Chu Yingying was right.
After overcoming their initial panic and despair, Wang Zhe and the others quickly focused on survival. Within the Blackwater Forest, they utilized existing resources to hunt wild boars, roe deer, and other animals, taking over their dens for shelter.
But Gao Lingwang was also right!
All six of them were injured, and two were severely wounded. In the wilderness without medicine, their chances of survival were slim.
Six people.
Three had high fevers, were delirious, and on the brink of death.
Wang Zhe, Tu Zi, and Chui Zi had lighter injuries, but they still coughed intermittently.
These three had a good chance of pulling through. After all, the Blackwater Forest was vast and resource-rich. As long as they cooperated wholeheartedly and remained cautious, hiding in the forest for three to five months should be manageable.
But what about their three severely wounded brothers?
Were they just going to watch them die!?
No—
After much deliberation, the three of them decided to split into two groups, taking a final gamble to save their brothers!
Being trapped here and leading so many good brothers to their deaths was a torment of regret (we shouldn't have come) that was worse than death.
The three drew straws.
Two would go out to find medicine, and one would stay behind to protect the injured brothers (the main danger came from foraging beasts).
Chui Zi drew the short straw and stayed.
Wang Zhe and Tu Zi drew to go out and find medicine.
They also had a crucial mission—
That was to shout with all their might while being discovered and pursued by the enemy: "We're all dead! All dead!"
This was to make any compatriots possibly lurking outside the forest hear them. Upon hearing their cries, they would know that everyone was dead.
No one else should come, falling into the enemy's trap to rescue them.
And so.
Wang Zhe and Tu Zi quietly crawled out of the forest.
They oriented themselves by the stars and looked east.
That was the direction of home!
Then, they crawled, moving as fast as they could, towards the east.
They were as careful as possible to conceal themselves.
But they were still discovered by the enemy.
Because the enemy had drones patrolling the sky around the clock.
These drones were equipped with the most advanced thermal imaging search equipment.
Even in a raging blizzard, the drones could precisely locate individuals on the ground by their body heat (Chu Yingying was discovered this way when she broke into the forest during the blizzard).
So, despite Wang Zhe and Tu Zi's extreme caution, they couldn't escape the enemy's sight.
Then—
The brutal hunt began!
The reason it was called brutal was that once the enemy-controlled drones detected their targets, they could activate the firearms mounted on the drones themselves to precisely target individuals on the ground.
With absolute air superiority and the advantage of high ground, even the most skilled individuals would only be targets on an open snowy plain where there was no cover.
Especially since the enemy possessed a large number of advanced drones and even six pickup trucks equipped with rapid-fire cannons.
A single squeeze of the trigger could create a terrifying hail of fire.
However, Rod and his men did not use the drone-mounted firearms to pick off Wang Zhe and his group.
Once they confirmed that the two targets had emerged from the forest, they immediately dispatched ten snowmobiles and twenty men, shouting loudly and forming a containment formation, charging forward.
They knew that the people inside the forest had long run out of supplies, so there was no need to worry about Wang Zhe and his companions opening fire.
The crucial point was that Wang Zhe and his group were all injured and their stamina was already depleted.
They could treat this hunt as a game of chasing prey!
Four of the snowmobiles moved to flank Wang Zhe and his companions, cutting off their retreat.
This was to extinguish any hope of them returning to the forest and also to guard against any other targets emerging from the forest.
The remaining six snowmobiles fanned out in a semicircular formation, surrounding Wang Zhe and his companions. They shouted loudly, like cowboys herding horses on the prairie, full of pride and imposing might.
After being discovered by the enemy, Wang Zhe and Tu Zi could only jump up from the snow.
Seeing their retreat blocked, they immediately split into two groups, heading east and west as planned.
This was to effectively disperse the pursuing enemy and increase their chances of breaking through.
Unfortunately—
There were only two of them!
They had no firearms, were all injured, and their bodies were weak.
In contrast, the enemy—
There were over a hundred of them, all strong and healthy, and more importantly, they were fully equipped with firearms, drones, and other high-tech killing weapons.
Let alone just two of them, even if there were twenty, splitting into two groups to break through would only add to the "fun" of the hunt for the enemy.
Wang Zhe and Tu Zi ran in opposite directions, east and west.
As they ran—
They shouted at the top of their lungs: "We're all dead! We're all dead! We're all dead!!"
Tu Zi had only run about ten meters before a speeding snowmobile violently knocked him to the ground.
When Wang Zhe looked back, he saw seven or eight enemies pounce on Tu Zi and pin him down.
They used five ropes, each as thick as a thumb, to loop around Tu Zi's neck, wrists, and ankles, then tied them to five snowmobiles.
The five snowmobiles revved their engines and accelerated in five different directions, forming a pentagram.
Quartered—
Quartered!!!
Seeing Tu Zi torn into five pieces after just a few violent tugs from the snowmobiles, Wang Zhe's mind completely collapsed.
Before they quietly crawled out of the forest, he and Tu Zi had considered death.
They were prepared to die.
But even in their wildest nightmares, they could not have imagined the enemy would use such a cruel method to kill them!
What made Wang Zhe's tears burst out uncontrollably was that.
While laughing and tearing Tu Zi apart, the enemy was also holding up cameras to film.
They would post this moment of Tu Zi's brutal death online.
To retaliate against Bai Du Niao: "Come on, come on! If you have the balls, come fight us! If you have the balls, go kill our families! Let's see who's more ruthless, who's less human, who's more of a beast!"
After his mental collapse, the potential within Wang Zhe's bones erupted.
He ran wildly towards the east—
The direction of home!!
As he ran.
He cried.
And shouted: "We're all dead, we're all dead! We, are all dead!"
How fast did he run?
How loud did he shout?
How many tears did he shed?
Did the enemy catch up to him?
How much longer could he run?
How many more tears did he have left to cry?
How many more shouts could he muster—
Wang Zhe didn't know.
But driven by his final instinct, under the high-pitched laughter and the steady pursuit of the eight enemies, with their cameras locked onto him, he headed east, eastward.
Eastward without a moment's pause.
Finally.
When a snowmobile with its headlights suddenly illuminated, appearing as if it had just emerged from the snow, within Wang Zhe's sight.
He suddenly smiled.
He stopped shouting and, like a moth drawn to a flame, lowered his head and charged towards the front of the snowmobile with all his remaining strength, to smash into it.
He was finally free.
Wang Zhe felt as if he were floating weightlessly.
Flying towards the east, where there was no cold, no pain, no fear, and no regret.
That was his home!!
But Wang Zhe only floated for a moment before falling back down.
He fell back into the cruel, brutal, and cold reality.
It turned out.
Just as his head was about to collide with the front of the snowmobile, the motorcycle agilely swerved, narrowly missing his head.
The rider then grabbed his shoulder and yanked him into his embrace.
Wang Zhe flew into the rider's arms.
"I don't want to be captured alive!"
In the split second that Wang Zhe landed in the rider's arms, this most correct thought arose.
He raised his hand to grab the rider's neck—
But Gao Lingwang easily dodged, and shouted down: "I am from the East!!"
You are from the East?
You are from the East—
From home!?
Wang Zhe was stunned for at most a second before he regained his senses.
The death cells throughout his body instantly transformed into a blazing fire of life.
It roared to life.
Gao Lingwang, with no time to notice the several approaching motorcycles, asked again: "Are there any of our people left in the forest!?"
"Yes!"
Wang Zhe blurted out: "Four more. Three with relentless fevers, one guarding."
Good.
As long as there were still people alive!
Then our sacrifices would be worth it!!
Rest well, brother. The rest is up to me.
Gao Lingwang, overwhelmed with joy, became even clearer-headed. He held his gun in his right hand, gunned the accelerator, and charged towards the several approaching motorcycles.
He sped forward.