Bауunуе sаid nothing, pulling out thе еntrenching tоol tuckеd аt hеr wаist. Li Наozhang immеdiately questioned hеr wаrily, "Whаt arе уоu dоing?!"
"Hеу, lеt's dig it uр tоgethеr and take а lоok." Вayunyе rarelу showed him а friеndlу ехрrеssion.
Thе bеautу's саll madе Li Hаоzhang hesitаtе. Aftеr thinking for a long timе, he slowly аррroаched and sаw thаt shе had оnlу dug а fеw timеs bеforе unсovеring somеthing, indicating it wаs buried shаllоwlу. Without thinking tоо muсh, hе joined in digging. Soоn enough, they uneаrthed an animаl skeletоn and а humаn skelеton dressed in tattered clothes, holding a rifle in its hand.
Bayunye instinctively turned on her walkie-talkie to call for help, but as soon as it was switched on, it emitted an ear-splitting noise. She quickly turned it off, sighed, and pulled out a whistle from somewhere, blowing a signal of one long and three short blasts.
After a while, Diao Zhuo, Da Qin, and Liu Ming arrived, followed by Blondie and the other three bandits.
Everyone crouched down to examine the bodies. The animal skeleton appeared to be a young rabbit, while the human corpse was very old, certainly not buried in recent years. Bayunye picked up the rifle tightly gripped by the corpse and examined it. Though she wasn't well-versed in literature, she was quite familiar with firearms. "A Type 38 rifle?! An old relic from the 1930s or '40s..."
"Japanese soldier..." Diao Zhuo discovered Japanese military collar insignia on the remains of the clothing.
Liu Ming slapped his thigh. "Could this be one of the tens of thousands of Japanese soldiers Kong Gan mentioned who mysteriously died here?!"
Bayunye seemed excited, raising her hands and shouting, "Down with Japanese imperialism!"
Da Qin broke into a sweat. "If the legend is true, be careful—tens of thousands of Japanese ghosts might come looking for you tonight."
"Let them come! I'll take them down!" Bayunye planted her hands on her hips.
Li Haozhang and Blondie's group clearly hadn't heard the legends about this forest and thought they were deliberately "sowing discord." They could remain indifferent even when their own companion was bitten by a venomous snake, let alone care about Japanese soldiers who had died decades ago. Seeing that it was completely dark, they urged Bayunye and the others to hurry back to camp.
After returning, Bayunye vividly recounted her discovery of the Japanese soldier's remains to everyone, causing quite a stir. Red Beard listened to the translation from others, nodded slightly, thought for a moment, and said, "It seems this isn't a good place. We should find another spot to set up camp."
This idea coincided with Diao Zhuo's thoughts, giving him a sense of facing a worthy opponent.
Since the rabbit and snake meat were only half-cooked, Blondie and the others persuaded Red Beard to wait until everyone had eaten before leaving.
Seeing how they had killed the rabbits, Bayunye found the meat somewhat disgusting. Instead, the mushrooms she had gathered were refreshing and delicious. However, the bandits were cunning and suspicious, always thinking they were up to something. So, whether it was the rabbit or the snake, they forced a few of them to take a bite first. Only if they remained unharmed would the bandits eat. For now, the poisonous mushrooms in Bayunye's pocket were of little use.
Diao Zhuo kept a close eye on Liu Ming and the others. Even though they were all in the same dire situation, Liu Ming and his group still avoided getting too close to the Rescue Team. Others simply thought they were unsociable, but only Diao Zhuo understood the reason—they didn't want to be recognized by the Rescue Team, or rather, one of them didn't want to be recognized.
Diao Zhuo knew that his Rescue Team was now caught between a rock and a hard place. Exposing the true identities of those people might make the situation even worse than it already was.In the distance, a few howls of wolves echoed through the silent and gloomy forest. Strangely enough, the area where they had set up camp showed almost no signs of animal tracks or droppings—not even a single beetle—only some non-biting mosquitoes buzzing around.
"Why aren’t you eating?" Bayunye asked, holding her food container. Half of the mushrooms had ended up in the bandits’ bowls, leaving each of them with only a bit of soup and a few mushrooms.
"You eat first. I’ll have whatever’s left."
"Probably nothing will be left." After a day of trekking, everyone was starving.
"Then I’ll eat you." He playfully tapped her nose.
"At a time like this, you actually have the mood to…"
Diao Zhuo made a "shh" gesture, as if he had heard something. Bayunye pricked up her ears and indeed caught a rustling sound, one that seemed to be approaching rapidly.
Leeches? Bayunye touched her neck but didn’t feel any soft-bodied creatures. Although dry land leeches had been biting them along the way, their numbers were far fewer than during the leech rain the night before, with at most two or three on a person’s legs.
Diao Zhuo grabbed her wrist and quickly tapped a message into her hand—escape in the chaos.
The bandits also noticed the strange noise and stopped their feasting, not even bothering to wipe the grease from their hands as they gripped the guns at their waists.
The sounds seemed to be getting closer—not just rustling footsteps but also the grating noise of something being gnawed. Soon, pairs of small, glowing green dots appeared in the pitch-black surroundings, flickering like animal eyes. Judging by their height, the creatures were either low to the ground or simply small in stature.
What were they? Giant lizards, or… snakes?
"Damn it!" The bandits shone their flashlights, and everyone froze in unison—rabbits.
Dense clusters of rabbits, larger than domestic ones, with gray or yellow fur that lacked luster, some even patchy and scabby like mange. They huddled together, closing in on them, forming a wide encirclement.
After all, rabbits were no match for wolves or snakes, having long occupied a position in the food chain where they could be easily bullied—spicy rabbit heads, cold rabbit dishes, braised rabbit meat… Being surrounded by a group of rabbits was no more frightening than being surrounded by chickens or ducks. Some might even feel… hungry.
"Delivering themselves to us? Let’s catch a few more to take on the road!" Blondie was clearly one of those who felt hungry, rubbing his hands together as he stood up to chase the prey.
"Hold it." Red Beard sternly stopped him, suddenly standing straight. "Go! Now!"
The bandits obeyed Red Beard without question. They dropped their food, shouldered their backpacks, and ordered the Rescue Team and the mountaineering association to follow. But—
It was too late.
The rabbits, whose eyes should have been dull and cute, suddenly revealed a fierce glint. Their three-lobed mouths opened, exposing sharp teeth—the kind carnivorous animals have, meant for tearing and severing blood vessels and muscles. Like leopards pouncing on antelopes, they lunged forward. Though small in size, their sheer numbers made the swarm eerily terrifying, even more chilling than a pack of wild wolves charging at you.
Everyone finally understood why the rabbit they had killed earlier had mouse bones in its stomach. But was it too late to realize this now?"This..." Bayunye pointed at the rabbits, tugging on Diao Zhuo's sleeve.
Diao Zhuo sensed the situation was becoming critical, yet he remained stunned by the repeated shattering of his understanding. Rabbits couldn't eat meat—they lacked the digestive system of carnivores. That was common knowledge. But how could he explain what was happening before his eyes?
The situation was growing increasingly bizarre, and there might be even stranger things awaiting them.
The criminals still looked down on the rabbits, not even bothering to draw their guns. Some punched a few away, others kicked them aside, and some even grabbed rabbits by their ears, using them as weapons to swing at other rabbits.
But there were simply too many rabbits. For every few kicked away, several more would immediately latch onto another leg, biting fiercely and even tearing off flesh. In an instant, each person was surrounded by dozens of rabbits. Their jumping ability was astonishing—with a single leap, they could reach heights high enough to bite a person's neck.
Bayunye kicked away several rabbits, but one jumped onto her back, then leaped again, perching on her head and gnawing wildly at her hat. After she slapped it to the ground, it showed no sign of pain, just like the two strange individuals they had encountered earlier. Almost as soon as it hit the ground, it rolled over and immediately jumped up to attack someone else. Startled, Bayunye found her legs besieged by numerous rabbits. She tore them all off and glanced at Diao Zhuo. Two rabbits clung to his back, and another on his shoulder was about to bite his ear. He grabbed it by the ears and flung it to the ground, where it immediately coughed up blood and convulsed. But the rabbits kept coming, one after another. No matter how hard they punched or kicked, there wasn't a single second without a rabbit gnawing at them.
Looking at the others—Da Qin, Tan Lin, Qi Zi, and Xiang An—they were punching and kicking frantically. At first, they might have held back because the rabbits seemed weak, but the pain of being bitten over and over again drove them to strike and flail wildly. After the initial shock, Liu Ming and the others also began to fight back in a panic, their faces filled with nothing but terror. They wanted to run, to climb trees, but as far as the eye could see, there was an endless sea of rabbits. They didn't even know where to step. The physical advantage of humans was lost in the face of the "unity is strength" carnivorous rabbits, and everyone began to struggle just to protect themselves.
"Ahhh! These rabbits!! They're so fierce!"
"They're biting! They're really biting!! Everyone, be careful!"
"Am I dreaming?! How can rabbits like this exist?! Are they trying to eat us?!"
The criminals pulled out their guns and fired wildly, but their limited bullets were useless against the endless tide of rabbits. For every rabbit shot dead, ten more charged over its corpse. These carnivorous rabbits showed no fear at the death of their companions. In their frantic shooting, they inevitably hit their own people. Sure enough, someone's bullet struck Blondie in the thigh. He let out a scream, collapsing to his knees as blood gushed from the gunshot wound—it seemed an artery had been hit.He wailed miserably, the scent of blood further stimulating the carnivorous rabbits. They surged and pounced toward Blondie, burying his entire body in an instant. From a distance, it looked like a furry grave mound. Blondie's screams pierced the sky, but no one had the chance to help him. He was frantically gnawed by the rabbits, his limbs flailing wildly as his body rolled continuously. It was hard to imagine the pain he was enduring—whether it was the agony from the wound on his thigh or the torment of being bitten by the rabbits.
It seemed as if all the rabbits in the world had gathered around them. Even someone as strong as Red Beard was surrounded and immobilized by the rabbits. Even when someone used fire to drive them away, the rabbits would temporarily retreat, only for others behind to leap forward. Red Beard, with his immense strength, could crush a rabbit's skull with a single slap. The pile of rabbits beneath his feet grew into a small hill, while other rabbits trampled over the mountain of their companions' corpses, pouncing and biting frantically.
Da Qin also wanted to climb a tree, but climbing required the use of both hands and feet. Once you stopped removing the rabbits pouncing on you, they would bite you until you couldn't move. He hadn't even climbed a meter before he had to give up.
When everyone glanced at Blondie again, they realized he had lost the strength to resist, as at least half of his body was now nothing but bones. Yet, he wasn't dead. He watched helplessly as his lower body gradually lost its flesh and skin—a torment akin to being sliced a thousand times. It would have been better to die from a snakebite like Camouflage Headscarf, at least it would have been quicker.
Bayunye flung off two rabbits and finally found the chance to draw her dagger. She stabbed or killed the rabbits charging at her one by one, temporarily disabling them, allowing her to move a small step forward.
"Watch out!" someone pushed her, and "whoosh!"—a bullet grazed past her neck. It missed a rabbit but came within a centimeter of ending her life. She didn't see who had just saved her, but judging by the attire, it was someone from the mountaineering association.
"Ah—" Xiang An accidentally tripped and, like Blondie, was instantly buried under rabbits. The others, disregarding everything else, rushed desperately toward him, enduring the pain as rabbits leaped onto them, biting and gnawing.
"Quick, get him up!"
"Xiang An! Don't give up! Keep moving! Don't let them pin you down!"
"We're coming!"
Bayunye stabbed the rabbits on Xiang An's body with her knife, while Diao Zhuo grabbed rabbits by their ears with one hand and smashed their heads with a thick branch he had picked up. Da Qin, Tan Lin, and Qi Zi had their hands bitten until they bled profusely, yet they relentlessly attacked the rabbits with stones, entrenching tools, and trekking poles. Liu Ming and others arrived shortly after, and together, they finally managed to pull Xiang An up.
Although Xiang An was temporarily saved from being gnawed into a skeleton by the rabbits, the battle was far from over. In the unseen darkness of the forest, who knew how many more carnivorous rabbits awaited them.
In the midst of this chaos, members of the rescue team and the mountaineering association were all wounded, blood flowing from their torn flesh, one wound after another. The criminals were also bitten to the point of despair. Having endured leech rain, cliffs, strange figures, and king cobras, who would have thought they'd be defeated by rabbits? It made one wonder whether it was these rabbits, or perhaps their ancestors, that had wiped out tens of thousands of Japanese soldiers back in the day.
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