drew his pistol from his waist and fired at the monster's abdomen.
Xu An stared at the small, kangaroo-like monster with a shiver. Its grayish-blue skin and fangs that reached its chin were anything but cute.
She saw Qin Chuan shoot the monster's abdomen and knew its weakness was likely there. But she couldn't warn them, so she mimicked Qin Chuan's actions, firing at the oncoming monsters.
As the first and second monsters fell, the ones behind seemed to have learned. Their learning ability was astonishing; after just a few exchanges, they could perfectly dodge 80% of the bullets.
Soon, some monsters broke through the front line and advanced towards Xu An.
Just as a monster lunged at Xu An with its fangs bared, she unhesitatingly drew her saber and swung it directly at the monster's head. To her surprise, the monster blocked the blow with its scale-covered arm.
Xu An's eyes narrowed fiercely, and she poured almost all her strength into her saber, hacking down at the monster's arm!
"Crack—"
A faint cracking sound was heard as Xu An cleanly severed the monster's arm. The gleaming blade split the monster's head in half, splattering black, unknown liquid.
Xu An let out a small "tsk," secretly lamenting, "Why aren't there any luminescent mushrooms?"