"Alright."
Du Xiu spat out a word.
Zhou Yuan waved his hand, and his men put away their guns.
As Zhou Yuan turned to leave, the tense atmosphere in the camp eased.
Back in the tent.
The anger on Du Xiu's face faded into calmness.
It was as if the young man who had just been humiliated outside wasn't him.
Lian Ruofei glanced at Du Xiu and sighed inwardly.
Du Xiu's face seemed to always wear a mask.
This mask would display different emotions depending on the scene.
Gentle, passionate, unwilling, angry, indifferent...
He could switch between these emotions at will, as needed.
"You've got guts, not afraid of being exposed," Lian Ruofei said, lighting two cigarettes and handing one to Du Xiu.
Du Xiu rubbed his face and took the cigarette.
Miwu Ore was only a Quasi-Military-Controlled Ore.
Although it was just one word different, the level of control was significantly reduced.
You could tell from the guards at the Miwu Mine; Captain Ma was just an ordinary person.
"It happened suddenly, I had no choice."
Du Xiu flicked the ash outside the tent.
Suddenly, something occurred to him, and he was momentarily dazed.
"In two hours, when they're all dead asleep, we'll sneak out of here."
"Hmm? Why leave suddenly?"
"The importance of Military-Controlled Goods is undeniable. It's precisely because it's so important that our 'captain' not showing up is a problem."
Du Xiu quickly explained.
A Tier-2 Feral Beast is indeed valuable, but no matter how valuable, it can't compare to Military-Controlled Goods.
Hunting Feral Beasts to earn extra cash is understandable.
But to hunt Feral Beasts and not show up for two days, leaving such important goods to be escorted by us, who don't even have heavy weaponry, is too absurd.
Now, the other side is temporarily bluffed by the Military-Controlled Goods, but once they realize it by daylight, they'll definitely cause trouble for us again.
Du Xiu wasn't the type to sit and wait for death.
In this situation, either launch a surprise attack on Zhou Yuan's team and annihilate them to eliminate future troubles.
Or slip away quietly under the cover of night.
But the former is definitely not feasible; such teams wandering in the Wilderness for years definitely have night guards.
For us, a bunch of Wilderness rookies, to rashly attack would be like an egg hitting a rock.
So we can only tighten up and run away quickly.
"Alright! What about Big Python and the others..." Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
"Don't inform them. Too many people, too much noise, easy to cause trouble. Just the two of us."
Du Xiu said calmly.
Although Big Python listened to him, Du Xiu didn't owe him anything.
If he had the ability, Du Xiu wouldn't mind lending a hand, but when he couldn't protect himself, he wouldn't let sympathy get the better of him.
"Okay."
Lian Ruofei nodded.
The two of them had long been prepared to run at any time.
They always carried backpacks filled with supplies, unlike those two mine slaves who had to search the car for supplies.
After arranging the night guards, Zhou Yuan didn't return to the tent immediately but went back to the car instead.
After a while, another middle-aged man approached, checking the time on his wrist.
"Old Zhou, it's one in the morning, why aren't you sleeping? What are you pondering here?"
"Motherfucker, I'm a bit annoyed! Did you hear what that kid said earlier?"
"I heard. It's indeed surprising that Military-Controlled Goods would be handed to some young punks for transport. Their captain must be quite bold."
"Besides, the people in the compartment woke up earlier, and the sound of them knocking was heard by those people."
"Are you worried they'll leak information?"
"Yeah, they might mention it to someone. This trip is a head-losing business; we can't afford any loose ends."
"Shouldn't be, right? Once these people finish transporting the Military-Controlled Goods, they'll probably be dealt with internally."
"But what if?"
Zhou Yuan said uneasily.
The middle-aged man, Wang Fang, took out a cigarette, holding it with the right hand, filter down, tapping it against the palm of his left hand to pack the tobacco tighter for a stronger draw.
"That's indeed a problem, but killing this group isn't easy. If anything happens to the Military-Controlled Goods, it'll be trouble."
As far as he knew, high-level Origin Cultivators had bizarre tracking abilities, which they couldn't handle.
"Forget it, we'll deal with it tomorrow. Once we reach the hunter's town and meet with the traders, we'll see if they have any good solutions. Those Aberrants aren't simple."
"Yeah, that's all we can do."
"Go get some sleep, rest up, and meet those people early tomorrow."
......
Over an hour later.
Du Xiu and Lian Ruofei unzipped the tent, carrying their backpacks, and silently left the camp.
Before leaving, Du Xiu pinched his nose, wearing gloves, and sprinkled some powder inside the tent and on the zipper at the entrance.
The moonlight grew colder.
The snow, four to five feet deep, completely submerged their calves.
They trudged through the snow, step by step, with great effort.
Du Xiu's target was the nearby Snow Forest.
Afraid of alerting others, they didn't dare to drive and proceeded on foot.
The blizzard had stopped, and the footprints they left in the snow were glaringly obvious on the smooth, undulating snow surface.
If Zhou Yuan pursued them by car, they would eventually be caught in the snow, so they could only flee into the Snow Forest.
Over an hour later, the two reached the edge of the Snow Forest.
In winter, the trees were all withered, their branches and leaves shed, covered in snow and draped with icicles.
"Let's split up."
Du Xiu glanced at the footprints behind them and spoke calmly.
The other side would likely pursue them, and splitting up increased their chances of survival.
"Split up... alright."
Lian Ruofei stared blankly at the bright moon above.
Tonight's moon was even brighter than the one on that night years ago when they were beaten by vagrants and thrown into the swamp.
"Don't get all sentimental now, just get going!"
Du Xiu, his face red from the cold, reached out and punched Lian Ruofei.
The two had known each other since the orphanage, wandered the streets together, were abducted, and finally became mine slaves.
It had been over ten years.
The hardships they'd endured together were countless.
They were each other's only family in the world.
Family without blood ties.
"Xiu'er, no matter who survives, make sure to see the world for the other. Master Ma said when the cherry blossoms bloom on the Third Island Chain, they can cover the entire sky with the wind."
"If I die, go see it for me!"
"See if the Insectoid Hives are as big as cities!"
"See if the Sacred Mountain of the Wolf Tribe is as high as the sky!"
"And, see what the gods look like for me!"
Lian Ruofei, as if giving his last words, spoke with trembling lips.
"Yeah, I know, let's go! I think we'll both make it!"
"By the way, do you remember that little girl in the red dress from the orphanage?"
"I don't remember."
"Not even a bit? That pretty little girl in the red dress."
"You really need to fix this habit of getting sentimental at crucial moments!" Du Xiu tilted his head, looking at Lian Ruofei. "I really don't remember that little girl you mentioned."
"...Alright, then nothing!"
"Okay, get going!"
With that, Du Xiu turned and walked towards one side of the dense forest without hesitation.
Watching Du Xiu's departing figure.
Lian Ruofei used the barrel of his gun to write a few crooked words in the direction Du Xiu fled.
"Come after me, dumbass."
After writing, he fled in the opposite direction.
In his mind, the other side wouldn't fall for such a childish bluffing strategy and would most likely come after him.