Run Sheng asked, "Could there be wild animals around here?"
Xue Liangliang shook his head, "Team Leader Ma specifically inquired locals beforehand, and there are no signs of wild animals in the vicinity. Besides, even if it were wild beasts, they couldn’t just carry off three grown n at once. Even if the animal decided to eat them on the spot, it would leave behind a lot of traces."
At that mont, lights flickered in Morse code from afar.
Xue Liangliang waved his hand, "Let’s go over there and check it out."
Nearby squads gathered towards the source of the light signals.
Upon arriving, beneath a large boulder, everyone found a hat and a climbing stick broken into two pieces, confird to belong to the missing team mbers.
Holding a flashlight, Xue Liangliang carefully examined the ground, then he lay on his side into the boulder, placing his climbing stick horizontally, wedging it between the ground and the edge of the rock.
He imdiately shouted, "Look over there for any traces, search carefully."
"Here! Found sothing, there’s a white scratch."
After Xue Liangliang had confird the finding, he squatted down again, directing the flashlight onto a small stone on the ground and even picked up several, slling both sides of them.
"Keep looking forward to see if there are flipped stones on the ground, pay attention to the change in color depth and the intensity of the stench."
Everyone imdiately started searching.
Soon, many people reported finding signs.
At this mont, everyone understood what it implied, conjuring a similar image in their minds: Sothing had dragged a team mber across the ground here, and as they passed, that team mber had tried to use their climbing stick to wedge it between the large stone and the ground, but the creature was so powerful it snapped the climbing stick in two.
One person imdiately asked, "Who did this?"
Xue Liangliang shook his head, "Not a person, there’s no need for brute force if it was."
"What is this thing?" Soone else discovered sothing new nearby, picking up a half palm-sized smooth object from the ground which could partially transmit light when illuminated by a flashlight, resembling glass but with a different texture.
Everyone passed it around, but no one could identify it. When it reached Li Zhiyuan, the boy put the object under his nose and sniffed, then handed it over to Run Sheng who also bent down to take a whiff.
"Xiao Yuan, it has an earthy stench."
"Earthy stench?" Xue Liangliang frowned looking at Li Zhiyuan, "Xiao Yuan, can you guess what this is?"
Li Zhiyuan replied, "Could it possibly be a snake scale?"
This guess was a bit terrifying; if such a large piece was a snake scale, how long and big must the snake be?
Several people around chuckled, thinking the kid was smart enough to get into university early but his imagination was still too wild.
Soone suggested that since they had found abandoned items, they should continue moving forward. This suggestion was quickly endorsed by most people, and the crowd continued to advance up the slope.
Li Zhiyuan tugged at Xue Liangliang’s sleeve, "Brother Liang, I don’t think we should keep going. If we do, we should at least wait until daylight."
Xue Liangliang sighed helplessly, "If we don’t find the people before daylight, we’ll have to suspend operations and report to the police, asking them and the local governnt to mobilize nearby villagers to assist in the search. Moreover, the three have just gone missing; even if they’ve encountered sothing, this is still a pri ti for search and rescue.
Most importantly, Xiao Yuan, these are experienced folks, my words don’t carry much weight.
How about this, Run Sheng, Binbin, you two stay here with Xiao Yuan or head back to the camp first. You’re not officially part of the camp crew."
The implication was that Xue Liangliang still had to continue searching forward regardless; it was an unavoidable responsibility to attempt a rescue for the missing colleagues, despite... knowing that there could be dangers up ahead.
"Sigh, let’s go then. Let everyone shine their flashlights more on the ground, see if we can spot any more reflective surfaces, find more of these scales."
"Alright."
Everyone resud their search, heading further up. The slope on the left beca steeper, and the water on the right deeper; the group could only proceed on the flatter riverbank in the middle.
However, despite not finding similar scales, in a small depression, a shoe was found with fresh bloodstains around it.
For the first ti, it was confird that soone among the missing team mbers was injured.
Soone at the front shouted, "There’s an opening here."
Everyone rushed over, and indeed, on the left slope, there was a two-person-tall cave entrance, with the flashlight quickly hitting the stone wall when shone inside.
Initially, the cave was thought to be shallow, but when soone pointed their flashlight downward, they discovered that there was a large hollow space in the middle, pitch black.
Sharp stone spikes on the edge of the black hole seed to have sothing hanging on them, but facing this unknown cave, everyone hesitated, wary of being the first to go in and check.
Xue Liangliang pushed through the crowd and entered the cave first, cautiously moving to the edge of the pit, reaching out for the object – a strip of fabric from an article of clothing, likely from the chest area with a na tag still on it, "Feng Zhigao," one of the missing persons.
When Xue Liangliang brought out the piece of fabric, everyone gathered to examine it.
"Does that an the person is down there?"
"Why would they run down there?"
"What did this?"
Li Zhiyuan didn’t move forward to look at the fabric strip but stood at the cave entrance, his ears twitching slightly as he heard the "whooshing" of the wind coming from the pit, indicating that the pit was deep and there was wind howling inside.
Hmm? That’s not right, there are other sounds, what’s that scraping sound?
Li Zhiyuan crouched down, pressing his ear to the ground.
Seeing Xiao Yuan’s actions, Run Sheng, Tan Wenbin, and Xue Liangliang also quietly moved closer, all aware of the boy’s keen hearing.
At this mont, everyone’s position was: cave entrance—Li Zhiyuan and three others—surveyors—river.
The scraping sound beca clearer. As Li Zhiyuan listened, he raised his eyes toward the front, the cave, as if sothing would erge the next mont.
Just as he was about to shout for everyone to run away from the cave, he realized the sound wasn’t coming from within it but from the opposite side.
In the river, sothing was crawling towards them, it was coming!
Li Zhiyuan stood up abruptly, his gaze shifting to the group of surveyors gathered near the riverbank discussing the situation and examining the clothes, and above all their heads...
Suddenly two red lantern-like lights flared up!
———
Everyone, check your accounts. If you have a monthly ticket, cast it for the dragon and hold on tight!
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