Mid-Chase, An Unexpected Change

His palm pressed against the sand, and the vibrations grew clearer and clearer.

They were neither hoofbeats nor footsteps, but a dull, rhythmic pounding, as if something were slowly crawling beneath the ground. Chen Wuya's brows tightened as Misaligned Force silently flowed to his ears and fingertips. The system suddenly reacted: [Detected movement signal from a non-flesh lifeform. Suspected mechanical linkage device activating.]

He abruptly raised his head.

The three vanguards ahead had already passed the high ground where he stood and were stepping onto a stretch of gray-white sand riddled with cracks. The fissures spread like a spiderweb, their edges stained with the dry, earthy color of parched soil—like ground that had not seen rain in ages, or a hardened shell scorched by fire.

"Stop! Fall back!" he shouted sharply.

But before his words had faded, the ground suddenly collapsed.

The layer of sand beneath the three men instantly gave way, and a deep pit opened its gaping maw, cold gleams flashing within—it was filled with barbed iron stakes, densely standing like a forest. Two of them had no time to react and plunged straight down, their screams cut abruptly short. The third barely managed to leap half a foot into the air, only for a sideways cable to coil around his ankle and drag him forcibly into the bottom of the pit, leaving only half a broken blade embedded at the edge.

"A trap!" Bai Zhi barked, her figure flashing forward.

But she had barely taken two steps when Chen Wuya seized her wrist. "Don't move! There's another move coming."

The instant he spoke, the rock wall to their left boomed. A massive boulder slid inward, revealing a hidden groove. Dozens of crossbow bolts shot out at once, their shrill whistling through the air piercing the ears. Their