"Leave? Where are we going to go, young master? We're trapped here," Fatty said helplessly.

Of course, I knew the main door was completely blocked. If we wanted to get outside the palace, we'd have to dig a tunnel.

I pointed at the dark red pillar and said to Fatty, Rou Yi, and Jennifer, "Do you remember what happened at the pillar when we first arrived at the palace? All the red trees converged there, and after the mechanism was activated, the cyan stone platform carrying the two stone coffins descended from there... Later, that woman's head also hung down from the pillar, so..."

Fatty, hearing my analysis, excitedly interrupted me, "So, the original roof direction might have another way out! Ah, worthy of being a top student, young master, your deduction is reasonable!"

I nodded, indicating to Fatty that that was exactly what I meant. "There's no time to lose, let's get moving."

That woman, who had recovered half her body, was still wailing incessantly. I didn't want to stay here for a moment longer.

"There's likely to be danger at the pillar, stay alert and vigilant," I warned.

"Understood," Fatty, Rou Yi, and Jennifer said with serious expressions.

Fatty and I each grabbed a knife, and we led Rou Yi and Jennifer towards the pillar.

We had barely taken a few steps when a scream suddenly came from behind me.

"Aah—"

The shriek almost made Fatty and me trip.

I turned around to investigate the situation.

The sight that greeted me was shocking. The half-bodied woman hovering in the air had followed us, and one of her hands had grabbed Rou Yi's arm.

"Damn it, you old hag!" Fatty cursed as he charged forward with his knife. Without another word, he swung the blade at the hand gripping Rou Yi's arm.

As the knife fell, accompanied by a piercing scream, the woman's forearm was severed by Fatty's blade.

The woman retreated repeatedly.

I quickly pulled Rou Yi, dragging her forward.

While running, I glanced at Rou Yi's arm and noticed that the hand, still connected to a piece of forearm, was still tightly gripping her arm.

After driving the woman back, Fatty caught up. He was disgusted by the severed hand on Rou Yi's arm and removed it.

"Damn, how is this thing still moving even when it's severed? And it's got a strong grip!"

The severed hand that Fatty threw on the ground was indeed wriggling like a worm.

Hearing Fatty's comment, Rou Yi was even more frightened.

The moment I saw the severed hand, I caught sight of Dodge's corpse, which we had forgotten in the corner.

After Dodge died, we had encountered a series of events, so we hadn't paid attention to him. After the earthquake, we were preoccupied with our own safety and completely ignored him.

This sight made my heart sink.

A person who was clearly dead was now staring straight at us with his eyes wide open.

Moreover, his original slumped posture against the wall had changed. He was now sitting cross-legged, his back straight, and his arms hanging naturally at his sides.

This… This made my scalp crawl, my brain swell, and my forehead covered in dense beads of sweat.

How did Dodge become like this?

Dodge's posture was now exactly the same as the group of people we had seen sitting cross-legged earlier.

Countless questions and speculations flooded my mind once again.

Just as I was lost in thought, Rou Yi suddenly pulled me. "Let's go, young master!"

I was pulled back to the reality of the crisis. The howling sound swept over us again. Without delay, we had to run towards the pillar with everything we had.

As for Dodge's transformation, I decided to remain silent.

Dodge's death had already affected their mindset. If I told them about Dodge now, it would inevitably cause more trouble.

"Okay, let's go!"

We moved quickly, and soon left the howling half-body behind.

We quickly ran to the front of the pillar. Only then did I realize that the pillar was made of intertwined branches of all the red trees, as if multiple data cables were twisted together to form this luminous body.

Behind the pillar, a slightly darker line of light extended straight into the darkness.

I never imagined that the top of this palace would actually be a deep and unfathomable passage.

The further we went, the darker the passage became. The dark air was filled with a rotten smell.

The walls of the palace were covered with a thick layer of dust, as if no one had been here for a long time.

There was a deep silence here.

As we moved step by step deeper, suddenly, a muffled sound came from the deep passage. It seemed like something was making fear gradually well up inside us, making us feel terrified. For a moment, we didn't dare to go forward, and even had the urge to run away.