Reborn in 1985, starting from the mountains of Northwest China

Chen Feng was making plans in his mind, but he didn't show it on his face.

He carefully collected the remaining steamed buns, tucked them into his clothes, and added a few more pieces of firewood to the fire.

The firelight reflected off the cave wall, flickering and casting long and short shadows of several people.

The three men finished their buns, licking their lips with lingering satisfaction, but their eyes kept glancing at Chen Feng's arms.

Chen Feng pretended not to see and leaned against the cave wall, closing his eyes.

"Go to sleep, we have a long journey ahead tomorrow."

The three people glanced at each other, said nothing, and each found a place to sit down.

The cave fell silent, save for the sound of the wind outside and Yang Chengwu's occasional murmurs.

Chen Feng wasn't really asleep; he just squinted, keeping a part of his mind focused.

After a while, the youngest of the three suddenly spoke up.

"Brother Zhao, are we really going to be able to get down the mountain tomorrow?"

The one called "Brother Zhao" was the older one, around forty years old, with a scar on his face. He lowered his voice and said, "Nonsense, why wouldn't we come down the mountain to die?"

"But there are bears outside..."

"Even if there are bears, we have to leave. There's no food here; staying any longer will only lead to death."

Another tall, thin man chimed in, "Brother Zhao is right. Let's leave first thing tomorrow morning, regardless of whether there are bears or not."

"Then...what about Chengwu?" The younger man glanced at Yang Chengwu. "How can he leave like this?"

Brother Zhao remained silent for a while.

"He can't leave; that's his fate. We can barely take care of ourselves, how can we worry about him?"

The tall, thin man nodded: "Exactly. It's not like we did the dirty work."

The younger guy wanted to say something, but Brother Zhao glared at him, and he fell silent.

Chen Feng heard these words and sneered inwardly.

He didn't move or open his eyes; he simply tucked the steamed bun in his arms even tighter.

Chen Feng woke up the next morning from the cold.

The fire was almost out, with only a few embers flickering in the ashes. A pale gray light shone through the cave entrance, and the wind howled, sounding even stronger than last night.

He got up, walked to the cave entrance, and looked outside.

Everything was a vast expanse of white; nothing could be seen.

The snow is still falling, even heavier than last night, drifting down like goose feathers.

"This snow..." Lin Xi also woke up, walked over and took a look, her expression changed.

"Brother-in-law, the snow is falling even heavier than last night. I'm afraid we won't be able to leave today."

Chen Feng didn't speak, his heart heavy.

Being unable to leave means we have to stay in this cave for another day.

One day means having to share food with those few people.

He looked back into the cave.

The three people also woke up and were huddled together whispering.

Seeing him turn around, she immediately fell silent.

Yang Chengwu was still asleep, but his complexion seemed a little better than last night; it wasn't as red.

Chen Feng walked over and touched his forehead.

It's still hot, but it's a little better than last night.

He was about to take out the water bottle to feed Yang Chengwu when he suddenly heard Lin Xi calling him from the cave entrance.

"Brother-in-law, come and see."

Chen Feng walked over and looked outside, following Lin Xi's gaze.

There were several fresh footprints in the snow.

Human footprints.

It stretched out from a distance, circled around the cave entrance a few times, and then went in another direction.

Chen Feng's heart tightened.

"Has anyone been here?"

Lin Xi nodded, squatted down, and examined it carefully.

"There was more than one. The footprints were messy, like they ran here. Judging from this direction... they came out of that woods over there."

He stood up, looked in that direction, and his expression was grave.

"Brother-in-law, could it be one of those four...?"

Chen Feng didn't speak.

He suddenly had a bad feeling.

Those four people are probably in these mountains too.

They may have encountered a bear as well.

It might be... gone.

As he was thinking, he suddenly heard a noise behind him.

Looking back, Brother Zhao stood up and walked to the cave entrance.

"Brother, with this snow... we can't leave today, can we?"

Chen Feng nodded.

"We can't leave. We have to stay another day."

Brother Zhao's expression changed, but he didn't say anything. He turned around and walked back, where he huddled together with the other two and whispered to each other again.

Chen Feng ignored them and went back into the cave to feed Yang Chengwu water.

The kid drank a few mouthfuls in a daze and then fell asleep again.

Lin Xi also returned and sat down next to Chen Feng, lowering her voice to say, "Brother-in-law, those three people are acting strangely."

Chen Feng nodded.

"I know."

"They keep glancing at you; they must be eyeing your few steamed buns."

Chen Feng sneered.

"It's no use worrying about it; they don't even have a gun right now."

Lin Xi nodded and moved the gun closer to his hand.

"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on things."

The two leaned against the cave wall, closing their eyes to rest.

But the three men weren't idle; they kept whispering to each other in hushed tones, their voices so low that it was impossible to hear what they were saying. But their furtive manner sent chills down one's spine.

After a while, Brother Zhao suddenly stood up and walked up to Chen Feng.

"Brother, it's snowing heavily outside and it's terribly cold. Let's go out and gather some firewood; the firewood in the cave won't last us a day."

Chen Feng looked at him without saying a word.

Brother Zhao smiled, but it looked a little unnatural.

"Don't worry, we won't run away. We're just gathering some firewood and will be back in a bit."

The younger one chimed in, "Yes, we'll be back in a bit."

Chen Feng glanced at them, then looked at the tall, thin man.

The tall, thin man kept his head down, not daring to look at him.

Chen Feng sneered inwardly.

They're going out to discuss countermeasures.

He nodded.

"Okay. Go ahead. Don't go too far."

Brother Zhao nodded, beckoned the two men, and began to climb out.

Lin Xi watched their figures disappear into the cave entrance, then lowered her voice and said, "Brother-in-law, they..."

"Let them go."

Chen Feng interrupted him, "I want to see what tricks they can pull."

The two waited inside the cave.

After a while, the three men returned, carrying a bundle of firewood.

Brother Zhao put down the firewood and said with a smile, "The snow outside is really heavy; I almost got lost."

Chen Feng nodded without saying anything.

The three people sat down on the other side of the cave and started to warm themselves by the fire.

Everything seems normal.

But Chen Feng felt something was off.

The tall, thin man never dared to look at him.

The younger one had shifty eyes, glancing at him every now and then.

Only Brother Zhao was smiling as if nothing was wrong, but there was always something hidden in that smile.

Chen Feng reached into his coat and touched the homemade guns.

He touched the machete again.

Lin Xi noticed this as well, and adjusted the gun in his hand, keeping his eyes fixed on the three people.

The cave was very quiet, with only the crackling of firewood and the howling wind outside.

After a while, Brother Zhao suddenly stood up.

"Brother, the firewood is almost gone, let's go collect some more."

Chen Feng looked at him.

"Wasn't it just picked up?"

Brother Zhao smiled.

"This isn't enough to last all night. Go collect some more and prepare more."

He beckoned to the two men and then climbed out again.

This time, when the tall, thin man reached the cave entrance, he suddenly turned around and glanced at Chen Feng.

There was something indescribable in those eyes.

It was a mixture of guilt and fear.

Then he crawled out of the hole and disappeared.

Chen Feng withdrew his gaze and silently removed the trigger of the homemade gun in his arms.

He knew perfectly well that these people weren't going to collect firewood; they were clearly going to retrieve a hidden murder weapon.