Ghost Hand and the others also noticed Luo Zheng's odd behavior and couldn't help but beco curious. They looked in the direction where the leopard had retreated before all their gazes fell on Luo Zheng. After a mont of contemplation, Luo Zheng explained, "Just now I didn't strike, and the leopard realized this, so it backed down. After leaving, it called out twice. You all heard that, right?"
"We heard it. What does it an?" Lan Xue asked in surprise.
"That was its way of thanking ," Luo Zheng said with a smile.
"Cut it out, all that mystique, who are you trying to fool?" Ghost Hand said with a disbelieving laugh.
"How can you be sure?" Lan Xue asked.
"Intuition, a hunter's intuition. Don't believe it? Never mind," Luo Zheng said nonchalantly, taking off his Night Vision Device. The recent fight had been made much easier thanks to the device; otherwise, it would have been impossible to see the leopard's attacks in the pitch-black forest. Luo Zheng looked into the dark woods, the moonlight obscured by the dense tree canopy and the stars hanging high, and let out a sigh of relief knowing the next day would be sunny and said, "This forest is extrely dangerous. I suggest we rest here and continue the journey tomorrow."
"That sounds good," Lan Xue agreed, and everyone spread out to look for a suitable place to rest. They soon found a protruding massive rock halfway up a mountainside. The top of the rock was relatively flat, surrounded by the dung of wild animals. Luo Zheng thought that this place might be a leopard's territory. A fierce beast's territory was ideal for setting up camp, so they all settled down.
No one felt like sleeping, so they sat quietly on the rock platform to rest and regain their strength. Luo Zheng looked up at the sky, where there were no trees to block the view; the moonlight was like water, clear and bright, and the sea breeze brought a fishy sll that was not pleasant. Unnad insects were chirping annoyingly, making it hard to find peace.
"I didn't expect to encounter a leopard so soon after entering, this forest is no simple place. It seems we have to be extra careful," Lan Xue said worriedly. She glanced at the others resting with closed eyes and her face grew serious as she continued, "Regarding the mission, do you have any thoughts?"
"Without seeing the base, discussing any ideas is a bit unrealistic for now. Let's just see how it goes. Don't worry, we'll figure sothing out," Luo Zheng said softly, checking the ti—it was already past three in the morning. He then said, "I'll sleep for two hours. Keep an eye out and wake when it's ti."
Lan Xue agreed, told others to sleep for a bit, and stood guard herself. The deep night in the prival forest wasn't safe, with potential threats like sudden enemies or passing fierce beasts that could be deadly, not to ntion the danger of catching a cold due to weather changes or poisonous gases carried by the wind. They couldn't afford to let their guard down.
Two hours later, all was still well. Without needing Lan Xue to wake him, Luo Zheng's internal clock alerted him on ti. When he woke, it was already five, and a hint of light was touching the sky; dawn was close. Luo Zheng didn't dare to be careless, inspected his weapons, and signaled Lan Xue to get so sleep, which she naturally didn't hesitate to do.
Soon after, Mountain Eagle woke up and went into the forest to forage for food. Luo Zheng didn't stop him and continued to keep watch. Ghost Hand and Snow Leopard also woke up and began looking for dry wood to make a fire. By the ti Mountain Eagle ca back carrying two plump rabbits, the campfire was already burning. As daylight brightened, they didn't need to worry too much about the fire being spotted, since the mist from the dense forest made the smoke from the fire difficult to discern.
Half an hour later, after everyone had eaten their fill, they set off again. On their way, they spotted several wild fruit trees with birds pecking at the fruit, clearly indicating the fruit was not poisonous. The group climbed and picked so, happy to have a good source of vitamins. They continued along a mountain ridge and suddenly noticed two wild wolves that had appeared before them.
The problem of the wolves was not big, the team could handle them, but these creatures held grudges and lived in packs, so killing these two would likely bring more. It's best to avoid conflicts with wild wolves in the prival forest whenever possible, so they swiftly reached a consensus to avoid them.
"Awooo!" Suddenly, a fierce roar arose, and everyone's faces tightened as they hurriedly climbed the trees. Luo Zheng climbed onto a branch of a large tree and suddenly spotted an Arican leopard erging from the dense forest. He was startled, fixing his gaze upon the creature—it was the very one he had fought with before.
"Eh?" The others also saw the leopard and exclaid in surprise.
Then, an even stranger occurrence unfolded. Upon seeing the leopard, two wild wolves growled lowly and turned tail to run, quickly disappearing from view. The leopard swaggered up, stopping about ten ters away from Luo Zheng, and gave him a cold look before turning and running off as well.
"Ghost, you really called it. That was incredible. With this big guy looking out for us, aren't we invincible in this primal forest?" Ghost Hand shouted in amazent.
"No, it was repaying a favor to . Now that the favor has been returned, it's going to leave," Luo Zheng said with a hint of regret. On second thought, this was also good; at least they wouldn't have to worry about being targeted by wild wolves anymore.
"Ah?" Ghost Hand's face also showed a look of regret.
"Let's move on," Lan Xue said sternly, jumping down from the large tree and gesturing for everyone to continue on their way.
Two hours later, without realizing it, the group descended the ridge and followed the spine of the hills to a valley, where a river blocked their path. The current wasn't fast, and the river's width varied from ten ters at its widest to no more than five ters at its narrowest point. When they reached a narrower section, Luo Zheng surveyed the opposite bank. The ground was firm, so he suggested, "First, we'll throw our equipnt across. Then we'll chop down a long tree trunk to pole-vault over."
"Okay," Lan Xue agreed, and everyone started to unbundle their packs. After setting down his own gear, Luo Zheng, carrying the Dragon Tooth, went back into the woods to cut a suitable tree for a pole. Suddenly, he heard the rustling of underbrush from a dense spot in the forest, which alard him. He instantly gripped his knife in readiness and called out, "Sothing's up, be careful."
Before the others could reach him, Luo Zheng was horror-stricken to see a giant python slithering toward him. It was over ten ters long and thick enough for a person to embrace, its tiger-like eyes focused and intense. He quickly shouted, "It's a giant python! No one co over! Get ready to fire!"
The rest were rushing over but stopped at his shout, aiming their guns. They quickly spotted the python too, their faces blanching at its size—the first ti any of them had seen such a large snake. Tension mounted. Lan Xue saw the python slowing down as it swam towards Luo Zheng and cried in alarm, "Quick, move back!"
"We can't retreat. The python is fast; retreating ans death. Don't panic," Luo Zheng, who had hunted from a young age, naturally understood the nature of pythons. The more you fled, the more they pursued. You simply couldn't outrun a python. The best strategy was to stand your ground, confusing the python so it wouldn't dare attack rashly, and wait for an opportunity to counterattack.
"This thing's too big, use guns," Ghost Hand urgently suggested, his face as grave as iron, standing at the ready. His gun was firmly trained on the seven-inch vital area of the python, uncertain if the bullets could deal lethal damage.
"Hold on, it might not attack. Don't provoke it unnecessarily. If bullets don't kill the python instantly, a wounded python is even more vicious. Everyone, be careful," Luo Zheng warned urgently, his hand holding the Dragon Tooth was full of cold sweat. Facing such an enormous snake, no one could remain calm.
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