Yixiong, Zhengyi, and Shanquan were already standing right in front of the wide-open door of the underground passage. They put bottles of drinking water and first aid kits in one corner of the room. As for the kerosene pressure lanterns, they would bring them into the underground passage. Yixiong and Zhengyi, besides carrying flashlights, each carried a kerosene pressure lantern, while Shanquan only carried a flashlight.

"Are you ready?" The question slipped out of Shanquan's mouth just before they entered the passage.

Yixiong and Zhengyi nodded quickly. Shanquan invited Zhengyi and Yixiong to step into the dark alley first. After the three passed through the door, Shanquan locked the door from inside the passage.

"Eh?" Yixiong exclaimed.

"I don't want anyone else going into the cellar under our backyard while we are exploring this passage."

Zhengyi and Yixiong nodded.

I'm sure the person who had been wandering around in this passageway must have gone a long way. But there's nothing wrong with being more careful.

Wasting no time, the three walked down the dark passage deeper. Zhengyi walked in the front. Shanquan was in the middle, and Yixiong was in the back. Slowly, they moved forward. A moment later, they came to a very sharp bend. The bend led to the right. Zhengyi carefully passed the bend. Shortly after disappearing behind the bend, Zhengyi reappeared in front of them.

"Nothing suspicious," said Zhengyi briefly.

How is it possible that Zhengyi could carefully examine the passage ahead in such a short time?

"Let's continue our journey." Shanquan smiled. He immediately stepped forward.

"Wait a minute!" Yixiong said in a low voice.

"What is it?" Shanquan, once again, stopped walking.

"Look at that!" Yixiong shone his flashlight at the wall of the hallway around the bend.

"Zhengyi! Let's stop here first." Shanquan's tone was unyielding. He also highlighted the wall there.

"What is it?" Zhengyi approached them.

"Didn't you see this earlier?" Yixiong pointed at the hallway wall.

Zhengyi looked very surprised to see the strange writings on the wall. "Sorry, Dahge, I was too focused on the front. So I didn't pay attention to the walls of this hallway."

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"It's okay," Shanquan said. "I didn't notice either. It's a good thing our Yixiong this time is sharp-eyed."

The three of them examined the scribbles on the wall carefully. For Yixiong, it was just doodles. But he was sure that Shanquan and Zhengyi would have a different opinion.

I hope they will not discuss this at length.

"What do you think?" Shanquan was still shining his flashlight at the wall.

"I do not know." Zhengyi shook his head. "I've never seen anything like it."

"I know that you must be very eager to research this. But, this time, we have something else to do," Shanquan said.

Zhengyi nodded. "I understand."

"Let's continue our journey again." Shanquan gave the command.

They all passed from the bend. After that, they encountered a winding passage. Yixiong, who was the last to walk, tried to estimate the distance they were then, from the underground room in their backyard.

"How far have we walked?" Yixiong finally asked after his head heated because he wasn't sure of his own ability to make guesstimates.

"According to my calculations, we've walked about two hundred and fifty to three hundred meters since departing from the dungeon earlier. But because this passage is so winding, I don't really know how far this place is from that room." Zhengyi's voice sounded so sure.

Shanquan, who was walking behind Zhengyi, said nothing. The three of them continued walking with great vigilance.

"Stop!" Zhengyi suddenly shouted loudly. He stopped walking.

"What is it?" Yixiong was worried that they would have to face an obstacle so quickly.

"The passage in front of us is a little wider than the one we've been through." Zhengyi's tone sounds a little different from before.

Ah! It's not a big problem. Why does Zhengyi sound so worried?

Shanquan stepped forward. Now he was standing in front of Zhengyi. He shone his flashlight around the place.

"Dahge! Is everything safe?" Yixiong couldn't help but be curious.

"This is the confluence of two passages," said Shanquan. "So, if we walk from the direction of the wider hallway, then we encounter a branching passage. The one to the right leads to a dungeon in our backyard. While the one to the left leads to an unknown place. Which one we should check? The one that forks to the left or the slightly wider passage?"

"I think the left branch of the passage leads to the dungeon in someone else's backyard. Probably this wider passage leading to the exit." Yixiong was very excited when he said those words.

"I agree with Shyongge," Zhengyi said. "I think we should check these two passages. But right now, our priority is to find a way out. This wider passage makes more sense."

"Alright, let's explore this wider passage," said Shanquan.

The three of them walked down the wider passage. Their position was the same as before. Zhengyi, who quickly moved forward, was now back at the forefront. Shanquan was in the middle. Yixiong was still walking behind.

Unlike the previous passage, the passage they were going through didn't have many turns, and the distance was relatively short. About a hundred meters from the fork, they had arrived at the end. Cautiously, Zhengyi stopped at the end of the passage. Shanquan once again got ahead of Zhengyi. He walked into the room at the end of the passage.

The room behind the end of the passage was large. Wider than the dungeon in their backyard. Since it was spacious, it might be more appropriate if they called the room a hall.

The hall was in the shape of a hexagon. On each side was a door leading to another passage. The door was just an empty hole. There were no doors that separated the hall from the passages behind. So, a total of six doors in the hall.