64: Choices in dire straits

The sky was just beginning to brighten as morning light struggled to pierce through the dense layers of the canopy, casting mottled shadows upon the forest floor, yet it did nothing to dispel the deathly silence and chill hanging over the camp.

Wang Dalong hadn't slept all night. He leaned against a tree trunk, his eyes bloodshot and rimmed with red. The silent massacre from the previous night replayed in his mind like an inescapable nightmare. Juan, Carlos, and the support staff who had traveled with them—though they hadn't known each other long—had all vanished without a sound.

His lips were parched and cracked, and his body trembled slightly from fear and the cold.

"Feng... Brother Feng, what... what do we do?" His voice was hoarse and filled with despair. "They'll come back for us... we're dead..."

Lin Feng didn't say a word. He was squatting in the center of the camp, meticulously examining the marks on the ground.

His expression was exceptionally focused, as if everything that happened last night had nothing to do with him. He pinched a bit of soil between his fingers, sniffed it, and then carefully observed the extremely faint footprints left by the attackers.

His calmness formed a stark contrast with Wang Dalong's breakdown.

Looking at Lin Feng's back, a deeper fear welled up in Wang Dalong's heart. He felt that the current Lin Feng was so unfamiliar it was frightening. It seemed as though all normal human emotions had been completely stripped away, leaving behind only an absolutely rational, high-speed precision machine.

"Brother Feng, you... say something!" Wang Dalong's voice carried a hint of a sob; he was being driven mad by the silence.

Lin Feng finally stood up and turned to look at him.

"Do you want to live?" Lin Feng spoke, his voice steady and devoid of emotion.

Wang Dalong froze for a moment and nodded subconsciously.

"Then shut your mouth and listen to me." Lin Feng walked up to him and held the lethal Blowgun Dart before his eyes. "Recognize this? It's the weapon of the Guardians drawn in the notebook. Their appearance proves two things."

Lin Feng held up one finger. "First, we've found the right place. El Dorado is nearby, close enough that we've stepped into their alert perimeter."

He held up a second finger, his gaze sharpening. "Second, we are in extreme danger. The opponents are top-tier hunters of the jungle, and we are the prey that has intruded upon their territory. They didn't search thoroughly last night, but once day breaks, they will definitely notice two people are missing. They will return."

Wang Dalong's heart pounded as he listened, his face turning even paler.

"So, we have two choices now," Lin Feng continued, his tone like he was solving a math problem. "A: continue forward and find El Dorado. But there are only two of us, we have no supplies, and we'll be facing a mysterious and deadly primitive tribe. The survival rate is less than one percent."

He paused, looking directly into Wang Dalong's eyes.

"B: give up on the treasure and flee immediately. Before they find and catch up to us, we find a way to locate their tribe, steal their boat, and head downstream to leave this valley."

"Steal... steal a boat?" Wang Dalong's mouth hung open in an 'O' shape. He felt Lin Feng's second plan was even crazier than the first. "We're going to steal a boat from those murderers? Isn't that just walking into a trap?"

"It's our only way out," Lin Feng said unquestioningly. "If we go back the way we came, we won't last two days. Without food or tools, the jungle will swallow us. But if we can find their tribe, we'll definitely find water and the means to leave. Their tribe must be built near a river."

Lin Feng's reasoning was terrifyingly clear. While everyone else was gripped by fear and only wanted to run, he was thinking about how to actively approach the source of danger to find a glimmer of hope.

"The most dangerous place often hides the only way out," Lin Feng said. "Now, do you choose A or B?"

Wang Dalong looked into Lin Feng's eyes, which were so calm they were almost cold. He knew Lin Feng wasn't joking.

A was an illusory treasure and an almost certain death.

B was a life-or-death gamble and a faint glimmer of hope.

"I... I choose B..." Wang Dalong squeezed the words out. El Dorado, historical mysteries—none of it mattered in the face of survival.

"Good." Lin Feng nodded, seemingly unsurprised by the answer.

He carefully wrapped the Blowgun Dart in cloth and tucked it into his shirt. "From now on, we aren't explorers; we're stalkers. Don't make any unnecessary noise, and don't leave any unnecessary tracks. Don't take out your camera unless I tell you to."

He picked up a machete Juan had left behind and handed it to Wang Dalong.

"Take it. For self-defense."

Wang Dalong gripped the cold hilt, his palms drenched in sweat.

Lin Feng said no more. He squatted down and began to carefully identify the tracks left by the attackers when they departed last night.

The footprints were very light, almost impossible to spot if one wasn't looking closely. But Lin Feng's eyes, enhanced by the Genetic Serum, were like a high-powered microscope. He could determine the direction of their advance from a single blade of trampled grass or a speck of disturbed soil.

"Keep up, maintain your distance, and step in my footprints."

After saying that, Lin Feng slipped into the jungle like a nimble cat, silently tracking the direction where the Guardians had vanished.

Wang Dalong looked at his back, gritted his teeth, gripped the machete tightly, and followed him with unsteady steps.

He didn't know if this path led to life or death, but he knew that following Lin Feng closely was his only choice now.

A deadly pursuit where the roles of hunter and prey could swap at any moment began... several kilometers away from their camp.

The captain of the Scorpion Squad was observing Lin Feng and Wang Dalong's every move through high-powered binoculars.

"Sir, the targets have started moving," he reported in a low voice into his throat mic. "They didn't choose to go deeper, nor did they choose to return the way they came. They are... tracking the attackers from last night."

On the other end of the comms, Osiris remained silent for a few seconds.

"An interesting choice." There was a hint of amusement in his voice. "He guessed that the Guardians' tribe is downstream and wants to steal a boat to escape?"

"It's highly likely. His logical analysis capabilities exceed our estimates."

"Good, this is exactly how my 'Key' should be." Osiris let out a light chuckle. "Let him go. Let him scout the way ahead. See if he can find the Guardians' tribe. We also happen to want to know which hole those rats are hiding in."

"Understood. We will continue to maintain our distance and monitor them."

"No," Osiris said suddenly. "Tighten the perimeter. Follow them more closely. I have a premonition that the gate is about to open. I don't want any accidents at the final moment."

"Yes, sir!"

The Scorpion Captain lowered his binoculars and gestured for his team members to move forward.

Several mercenaries, moving like ghosts, immediately picked up their pace. Like an invisible net, they quietly closed in on Lin Feng and Wang Dalong's position.

And Lin Feng and Wang Dalong, struggling to track through the jungle, were completely unaware of all this.

They didn't know that a group of even deadlier hunters was following behind them. The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.