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

Chapter 128 Chasing the Wolf

As soon as it was light, Jiang Yue summoned his men to the center of the camp.

The main power line of the relay vehicle was not yet repaired, and maintenance personnel were squatting under the vehicle replacing the external cables. Zhao Cheng's body had been placed in a body bag and was temporarily stored in a refrigerated truck.

The bloodstains left next to the car door last night have been washed away, but there is still a layer of dark red on the ground that cannot be washed off.

Jiang Yue did not look in that direction.

He spread the map on the folding table and pointed to the north side of the camp.

"The wolf pack retreated into the mountains from here."

"The drone chased for less than two kilometers before losing track of the target after entering the dense forest. The two wounded wolves left blood along the way, so we can try to track them."

Cheng Fang asked, "How many people should be left at the camp?"

"Six people are guarding the camp, and the medical team and maintenance personnel are not moving."

Jiang Yue said, "We only check the wolf pack's activity range, not their dens or firebreaks."

He paused for a moment, then added:

"It's not about seeking revenge."

No one responded.

Jiang Yue called over a member of the advance team.

"Meng Chuan, come with us."

Meng Chuan was in his early thirties, not very tall, but with broad shoulders. He was in charge of fire support for the advance team. He had been guarding the northern perimeter last night, and his combat uniform had been ripped open by wolf claws; he hadn't had time to change yet.

After checking the magazine, Meng Chuan stuffed a signal flare into his breast pocket.

"Ready."

Cheng Fang looked at everyone.

"Don't linger after spotting a wolf pack."

"They dare to attack camps, and they might also ambush people along the way."

At 7:00 AM, the team left the camp.

The woods were filled with the dampness left over from the night, and the fallen leaves were soft and slippery underfoot.

Xu Mian walked ahead, her shadow spreading out to the sides, clinging to the tree roots and bushes. Jiang Yue was in charge of checking the tracks on the ground, while Meng Chuan guarded the rear of the group.

At first, the wolf pack left very clear tracks.

There were a series of claw marks in the mud, and intermittent bloodstains could be seen along the way. Two of the footprints, one deep and one shallow, clearly belonged to a wolf that had been injured the night before.

Tang Zhi looked down for a moment.

"How could you run this far while injured?"

Jiang Yue touched the blood on the leaf with his finger.

It's already dried.

"There's a lot of health in the first half, but it decreases more and more in the second half."

"They can control their injuries faster than ordinary animals."

Lin Ye recalled the mutated wild boar in front of the animal bones.

Wild boars can tighten the muscles around their wounds by breathing, and wolves have likely mastered a similar method.

The group chased for nearly an hour.

The bloodstains gradually disappeared, but suddenly more claw marks appeared on the ground.

Some went left, some went right, and a few circled the tree before returning to their original direction.

Meng Chuan squatted down and watched for a while.

"Are they taking a detour?"

"It's like shaking off the pursuers."

Jiang Yue brushed aside a few fallen leaves, revealing a small patch of blood that had long since dried.

He stared for two seconds, then his face darkened.

"wrong."

"What's wrong?" Tang Zhi asked.

"This blood wasn't freshly drawn."

Jiang Yue rubbed the bloodstains, which had turned black.

"It's been at least two or three days."

Cheng Fang immediately looked up and scanned his surroundings.

"The wolf pack led us here."

The trees nearby were shorter than when we arrived, but the ground was more cluttered.

Large swaths of soil were turned over, exposing grass roots. The lower halves of several trees were covered in mud and coarse bristles.

Jiang Yue brushed aside the fallen leaves beside him.

Several fresh pig hoof prints were visible below.

"This is the wild boar's territory."

Tang Zhi glanced ahead.

"Refund now?"

"Return via the same route."

Just as Cheng Fang raised his hand, a wolf howl suddenly came from the hillside to his left.

Immediately afterwards, a response came from the right rear.

The sound was not close, but it startled a large flock of birds that were roosting in the forest.

Xu Mian's shadow stretched rapidly backward.

"There are wolves behind us, at least three."

The ground began to shake slightly.

First came the sound of tree branches breaking, followed by the heavy sound of running footsteps getting closer and closer.

"spread!"

A dark brown wild boar crashed through the bushes and charged straight into the middle of the group.

It was slightly smaller than the mutated wild boar we caught yesterday, with red eyes and its two tusks covered in wet mud that had just been dug out.

Three more heads followed behind.

"The wolves have startled the wild boar herd!"

Meng Chuan knelt on one knee, the butt of his rifle pressed firmly against his shoulder.

Bang bang bang!

The short burst of fire hit the first wild boar in the shoulder and neck.

Blood splattered, but the wild boar only swayed slightly, its speed not decreasing significantly.

Cheng Fang rushed forward.

A bluish-black color quickly covered his arms and upper body.

The wild boar ducked down and charged.

Cheng Fang took a half step to the side, grabbed its fangs with both hands, and was pushed backward.

The soles of the boots plowed two deep furrows in the wet mud.

"Tang Zhi!"

Two strands of silk wrapped around the wild boar's front legs from the side.

Tang Zhi didn't fight it head-on. Instead, she wrapped the tendrils around a nearby tree trunk and pulled hard, using the leverage.

The wild boar shifted its center of gravity and crashed headfirst into a tree.

The thick tree trunk shook violently, and fallen leaves rustled all over the ground.

A second wild boar charged out from the right.

Qin Zhao raised his hand and flung out the embers.

Dark red flames exploded close to the ground.

The wild boar instinctively avoided the line of fire, forcing its charge to veer to the left.

Xu Mian had been waiting for this opportunity.

Gunshots rang out.

The bullet entered through the left eye.

The wild boar charged forward a few more meters, then its limbs gave way and it fell heavily to the ground.

"There are two more behind!"

Meng Chuan turned and fired.

The third wild boar did not charge at the people, but instead pushed aside the bushes and fled down the edge of the slope.

The one behind it was smaller and followed closely behind.

Jiang Yue was standing on the edge of the slope.

He dodged to the side, but the soil beneath his feet suddenly collapsed, causing him to lose his balance and slide down the slope.

The little wild boar charged towards us.

"Jiang Yue!"

The forest is the closest.

He didn't have time to pull anyone away; he raised his hand and pulled out the Spirit-Shocking Nail.

Establish pathways.

The first ring of patterns lights up.

boom!

The shock grazed Jiang Yue's head and struck the little wild boar's shoulder.

The wild boar rolled sideways into the bushes, letting out a piercing squeal.

Jiang Yue seized the opportunity to grab the tree roots.

Lin Ye rushed over, grabbed his combat vest, and pulled him up.

Jiang Yue took a breath.

Thanks.

"Get up first."

Lin Ye looked up at the slope below.

The two wild boars had already disappeared into the woods, leaving only the branches still swaying.

On the other side, Cheng Fang was still pinning down the lead wild boar.

Tang Zhi locked its front legs, and Meng Chuan circled around to the side and fired two shots at the back of its ear.

The wild boar's body suddenly stiffened.

After struggling for a few moments, it finally collapsed.

The woods gradually quieted down.

Only the sound of the wounded wild boar scrambling through the branches as it fled could be heard, fading into the distance.

Cheng Fang removed the iron bone and bent down to examine his arm.

The arm guard was ripped open by the fangs, but there were no injuries inside.

"Inspect personnel and equipment."

Tang Zhi shook her aching wrist.

"fine."

Neither Xu Mian nor Qin Zhao were injured.

Jiang Yue's right palm was cut by a piece of gravel, but the wound was not deep.

He took out a bandage, wrapped it around his neck twice, and turned to look at Lin Ye.

"What about your right arm?"

"Nutritional reaction, a little numbness."

Lin Ye flexed his fingers.

Cheng Fang checked the monitoring data on his wrist.

"Disabled within 15 minutes".

"Know."

The group did not leave immediately.

The area where the wild boar appeared was covered with hoof prints, but there were also a few wolf claw marks mixed in with the surrounding area.

The wolf did not enter the center of the wild boar herd's activity, but only circled around the outside.

After examining him, Meng Chuan said:

"They startled the wild boar from behind."

Tang Zhi frowned.

"Did they deliberately lead us here so they could drive wild boars at us?"

"At least the first half is misleading."

Jiang Yue pointed to the old bloodstains he had just discovered.

"They used the old blood left by the wounded wolf to lead us into the wild boar's territory."

"As for whether the wolf howls startled the wild boars, it's hard to say."

Cheng Fang glanced around.

Whether it was planned in advance or not is not important.

"They've already learned to use other wild animals to attack their trackers."

As soon as she finished speaking, Xu Mian suddenly turned her head.

"There are wolves on the mountain ridge."

A dark figure stood behind a tree on the ridge a few dozen meters away.

It was the black-backed wolf that had been guarding the camp last night.

It did not come close.

He simply watched the battlefield below in silence.

After Lin Ye and the others spotted it, the black-backed wolf paused for two seconds before turning around and disappearing into the forest.

Tang Zhi gripped the gun tightly.

"Did it stay behind specifically to check the results?"

Nobody can be sure.

But its presence here is certainly not a coincidence.

By this point in the pursuit, the fresh blood trail left by the wounded wolf had long since dried up. The wild boar herd had also trampled the ground nearby, so continuing the chase meant they could only follow the direction left by the black-backed wolf.

That's no different from deliberately walking into a trap.

Cheng Fang made a decision quickly.

"That's it, return the way you came."

Jiang Yue stared at the ridge where the black wolf had disappeared, his fingers tightening on the gun strap for a moment.

Finally, he nodded.

"withdraw."

Meng Chuan began collecting wild boar blood and wolf fur.

Tang Zhi was in charge of guarding the area.

"What are these wolves protecting?"

Qin Zhao said, "It could also just be about protecting territory."

Lin Ye looked into the depths of the mountains and forests.

Last night, the wolf pack attacked medical tents and relay equipment.