"Boom!"

It happened in an instant. A tremendous impact resounded from inside the exit of the tunnel we had just escaped through, as if some colossal creature had slammed into the stone wall. I felt the entire mountain tremble.

"Crash—bang—"

Immediately afterward, the sound of the ocean waves from inside the exit surged like a stampede of thousands of horses crashing against the stone wall, creating an earth-shattering roar.

It was as if someone was constantly striking a singing bowl next to my ear, triggering tinnitus.

"Buzz...buzz...buzz...buzz...buzz..."

My ears were filled with this buzzing sound, and I couldn't hear anything else.

I got up from the ground and looked towards the exit we had just escaped from. The opening was pitch black, and I couldn't see anything inside.

No creatures emerged from the hole, and no red liquid flowed out. The exit seemed to be a barrier, sealing everything in the corridor within that space.

"Buzzing...buzzing...buzz..."

My tinnitus persisted.

At that moment, Fatty nudged me and chattered away, but I couldn't hear a thing.

I opened my mouth and said to Fatty, "I have tinnitus; I can't hear what you're saying."

Without a word, Fatty raised his arm and slapped me twice across the face.

"Buzz...buzz...buzz...buzz...Is your tinnitus still there?"

After a brief buzzing, I heard Fatty's voice.

"You son of a bitch…"

Although I was unhappy with Fatty's actions, his crude method miraculously cured my tinnitus. Seeing that I was a little dazed from the slaps and not paying attention to him, Fatty assumed it hadn't worked and raised his arm again, preparing to slap me across the face once more.

Seeing a hint of settling old scores in Fatty's actions, I quickly stopped him, "Okay, okay, stop hitting me. I can hear you now." I picked at my ears and asked Fatty, "You seem anxious. What's wrong? What happened?"

Fatty pointed to a dark corner with a mysterious and cautious expression, "There seems to be a figure in that corner."

"A figure?"

With Fatty's support, I hurriedly stood up and peered cautiously in the direction Fatty was pointing.

"I don't see any figure. Are you sure there's someone there?"

I knew Fatty's eyesight was excellent, but I was still skeptical.

Fatty pulled Dodger in front of me and said, "Dodger also saw something there. If you don't believe me, ask him."

Although Dodger's eyesight wasn't as good as Fatty's, it had been honed by constant setbacks and was far better than mine, a science and engineering student who had always buried himself in books.

Dodger said, "There does seem to be something there, but I can't be sure if it's a person."

"Alright, let's not waste any time. Let's just go over there and take a look. If there's danger, we'll run." Fatty suggested.

The only light source here was the scattered, faint green glow emitted from the rock ceiling three meters above us.

Using the faint light, I observed the surroundings. It was dark all around, making it difficult to determine the structure of the place we were in.

I sighed, "Run? Where can we run to?"

We really didn't know the surrounding environment.

Fatty fell silent. He didn't know what to do if we encountered danger either.

However, that figure was still a hidden danger. If it really was a person, ignoring their presence would definitely lead to trouble, and we might even lose our lives.

I finally agreed with Fatty's idea and decided to go take a look.

So, I had Fatty lead the way, with Dodger and me following closely behind. Rou Yi and Jennifer, afraid of getting lost in the darkness if Fatty, Dodger, and I went too far ahead, also followed us, maintaining a distance of about two meters.

As we moved forward, Fatty was the first to make out the general outline of the figure. He muttered softly, "Damn! Master! That really is a person, sitting cross-legged on the ground."

We didn't stop there but continued to slowly approach the figure.

After another four or five meters, Fatty suddenly grabbed me, his voice trembling as he said, "Mas...Master, there seems to be someone...behind him."