Under Qu Xiangyun's reminder, the more I looked at the figure, the more it resembled Professor Guff, even their height was similar.
Could it be that something in this underground palace could truly resurrect the dead?
This discovery made us all extremely nervous. Even Sivir, who had always been composed, couldn't help but change his expression.
"Are you sure Professor Guff truly died before your eyes?" Sivir asked Hathaway with utmost seriousness.
"Professor Guff is definitely dead! I saw with my own eyes how he was swallowed by the liquid inside the glazed coffin!" Hathaway cried out, completely stunned.
When we first met, we hadn't asked Hathaway in detail how Professor Guff had died. She had only vaguely said that he died in front of her, and glossed over the rest.
Now, it seemed that what happened in that room was far from simple!
Could the liquid in the glazed coffin, much like the beetles we encountered before that could parasitize corpses, control a person's body?!
Hearing Hathaway's explanation, a strange expression flickered across Sivir's face, as if he didn't believe her words.
It wasn't until much later, when Qu Xiangyun was chatting with me, that she mentioned Hathaway's behavior at the time was extremely abnormal and didn't fit her personality at all.
Hathaway must have been hiding something.
Even if Sivir didn't believe Hathaway's explanation, now was not the time for infighting.
Standing before us was Professor Guff, who was neither alive nor dead, and we had to pass him to proceed further.
"Professor Guff, is that you? Are you still alive?"
As we hesitated, Sivir shouted loudly towards the figure.
I instinctively placed my hand over the revolver at my waist.
If the figure showed any signs of aggression, I would be ready to fire immediately.
In this tense moment, the figure behind the stone, upon hearing Sivir's words, reacted in a way none of us expected.
Like a puppet controlled by an invisible hand, it slowly retreated into the darkness.
It gave us no response.
Seeing this, Qu Xiangyun became even more frightened.
"Is that Professor Guff?"
"Whether it is or not, it's unlikely to be human." Sivir, relieved, regained his composure.
Could there truly be ghosts in this world?
We were underground, and Sivir and his team were searching for some kind of nexus. Did this imply that the boundary between life and death was hidden beneath the earth?
And could Professor Guff, who should have been dead, have been resurrected after crossing that nexus?
Though I had always been a staunch atheist, witnessing this scene, I couldn't help but let my mind wander.
"Whatever it is, anything that dares to obstruct our path will be eliminated." Sivir's expression was cold.
Having determined that the figure was not alive, he directly pulled out his submachine gun and fired a burst towards it.
Perhaps the aim was off, or perhaps Professor Guff had already become a spirit. All we heard was the sound of bullets striking stone in the darkness.
There was no response.
The darkness seemed to conceal a man-eating monster, waiting for us to approach.
We cautiously continued forward, but after only a short distance, we saw the figure, resembling Professor Guff, standing not far ahead, seemingly waiting for us on purpose.
"This ghastly thing has appeared again. Is it deliberately leading us?" I stared intently at the figure, a sense of impending danger enveloping me.
"Regardless of whether this figure is human or ghost, we mustn't fall into its rhythm. If it wants us to go there, we won't. Qu Xiangyun, lead the way forward! Let's see what exactly it wants!" Sivir's face was expressionless; he had no desire to investigate the figure.
This was the mark of a competent team leader! My heart suddenly felt a surge of admiration for Sivir.
Our current situation reminded me of many horror movies I had watched. In those films, the protagonists, as if under a spell, were compelled to investigate strange occurrences. Such behavior, in my opinion, was suicidal.
As long as we ignored the figure, it would eventually reveal its true nature.
We continued forward, but this time, I stayed at the rear of the group, constantly watching the figure.
Perhaps seeing that we weren't falling for its ploy, the figure resembling Professor Guff began to follow us, getting closer and closer.
When it reached a certain distance, I could finally see its face clearly.
It was truly Professor Guff!
However, the Professor Guff before me was nothing like the one I remembered. I recalled him as kind-faced and amiable.
The Professor Guff now following us was covered in bloodstains, with a gaping hole in his face, through which maggots could be seen wriggling, making one feel like vomiting their lunch.
And, most horrifying of all.
This thing, neither human nor ghost, wore a twisted smile on its face. Its eyes gleamed with a greedy gaze, as if it wanted to devour us alive!