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

Another soft sound came from deep within the quarry.

The gravel rolled down the slope and crashed against the rock wall.

Cheng Fang blocked the stretcher, Jiang Zhaoye raised his black stick, and the two sides dispersed, their guns simultaneously aimed at the woods to the north.

Lin Ye stared at the bloodstains on the ground.

The bear paw prints, one deep and one shallow, crossed the quarry and disappeared behind the swaying bushes.

Xu Mian's shadow slid along the ground.

The lizard shadow retreated to the rock wall, its body gradually turning grayish-brown.

A few seconds later, Xu Mian spoke.

No bears were found.

No sooner had he finished speaking than a rock came crashing down on his head.

boom!

The stone landed at the feet of a member of the Candle Shadow Society and broke in two.

Everyone looked up.

A dozen or so macaques were crouching between the rock face and the tree canopy on the right.

The largest one is nearly as tall as an adult's waist, with thick arms, and is holding a boulder the size of a head in its arms.

It screamed downwards and pushed the stone down.

"above!"

Xu Mian fired the first shot.

The bullet snapped a branch, startling two macaques who jumped away. The other macaques, however, seemed enraged and began throwing pebbles down at the tree.

The quarry was thrown into chaos.

"Protect the wounded!"

Tang Zhi flicked out the silk threads.

Several thin, transparent threads stretched out above the stretcher, carrying the falling stones to both sides.

A piece of gravel flew past Lin Ye's head and broke a bone in the rock wall.

As soon as the crisp cracking sound rang out, two macaques climbed down the rock wall, heading straight for the fallen bone.

Lin Ye frowned.

"They want to take that thing away."

Cheng Fang fired a shot that landed near the macaque's feet.

The stone chips exploded.

The macaque jumped up in fright, but still held the broken bone in its arms.

Before anyone could figure out what it was trying to do, a sharp eagle's cry suddenly came from the sky.

A large shadow swept across the quarry.

A gray-black raptor folded its wings and swooped down on Jiang Yue's body from above.

"Get down!"

Xu Mian's gunshot and Tang Zhi's tethering rang out simultaneously.

The bullet grazed the raptor's wing, while the tether wrapped around one of its claws.

The raptor suddenly flipped in mid-air, dragging Tang Zhi forward half a meter, causing a tingling numbness in her old right wrist injury.

She didn't try to hold on; she immediately cut the thread.

Just as the raptor spread its wings again, Jiang Zhaoye leaped up from the side.

The black stick struck its chest heavily.

The raptor crashed diagonally into a stone pillar, one wing bent at an unnatural angle. It struggled after landing, its sharp beak pecking at anyone who approached.

Qin Zhao raised his hand and released a wisp of embers.

The flames only burned along the broken wing root and did not spread to the surrounding area.

The raptor flapped its wings a few times, then quickly became still.

But the cries from high above were even more numerous.

Five or six dark figures hovered above the quarry, reluctant to leave.

They didn't dive together; they waited for the people below to disperse.

Cheng Fang glanced at the sky.

"The wounded are leaning against the rock face."

"Xu Mian stares at the sky, Qin Zhaofeng flies low."

"The others cleaned up the monkey troop."

The second raptor quickly swooped down from the left.

The target is the seven team members with abdominal injuries.

The person was lying on the stretcher and had no time to dodge.

Lin Ye was right next to him.

He gripped the protective spirit stone piece tightly.

The pale white light membrane had just unfolded when the eagle's claws reached out and grabbed it.

The light membrane caved inward, and Lin Ye's entire right arm suddenly sank, his knees almost sinking into the gravel.

The raptor flapped its wings, trying to tear the light membrane apart.

Xu Mian fired her gun.

The bullet entered through the left eye.

The raptor stiffened and slid down the light membrane to the ground.

Lin Ye immediately took two steps back.

Cheng Fang asked, "Can the stone slab still be used?"

Lin Ye glanced at the pattern that had darkened by a ring.

"It's alright, but if it blocks another shot, it'll probably be useless."

"Then keep it to save your life."

After Cheng Fang finished speaking, he turned around and punched the macaque that pounced down from the rock platform.

The monkey troop began snatching medical kits, ammunition pouches, and communication equipment.

A macaque grabbed a portable antenna and turned to climb higher.

A flash of light suddenly appeared beside the rock wall.

The lizard's silhouette emerged from between the rocks, and the short knife slashed open the macaque's wrist before plunging into its ribs.

The macaque screamed as it fell into the crevice.

Lizard Shadow reached out and caught the antenna, then tossed it to Tang Zhi.

His mimicry immediately dissipated, and blood began to seep from the wound on his left shoulder again.

Jiang Zhaoye asked, "Can you still hold on?"

"Um."

The lizard retreated to the rock face and sought cover again.

A third raptor swooped down from above.

Qin Zhao lit a short wall of fire in advance along its dive path.

The raptor instinctively raises its head, exposing its belly.

A member of the Candlelight Society threw out three black nails.

Two shots missed, and the last one pierced its chest.

The raptor flew off the quarry at an angle and crashed into the distant treetops.

Xu Mian's gun was already pointed at the next dark figure.

Both sides remained on their respective sides, but gradually they were able to coordinate their attacks.

Qin Zhao forced the raptors to retreat, and the Candle Shadow Society then followed up with hidden weapons.

Jiang Zhaoye drove the macaque off the rock platform, and Xu Mian then blocked its escape route back to the treetop.

No one spoke, and no one lowered their guard against the other side.

This temporary cooperation was based solely on the premise that neither of them wanted to die first.

A dozen minutes later, the macaques left behind several corpses and retreated back into the woods.

The remaining birds of prey also rose to higher ground and stopped diving.

The quarry finally quieted down.

Tang Zhi sat beside the stretcher, moving her numb right wrist.

"I can understand monkeys stealing food, but stealing an antenna is also a bit of a nuisance."

She looked at the spot where the tendons had been removed.

"They gnaw on that thing?"

Lin Ye shook his head.

"When they came down, their goal was very clear."

"They may have moved here before."

It is currently impossible to determine whether this is the macaques' own habit or whether they have been trained in some way.

Cheng Fang did not continue the discussion.

"Restore communication first."

The portable antenna was undamaged.

Qin Zhao and a field team member re-set up the equipment, and after several attempts, they finally got back to the camp.

The signal was very weak, but fortunately the location data was successfully transmitted.

Jiang Zhaoye also took out a black copper bead and crushed it forcefully.

A wisp of gray smoke disappeared into the woods and quickly vanished.

Both sides' reinforcements were already advancing deeper into Black Locust Ridge, but they had lost their exact location.

More than forty minutes later, seven identification signals sounded on the south side of the quarry.

Six field personnel came down the scree slope, bringing transport racks, first aid equipment, and replenishment ammunition.

At almost the same time, footsteps could be heard coming from the woods to the north.

Cheng Fang and Jiang Zhaoye raised their hands at the same time.

The defensive lines that had just been joined together immediately separated.

Lai Changqing emerged from the woods, followed by five people.

One of the middle-aged men was short, carrying a wooden compass in his left hand and wearing a black monocle over his right eye.

Jiang Zhaoye shouted:

"Han Xiao".

Han Xiao glanced at the carcass of the raptor on the ground, then looked at the skeleton on the rock wall.

"The commotion you've created is bigger than the location signal."

Lai Changqing did not respond to him.

He first checked the injuries of Jiang Zhaoye and the others before turning his gaze to Lin Ye.

Cheng Fang spoke up:

"Evacuate the wounded first."

Lai Changqing also instructed the people behind him:

"Those who cannot continue to move, send them out."

Of the six reinforcements from the Seventh Division, four were responsible for escorting two seriously wounded soldiers, a team member shot in the shoulder, and Jiang Yue's body back to the camp, while the remaining two joined the operation team.

Tang Zhi helped secure Jiang Yue's stretcher.

Before the black protective sheet was put down, she paused and put her exposed arm back in.

The Candle Shadow Society also sent two people to take away the seriously injured members.

The lizard shadow should have retreated as well, but it shook its head.

"Mimicry is still usable."

Lai Changqing glanced at the blood seeping out of his shoulder again.

"If you can't hold on, retreat on your own. Don't wait for someone to carry you."

The lizard shadow nodded.

After the wounded left, only those who could still move around remained in the quarry.

The seventh team was led by Cheng Fang.

Lai Changqing took over the Candlelight Society again.

The ceasefire is still in effect.

The atmosphere between the two sides was even more tense than before.

Cheng Fang spoke first.

"Check the left side in seven places."

Lai Changqing said, "Let's look to the right."

"Leave the middle rock wall alone for now."

"Can."

The two sides separated.

The left side of the quarry mainly shows training marks left by wild boars and wolves.

The impact marks on the stone pillars, the circular animal trails on the ground, and the bones at different heights all match the previously discovered findings.

Further north, the terrain gradually rises.

A row of collapsed rubble separated the corner.

There were no wolf claws or macaque footprints behind the rocks.

Only bear paws.

There was a deep drag mark on the ground.

At the end, there was a broken stone pillar, its surface covered with marks left by bear claws.

There is a steep slope next to it.

From the bottom to the top of the slope, there is a deep foothold every few meters.

Tang Zhi looked at the stone pillar, then at the steep slope.

"Does it usually drag this thing uphill?"

Qin Zhao said, "Judging from the marks, it should be."

Only five bone fragments were nailed to the rock face.

There weren't many, but the markings were much more intricate than those on the outside. Several lines wound around the back of the bone, almost connecting at the beginning and end.

The shallow pit contained a lot of bear fur and layers of dried blood.

Lin Ye stood at the edge of the pit and activated his spiritual hearing.

Heavy breathing soon followed.

The bear paws slammed against the stone surface again and again.

That familiar voice was among them.

"The energy has dissipated again."

"Slow down."

His breathing slowed down again.

In another layer of lingering sound, a heavy object dragged across the ground, making a rough, grating noise.

"Keep your lower abdomen stable."

"Don't let your back collapse."

"Climb up and rest again."

The sound changed once again.

The bear appeared to be injured, its growls clearly indicating pain.

The voice was still correcting it.

"First, tighten the area around the wound."

"Avoid this area."

"Don't rush to exert your strength."

Lin Ye withdrew from Ling Ting.

Cheng Fang asked, "What did you hear?"

"This is where it trains alone."

Lin Ye looked at the bloodstains at the edge of the pit.

"External zoological respiration and basic operations."

"It also learned how to bear weight, exert force, and control itself after injury."

Tang Zhi whispered:

"No wonder he was able to run away after being shot so many times."

Qin Zhao looked at those nearly closed vertebrae.

"It's not just about physical strength."

"It really did learn it."

On the other side, the Candle Shadow Society also cleared away the vines on the right.

Two narrow mountain paths appeared behind, one on the left and one on the right, both leading to the woods on the north side.

A bone was placed at each intersection.

There was no dust accumulation on the surface of the bone.

There is a fresh macaque paw print next to the bone on the left, while there are several raptor claw marks on the right.

Han Xiao placed the compass near the two entrances respectively.

The pointer deflects by almost the same amount on both sides.

"The concentration of spiritual energy on both sides is increasing."

"The difference is less than 10%."

Jiang Zhaoye asked, "Which one is true?"

Han Xiao put away the compass.

"It's not clear yet."

Cheng Fang led his men over.

Lai Changqing was squatting between two bones, examining the marks on the ground.

"It was just put out recently," he said.

"It wasn't left here."

Tang Zhi looked at the monkey's palm print.

"Those monkeys who came to snatch the bone earlier, were they just trying to move this?"

No one answered.

Lai Changqing stood up and looked at the two mountain paths.

"It's like someone laid out a portion for each of us."

Cheng Fang said, "It's also possible that both copies have problems."

Lin Ye stared at the two bones at the intersection.

They were placed at the perfect time.

It doesn't seem like something carelessly discarded by wild beasts, but rather something specially reserved for those who come after.

The piece on the left.

The one on the right.

The Seven Places and the Candle Shadow Society, one for each side.