Chapter 8: Peril in the Forest

Xia Xiaorong truly looks pale and haggard now. Nie Mo patted her shoulder and said to her, "With me here, no matter what happens, I will not let you come to any harm."

"I am hungry, give me something to eat," Nie Mo suddenly said

Another voice sounded older, "Don't think about those things. We don't even know if we can survive, yet you still think about women. I also don't know where the boss has gone. After we entered the mountains, we split into pairs and ran in different directions. We still don't know if they are alive or dead."

Xia Xiaorong shot him a glare and simply said, "Don't think too much; I was just shooting randomly. I would never aim there to fire a gun"

Well, it's alright. During our training, we would run several dozen miles on mountainous terrain with weights.

Could it be that the strange giant beasts he encountered in the cave have also appeared on this mountain? If that is the case, then those who enter the mountain will be in danger. Thinking of Mo Zining, he furrowed his brows

Xia Xiaorong said irritably: "If it's just water, then forget it."

Nie Mo took a big gulp and felt somewhat helpless, thinking to himself that it was better to endure a bit, as the girl hadn't complained about being hungry. Reflecting on this, he realized it was also his fault for not preparing properly, and he hadn't expected to enter the mountains only in the evening

As the light drew nearer, it revealed two men, not Mo Zining and the others, which left Nie Mo quite disappointed. Judging by their attire, they were neither police nor armed police; could they be two of the bandits?

The two individuals remained lying on the ground as before. Nie Mo drew his military knife, staring intently ahead, while the swaying of the trees grew increasingly pronounced, drawing closer to them. Xia Xiaorong also tightened her grip on the gun in her hand, aiming at any person or animal that might appear in front of them at any moment. Soon, they heard voices, likely indicating the presence of two people.

Just as Nie Mo was contemplating how to deal with the two men holding guns, a massive shadow suddenly flashed by in front of him, followed by a series of gunshots and screams. They had been attacked by something. It seemed they had already become the monster's meal. In the darkness, a pair of large eyes turned towards them, and Xia Xiaorong was so startled that she almost cried out. Nie Mo quickly covered her mouth with his hand, preventing any sound from escaping. Not long after, the enormous shadow dashed off in another direction, moving at an astonishing speed, which left Nie Mo secretly astonished.

Well, maybe you are right. You know me; I feel uncomfortable whenever there are no women around. If there were a woman, I would definitely make her feel absolutely great. Wait a moment, I need to take a leak

It is almost twelve o'clock

After everything had passed, Nie Mo slowly stood up, while Xia Xiaorong remained on the ground, her body trembling uncontrollably

Hearing the words "we two," Nie Mo felt that the woman in front of him became adorable. He glanced at the bright spot and lowered his voice, saying: "Don't be too happy; we don't know if those bandits are around. Let's not move, turn off the flashlight, and assess the situation first"

The roar only occurred once, and the surroundings remained as quiet as before. Nie Mo glanced at Xia Xiaorong, whose face appeared somewhat pale in the moonlight, and said: "You must stay closely behind me. Also, no matter what happens, you must listen to me."

Xia Xiaorong, who was crawling beside him, occasionally moved her body. Nie Mozhen was genuinely worried that the person ahead would notice, so he nudged her, signaling her to stay still. Xia Xiaorong glared at him fiercely a couple of times, wanting to speak but not saying a word.

Xia Xiaorong looked up at him, momentarily at a loss for words, and simply nodded. She did not understand why this unfamiliar man in front of her would protect her, yet his words provided her with an unprecedented sense of security

"There is light ahead," Xia Xiaorong suddenly exclaimed. She became as happy as a child and said, "Could it be our people?"

Xia Xiaorong seemed to sense his confusion and said, "I served in the military, but later I was injured and discharged early, which is why I became a police officer"

"One must never offend a woman; your quick response is truly commendable," Nie Mo said with a hint of teasing.

Xia Xiaorong was quite displeased and said, "It is you who ran too fast, and I am also carrying a machine gun."

After hearing Nie Mo's words, Xia Xiaorong became somewhat worried and asked, "Are there wild beasts in this area?" As she spoke, she took out her gun and loaded it.

Oh, I see. No wonder you have been walking along the mountain path for so long in your police uniform without complaining of fatigue

Nie Mo merely nodded, not informing her that it could be a monster more ferocious than a beast. At that moment, a tremendous roar erupted from their west. Xia Xiaorong was startled, gripping her handgun tightly. Since she had made the decision to ascend the mountain, she had known that encountering a beast was highly likely. However, now that she faced one, the mental preparation she had made suddenly crumbled, leaving her feeling icy all over and gripped by fear, unconsciously moving closer to Nie Mo. Even so, she still appeared relatively composed; after all, she was a police officer and did not want to provide amusement to the man before her.

Nie Mo pulled Xia Xiaorong, and before she could react, she heard the sound of a massive creature crashing through the woods, accompanied by loud panting. Startled, she dared not think too much and followed him into the thicket.

It turned out that the military knife in his hand had already been plunged into the forehead of the man called Lao Qin, killing him instantly, without even the chance to draw a gun. Another person, still adjusting his pants, turned around intending to shoot, but Nie Mo only heard a gunshot from behind; that man had already fallen to the ground, writhing in pain, his cries resembling those of a pig being slaughtered, as he covered his lower body with both hands

Nie Mo was somewhat puzzled, feeling that the current police officers undergo quite intense training, and that the current police academies are indeed not very enduring

After running for a short while, Nie Mo turned around and saw that the woman behind the *picture* and *book* had not followed closely, having fallen quite a distance behind. He had to run back and saw Xia Xiaorong desperately running towards him, "Why are you so slow? You were in the military after all"

"That's not right, I seem to smell the scent of a woman."

"Are you alright, Officer Xia?" Nie Mo squatted down and said again: "It has already left"

Nie Mo did not say a word and took the AK from her. "Haven't you already run several dozen miles with a heavy load? Run a bit further; it's still not safe now." Upon hearing this, Xia Xiaorong felt even angrier. If it weren't for the current situation, her personality would have led her to turn around and leave long ago.

Nie Mo crouched down and shone his flashlight, discovering a relatively large bone on the ground. After examining it carefully for a while, he realized it was not a human bone, but that of a wild animal. However, he felt something was amiss; the bone resembled a tooth, yet it was long and sharp. Where would an ordinary wild animal acquire such large teeth

Nie Mo glanced and found it truly unbearable to look at, as the bullet had struck the man's vital area. He turned to look at Xia Xiaorong, who had already stepped forward, holding her service pistol in her hand

"Then you didn't say anything, how would I know? I thought you were asking me to cover for you," she pouted and said somewhat displeased. Seeing that Nie Mo was silent, she found it a bit strange. After watching him stand there in a daze for a few seconds, she suddenly heard him shout, 'Run!'

Nie Mo stood up, looked around, and said in a serious tone: "Let's hurry, it's very dangerous here. Take out your belongings and prepare for class."

Not knowing, Nie Mo looked in the direction where the two had just been attacked. "Let's go take a look; their guns should still be there"

After running for a while, Nie Mo realized that Xia Xiaorong had fallen behind him again, feeling utterly speechless. What was this woman doing? He ran back and saw Xia Xiaorong limping. Sigh, what a hassle. Before he could say anything after rushing over, he heard a loud noise coming from behind, and he inwardly exclaimed that it was bad.

Nie Mo looked at the person on the ground who was almost fainting from pain and said, "I didn't want you to shoot just now; I wanted to leave him alive. Now, look at him like this; even if he doesn't die, we won't be able to question him."

"Just follow me," said Nie Mo as he walked towards the large tree where he had just urinated. The further he went, the denser the bushes became, and Nie Mo had to use his hands to push them aside to make it easier for Xia Xiaorong to pass through. He thought about the knife he had lost, wishing he had it at that moment. "What time is it now?" Nie Mo suddenly asked.

Nie Mo pressed the gun in her hand with his hand, signaling her not to shoot. Before Xia Xiaorong could fully react, he darted out like a rabbit, the knife in his hand already flying out, followed immediately by a scream.

Nie Mo turned to glance at Xia Xiaorong beside him; her expression was extremely unpleasant, as if she wanted to skin the two men in front of her alive

The location where they were speaking was no more than ten meters away from Nie Mo and the others, and only another person's voice could be heard saying, "Old Qin, do you smell that?"

Xia Xiaorong only handed him a bottle of water. Nie Mo said: "Is it just water? Didn't I see you take a bag from the police car?"

Nie Mo handed the machine gun to Xia Xiaorong, keeping only the military knife for himself, as he found the knife to be more useful than the gun. Moreover, he believed that Xia Xiaorong needed the more powerful weapon more than he did. He looked at Xia Xiaorong, who was carrying the machine gun, and said, "Isn't it a bit heavy?" He then took the bag off her.

Old Qin chuckled lightly and said, "You can't be going crazy thinking about women; there are no women in these deep mountains, but there are plenty of female animals, hehe"

They arrived at the location where the two individuals had been attacked, but did not see any bodies. It seemed that they had been completely swallowed by that monster, and there were no visible bloodstains on the ground. In fact, even if there were, they would not have been able to see them clearly. Nie Mo only found an AK rifle, which he mentioned to Tushu was the first time he had seen one, but he knew that this gun had considerable power. Next to the rifle, he discovered a military knife that appeared to be very sharp. Although it was not as good as the short knife he had lost earlier, it was still decent. It seemed that these bandits were well-equipped.

Xia Xiaorong saw Nie Mo squatting there and did not get up. She was unsure of what he had discovered and intended to ask, but upon realizing that he was urinating not far from her, she felt irritated and refrained from speaking up.

As Nie Mo crouched down, he thought to himself that the other party should not have noticed them. After all, they had just been using a flashlight. Seeing this, Xia Xiaorong had no choice but to follow him and lie on the ground. After a long while, the light drew much closer to them, but in the darkness of the night, it was still impossible to see who it was. Nie Mo estimated that there were probably two people, and he couldn't help but feel excited. Could it be Mo Zining and the others? He hoped that the one who would appear would be that beautiful woman. After a long while, the light drew much closer to them, but in the darkness of the night, it was still impossible to see who it was. Nie Mo estimated that there were probably two people, and he couldn't help but feel excited. Could it be Mo Zining and the others? He hoped that the one who would appear would be that beautiful woman.

After a while, Xia Xiaorong finally stood up, as if she had lost her soul, taking a long time to regain her composure, "It's nothing, what is that thing"

Xia Xiaorong was about to speak when Nie Mo suddenly made a gesture for silence. Xia Xiaorong refrained from speaking, merely observing Nie Mo's expression. Nie Mo pulled her back, retreating into the bushes behind them. Xia Xiaorong understood, as she then heard the sounds of animals or people approaching from a distance.

Nie Mo stopped, gazing at the pitch-black forest. They had been walking for nearly four hours since descending the mountain, and it had been almost two hours since they entered this forest. Why were they still unable to find their way out? Was it possible that he had not chosen the right direction? He recalled that when he descended the mountain with Mo Zining and the others, they also passed through a forest. Could it be that it was not this one?

Xia Xiaorong hesitated for a moment, instinctively glanced in the direction from which the sound had come, and then nodded, saying: "Alright, which direction shall we head in now"

Do not be startled by anything you hear

One of them cursed, saying: "Damn it, running into this mountain is really a pain in the ass; otherwise, I would still be in my woman's bed at this time"