Chapter 3, The Land of Evil Spirits

As we walked and talked, we quickly entered the depths of the forest. It was just past noon, yet the woods were as dark as night. In addition to the darkness, a thin layer of mist had formed, which, although not very dense, certainly affected our visibility. Moreover, we dared not use any lighting equipment to avoid triggering traps. The four of us crawled slowly on the ground like dogs.

This person was not killed by those mercenaries; judging by the degree of frost, he must have been dead for a long time. " At this point, Lei Zhen removed the bell from the corpse's hand and said, "The bell hanging on the corpse is meant to attract the attention of those entering the forest area; it seems that someone does not want us to go in.

I laughed and said, "You little rascal, you don't have much ambition. Without saying this, can you really swallow such food? Only by imagining that we are holding a big chicken leg, sizzling with oil, and sprinkled with a handful of cumin, that aroma..." Before I could finish my sentence, a strange fragrance suddenly surged into my nose

It seems that in addition to the four individuals dressed in white veils carrying the red coffin, we must also add one more, the "werewolf caretaker".

It is safe here, feel free to turn on the flashlight and take a look yourself

Not far into the climb, I heard a piercing wolf howl. Caught completely off guard, I nearly jumped up in fright as if I had come back to life. In the darkness ahead, several greenish lights flickered into view; we had unexpectedly encountered a pack of wolves

I couldn't help but exclaim, "I have heard of roasted suckling pig and whole roasted lamb, but today I am truly amazed to see a whole roasted bear." As I spoke, I shone my flashlight around, and when the beam passed over a dark area, I suddenly saw a face as pale as that of a corpse. Its eye sockets were devoid of pupils, only the whites of the eyes remained, and it stared at us intently.

Those who only think of themselves at critical moments are no different whether they are present or not

As time passed, the light in the forest grew dimmer and the temperature dropped lower, so we decided to find a safe place to rest and continue our journey at dawn. While eating, I chewed on the tasteless compressed biscuits and murmured to myself: "I am eating roasted pork, braised tenderloin, and scallion stir-fried sea cucumber..."

Could it be that the mercenaries are trying to intimidate us with a feigned setup

The surroundings were indeed so quiet that not a single sound could be heard, except for the crackling noise made by the burning dry branches. After confirming it was safe, I turned on a flashlight. As a beam of bright white light shot out, I clearly saw a massive brown bear carcass hanging on a roasting rack not far in front of me, its body still emitting steam. Below it was a pile of burnt charcoal, with fat dripping down and continuously making a sizzling sound.

If you truly wish to speak of soldiers, you must learn from their indomitable spirit of refusing to yield even in death

The agents' ability to uncover clues is indeed far superior to ours. After Lei Zhen's analysis, the originally convoluted situation became crystal clear. I said, "Well, if these two groups of bastards end up mutually destroying each other, we can take advantage of the situation and benefit as the fishermen. Not only would we complete the mission, but we would also capture two groups of illegal armed elements. Achieving this level on our first mission, is there any team more impressive than us?" Thinking of this, I couldn't help but smile.

"Old Three, I beg you, please stop talking. The more I eat, the hungrier I become," said Lu Yufan

I suddenly felt a surge of tension, and all the hair on my body stood on end. Instinctively, I grasped the Type 95 assault rifle in front of my chest. However, Lei Zhen pressed down on my shoulder and said softly, "Do not act rashly. A well-fed wolf is not interested in humans. We are all just passersby; let us not provoke each other."

Just as I had prepared for the worst, I suddenly heard a deep voice say: "Are you trying to get yourself killed? Hurry up and move." The dark environment completely concealed the speaker, and we could only hear the voice without knowing what he looked like. However, after this sentence was uttered, the pack of wolves that had been standing still immediately began to run forward, and the sound of snow being trampled echoed in the darkness, producing a "creak, creak" sound.

This statement is powerful and makes me feel ashamed. Lei Zhen quickly intervened, saying: "Now is not the time for debate; there are too many strange occurrences in the forest, and we must not allow ourselves to become divided."

I shall not say much, after all, the reasoning lies with them. It is just that I find it somewhat strange; having experienced a death sentence, how did the gang leader suddenly transform into a caring and loving model worker for the comrades

What did you see? I whispered.

I am merely expressing my concerns; whether or not to heed them is up to everyone. A decision to retreat cannot be solely determined by me. Consider those four soldiers outside the forest; if it were not for extraordinary circumstances, why would they choose to freeze to death rather than retreat

Seeing the strange situation in the forest area, the four of us exchanged glances. After a long while, Guo Changqing finally spoke up: "What do you all think?"

Having made a mistake in the past, one should understand the need for atonement. We are merely four dead men, exchanged for one living soldier, and I believe it is worth it

It is truly incredible that there are people who live alongside an entire pack of wolves, as wolves are not dogs. Wolves are the only wild mammals that cannot be domesticated, which is why even in places like circuses, known for taming fierce beasts, wolves are not kept. This is due to the fact that they can launch a sudden attack at any moment.

Do you have a tendency for masochism? Are you insane? Lu Yufan was clearly very uncomfortable with the term "exploding the chrysanthemum" and was somewhat angry

I said with irritation: "The safest path is to retreat; can you be sure that our missing comrades are on the road to retreat?"

So who will this person be? Is Baihezi a no man's land?" Gou Changqing said

The most terrifying aspect is that he has two heads on his neck, one of which is actually a skull.

Having said that, the four of us quietly lay flat on the snow, not daring to move. I kept praying in my heart for the heavens to protect us, urging that this group of beasts go about their business. However, those wolves had no intention of leaving, their green eyes fixed unwaveringly in our direction.

There are bullet holes in the tree trunk, and the degree of ice inside the bullet holes is not high, indicating that the shooting occurred not long ago. No one would shoot a tree without reason; his actions may have been driven by anger after seeing these words, expressing contempt for the warning. From this, it can be further inferred that those soldiers came to this forest perhaps to trouble the person who wrote the words

Gou Changqing's words made me roll my eyes; after a long while, I finally retorted: "He's just a death row inmate, does one really need to take life so seriously?"

Do not be too optimistic, brother. Including us, there are a total of three groups of people in this forest. Who knows who might be the fisherman? Moreover, the mercenaries still have our people in their hands, and we absolutely cannot allow them to be harmed

Perhaps to ease the tense atmosphere, Lu Yufan said: "Old Third, could you use your tomb-raiding skills to show us a safer path to take"

It took a considerable amount of time for the sound of footsteps to completely fade away, and based on this alone, we can conclude that we have just encountered an absolutely large pack of wolves.

Who knows? International criminal organizations, terrorists, and drug trafficking groups may all be creating a secret passage in this uninhabited area, which is a method they have consistently employed, and I am very familiar with it. At this point, Lei Zhen suddenly displayed a look of confusion. He leaned closer to one of the trees and examined it carefully, saying: "I can also provide everyone with a piece of information: the mercenaries who entered before us might have come for the person who wrote on the tree."

Passing through the gaps between several large trees, they arrived at a relatively open clearing in the forest, where the fragrance in the air became increasingly intense. However, Lu Yufan stopped and said, "What the hell, are these people crazy?"

I pulled hard and moved my nose a couple of times, saying: "Is it just my illusion?"

According to ? '' Gou Changqing also joined in.

Lei Zhen lowered his voice and said: "It's not an illusion; someone is grilling food nearby. It seems we are about to meet those mercenaries." Upon hearing this, everyone packed their gear. Lu Yufan put on his night vision goggles, and we followed him as we began to move.

Several brothers, I have a foreboding feeling that if we continue to delve deeper, we are very likely to be ambushed.