A few minutes before the true passage gate opened, in another mirrored passage, a student team attempting to return had already sensed that something was wrong.
It was the team led by the female knight Ailisha, along with the Child of Destiny Luo Qi, Matt, and the others.
Unlike Claire and Anvis's pair, they had not encountered any mutated paintings, but they likewise could not pass through the Space-Time Turbulence zone at the end of the passage.
After trying every method they could think of without success, they too could only choose to return the way they had come. Yet after walking for quite some time, they still had not seen the Stone Gate exit through which they had entered.
By now, they had left the area with the paintings and entered the narrow rocky passage they had come through.
Judging by the time they had spent walking, they had nearly covered twice the distance of their journey in, yet the passage ahead remained a pitch-black tunnel. The exit they should have reached long ago was nowhere to be seen.
Beyond the cold white glow of the magic lantern, there was only darkness.
The team's monotonous footsteps echoed through the narrow, cramped passage before gradually being swallowed by the darkness. No one spoke, and a faintly oppressive atmosphere quietly spread through the group.
"Captain Mengduoluo, everyone, have you noticed that this passage seems to have changed in length?"
Having noticed this, Luo Qi decisively spoke up, breaking the mood within the team.
"Did you discover something, Luo Qi?"
As soon as he spoke, the team immediately stopped. At the front left of the group, a tall, sturdy student with brown hair and red eyes, wearing light magic armor and holding a long Staff, looked over at him.
He was Mengduoluo,