Once he had this thought, as Xia Chuan reflected on all the previous events, he felt that many things could now be explained. It's just that he still wasn't clear on what the nature of these limited fragments was? And how were they produced? If they didn't go out and stayed in such fragments, what would be the consequences?

He briefly shared these thoughts with Shen Lan and the others. Before the other two could react, Dennis slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "Right! You think so too? Actually, when we were at the previous place, in that cave, do you remember? Professor Linton had discussed this topic with me before. He had proposed similar ideas, but he was a bit vague and not this clear. Maybe it's because at that time, the strangeness wasn't so obvious."

"Oh?" Xia Chuan responded, "The professor also thinks so? What else did he say?"

Dennis shook his head, "Nothing more, he just mentioned it in passing. At that time, getting out was the top priority. We didn't have the mind to think about more things, so we didn't take it to heart. Besides, after he said a few sentences, he ended up muttering over and over again that we had to find a way out and couldn't stay there for long, otherwise the consequences would be too dire. It made no difference whether he said this or not. At that time, with the situation outside, anyone knew that the consequences of not escaping from that world would be dire. Right?"

Xia Chuan thought for a moment and said lightly, "What if what the professor repeatedly said also applies to now?"

"You mean, if we don't find an exit and go out, and keep staying here, the consequences will also be dire?" After saying this, Dennis raised his hand and drew a circle around, saying, "I'm not trying to be discouraging. I'm just saying, if we're really unlucky and can never find an exit, living here actually isn't a big problem, right? It's just that life is a bit primitive, development is a bit difficult, there are a few more dangers, medical standards are a bit worse, the chances of dying are a bit higher, but there's nothing else..."

Laura looked at him with a look that was hard to describe, "...With this long list of 'nothing else', then what would you call 'something'?"

Dennis was about to say "compared to the previous kind of disaster, this is simply child's play", but when he thought of the previous situations where his wild ideas came true, he immediately put the brakes on, suppressed these suicidal words again, and quickly changed his approach, "What I mean is, if we really can't get out, living here with them for a few decades and then dying of old age normally isn't a bad thing."

After he said this, everyone fell silent for a few seconds, all briefly imagining that scenario in their minds. Indeed, compared to death, this outcome wasn't too bad. It's just...

After a moment of hesitation, Laura looked at him, "Hmm... I'm thinking, if this is just a fragment, why does it exist in this form and not something else? I mean... for it to exist, it must have its own uniqueness. Although there are quite a few random things in this world, I'm more inclined to believe that the existence of most things has a certain regularity. Do you think this world has anything in common with the previous one?"

Xia Chuan nodded, "I was just about to say this."

"If these commonalities are things that don't matter much, then so be it. But what if they are related to survival and life?" Laura added.

Dennis' face turned a shade of green. If the commonalities were aspects related to survival and life, then...

While these three were discussing, Shen Lan, who was at the side, didn't speak the whole time. His gaze had only one focus throughout - on Xia Chuan. Whether it was Xia Chuan speaking or the other two talking, his eyes, as beautiful as the sea, didn't move at all.

At first, Xia Chuan didn't pay much attention, but it became a bit hard to ignore after being stared at for so long. His eyes moved slightly and he glanced at Shen Lan. As a result, he saw that Shen Lan's eyes were a bit unfocused, seeming to stare at one spot without moving, but in fact, there was no real focus at all.

Being stared at like this was really a bit uncomfortable. Xia Chuan took advantage of the pause when Laura finished speaking, lowered his head and looked at his own waist following Shen Lan's gaze, and said, "What? Is there something on me?"

With this movement, Shen Lan's attention was pulled back. He raised his eyes and said, "Oh, no, just finding a spot to space out."

Xia Chuan: "..."

He had actually seen Shen Lan space out before. To be precise, Shen Lan's behavior had always been very straightforward.

When he was interested in listening or looking at something, he always seemed particularly focused and sincere. When he had no interest in paying attention to something, he would fold his arms and let his mind wander, showing no intention of participating in the topic at all.

It's just that in the past, Shen Lan would space out without staring at people.

He had survived in the dinosaur world for too many years and had become more than half wild inside and out. He always felt that looking at mountains, water, and food was more interesting than looking at people. People were really a bit boring.

But Xia Chuan was an exception to him. His interest in Xia Chuan had never been low since the first day they met, and traveling together not only did not reduce this interest, but as they had more and more contact, this interest became stronger and stronger. His expression of this was equally straightforward - wanting to tease Xia Chuan to say a few more words, wanting to get closer to Xia Chuan.

This kind of interest and bias originally stemmed from having a similar aura. Later, it was because Xia Chuan seemed particularly special among the crowd. And later... he himself couldn't give a reason.

It's just that such feelings and thoughts were like floating on the water surface, moving with a touch, unable to be grasped, unable to sink, unable to be swept away, without a real landing point to anchor them. Until last night... he suddenly found an outlet. The water at the bottom drained out through the outlet, and what was floating on the water surface could then land.

He didn't have any delicate thoughts to ponder those bits and pieces, only feeling that when kissing Xia Chuan and having their bodies close together, that unanchored feeling suddenly had a place to settle, making him instantly feel at ease, as if something was burning from his heart all the way to his fingertips, wrapping his whole body in a warm heat, feeling extremely comfortable.

He enjoyed this feeling, so much so that after a night passed, he still couldn't help but recall it a couple of times while spacing out.

However, Xia Chuan didn't give him a chance to continue spacing out, but casually asked, "What do you think?"

Shen Lan said decisively, "What was said later? I wasn't listening."

The other three: "..."

Xia Chuan: "So where did you hear up to?"

Shen Lan replied: "The chances of dying are a bit higher."

Xia Chuan: "..."

Seeing Xia Chuan's somewhat speechless expression, he thought for a moment and added: "I only have one question."

"What question?"

Shen Lan pondered and said: "That Professor Linton you mentioned, he's the old man who's temporarily away, right? Don't you think there's something strange about him?"

Dennis was taken aback: "What's strange?"

"Can't put my finger on it." Shen Lan answered.

Xia Chuan's eyes flickered, his brows furrowing slightly. He knew that Shen Lan had always been blunt, sometimes this bluntness would make him seem a bit dull-witted, but in fact he wasn't stupid. Even his intuition was sometimes more accurate than the conclusions others painstakingly analyzed for a long time.

Shen Lan lowered his eyes and thought for a while. Just as he was about to open his mouth to continue explaining, he heard a sudden commotion outside.