Crack!

No projectile was visible, only the snap of the rubber band — and Pan Xiaoxin, far below, lurched as if struck, his body tilting and tumbling down the towering stone steps!

From that height, a fall like this could kill or cripple!

Fortunately, Pan Xiaoxin was quick-witted enough. After rolling down several steps, he caught the edge of a step with both hands and steadied himself.

Pan Xiaoxin pressed his lips together tightly and stared up at the men above.

“Huh… not even injured?” Daniel lowered the slingshot. “This kid must have some kind of protective item on him. Anyone else hit by my slingshot would be howling in pain.”

Bruce frowned. “He’s just a child… and don’t forget the rules. No killing. Maybe hostile attacks are also penalized as a violation — there’s no need to take that risk.”

“Relax,” Daniel cut him off confidently. “My slingshot only causes pain. It doesn’t leave any wounds.”

He raised the slingshot again, apparently wanting to fire another shot.

“That’s enough,” Miutte said, unable to conceal his distaste. “Going after a child — aren’t you embarrassed?”

Daniel’s eyes went wide. “What are you talking about? I’m doing this for all of us! If he dies, we’ll have no competition left in this game!”

Miutte turned and kept climbing without caring. “Do whatever you want.”

Bruce was silent for a moment, then followed Miutte up.

Seeing both companions walk away, Daniel clicked his tongue in disgust and lost interest. He tucked the slingshot back in his bag and left Pan Xiaoxin alone.

The climb stretched on like an endurance battle.

Time passed second by second, and the sun seemed frozen in place, hovering directly overhead without moving.

In heat like this, they were soaked in sweat within minutes. Skin soaked through and then scorched by the relentless sun burned like fire.

When their bodies seemed near their limits, they began discarding nonessential items from their packs to lighten the load — and kept going.

Pushing on a while longer, they finally reached the middle section of the pyramid.

Here the steps were somewhat wider, and a few trees grew on either side. Their broad canopies cast wide patches of shade, their thick roots sunk deep into the cracks between stones — and no one could figure out how they’d grown so large with seemingly no water source at all.

“Hey, look at this,” Miutte said, pressing his entire body flat against the ground. “There’s more writing carved here.”

The other two crowded over. Cut into the stone was a single line:

【Lift up your head, bind your bones, gather your limbs, brush the dust from your shell.】

“What does that mean?” Daniel muttered.

“It looks like an inscription you’d find on a pyramid,” Bruce said. “Let’s note it down — it might be useful later.”

Miutte’s stamina was the lowest of the three. Having finally found a place to rest, he wasn’t eager to continue.

“Let’s rest a bit longer,” Miutte suggested. “We can move again when the sun isn’t as harsh. Otherwise it’s really too much — look, we’ve almost run out of water.”

Daniel leaned back against a protruding root and stretched out lazily. “Fine, let’s rest. This game has no time limit anyway.”

Bruce sat under the shade and eyed the merciless sun outside with some apprehension. After a moment’s thought, he said, “There’s something peculiar about this spot — it’s the only place on the entire pyramid where trees grow. Let’s use our rest time to look around. There may be something else to discover.”

The three reached an agreement and stayed beneath the shade.

Under the great trees it was quiet and cool, with an occasional breeze drifting through. After such a grueling physical effort, resting in a place like this made eyes grow heavy without realizing it.

How long they slept was unclear — maybe five minutes, maybe half an hour — but when Daniel opened his eyes, he felt his energy had returned.

He instinctively glanced downward and didn’t see Pan Xiaoxin. A flicker of suspicion stirred in his chest. He looked upward — and immediately cursed out loud.

“What the hell! Wake up, all of you! That little brat has gotten ahead of us!!!”

—