I work as a security guard at a cemetery, and I overhear the dead chatting about getting rich quick.

By the time we got back to camp, it was completely dark.

The mutated wild boar was moved to a temporary observation area, its limbs were fixed to a metal frame, and its body was covered with monitoring tapes.

The anesthesia hadn't worn off yet, but its breathing remained steady.

Inhale.

pause.

Then slowly spit it out.

Jiang Yue stared at the data on the tablet for a while.

"The spiritual energy always travels from my abdomen up my back, and then dissipates near my shoulders and neck."

Tang Zhi peered at the wild boar through the protective netting.

"Even sleeping like that, you still remember to practice?"

"It may not be intentional."

Cheng Fang said, "After practicing for a long time, your body will remember it."

"Similar to muscle memory?"

"That's one way to understand it."

Lin Ye did not interrupt.

The lingering sounds I heard today are enough to illustrate the point.

The animals in Black Locust Ridge did not accidentally learn a breathing method.

Someone, or something conscious, has taught them this again and again.

Cheng Fang glanced at the time.

"Eat first, then set up nighttime security in half an hour."

Dinner was simple: self-heating rice and canned food.

Tang Zhi frowned after taking only two bites.

The packaging says it's shredded pork with garlic sauce.

Qin Zhao glanced at her lunchbox.

"Maybe the shredded pork is on vacation."

"What about the fish-fragrant sauce?"

"I also took leave."

Lin Ye lowered his head and ate his rice.

"Alright, it's good enough that it's hot."

Sitting next to him, Zhao Cheng was tidying up the equipment that had been broken that afternoon.

His backpack was ripped open by a wild boar's tusk, but he wrapped it with tape and it was still usable.

Tang Zhi asked, "Is the equipment broken?"

"Two spare batteries were lost, but the rest are still usable."

Zhao Cheng patted the repeater equipment box next to him.

"The signal is bad in the mountains. If this really breaks, everyone will have to shout tomorrow."

After the meal, Jiang Yue re-inspected the camp's defenses.

Infrared sensors were installed around the camp, and metal mesh was added to the drainage ditches and old forest culverts. Two drones patrolled in shifts, making it difficult for large animals to approach silently under normal circumstances.

But the wolves had already spotted them during the day.

Jiang Yue doubled the number of people on duty.

"Everyone slept in their combat uniforms."

"Keep the weapons within easy reach."

Cheng Fang divided the two groups into two classes.

He and Qin Zhao stayed up for the first half of the night, while Tang Zhi and Xu Mian stayed up for the second half.

Lin Ye does not participate in patrols, but must keep his communicator switched on.

At 10:30 p.m., most of the lights in the camp were turned off.

Lin Ye lay on his cot, the Spirit-Suppressing Nail fixed to his waist, and the Spirit-Protecting Stone Piece placed in a sealed box beside his pillow.

The only sound outside the tent was the low rumble of the generator.

He fell asleep shortly afterward.

After an unknown amount of time, a metallic clanging sound suddenly came from outside.

It looked like something had crashed into the safety net.

Lin Ye opened his eyes instantly.

Qin Zhao's voice came through the communicator immediately afterward.

"North side sensor triggered."

Cheng Fang asked, "The quantity?"

"I can't see it clearly for now."

Lin Ye had just sat up when a wolf howled from the north.

One sound after another.

The camp alarm was immediately sounded.

Lin Ye grabbed his gear and rushed out of the tent.

All the searchlights on the north side are now on.

Five or six mutated wolves ran back and forth outside the security fence, occasionally lunging at the metal mesh. The infrared sensors kept sounding alarms, drawing the attention of the patrol personnel and their guns.

Just as Jiang Yue was about to order the dispersal, Xu Mian suddenly turned her head to look at the west side of the camp.

Her shadow swiftly disappeared into the darkness.

"wrong."

A few seconds later, her expression changed.

"There are still some in the old culvert!"

A loud bang was then heard from the west side.

The metal mesh sealing the culvert was lifted from below, and several gray wolves scurried into the camp close to the ground.

Their fur was covered in wet mud, and they had probably rolled in the stream before entering the culvert. Their body temperature was kept very low, and they were not detected by infrared equipment until they got close to the metal mesh.

The wolf pack on the north side was just bait.

"Follow back to defend the west flank!"

Jiang Yue turned around and shouted.

The wolves that rushed into the camp did not attack the nearest person.

They rushed towards the medical tents from both ends.

They rushed towards the generator and relay vehicle from both ends.

The rest scattered and specifically attacked those returning from the north.

The division of labor is very clear.

Qin Zhao raised his hand and flung out the embers.

Dark red flames burned along the entrance to the culvert, forcing back the wolves behind them.

Tang Zhi's silk threads simultaneously entangled two gray wolves that were rushing towards the medical tent, forcibly dragging them off course.

Xu Mian knelt on the ground, the muzzle of her gun steadily tracking one of the animals.

boom!

The bullet pierced the wolf's eye.

The gray wolf fell to the ground.

Just as Lin Ye rushed toward the relay vehicle, a gray figure suddenly pounced out from behind the supply crate.

The wolf remained hidden in the shadows and did not join the first group.

The distance was too close; the Spirit-Shocking Nail couldn't be raised in time.

Lin Ye grabbed the protective spirit stone, and the free spiritual energy within his body was quickly drawn in.

A light white membrane of light spread out in front of him.

The wolf's claws slammed heavily onto the light membrane.

boom!

Lin Ye was pushed back two steps, and his arm went numb.

The light film shook violently, but it did not break.

The gray wolf tried to pounce again after landing.

Cheng Fang arrived from the side and punched it in the ribs.

A crisp sound of bone cracking rang out.

The gray wolf rammed into the supply crate, overturned it, got up, and scurried into the darkness with one of its front legs between its legs, without continuing its attack.

"Don't stray from the group!"

Cheng Fang threw down a sentence and turned to block the other wolf.

Zhao Cheng's voice suddenly came from the direction of the relay car.

"The main power line is down!"

A gray wolf was tearing at the cable box outside the car.

The metal casing had been chewed and deformed, the main circuit was disconnected, and the system automatically switched to the backup circuit.

Zhao Cheng rushed into the car with the equipment box in his arms and inserted the portable repeater into the mounting slot.

The screen lit up again.

But the gray wolves outside didn't leave; instead, they started tearing at the protective tube of the backup line.

If the backup line also goes down, the monitoring points and camps in the mountains will lose contact simultaneously.

Lin Ye raised the Spirit-Shock Nail.

"Zhao Cheng, bow your head!"

Zhao Cheng immediately shrank inside the car door.

The first ring of the Zhenling Nail lit up.

boom!

An invisible shockwave struck the gray wolf in the chest, knocking it away from the cable box.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Zhao Cheng jumped off the car and rushed to the external interface, preparing to close the protective cover that had been knocked open.

"Don't go out yet!" Lin Ye shouted.

"If the lid isn't locked, the wires will get chewed up!"

Zhao Cheng knelt on one knee, stuffed the spare wire into the groove, and pressed down the metal cover.

Just as the latch locked, another wolf suddenly sprang out from under the car.

It remained hidden in the shadow of the rear wheel.

By the time Zhao Cheng heard the commotion, it was too late.

The gray wolf pounced on him from the side and bit his neck.

"Zhao Cheng!"

Jiang Yue raised his gun and fired.

The bullet hit the wolf's back.

Cheng Fang rushed over, kicked it away, and then punched it.

The gray wolf fell to the ground and never got up again.

Zhao Cheng lay beside the relay vehicle, his hands covering his neck.

Fresh blood continued to gush out from between his fingers.

Jiang Yue knelt down and pressed the wound tightly with hemostatic material.

"Medical team!"

Medical staff arrived quickly.

His face darkened after just one glance at the wound.

The major blood vessel on the side of the neck was torn open.

The hemostatic material was applied and almost immediately soaked in blood.

Zhao Cheng raised his hand with difficulty and pointed to the relay car.

The screen inside the car was still lit.

The backup line has been restored.

"Wire……"

His throat was full of blood, and he spoke each word very softly.

"Don't let them..."

"Bite it off."

Jiang Yue's eyes were bloodshot.

"It's not broken."

"The line has been saved."

Zhao Cheng stared at the screen for two seconds, then slowly loosened his grip on Jiang Yue's wrist.

The heart rate on the monitor dropped rapidly.

Finally, it becomes a straight line.

The battle in the camp is not over yet.

Jiang Yue paused for only two seconds before standing up.

"Hold the relay car!"

His voice was hoarse.

Cheng Fang also quickly issued an order over the communicator:

"Tang Zhi guards the medical area."

"Qin Zhao sealed off the culvert."

"Xu Mian is looking for the leader of the wolves."

"Lin Ye and I will guard the middle."

Qin Zhao expanded the fire line outside the culvert.

Tang Zhi used a wire to drag over two steel plates, completely blocking the entrance.

Xu Mian's shadow spread across the ground, quickly crossed the warning net, and climbed up the high ground on the north side.

"Found it."

She looked up at the edge of the woods.

A gray wolf with black fur stood high up.

It was a size larger than the wolf that stormed into the camp, and had an unhealed wound below its right eye. From the start of the night raid until now, it had not entered the camp, but had only been observing from a high vantage point.

Cheng Fang followed her gaze.

"It should be the alpha wolf."

Tonight, all the attacks revolve around its calls.

First, a group of wolves created disturbances on the north side, then they circled around to the camp through the culvert. After the relay vehicle failed to break through, the wolf pack did not continue the desperate fight.

The black-backed wolf was clearly in charge all along.

Cheng Fang raised his gun.

The black wolf seemed to sense the danger and immediately lowered its body, retreating behind a tree.

The next second, it tilted its head back and let out a short wolf howl.

The gray wolves in the camp simultaneously stopped attacking.

The two wounded wolves retreated first, while the others stayed behind to block the pursuit. Only after their companions crossed the warning net did they quickly turn around and disappear into the woods.

"Don't chase!"

Cheng Fang lowered the muzzle of his gun.

No one knows how many wolves are still in the forest.

If we rashly chase after them, we are likely to be ambushed again.

The gunfire gradually subsided.

The only sounds in the camp were the crackling of the flames and the suppressed groans of the wounded.

Three wolf carcasses were left on the ground.

At point seven, two people sustained minor injuries, and one person sustained serious injuries.

Zhao Cheng died.

Tang Zhi walked to the relay vehicle, squatted down, and closed Zhao Cheng's eyes.

Just a few hours earlier, he was joking while holding the equipment box, saying that if the repeater really broke, everyone would have to shout in the mountains.

The equipment has been saved.

But the person never came back.

Jiang Yue stood to the side, silent for a long time.

"The body was put into a refrigerated truck."

"Recheck all camp entrances."

"Everyone will take turns on guard duty tonight."

No one speaks.

Everyone began cleaning up the scene.

The three wolf carcasses were brought into the autopsy tent.

Their bone density and muscle strength far exceed those of ordinary gray wolves, and they also retain a trace of spiritual energy within their bodies.

Both of them had multiple old wounds on their bodies.

The injuries were not minor, but they have all recovered very well.

Jiang Yue took off his gloves.

"It wasn't a sudden transformation."

"They have undergone at least a long period of reinforcement."

Cheng Fang looked into the dark forest.

Tonight, this pack of wolves not only knew how to use feints, but they could also identify the most important facilities in the camp.

They even know how to retreat in time after a mission fails.

They may not have the same way of thinking as humans.

But it was by no means an ordinary wild beast.

From the distant mountains, another wolf howl echoed.

The sound was very short.

They quickly disappeared into the night.

Jiang Yue gazed in that direction.

"Chase after dawn."