Water?
Where is the water?
How deep?
How did Du Yaoyao see it?
Why didn't I see it?
The above questions—
In a flash, Li Qianfan's mind raced through them, his alertness instantly heightened as he stopped and looked around.
Whoosh.
A gust of wind, from who knows where, blew from the depths of the forest, carrying a distinct stench of decay, as foul as it could possibly be.
But Li Qianfan's eyes bulged to the point of popping out, yet he saw no glint of water in the forest where visibility was nil.
Full of suspicion, he turned back to look at Du Junlin.
He asked in a low voice, "Where is the water? Why didn't I see it?"
Du Junlin, however, didn't reply. She flung his hand away, lowered her head, and quickened her pace into the depths.
What was the wood girl up to?
Li Qianfan was utterly bewildered, unable to understand why Du Junlin had said "there is water," yet as the fluorescence on her shoulder was about to disappear from his sight, he quickly followed her.
As he walked, his right hand occasionally brushed against trees.
Wherever Li Qianfan's hand touched a tree or a strangely shaped rock, a small spot of fluorescence would appear.
This was a fluorescent ointment he had concocted.
Whether it was on skin, clothes, trees, or rocks, it emitted a distinct green glow in the darkness.
This way, if they had to make an emergency retreat, they could follow these glowing spots back along the correct path, without fear of getting lost.
Of course.
If they could see these glowing spots, enemies lurking in this cursed place could see them too.
But what of it?
This was, after all, the enemy's den.
They were likely intimately familiar with every blade of grass and tree here, and had even installed thermal imaging cameras on the trees. Darkness offered no protection. They just needed to ensure they didn't get separated and could successfully break out.
As for whether the enemies would alter the fluorescent markers they left behind after they ventured deeper into the forest, Li Qianfan could only pray for their "mercy."
The fluorescent paste he personally prepared was similar to the ghost fire of Li Family Village.
Once applied to a tree or stone, it would not wash off with water for three hours (after three hours, it would wash off) and could not be scraped off to transfer elsewhere.
But these glowing spots could be completely covered with paint or similar coatings.
Rustle, rustle.
The sound of their footsteps, in the deathly silent forest, was exceptionally jarring.
This truly deserved the name Suicide Forest.
Not only could one feel enveloped by the stench of decay and death, but not a single chirp of an insect or hoot of an owl could be heard.
Li Qianfan felt an illusion of growing dread, as if he and Du Junlin were walking the path to the underworld!
"This place shouldn't be called Suicide Forest, it should be called Death Forest."
Li Qianfan inexplicably shivered, then quickened his pace, grabbed Du Junlin's hand, and said in a low voice, "Slow down. If you get lost, where will I find you?"
Du Junlin turned back and asked, "Are you scared?"
Li Qianfan hesitated.
He generously admitted, "Of course. Anyone normal would feel instinctively afraid in this kind of place due to this unique atmosphere."
"Don't be afraid."
Du Junlin said, "I'll protect you."
Tch!
Li Qianfan instinctively curled his lip.
Du Junlin continued, "Putting aside this uncomfortable atmosphere, the terrain here is nothing compared to the border region of Lingnan. Even if I closed my eyes and plugged my ears, I could navigate it as if walking on flat ground."
"You're just boasting."
As Li Qianfan curled his lip again, a realization struck him.
Du Junlin was not boasting at all!
She had grown up in Lingnan.
What kind of place was Lingnan?
It bordered several neighboring countries, and crucially, its borders lay within the Ten Thousand Mountains!
Those damned drug lords, wanting to expand their operations into the East, relied on the cover of dense jungle.
To counter drugs and hunt down these drug lords, Du Junlin and her team had to venture into the jungles of the Ten Thousand Mountains, right?
It could be said without reservation—
Any jungle area in the world was Du Junlin's home turf!
Could this forest at the foot of Mount Fuji compare to the Ten Thousand Mountains of Lingnan?
No wonder Du Junlin could move so quickly into the forest, even in pitch darkness, as if walking on flat ground.
As Li Qianfan had his realization, Du Junlin let out a cold snort and once again shook off his hand.
After her professionalism was questioned by Li Qianfan, she had become angry.
She shook off Li Qianfan's hand, her figure flickered several times, and she quickly disappeared from his sight.
Oh dear.
My goodness.
What madness was the wood girl up to now!?
After chasing for over ten meters without seeing Du Junlin (or rather, her face and the fluorescence on her shoulders), Li Qianfan immediately understood. In her anger, she had lifted her clothes to cover her shoulders and lowered her head.
Leveraging her expertise as a jungle expert, she had vanished before Li Qianfan's very eyes.
Li Qianfan was also furious.
It was a good thing Du Junlin always said he was young and immature.
Who was really immature and不懂事 (ignorant of matters)?
On such an important operation, just because Li Qianfan implied she was boasting, she flew into a rage and played hide-and-seek!
This ridiculous yet dangerous act of sulking was truly immature and ignorant!
"Stupid girl."
Li Qianfan stumbled on for another ten minutes, his eyes aching from straining to see, yet Du Junlin was nowhere to be found. He could no longer bear it and softly cursed an inappropriate word.
He had had enough.
Enough, enough, enough, enough, enough.
With a girl who acted so willfully and without regard for consequences, what man could endure it?
Li Qianfan truly wanted to turn and leave.
He was done playing!
After all, this trip to Suicide Forest was just to try their luck based on Bai Ziyan's analysis.
As for whether this was the Dark Net's branch in the Eastern Ocean, no one was certain.
Wandering alone in this cursed place in the middle of the night—
Especially with Li Qianfan having no jungle experience, he was bound to be scared.
But he couldn't leave.
What if this was the Dark Net's stronghold in the Eastern Ocean?
What if Du Junlin's sulking disappearance was actually an attempt to shake him off, to make him retreat on his own while she, seeking glory, searched for enemies herself?
Stupid girl—
Li Qianfan cursed again in his mind, and had no choice but to turn on his Bluetooth communication device, intending to call Du Junlin.
But as he turned it on—
He heard a crackling static from his earphone.
He immediately frowned.
Satellite signals, compasses, and other instruments would fail here, let alone electronic products like Bluetooth communication?
Now how was he supposed to contact Du Junlin?
He couldn't just shout, "Du Yaoyao, I was wrong, come out quickly!"
Suddenly!
Every nerve in Li Qianfan's body tensed.
Because he clearly heard, about thirty meters to his left and behind him, a sinister laugh: "Heh heh."
Li Qianfan spun around—
But saw nothing.
However, he was certain his ears were not malfunctioning.
Just a second ago, someone had indeed laughed sinisterly over there.
It was a woman's voice.
But it was definitely not Du Junlin's laugh.
Because even Du Junlin's cold laugh was purely cold.
But this voice—
Was not only sinister, but also incredibly evil, like a vengeful spirit escaped from hell, floating thirty centimeters above the ground, wandering back and forth in the jungle, tracking Li Qianfan.
Even if he were a ghost infant, Li Qianfan did not believe that ghosts truly existed in this world.
If he were elsewhere and someone hid in the darkness to make such ghostly laughter at him, he would pounce with the utmost speed.
But this was Suicide Forest, where the air was filled with death, no insect sounds could be heard, and all instruments failed!
In pitch darkness, Li Qianfan dared not make any rash moves.
He would only quickly lean his back against a tree.
Someone behind him!!!
The moment Li Qianfan leaned against a tree, his back registered a sensory message: "Master, you are leaning against someone."
The person Li Qianfan was leaning against didn't move at all.
Every nerve in Li Qianfan's body tensed to the extreme at that instant.
After an indeterminate amount of time, he slowly reached back.
Indeed.
He was leaning against a person.
A dead person.
This was a dead person whose neck was tied to a tree with a rope, and who had been dead for only a few dozen hours.
Phew.
Once Li Qianfan confirmed that the person behind him posed no threat, he breathed a sigh of relief.
He then looked again towards the direction from which the sinister laughter had come.
There was no movement whatsoever, as if the sinister laughter had never occurred.
"This is indeed the Dark Net's stronghold in the Eastern Ocean."
Li Qianfan's thoughts raced, and he looked back at the path they had taken.
The path—
Was devoid of any fluorescent markers.
All the fluorescent markers had been swallowed by the darkness.
Of course, not swallowed by darkness—
But covered by someone using paint, rendering them unable to emit any glow.
"So we were locked onto the moment we entered."
As Li Qianfan understood what had happened, his heartbeat gradually quickened.
He was still young—
He had absolutely no experience in jungle combat!
Especially after Du Junlin had sulked and disappeared before his eyes.
Instinctive nervousness caused Li Qianfan to feel a growing fear of the unknown.
Whoosh whoosh—
Just as Li Qianfan was hesitating whether to take out his flashlight, he suddenly heard a piercing and powerful whistling sound coming from over ten meters to his right!
A bullet.
This was a bullet fired from a silenced firearm.