Start with push-ups to gain experience

Click.

The military boots pounded on the damp, rotting layer of fallen leaves, squeezing out a sticky, brownish liquid.

The primeval forest deep in the Western Hills was now completely shrouded in darkness.

The grayish-white mist, like a living thing, sprouted from the uneven ground, climbed up the bushes, and enveloped the surrounding tree canopy layer by layer.

A hundred meters ahead, the faint sounds of a large number of examinees pushing and running could be heard, along with occasional off-key exclamations.

Following them, three people deliberately slowed down, seemingly uninterested in competing for rankings.

Fang Cheng put his hands in the pockets of his training uniform and walked with steady, unhurried steps.

He raised his eyes, glanced at the swirling mist in front of him, and turned his head to say:
"Just keep this distance. I told you before we set off not to be impatient for quick results."

"It's good to have the hundreds of people ahead of us clear the way. If we encounter any danger, we'll have a buffer to deal with it."

"I know, I know, let's proceed steadily."

Ma Dong-hyuk nodded repeatedly, agreeing very readily.

However, at this moment, he looked somewhat comical.

The burly man, weighing over 200 pounds, hunched his neck and broad shoulders, his right hand tightly gripping a flashlight.

The bright beam of light swept across the bushes on both sides, like a dormitory supervisor checking rooms in the middle of the night but afraid of encountering a ghost.

Hou Peng, walking on the right, was in a completely different state.

When this thin young man took a step, he always lowered his center of gravity, landing on his toes first, and then slowly transitioning to his heels.

If I had to describe it in one word, it would be "to land without a sound".

Moreover, he would habitually pause for half a second every ten or so steps.

Then he turned his protruding ears to catch the sounds around him, his eyes quickly scanning the front and back, and sweeping over the crisscrossing tree canopy above his head.

This set of skillful jungle reconnaissance maneuvers doesn't seem like a regular subject that can be learned in a police academy; it reveals more of the seasoned experience of someone who came from a self-taught background.

The three trailed far behind the main group, following the messy footprints on the ground.

The fog around us grew thicker and thicker, almost condensing into water droplets on our eyebrows.

Occasionally, the cooing of owls could be heard.

Walking through this fog-shrouded forest, one always feels as if something in the darkness is watching them.

Click!

Hou Peng suddenly stopped, his military boots making a crisp sound as they crunched on the fallen leaves.

He turned around abruptly and flipped his wrist.

The standard-issue short knife was already held upside down in his palm, the blade pointing directly at a thick metasequoia tree behind him that would take three people to encircle.

Who's there?

Hou Peng asked in a low voice.

however.

Apart from the rustling of leaves in the wind, there was no response.

In the dim light, only a blurry black shadow appeared beside the trunk of the dawn redwood tree, twisting and moving with the mist.

"Damn it, they're just playing tricks!"

Ma Dong-hyuk swallowed hard, cursing under his breath to bolster his courage.

He then bent down, dug a fist-sized rock out of the mud, swung his arm, and smashed it hard at the dark figure.

"boom!"

A stone hit the tree trunk, breaking off a piece of old bark covered in moss.

It also stirred up a gust of air, scattering the surrounding mist in all directions.

But apart from a few tangled withered vines, there wasn't a soul in sight.

Seeing this, Ma Donghe drew his dagger, strode forward, and peered carefully behind the tree.

It was still completely empty.

"This is fucking bizarre..."

He muttered as he put away the dagger.

call--

A gust of cold wind swept in close to the ground, whistling and seeping straight in along the hem of the training uniform.

"I go!"

Ma Donghe shivered, then quickly tucked the flashlight under his arm, crossed his arms over his chest, and vigorously rubbed the goosebumps on his arms.

"Damn it, this place is as cold as a morgue, it's freezing my bones hurt."

Hou Peng, standing next to him, was as thin as a stick, but he only tightened his collar and didn't even shiver.

His resistance to cold is clearly far greater than that of Ma Dong-hyuk, who is as strong as an ox.

However, he also looked puzzled and turned to look at Fang Cheng:
"Brother Fang, this temperature drop is too strange. Even the water droplets on the leaves are almost frozen."

Keep in mind, it's early summer now.

Even though Xishan has a high altitude and a large temperature difference between day and night, it is only slightly cool at night.

It should never be as cold as a drafty icebox.

Fang Cheng extended his right hand, opened his palm, felt the resistance of the mist passing through his fingers, and calmly spoke:
"It's not that the temperature is dropping too fast, it's that the fog is continuously drawing heat away from our bodies."

Ma Donghe nodded as if he understood, and immediately urged:
"Then let's hurry up and move around so we won't be cold."

Hou Peng tucked the dagger back into his waistband and echoed:
"Yes, it's best to get out of this foggy area before you lose too much body heat."

The three of them continued deeper into the dense forest, their feet sinking into the damp mud.

However, as they progressed, the environment became increasingly harsh.

The deep night sky intertwined with the gray-white fog, compressing visibility to its absolute limit.

The high-lumen beam of a tactical flashlight, when fired, feels like it's hitting a solid white wall.

The light spot was severely scattered, leaving only a hazy, chaotic area a few steps away.

Even though Fang Cheng's senses far surpassed those of ordinary people, his vision was still greatly impaired under the dual suppression of this strange magnetic field fluctuation and dense fog.

He stopped, closed his eyes, and activated the true fire of the sun in his inner world.

When he opened his eyes again, two golden flames suddenly ignited deep within his pupils.

The white fog in front of them instantly became thin and transparent, and the terrain within about a hundred meters ahead, and even the texture of the bark on the dead trees, finally came into clear view.

However, looking further into the distance, all that could be seen was a chaotic mix of gray and white.

Compared to the outside world, their perspective is still severely limited.

This shows that the fog is extraordinary.

Fang Cheng started walking again, his gaze sweeping over his two companions.

Hou Peng also seems to be hiding some kind of trump card.

He squinted, his prominent ears twitching constantly.

Relying solely on the subtle echoes of sound waves and the perception of airflow, one can walk as if on flat ground through a forest full of potholes.

The only one who suffered was Ma Dong-hyuk.

This man, who was as strong as a bear, had now truly become a "blind bear" through and through.

He waved his flashlight haphazardly with one hand, the beam drawing messy circles in the air, while his other hand gripped Fang Cheng's training uniform sleeve tightly, his steps hurried and fragmented.

"Acheng, slow down, slow down. Is there a pothole ahead? My shoes are slipping..."

Its massive body clung tightly to Fang Cheng's side, swaying as it walked.

His timid and hesitant demeanor is a stark contrast to his boastful attitude not long ago, when he claimed he would catch a bear in the mountains and roast it for dinner.

"Wait, something's coming!"

As he was walking, Fang Cheng suddenly uttered two words and abruptly stopped.

Upon hearing this, Ma Donghe immediately stopped in his tracks as if he had stepped on the brakes.

Hou Peng turned his head in confusion, following Fang Cheng's gaze towards the area shrouded in thick fog.

One second, two seconds... five seconds.

The two waited nervously for a long time.

Just as Ma Donghe swallowed hard, preparing to ask if he had misjudged again, the wind suddenly shifted.

An extremely strong stench of decay, as if tangible, tore through the thick fog ahead and assaulted our senses.

"boom!"

The bushes in front were violently broken.

A massive black shadow, larger than an off-road vehicle, charged out with a gait that shook the very earth.

It was a mutated wild boar of terrifying size.

Its body was covered with coarse, stiff black hairs like steel needles, and its two spear-like fangs were covered with foul-smelling slime. Its scarlet eyes revealed a bloodthirsty madness that had lost its mind.

Ma Donghe stared wide-eyed, frozen in place.

Hou Peng cried out "Watch out!" and retreated repeatedly with his dagger, nearly tripping over a tree root.

Just as the wild boar's massive body was about to crush them...

Fang Cheng made a move.

He took half a step forward, his military boots crushing a stone to dust.

At the same time, he took a deep breath, and the muscles in his waist and back tightened instantly like steel cables, causing his spine to jerk violently.

There are no unnecessary moves.

With a piercing shriek as his right arm tore through the air, he slammed his fist down on the boar's charging head.

Bang!
A deafening roar, dull to the extreme, exploded through the forest, the shockwave scattering the surrounding dead leaves.

A terrifying burst of kinetic energy erupted instantly.

The wild boar's multi-ton charge came to an abrupt halt.

Immediately afterwards, it took off at an even faster speed than when it arrived.

Where did we come from, and where are we going back to?

Its massive body smashed through three pine trees as thick as bowls before crashing heavily into the mud.

Looking again, the enormous pig's head had been completely shattered like a watermelon hit by a heavy artillery shell, with red and white splattered all over the ground.

"Too bloody—"

Ma Donghe and Hou Peng stared wide-eyed, and the same thought simultaneously popped into their minds.

Fang Cheng calmly withdrew his right hand.

His entire fist and forearm were now glowing red like a branding iron.

The blood and bits of flesh that clung to the skin were instantly evaporated by the terrifying heat, emitting wisps of white smoke.

In the blink of an eye, the hand was clean again.

"Ah, Ah Cheng... is there a miniature bomb inside your fist?"

Ma Donghe stammered, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets.

Hou Peng gave a thumbs up, his voice trembling:

"Brother Fang, you're a complete humanoid Tyrannosaurus Rex! I've really seen something new today!"

Fang Cheng smiled slightly and casually flicked his wrist:
“I used to practice boxing more diligently, but this beast only knows how to charge in blindly. It just so happened that he hit a vital spot.”

Hou Peng clearly didn't take this humble remark to heart.

With the danger over, Ma Donghe immediately ran to the headless boar carcass, nudged its thick hind leg with his toe, and his eyes gleamed:

"Wow, this is top-quality food! The mutated wild boar roams the mountains all year round, so its meat is firm and very chewy."

"Acheng, look! This thigh meat is perfect for slicing and grilling over charcoal. It'll definitely sizzle and drip with oil. And if we could find a pot to stew that spare rib, the broth would be absolutely delicious!"

Fang Cheng listened and nodded to himself.

The hero sees the same.

Although Ma Dong-hyuk loves to boast, he and I actually have a lot in common when it comes to cooking.

"Brother Ma, are you crazy?"

Hou Peng cautiously approached, his face full of disgust, and said:

"This is a contaminated mutant creature. Who knows if it carries a deadly virus? One bite and it'll kill you."

Ma Dong-hyuk curled his lip in disdain:
"What's there to be afraid of! No matter how powerful a virus is, if you put it on a fire and roast it until it's charred on the outside and tender on the inside, what can it do to cause trouble?"

"you do not know."

Hou Peng shook his head and patiently explained:
"Some viruses from outer space are extremely heat-resistant, and the temperature of a barbecue is simply not enough to kill them."

The two stood beside the pool of blood, arguing back and forth.

Fang Cheng ignored them, his eyes fixed on the wild boar, golden light flickering slightly in his pupils.

He could clearly sense that the beast meat contained a frenzied yet abundant life energy.

"Dong-hyuk, cut off the wild boar thigh meat, we'll take it with us."

Fang Cheng suddenly spoke up.

"okay!"

Seeing that his suggestion had been adopted, Ma Donghe beamed with joy.

He then pulled out a military dagger and, relying on his strength, quickly severed both thighs.

He picked out the biggest one and carried it on his shoulder, then casually tossed the slightly smaller front leg to Hou Peng.

"Here you go. If you're worried about food poisoning, don't eat it after it's cooked."

Hou Peng held the pig leg, which weighed at least fifty pounds and was still dripping blood. His thin body swayed, and he was on the verge of tears.

I'm just about to blurt out what I really did wrong. Not only did I have to carry a 20-kilogram pack, but I also had to carry pork legs for you guys...

Ma Dong-hyuk hummed in satisfaction.

Just as the two were joking around, Fang Cheng's brows furrowed slightly.

He discovered a very unusual phenomenon.

It was too quiet all around.

Even though they deliberately walked at the back, just a few minutes ago, the chaotic footsteps and shouts of a large number of candidates could still be faintly heard ahead.

But as time went on, those sounds became fainter and fainter.

Until this moment, it was as if I had disappeared into another world, and I could not hear anything.

This eerie, thick fog not only obscures vision but also seems to block the transmission of sound.

"Tie the meat to your pack bags, we need to catch up with the main force as soon as possible."

Fang Cheng spoke up to remind him.

Ma Donghe quickly tied the pig's leg with nylon rope.

He looked up and scanned his surroundings, his expression suddenly changing, and he exclaimed in shock:

"Acheng, where are the road signs? Why are all the reflective markers on the trees gone?"

Fang Cheng remained calm, closing his eyes and focusing intently on sensing the changes in the surrounding airflow and all the subtle sounds.

"At the nine o'clock position!"

Hou Peng's prominent ears twitched twice as he spoke first:

"I heard a bell ringing, let's follow the sound."

Clearly, he had just used some kind of special ability.

Fang Cheng nodded slightly upon hearing this, regaining his composure.

The three immediately changed direction and continued to grope their way through the thick fog, advancing for about several hundred meters.

Finally, on the branch of a towering tree, they saw the brass bell swaying in the wind.

But in the pile of fallen leaves beneath the bell lay a corpse dressed in camouflage and covered in blood.

Ma Donghe was startled and instinctively gripped the dagger tighter:
"Have we encountered another mutated beast?"

Fang Cheng stepped forward and half-squatted beside the corpse.

He didn't move the other person, but merely glanced at the exposed neck and chest.

Then, his eyes flickered slightly, and he said in a deep voice:
"It wasn't a wild animal; it was a human ambush." ​​(End of Chapter)