# Chapter 2180: Someone Behind
As if unable to bear this mysterious and unsettling atmosphere any longer, that player shoved the hostage aside and used a prop to strike at the Goddess statue in the main hall. "Let me see what the Goddess really looks like!"
The Goddess statue was not knocked down because the players inside the temple blocked the attack. At the same time, several more players appeared around that outer zone player, used props to seal him off individually, then pushed him into the teleportation passage, following after him in quick succession. It seemed they were going to deal with him.
The player standing before the Goddess statue did not leave. He warned all the outer zone players, "If you want to see the Divine Envoy, you can only take the Inquiry Path. Either go in properly, or turn around and leave. Don't think about causing trouble inside the temple."
As he spoke, he lightly waved his hand, and a layer of transparent bubble-like objects emerged from the temple's floor and walls. These bubbles enveloped everything in the temple airtight, possessing a certain flexibility. Stepping on them allowed one to stay close to the ground, but they would quickly float up again once someone left. Moreover, as the bubbles expanded or flattened, the patterns carved into the floor and walls would distort, making them even harder on the eyes.
After warning the outer zone players, that temple player left, and normal order was restored inside the temple. However, the atmosphere had shifted slightly.
Before the hostage incident, even if players spoke rudely, the believers wouldn't take it too seriously. But after what just happened, these locals unanimously became wary of the outer zone players. This wariness wasn't born from fear—under normal circumstances, they should have been afraid and fled when trouble occurred. Yet not a single believer had run during the incident, and they still didn't now. Their vigilance contained a hostility that ignored the disparity in strength, as if they were willing to die generously if the outer zone players dared to act again.
Momentum was a very subtle thing, especially when the players weren't in the right. The united will of ordinary people only made their hearts seem more filthy and corrupt, and it was also a moral judgment that transcended strength.
Some would retreat because of this, some would become furious from humiliation, but facing an unshakable will, relying solely on strength often wouldn't achieve the goal.
Like the current situation, clearance players could certainly force the temple people to compromise by killing the hostage, but the problem was that the players' final stop was the Holy Land Temple, which counted as the last level. Although it was unclear how it differed from the satellite city's temple, the fact that there were more advanced players was true. They couldn't just protect their front and leave their rear exposed.
Some players lingered at the entrance for a long time before finally turning around and leaving. Others gritted their teeth and went in. But what exactly was inside? Even the believers who had entered many times had different accounts, with no unified standard. The stories were all over the place, making it impossible to know who was telling the truth and who was lying.
"I'll go in with you," Xu Huo said.
The yellow-haired man looked at him in surprise, paused, and lowered his voice to ask, "Did you notice something?"
"Don't be afraid," Ahai said. "I'll go in and take a look. If it's fine, I'll come out and tell you."
Unlike the players' anxiety, Ahai, who was entering the temple for the first time, was very excited and expectant.
"What?" Xu Huo smiled slightly. "What could it be? Don't overthink it. Maybe it's just an ordinary spiritual interference. Otherwise, why would it be called the Inquiry Hall and the Inquiry Path?"
Their conversation naturally couldn't escape the other players, but after hearing it, their expressions were identical to the yellow-haired man's:
"What do you mean by an ordinary spiritual interference?"
The yellow-haired man looked at the Inquiry Hall again. "Even standing outside, I feel it's gloomy inside. That might be an instance boss. Who knows what kind of thing... what kind of thing it is."
"Then I'll go in first. You wait for news," Xu Huo signaled Ahai to enter.
Not knowing which word in this sentence had stimulated him, the yellow-haired man grabbed his hair. "If you dare to go in, what do I have to fear! If we're going, we'll go together! If there's danger, I can give you a hand!"
The three of them entered a central corridor close together.
After only walking a few meters, Xu Huo felt that the two people behind him had completely disappeared. When he turned back, he didn't see a screen wall or passage, only a gray-black void, with no human voices or anything else.
When he turned forward again, the hall had also become an endless gray-black space. Around his wheelchair, there seemed to be barely some light, though the source was unclear. But he could see a few meters in front, behind, and to the sides. The slight sound of wheels rolling over the ground was similar to the most common asphalt road in District 014.
Xu Huo turned the wheels and moved forward. As the distance increased, the road seemed to become more realistic. However, in the absolute silence, the friction sounds of the wheels against the ground, the rubbing of fabric, as well as his heartbeat and breathing, gradually amplified, slowly replacing everything.
Focusing attention on one's own details brought the consequence of seconds feeling like years. Moreover, due to the uncertainty of the environment, one couldn't stop or find something else to relieve the mood. After a long time, only one thought remained: to get out quickly!
The speed of the wheelchair increased slightly.
After blurring the concept of time, it felt like a very, very long time had passed. Footsteps appeared behind Xu Huo. He instinctively stopped and turned around. There was no one, and the footsteps also stopped.
When he continued turning the wheelchair, the footsteps followed again, getting closer and closer to him.
The empty environment amplified the footsteps. At this moment, the sound of the wheelchair scraping the ground, sleeves rubbing against fabric, and even the heartbeat and breathing were forcibly suppressed. Xu Huo couldn't help but focus all his attention on listening to the sound behind him.
He felt the footsteps approach, then stop behind his wheelchair. Someone grabbed the handles of the wheelchair.
The feeling of someone behind him was very strong. Without turning around, he could imagine this person's height, build, and the strong presence of their hands and breathing after approaching... This person seemed more like a person, transforming from someone with only footsteps into someone with breath and strength.
A thought in his mind urged him to turn around and look.
Xu Huo also wanted to turn around and look, but when the wheelchair was grabbed, he stopped. Instinct made him suppress this risky thought, and then he continued moving forward.
The footsteps behind him became dragging, as if every step was scraping along the ground, producing an indescribably awkward sound. At the same time, this person's breathing grew closer and closer, as if it had reached the back of his head. The discomfort of airflow brushing against his skin caused a physiological shudder.
Not knowing what kind of thing was behind him, or whether it truly existed, Xu Huo didn't intend to turn around and verify. The wheelchair kept moving forward. After an unknown amount of time, a figure faintly appeared in the distance ahead.
The moment he saw the figure, he abruptly stopped, because in a more blurred position ahead of that figure, there seemed to be a wheelchair.