The crowd fell silent.
It was clear that Kaili was right, but who would stay behind as the decoy, and who would be responsible for the ambush?
Both tasks carried certain risksâ¦
âIn that case, the team going for the ambush must act swiftly, so we need to send out our strongest team membersâ¦â The youth started to speak, but was interrupted by a dark-skinned man.
He shouted anxiously, âWait a minute! We canât just decide like that, can we? No matter how you look at it, staying behind is more dangerous!â
âYeahâ¦â someone agreed thoughtfully.
âThatâs right, the mutation beasts are the biggest threat. Although they have a Sniper on their side, the rest arenât as much of a threat! At least compared to the mutation beasts, they are weaker!â the dark-skinned man nodded in agreement.
Although the others didnât speak, they all moved a bit closer to the dark-skinned man.
âYou guysâ¦â The youth was somewhat angered.
But anger aside, he couldnât force anything.
These team members were different from ordinary people; they all had some survival skills, so they wouldnât be completely helpless without Falcon.
With this premise, they naturally wouldnât risk their lives recklessly.
âPhewâ¦â
The youth took a deep breath and suddenly said coldly, âFine, then all of you can stay behind. Iâll take Kaili and Beifeng, and Gui, you come too.â
The two he called stepped forward together, Kaili still smiling, while Beifeng was a man with a somber look. He carried no weapon, and his movements seemed casual, unlike the others who were tense all over.
The last one to step out was the team member named âGui,â dressed in all black, his head lowered in silence.
Seeing that the dark-skinned man still wanted to say something, the youth immediately fixed his gaze on him and said, âOr you can take the path weâre taking, but if you canât bring back Ling Mo, thereâs no need for you to return to Falcon.â
At this point, the youthâs side had only four people, while the dark-skinned man had eight standing with him.
Although the youthâs side was stronger in terms of skill, in a place like this, having numbers clearly provided a greater sense of securityâ¦
âWeâre taking on the risk of being the decoy, which is no less than yours,â a Team Member spoke up.
The dark-skinned man nodded in agreement, âThatâs right, but we wonât stay here waiting for you. Only when we return to the road will we have the conditions to delay or even confront the mutation beasts.â
âAlright,â the youth glanced at him, a hint of a smirk flitting across his eyes.
The dark-skinned man felt a little uneasy under the youthâs gaze, but before he could ponder this feeling, the youth and his group of four had already leftâ¦
As the grass slowly closed behind them, Kaili suddenly turned her head to glance back at the group of eight, smiling, âTheyâre doomed, arenât they?â
âWhat are you getting at?â the youth loosened his collar and calmly retorted.
âWithout your psychic power, theyâre completely exposed to the mutation beasts and Ling Mo. I canât say about the others, but Ling Mo will definitely seize this opportunity. In other words, his first target isnât us but the larger groupâ¦â Kaili continued.
Beifeng raised his hand and cracked his knuckles, speaking in a soft yet sinister tone, âSo, theyâre the real decoys⦠Taking this chance allows us to swiftly and temporarily approach our target safely⦠But, truth be told, theyâre good at assessing the situation. Choosing to hide here means that even if their general location is detected, they canât be immediately seen with the naked eye. This alone significantly inhibits your probing ability. So, the earlier ambush was essentially just a testâ¦â
The youth snorted softly, saying nothing.
Rather than these âdecoys,â he was more concerned about Ling Mo.
âWith just some simple harassment, they successfully divided our forces⦠But it doesnât matter, because to take down those decoys, your people will inevitably experience a split as well⦠So that evens things out, rightâ¦â the youth murmured, his pupils slightly contracting.
A few minutes later, a piercing scream suddenly echoed through the wildernessâ¦
âWhen there are too many people, differing opinions will arise. Even if heâs only the Vice Captain of the squad, not even the Chief Captain of an entire team could force so many to wait in line to be executed, rightâ¦â A shadow slowly stood up in the grass, a strange gleam flashing in his eyes, âAs for you all, you should be on your way nowâ¦â
3 a.m.
The last scream echoed through the wilderness, while, at the same time, in a deeper part of the thicketâ¦
Here, the vegetation had mostly turned a black-red color, with jagged edges seeping a liquid reminiscent of fresh blood, giving the entire area a faintly strange odor. Smelling it a few times, it felt like the scent of blood.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
However, within the thicket, the youth and his group of four were staring ahead with peculiar expressions.
There stood a sinister-looking building. Its appearance wasnât particularly noteworthy, but what really caught their attention was the glimmer of light from the second-floor window. Just as they noticed it, the light quickly disappearedâ¦
âIs this a provocation?â Beifeng asked in a low voice.
The youth stared in that direction for a moment, then shook his head, âItâs an illusion. The house is real, but it contains an illusion.â
âSo, this is their prepared battlefield?â Kaili licked her lips and asked.
âSeems like itâ¦â the youth nodded.
Before he could finish speaking, Kaili had already hoisted the launcher, aiming directly at the house, âWithout considering attracting mutation beasts, we could completely destroy this placeâ¦â
âNoâ¦â the youth suddenly said, âWeâre already in the illusion.â
Beifeng and Kaili simultaneously looked around, then both showed a hint of confusion.
The youth pointed to a blade of grass, speaking in a heavy tone, âThese blades of grass havenât moved since just now⦠and the wind here seems to have completely stopped.â
âSo thenâ¦â
âItâs useless; unless you can burn all this grass, the illusion will remainâ¦â the youthâs expression was somewhat grim, âThis time, we canât just break it by force.â
These mutated weeds were very difficult to ignite, and even burning them would require a large amount of fuel-not something a few howitzer rounds could solve.
âSo weâ¦â The Youth began to speak but suddenly felt a tingling sensation across his scalp.
He slowly raised his head, his face darkening as he looked around.
There was no oneâ¦
Neither Kaili nor Beifeng were anywhere to be seen.
Gui seemed to have vanished into the darkness, and even after a careful probe, there was no trace of him.
In the midst of the absolute silence, there was nothing left around but the boundless weeds and the abandoned farmhouse aheadâ¦
As his gaze returned to the house, the once-vanished light reappeared at the window. The orange candlelight flickered gently on the glass, and a silhouette gradually emergedâ¦
It was a female figure mending something, but her head remained lowered, obscuring her facial featuresâ¦
âTrying to match my psychic power?â The Youth slowly propped himself up, causing the grass before him to scatter and leaving a path open.
He gritted his teeth and let out a cold smile, âIf you think youâve got it, give it a shot! Whoever created this illusion has already expended a large amount of energy, leaving them nearly powerless⦠So waiting inside for me, it must be you, Ling Moâ¦â
After a momentâs hesitation, the Youth slowly approached the building.
As he stepped out of the grass, the scenery around him began to change.
An indistinct black mist, a desolate path leading to the buildingâ¦
Not far ahead, a dirty basket appeared, seemingly containing a noteâ¦
A signpost appeared silently, with lines of blood-red writing emerging on it.
âFour people have entered the illusion, three will vanish. The remaining person will walk towards death. Anything you see could be a deadly trap⦠Every choice you make might become your final demise.â
The Youth stared at the signpost for a moment, then suddenly frowned.
âA language trap, huhâ¦â