The snowfield!
It was a vast, boundless snowfield.
Visibility was clear, even at night.
From the top of the vehicle, looking northwest, one could see the forest several kilometers away.
A warning sign—
Was it a warning sign?
Yes and no.
No, because it wasn't the typical blue-and-white sign most people would imagine.
Instead, it was a cross made by tying together two logs, as thick as a bowl, with wire.
It stood about four meters tall, leaning precariously, shivering with every gust of wind.
Yes, this crude cross was a warning sign.
Because tied to it with rope was a corpse!
It had a certain resemblance to the suffering of the great Jesus in his final moments.
But the legs of this corpse, dead for who knew how long, had been almost completely gnawed away by snow wolves.
If not for the strong bindings around its arms and half its torso, the body would have long been dragged away by the wolves.
One could believe that nowhere else in the world—
Was there a warning sign as effective as this in making those who saw it stop immediately!
At least when Murong Mingyuan saw the warning sign, she immediately hit the brakes and reported back to Li Qianfan.
Li Qianfan, who had been looking at his phone in the back seat, put it down and looked up.
Under the bright headlights, Li Qianfan could clearly see that the corpse, some ten meters away, was a foreigner.
It was obvious.
This man was one of Rhode's subordinates. He must have made some mistake, for upon death, he was not buried but tied to a cross to serve as a warning sign.
Poor soul—
Li Qianfan grabbed the down jacket beside him, put it on, pulled up his hood, picked up a powerful flashlight, and got out of the car.
Seeing him disembark, Jiao Yin and Murong Mingyuan also opened their doors and stepped out.
It was cold.
On the desolate snowfield, especially after a clear spell following snowfall, the temperature must have been at least minus thirty degrees Celsius.
Even the snow that had fallen that morning was now frozen hard, almost turning into ice.
Li Qianfan shone his flashlight and approached the warning sign. After examining the corpse, he looked behind it.
Behind the warning sign lay the endless snowfield.
Only the silent snow was visible, with no sign of any living creature.
Yet, an indescribable aura of desolation emanated from it.
"Master."
Jiao Yin, standing beside Li Qianfan, asked with a tremor in her voice due to an inexplicable fear, "We've come this far. Let's take a video and punch in our location, then turn back? For some reason, I feel like there are pairs of strange eyes watching us from over there (behind the warning sign)."
As she spoke, she clutched Li Qianfan's arm.
He could clearly feel her entire body trembling, just like her voice.
She continued, "I also feel like those unseen eyes are luring us, urging us to quickly cross the warning sign and enter their outer defense perimeter."
"Beauty Jiao is acting again."
"She's using her fear to feign retreat, trying to provoke my reckless nature."
"But do you think I'll fall for her trick?"
Li Qianfan marveled at this woman's skill in coaxing the dead to hang themselves, his admiration flowing like the Yellow River.
"Heh, even if I step into their outer defense perimeter, what can they do to me?"
Li Qianfan sneered, shook off Jiao Yin's embrace, and with a swift movement, leaped behind the warning sign.
Jiao Yin cried out in alarm, "Master, come back quickly!"
Even Murong Mingyuan, who knew nothing, had a drastic change in her expression.
Just as she was about to shout for Li Qianfan to return with Jiao Yin, she saw him swiftly jump back.
"Master—"
Jiao Yin finally let out a long sigh of relief, her hand on her chest, about to say, "You scared me to death," when Li Qianfan stopped again and leaped several meters beyond the warning sign.
"I'm here!"
Li Qianfan cupped his hands around his mouth and roared towards the Black Water Forest, "I've stepped into your outer perimeter! Come and catch me! Come on, come and catch me."
The snowfield was silent.
The forest was silent—
Only Li Qianfan's arrogant shouts could travel three hundred meters against the wind.
Before his roaring voice could completely dissipate in the wind, he leaped back again.
Even more arrogant—
He was repeatedly dancing on the edge of self-destruction!
"Since you're not showing yourselves, then don't blame me for not giving you a chance to capture me! A bunch of cowards with ill intentions! You just want to capture me alive as a bargaining chip for negotiations, right? Why aren't you coming out? Come on, this is the third time I'm stepping into your so-called defensive zone. Come out and fight me for three hundred rounds."
For the next five to six minutes, Li Qianfan spouted vulgarities and made wild claims.
But the snowfield remained silent.
The distant forest remained silent.
Not a single living thing appeared within their sight.
Only the invisible wind, blowing almost at ground level across the snow, made Murong Mingyuan shiver.
Perhaps it was out of fear.
Li Qianfan finally got tired of jumping.
His throat was somewhat hoarse from shouting.
He had, to some extent, satisfied his urge.
Finally, he gave a middle finger—
Li Qianfan turned and walked towards the car, "Meinu, Murong, set up camp and prepare to cook. We'll sleep here tonight. Tomorrow, we'll head back. This godforsaken place is just cold and more cold; it's really no fun."
Murong Mingyuan asked casually, "Master, you really don't plan to go rescue those people?"
"Nonsense."
Li Qianfan scoffed, "If I wanted to rescue those people, why would I bring you two useless burdens? Should I expect you to perform a bare-chested dance for them? Or perhaps I should hand you over as gifts to those cold-blooded beasts?"
Murong Mingyuan said nothing.
But in her eyes looking at Li Qianfan, there was a clear disdain.
In her opinion, since Li Qianfan had come this far, he should at least have a fierce battle with the enemy. Only after being completely unable to do so would it be too late to retreat.
After all, during his pre-expedition press conference, he had been so bold that he had ignited the fighting spirit of many in the audience.
So, it turned out—
He was purely here to mark his presence!
Especially when Jiao Yin was busy moving the fire-starting equipment from the car onto the snow, and Li Qianfan handed his phone to Murong Mingyuan to take a video as proof that he had reached the enemy's defense zone, Murong Mingyuan felt an indescribable disgust towards him!
Suppressing this feeling, she said in a low voice, "I'll accompany you."
Li Qianfan, who had taken off his bulky down jacket to look more dashing in his video, was taken aback. "Accompany me for what?"
Murong Mingyuan looked towards the area behind the warning sign and said, "I'll accompany you to fight a bloody battle with the enemy over there."
Li Qianfan—
Raised his hand and slapped the back of Murong Mingyuan's head, scolding, "Are you f**king insane? To incite me to fight a bunch of beasts for those fat pigs?"
Murong Mingyuan dared not speak.
"If you want to go, go by yourself. Dare to incite me again, and I'll beat you to death."
Li Qianfan said coldly, throwing his down jacket to the ground. "Hold the phone properly and record for me."
Murong Mingyuan bit her lip hard, looking at him stubbornly.
She was completely uncooperative.
Li Qianfan remained silent, meeting her gaze.
Jiao Yin, who was busy starting the fire, saw that things were not right.
She quickly put down her work and ran over. "Okay, okay. Master, please don't be angry. I'll take the photos for you."
She snatched the phone from Murong's hand, pushed her slightly, and reprimanded in a low voice, "What are you doing? Master has already done something that most people wouldn't dare to do by coming here. How can you incite Master to take risks? Looking at the entire world, there doesn't seem to be a servant like you who betrays their master!"
"I need you, a stinking woman, to boss me around!?"
Murong Mingyuan dared not retort to Li Qianfan, but she absolutely would not tolerate Jiao Yin's authoritative scolding. She immediately shoved her fiercely.
Ah!
Jiao Yin cried out, stumbled backward, and plopped down on the ground.
"Murong Mingyuan—"
Li Qianfan was furious and could no longer restrain himself. He raised his hand and delivered a heavy slap across Murong Mingyuan's face.
Murong Mingyuan groaned and was knocked to the ground by the blow.
The instant she fell, a fleeting look of apology flashed in Li Qianfan's eyes.
Why did he bring Murong Mingyuan along?
Because he knew very well—
Although the little mare had a rebellious streak, she possessed an innate fearlessness and pride that made her prone to impulse!
Li Qianfan intended to use her impulsiveness to cooperate with Jiao Yin's instigation.
And Jiao Yin would also use Murong Mingyuan's impulsiveness to achieve her ultimate goal.
The reason Li Qianfan repeatedly danced on the edge of "self-destruction" and clearly expressed that he was just there to check in was to provoke Murong Mingyuan's pride and persuade him to go to the Black Water Forest to his death.
Li Qianfan also firmly believed that Jiao Yin, who was racking her brains to get him to the outer defense perimeter, would not miss the opportunity to use Murong Mingyuan.
The ironclad facts proved—
Murong Mingyuan's instinctive reaction was proceeding according to Li Qianfan's script.
Murong Mingyuan propped herself up with her right hand, her left hand covering her cheek. Her light blue eyes were filled with undisguised hatred.
"You dare look at me like that?"
Li Qianfan rolled up his shirt sleeves and said slowly, bending down to pull Murong Mingyuan up from the ground.
Jiao Yin quickly got up and hugged him.
She urged him anxiously, "Master, please don't be angry with Murong! She just made a mistake out of impulse. When she calms down, she'll realize how foolish it is to go over there and rescue people."