Before everything goes out

A few hours later, we were halfway there.

Even at midday, there's hardly any sun in the mountains.

The gentle sunlight, filtered through the leaves, fell from above, casting dappled patterns on the ground.

"This place isn't as dangerous as I imagined; at least it feels pretty good during the day."

Looking at the scenery in the forest, Li Fei felt sore all over, but his heart was full of hope.

Looking at the wristbands, the location of the group and the wristbands is indeed shortening.

From 7 kilometers in the morning, now there are less than 2 kilometers left.

If he walks for a few more hours and crosses this mountain, and if all goes well, he should be able to help Bai Xiaowu find his mother this afternoon.

Whether he lives or dies, he has fulfilled his promise.

"Have a meal."

When the group's shadows reached their feet, Snake Seven led them to a stop in a slightly flat area.

Lunchtime.

The group sat on the ground and began eating their dry rations.

"Eat this, the village chief gave it to you."

While chewing on a steamed bun, Niu Wenbing handed Li Fei a plastic bag.

Upon opening it, I found a perfectly square piece of red meat.

Tai Sui meat.

After hesitating for a moment, Li Fei glanced at the people around him.

Except for Snake Seven, who didn't eat anything, the others ate coarse grain buns with dark pickled vegetables.

There wasn't a drop of oil in it, just like the meals Lin Wen's family had been eating these past few days.

"Eat your food, don't worry about the others."

Noticing Li Fei's hesitation, Niu Wenbing tossed him a bottle of water.

"You need to eat well to have energy. I see you're having trouble walking. There's still a long way to go this afternoon, enough for you to walk."

"Um."

Li Fei nodded.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, he finished the Tai Sui meat in a few bites.

really.

Just like yesterday afternoon, that feeling of being full of energy after eating the Tai Sui meat came back to me once again.

After thinking for a moment, he took the opportunity to ask Niu Wenbing:

"Brother Soldier, what exactly is Tai Sui? I've heard you guys mention it a lot these past few days, and the meat tastes pretty good."

"Don't ask questions you shouldn't ask. If it's delicious, eat more."

Niu Wenbing took a big gulp of water and swallowed the steamed bun in his mouth.

Not far away, Pockmarked man, squatting on a large rock, spoke up irritably:

"Asking so many questions, you have a lot of energy."

This sarcastic tone isn't very good.

As soon as Ma Zi spoke, the others reacted on their faces.

"Of course, they don't have to work and they get to eat meat."

Ah-Ji was the one who responded to this.

Li Fei glanced at the two of them but said nothing.

Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, Ah Ji's lips twitched. He wanted to say something, but he shut his mouth.

A cold gaze shot out from the corner, making him shrink back and shiver.

It's Snake Seven.

"Only he knows how to use the bracelet. Without him, you'll never find your sister."

Snake Seven leaned against the tree.

His words had an immediate effect; Ah Ji turned his head and obediently shut his mouth...

The man with pockmarks shrugged indifferently.

"I don't really care. No one kidnapped my family. Whether we look for them or not is fine. If there are fewer people, it's good to have fewer mouths to feed."

"Say that again if you dare!"

On the other side, Niu San suddenly sat up from the ground.

Despite the exaggeratedly large size, Ma Zi wasn't afraid at all; instead, he stiffened his neck.

"What? I'm not telling the truth. Your second brother doesn't fetch water or work in the fields all day long. He just stares at the birds in the sky. He's just freeloading, isn't he?"

"You don't know anything. My second brother was just birdwatching."

"Bird watching? Why not let him lick my boots instead!"

"If you say another word, I'll tear your mouth apart."

Niu San's neck turned red, and he clenched his fists, which were as big as sandbags.

Judging from his expression, he was clearly really angry. Although Ma Zi felt guilty, he still took a step forward and rolled up his sleeves to reveal a section of his not-so-strong arm.

Sensing the tense atmosphere, Snake Seven, as the leader, stepped forward. Before he could speak, he heard a commotion coming from the woods.

Shashasha~

Something's coming.

Small in size and fast in speed, it makes a light, swift sound as it passes through the woods.

Everyone's expression changed, and they all turned to stare intently at the approaching source of the sound.

20 meters, 10 meters, 5 meters.

As the object drew closer, the group grew increasingly tense.

During the brief standoff, Li Fei saw Niu San step forward, Ma Zi shrink back behind the group, and the rest of them draw their weapons, their eyes fixed on the other side of the woods.

A few seconds later.

The nearby bushes rustled slightly, and a wild rabbit darted out from among them, leaping forward without stopping.

"It was just a rabbit."

Li Fei breathed a sigh of relief.

The others around them were the same; it was their first time in the mountains. If they were just rushing along, it would be fine, but when something happened, they inevitably became overly nervous.

Only after the rabbit disappeared at the other end of the woods did the group put their weapons away.

Before he could fully relax, he heard Snake Seven whisper:

"No, that rabbit was chased!"

Before he could finish speaking...

Then came the sound of dense wing flapping.

Faster and more swift than a rabbit, it came not from the ground, but from the sky.

By the time they realized what was happening, they were already surrounded by a swarm of wasps.

Densely packed, covering the sky and the earth.

"No, this isn't a wasp at all..."

In Li Fei's horrified vision, a bee-like creature the size of a fist hovered in front of him.

They are larger, yellower, and stronger than ordinary wasps.

Of course, none of this matters.

What truly sent chills down his spine were the human heads growing on the slender waists of these wasps.