I started with a portal, then turned around and handed it over to the nation.

"Keep up."

After saying that, he stopped looking at anyone, lowered his body, and like a slippery eel, disappeared into the densest thicket of bushes in front of him, where even light couldn't penetrate.

The figure vanished into the darkness in the blink of an eye.

Without hesitation, Long Fei growled into his headset, "Follow him! Everyone follow!!"

The special forces soldiers immediately adjusted their direction and, one after another, followed the trajectory where Ryan had disappeared, filed in.

Once inside, everyone understood why Renn could move freely in the forest.

The path he chose was not the right one at all.

Paths trodden by wild animals, crevices between tree roots and rocks, and webs of vines that require bending over or even crawling to pass through.

The soldiers struggled to move forward in this environment, carrying heavy equipment. Their tactical vests were constantly snagged on protruding branches, making a sizzling sound, and the slippery moss underfoot caused several of them to slip and fall.

But no one said a word.

If you fall, get up immediately and grit your teeth to keep going.

Renn was at the front, moving slowly, seemingly taking care of the "burden" behind him.

He didn't need a flashlight; the dark forest was as familiar to him as his backyard. He could always avoid the most difficult traps and find the easiest gaps in advance.

Lin Mo followed closely behind Long Fei, holding onto Ren tightly. Now, it was Ren who was leading him.

He could hear the heavy breathing of his teammates behind him and the rustling sound of their equipment rubbing against the leaves.

Further away, from the direction of the hills, one could faintly hear muffled explosions.

Those explosions were a "farewell gift" left by the Tigers, buying them precious time.

This elite force, armed to the teeth with modern technology, now resembled a group of primitive jungle trekkers, struggling yet tenaciously traversing the darkness under the guidance of an indigenous hunter.

Time slipped away amidst extreme exhaustion and mental tension.

After running for an unknown amount of time, Lin Mo felt like his lungs were about to burst when Raine finally stopped.

The group stopped, everyone leaning on their knees, panting heavily, sweat dripping from their chins onto the decaying leaves.

Ryan pointed ahead, where a faint light could be seen through the gaps in the sparse trees.

"It's...safe ahead." Renn's voice was hoarse, tinged with exhaustion.

Long Fei leaned against a tree, panting heavily for a few moments before straightening up and using his night vision goggles to survey the area ahead.

A relatively open clearing in the woods, where they camped when they arrived.

"Attention, all squads!!"

Long Fei's voice, transmitted through the headset, was tired but still steady and powerful:

"Rest in place! Shi Lei, you lead the Fierce Tigers to maintain perimeter security! Snow Wolf and Azure Eagle, check equipment and take a headcount!!"

"receive!!"

"receive!!"

Upon receiving the order, the soldiers, who were just exhausted and on the verge of collapse, immediately sprang into action again.

The Tigers team members quickly dispersed, setting up temporary sentry posts at key locations around the open area. The Snow Wolf and Eagle team members sat down in twos and threes, leaning against tree trunks, taking gulps of water from their canteens, and began checking their weapons and remaining ammunition.

Raine leaned against a large tree, watching the soldiers' methodical movements, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

Lin Mo walked over and sat down next to him, then turned on the kettle and handed it to him.

Without hesitation, Ryan took it and gulped down a large mouthful.

"This isn't a village yet; making too much noise would be dangerous."

After catching his breath, Raine looked at Lin Mo and pointed to the sky:

"If we travel during the day, we'll be too conspicuous and easily spotted. Let's rest here until dark, and then I'll take you back to the village."

Lin Mo immediately translated these words to Long Fei.

Long Fei was munching on a compressed biscuit when he heard this, and nodded without stopping chewing.

"Agreed. Tell him we'll listen to him."

Long Fei swallowed the food in his mouth and then gulped down a large mouthful of water:

"Pass down the order: in squads, take turns resting and standing guard! Seize every opportunity to recover your strength!!"

The order was quickly relayed.

The exhausted soldiers finally got a precious chance to catch their breath.

Apart from the sentries on guard, most people relied on their backpacks and tree trunks, closed their eyes, and tried to recover their strength in the shortest possible time.

The jungle fell silent, with only the rustling of the wind through the leaves and the occasional call of an unknown bird in the distance.

Long Fei didn't rest. He stood up and went straight to the medic, Li Na.

The nail was leaning against a tree, and Li Na squatted down in front of it, examining the wound.

"How's the situation?" Long Fei asked in a low voice.

"Reporting to Captain Long."

Li Na looked up, her face showing a mixture of surprise and seriousness:

"The toxins have been completely cleared, and there are no signs of infection in the wound. The effect of that medicine... is beyond my comprehension..."

Long Fei leaned closer and, using the dappled light from the forest, saw the wound on Dingzi's arm.

The gruesome arrow wound had completely faded, the surrounding black color disappearing and returning to normal skin tone. The wound had stopped bleeding, and the edges of the skin even showed signs of healing.

Nail moved his arm; although it was still a bit stiff, he was already able to make most of the movements.

"Team Leader Long, I'm fine, I can still fight." Nail grinned, revealing a set of white teeth, though his face was still a little pale.

"Don't be a show-off."

Li Na glared at him: "But the arrow is still embedded in the muscle, and it has barbs on it. It must be removed immediately, otherwise it will grow into the muscle over time, and that will be troublesome."

"Then let's take it." Long Fei said simply and directly.

"I prepared local anesthetic, but the conditions are limited, and it will definitely hurt a lot when it is pulled out."

Li Na took out a set of sterile surgical instruments from her medical kit and spread them out on a cloth: "Nail, just bear with it."

"Come on!!" Nail steeled himself, stretched out his arm without blinking, "Nana, stop hesitating, do it!!"

Ryan had somehow joined in, squatting down beside her, curiously looking at the metal tools in Li Na's hands that gleamed coldly in the sunlight, and then at the wounds on the nails.

He suddenly pointed in Lin Mo's direction and said a few words in the local dialect to him.

Lin Mo was taken aback, then walked over.

"What did Raine say?" Long Fei asked.

"He said..." Lin Mo looked at Raine, then at the potion bottle in Li Na's hand, and translated somewhat uncertainly, "He said that the magic potion... if you drink another bottle, the wound will heal faster, and maybe... maybe it won't hurt so much."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's attention was focused on Li Na's tactical vest.

Each frontline player was given a bottle, just in case.

Without hesitation, Li Na immediately pulled out the small crystal bottle from her vest; this was her trump card for survival.

"Here you go." The bottle was handed to Nail.

Nail looked at her, then at Long Fei; the tough guy's eyes were slightly red.

"Nana, this..."

"Stop talking nonsense! Drink!!" Li Na uncorked the bottle and shoved it directly into his mouth.

Nail stopped being coy and tilted his head back to drink the pale golden liquid in one gulp.

A warm current rose from my stomach again, quickly spreading to my limbs and bones, and a tingling, itchy sensation came from the wound on my arm.

Nail took a deep breath and nodded to Li Na: "Ready."

Raine watched intently, wanting to see how these visitors from another world would treat the kind of injuries he was used to seeing.

Li Na put on sterile gloves and picked up a pair of surgical forceps and a pair of tweezers.

"I'll count to three, two, one." Her voice was calm and without a trace of emotion.

She gently parted the skin and flesh around the wound with tweezers, revealing a black arrow embedded deep inside.

Then, she used surgical forceps to clamp the base of the arrow tightly.

"three."

"two."

Everyone watching instinctively held their breath.

"one!!"

Li Na gave a low shout, and with a sudden burst of strength in her wrist, the barbed black arrowhead was forcibly pulled out of the muscle!

"hiss...!!"

Even with the combined effects of the medicine and anesthetic, Dingzi couldn't help but gasp, a fine layer of cold sweat instantly appearing on his forehead, his teeth grinding together.