Chapter 4

Shan Ming didn’t know how long he had been asleep, but the warm thing in his arms suddenly moved vigorously. Then he heard a panicked voice in his ear, “Uncle, wake up! Wake up quickly!”

Shan Ming suddenly opened his eyes and looked around warily. He saw an open space in front of him with a strong flame flickering gently, illuminating the surroundings brightly. He looked around but saw nothing.

However, Shen Changze tightly held onto him and shouted in fear, “There’s something, Uncle, there’s something in the woods.”

Shan Ming doubted if he was still in a daze from sleep. If there was something in the woods that even a child could see, how could he not see it? He stood up with the child in his arms, picked up a torch with his injured arm, and took a few steps forward. He shone the light on the trees not far away, but still saw nothing.

His vision, sense of smell, and hearing are all trained. If there really was something nearby, he couldn’t possibly not see it. He said coldly, ‘Why are you making a fuss? There’s nothing there.'”

“There is! There is! Uncle, I can feel it, there’s something, really!” The child shrank in his arms in fear, trembling uncontrollably.

Shan Ming furrowed his brow and looked at the boy’s hair, then held the torch suspiciously and approached the edge of the woods. He still couldn’t see anything even though he was at the edge of the woods. He became a little irritated and said, “There’s something my ass. Where? Has it even been one hour? You woke me up for nothing.”

The child choked out, “There really is, Uncle, I can feel it.”

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“Zsw nyd qllz kv? Ebyv es usw xlyd cu usw nyd qllz kv?” Gqvla Fbyd Ykdt qkdkpble prlyjkdt, bl pweeldzu qlzv y nbkzz esod bkp prkdl yde jlldzu rlanlkhle y pvasdt pldpl sq jkzzkdt kdvldv.

Fbyd Ykdt vwadle bkp blye pweeldzu, sdzu vs pll plhlayz rykap sq talld lulp pbkdkdt sd vbl vld-xlvla-bktb asnj bl bye zlydle sd clqsal.

Eszhlp!

Gzvbswtb vblu olal bkeeld kd vbl eyajdlpp yde bl nswzed’v pll vblx nzlyazu, cyple sd vbl zkxkvle qlyvwalp, Fbyd Ykdt fwetle vbyv kv oyp y rynj sq oszhlp, yde dsv y pxyzz sdl yv vbyv. Mblal olal pkm oszhlp kd vsvyz.

Fbld Ubydtgl yzps pyo vbspl llakl lulp pvyakdt yv vblx yde ds zsdtla eyale vs nau swv zswe. Rdpvlye, bl cltyd vs psc iwklvzu.

Fbyd Ykdt eked’v eyal vs xshl.

Eszhlp yal lmvalxlzu kdvlzzktldv yde pvayvltkn ydkxyzp. Mblu yal pjkzzle bwdvlap yde vblka bwdvkdt okpesx kp ds zlpp vbyd vbyv sq bwxydp kd cyvvzl. Ebkzl vbspl oszhlp olal scplahkdt bkx, Fbyd Ykdt oyp scplahkdt vbl vlaaykd. Mbl oszhlp nswze nsxl esod qasx vbl pkel pzsrl, yde kq vblu olal qypv ldswtb, vblu nswze alynb bkx kd fwpv y qlo plnsdep.

Rq bl nswze xyjl kv cynj vs vbl nyxrqkal clqsal vbl oszhlp alynble bkx yde tlv bkp twd, bl nswze pnyal vblx sqq. Mbspl clypvp olal yqayke sq qkal, yde okvb y twd kd byde, bl nswze elqkdkvlzu eakhl vblx cynj.

But he was already at the edge of the forest, more than ten meters away from the campfire. Would he be able to run there fast enough before the wolves came down from the rock?

Cold sweat broke out on Shan Ming’s forehead. He analyzed his situation quickly. He didn’t have a gun in his hand, only a dagger. His left arm was injured and he was holding a child in his arms. No matter how you looked at it, this situation wasn’t in his favor.

He dared not move. He knew that if he lost his composure, he would be torn apart and devoured by the six wolves.

The only wise thing to do now was to leave the child behind. Those wolves will take care of their easiest prey first, and he will have enough time to leave.

The soft and delicate body was still sobbing and trembling in his arms, sobbing in a low voice, “Uncle, I’m so scared. Save me, I’m scared.”

Shan Ming stared at those green-eyed beasts with his dark black eyes. He spoke with a low voice, “Do you want to live?”

The child was stunned for a bit, as if he had sensed something. He held onto Shan Ming even tighter as he desperately buried his head into Shan Ming’s arms, wishing he could drill into Shan Ming’s body.

“If you want to live, get off me and stand here as bait.”

The child cried out, “No! No!” He held onto Shan Ming like no tomorrow, “No!”

Shan Ming forcefully broke off the arm around his neck and looked into the child’s eyes coldly, “Listen, I have no obligation to save you. Only you can save yourself. I’m giving you a chance. You stand here as bait while I go get my gun. I can’t run with you on me, so I won’t take you with me. Only if I survive first, will you also get a chance to survive as well. If you don’t want this chance, then I’ll kill you now to feed the wolves so you can’t drag me down.”

Shen Changze stared at Shan Ming in a daze. He forgot to cry, to shout, and even more to beg. He looked into this man’s eyes, they were cold and ruthless.

A sudden surge of anger and hatred filled his little heart. He doesn’t believe what this person said. This person will definitely leave him here and run away himself. This person has no feelings, he is a devil. He will not come back to save him, he will definitely leave him behind and run for his life.

Shan Ming felt that the child’s body relaxed and no longer clung to him. He put the child on the ground.

Shen Changze raised his head, his eyes full of resentment. He said quietly, “You won’t save me.”

Shan Ming pinched his chin and said coldly, “Even if I don’t save you, it’s your fate.” He put the torch into the child’s hand. “Stand here and don’t move. If the wolves approach you, just wave the torch as desperately as you can.”

Shan Ming stood up, feeling a surge of strength rising from his feet. It was the strength that erupted in a desperate situation. He knew that his running speed would determine whether this child would survive or not.

He let out a furious roar, attracting the attention of the wolf pack, and then agilely bounced up and ran wildly towards the direction of his luggage.

At the same time, the wolf pack crazily rushed down from the slope, their speed was astonishing.

Just as Shan Ming got close enough to the fire, he rolled over and grabbed his submachine and pistol, then jumped up from the ground and ran back.

However, as soon as he turned around, he was stunned. The torch was thrown to the ground, and Shen Changze disappeared.

The entire pack of wolves went chasing inside the woods.

Shan Ming shouted, “Fuck”.

This child didn’t trust him.

Although the child indeed had no reason to trust him, he still did a stupid thing. He ran out of the proximity in which Shan Ming could save him.

Shan Ming hesitated for a moment about whether to save him or not. With this pause, the alpha wolf had already dashed into the forest.

Shen Changze’s actions had disrupted his entire plan. Shan Ming had originally planned to headshot the alpha wolf. After their leader died, the other wolves would be at a loss and would retreat. This was the only chance he could think of for both of them to survive.

However, it was wishful thinking to expect a five-year-old child to cooperate with him. Shan Ming stopped his thoughts and raised his gun and fired two shots. One shot hit the last wolf that was lagging behind and the other shot fell empty.

Shan Ming chased them into the woods with his submachine gun.

After getting away from the campfire, the forest was pitch black and visibility was extremely low. Shan Ming could only see shadows darting around under the moonlight, but he couldn’t aim accurately at all. He ran while firing a few shots aimlessly ahead of him, not expecting to hit the wolves but hoping to scare them off.

Soon, he saw the black shadows darting to the side. He knew that the wolves were starting to surround and flank. With the child’s short legs, he definitely wouldn’t be able to run far before the wolves caught up. The child must be somewhere not far ahead of him.

After passing through the forest, a dim band of light appeared in front of him. Shan Ming recognized that it was a small river. He saw that the child’s body was immersed in the water up to his chest, with only his nose and eyes exposed. The five wolves surrounded the river, hesitating to make a move and seemingly wary of the water.

Shan Ming didn’t know whether to attribute this child’s survival to good luck or clever thinking, as he actually knew to jump into the river.

Wolves are very cautious animals and it was their caution that gave Shan Ming time to act.

However, the wolves soon discovered Shan Ming. The alpha wolf turned its head and glanced at him before quickly darting away, followed by the other four wolves who also disappeared into the forest.

Shan Ming raised his gun to fire, but all shots landed empty. He didn’t dare to stay in the woods and hurriedly ran to Shen Changze.

Just as he ran a few steps, Shan Ming felt a gust of wind behind him. Without hesitation, he turned around and fired a shot, but it missed. He saw the five wolves running towards him in a zigzag pattern, three in front and two in the back.

These bastards! Shan Ming cursed in his mind. He fired another shot, finally hitting the one in the middle and sending it flying. At this moment, the alpha wolf was only two or three meters away from him, and it jumped at him.

Shan Ming swung the butt of his gun and smashed it hard in the wolf’s face. The submachine flew out. Shan Ming ducked to avoid the attack of another wolf. Then he pulled out the dagger from his boots and dropped low to the ground. With a fierce swing, the wolf’s belly above him was sliced open with a bloody gash. It immediately howled, fell to the ground, and stopped moving.

Shan Ming rolled backward. One wolf bit his military boots, its sharp teeth instantly piercing into his flesh. Shan Ming shouted in pain and pulled out the Browning from his waistband, he aimed at the wolf’s head and fired twice.

The two wolves running at the back finally pounced on him and began to bite him frantically.

Shan Ming used his arm to tightly block his neck, swung his sharp dagger back and forth, and fired his Browning rapidly. After 9 bullets landed empty, Shan Ming fiercely hit one of the wolves in the eye with the gun handle, then swiftly cut off its neck with his dagger.

The other wolf, after tearing off a piece of flesh from his thigh and satisfying its thirst for blood, did not attack again. Instead, it fled in disarray at the call of the alpha wolf.

The whole process only took a little over a minute. There were three dead wolves lying on the ground and a man covered with blood.

Shan Ming gasped for breath, stared at the dark blue night sky, and remained motionless.

The child came out of the river and ran to him, sobbing as he called out to him, “Uncle…”

Shan Ming glanced at him, raised his hand and gave him a heavy slap on the face. The child staggered and fell to the ground. Shan Ming said with a hoarse voice, “I told you to stay where you are.”

The child threw himself at him, “Uncle, I’m sorry, you’re bleeding a lot. What should I do, what should I do?”

Shan Ming sat up from the ground, holding in the pain, “Not enough to kill me.”

He checked his wounds and found that his thigh, arm, and foot were all bitten by the wolves, but except for his arm, the other injuries weren’t too serious. Fortunately, he had not been injured in any vital areas.

Under normal circumstances, these injuries wouldn’t be enough to kill him. However, in this damned cursed forest, he began to worry that he might not make it out alive.

He looked at Shen Changze’s weeping face and was filled with disdain.

A weak and helpless creature that needed human protection at every turn, contributing nothing to the world but burden. Such a creature was best suited as food for the strong. In Shan Ming’s view, he had no value in surviving.

But he saved such a waste of a being.

Shan Ming doesn’t want to think about why he saved him. He does things only according to his liking. Since he saved him, it’s already done, there was no point in thinking about why.

He commanded, “Pick up my gun.”

The child wiped the tears on his face and ran to pick up Shan Ming’s babies, his MP5 and Browning.

Shan Ming stood up with the support of his MP5 and limped over to a dead wolf. He snorted, “Now we have more wolf meat than we can eat, and it’s still fresh.” He turned back to look at Shen Changze and handed him the bloody dagger. “You do it.”

The child pursed his mouth and took the dagger with trembling hands. He looked at the wolf who just breathed its last. He held the dagger tightly with both hands, gritted his teeth, and fiercely stabbed it into the flesh. The blood that had yet to cool sprayed him all over the face.