Еvеrуоnе’s hearts tightеnеd аs thеу turned around, instinсtivеly feаring that the gаng оf thugs hаd аlsо nоticed thе hallucinations and had rеturnеd by sоme mеаns. Fоrtunаtelу, thеrе wаs nо movеment. Then, еvеryоne turned to Diаo Zhuo, аsking if he had dеtесtеd аnу furthеr anomаliеs.
Diaо Zhuо рulled оut his entrеnсhing tool. "Lеt’s dig uр thosе Grave Mоund Mushrooms."
"Gооd idеa," Gе Mingliang noddеd, раrticulаrlу suрроrtivе. "Aftеr аll, theу’re nоt rare рlants. То рrevеnt thе gаs frоm spreading if оur masks fail on the waу back, we shоuld choр them uр аnd bury thеm all in the soil."
"That’s not what I meant," Diao Zhuo explained. "The Grave Mound Mushrooms here are unusually dense. I’m wondering if Brother Long might be... underneath them."
Bayunye was horrified, gasping sharply. "Quick, let’s go!"
Without delay, everyone dropped their backpacks, grabbed their shovels, and rushed toward the cluster of Grave Mound Mushrooms. Almost as soon as they reached the spot, they began digging with all their might. The mushrooms grew layer upon layer, denser than anyone had imagined. A square foot of ground yielded a large pile of Grave Mound Mushrooms—enough to feed them all if they were edible. This suggested that the soil here was exceptionally rich in nutrients, and there might indeed be something buried beneath.
If Brother Long was really underneath... Bayunye dug frantically, her heart pounding with dread. She both hoped to uncover Brother Long and feared that he might no longer be alive. Every stroke of her shovel was trembling, earnest, and fearful.
Raindrops fell on everyone, soaking their jackets, but no one dared to stop.
Diao Zhuo dug up a palm-sized Grave Mound Mushroom and saw a sallow, thick hand pressed beneath it. He slowed his movements, cleared away more soil, and reached out to touch it. The hand was cold. After a moment of hesitation, he steadied himself and called out to the others, "I’ve found something! Come over here!"
"Brother Long!!" Bayunye cried out as soon as her eyes fell on the hand.
Everyone quickened their pace, piling the Grave Mound Mushrooms to one side until they formed a small hill. Gradually, Brother Long’s pale face emerged, his eyes tightly shut, his condition unknown. The others continued clearing the mushrooms growing on his body, noticing that their roots had fine filaments penetrating his skin—likely how the mushrooms absorbed nutrients. Bayunye slapped his face, calling his name repeatedly, but he showed no response.
Diao Zhuo couldn’t feel a pulse and noticed how cold his body was. His heart sank as he pressed his fingers against Brother Long’s neck, his brow furrowed tightly. There seemed to be a faint pulse, but it was hard to tell.
"Turn him over and carry him to the side," he directed.
"I’ll do it!" Bayunye pushed through the crowd.
Diao Zhuo swiftly placed an oxygen mask over Brother Long’s face and pressed the button to supply oxygen.
Together, they carried Brother Long to a spot free of Grave Mound Mushrooms and laid him flat. Bayunye, seeing him covered in mud and countless scrapes, felt a pang of pity, her eyes growing slightly moist. Diao Zhuo continued administering oxygen until he finally detected a clear, steady pulse at Brother Long’s neck.
"Old Squad Leader... is he... still alive?" Ge Mingliang asked cautiously.
Diao Zhuo nodded, and everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief."He probably arrived a good half day earlier than us. After he collapsed, Grave Mound Mushrooms started growing wildly all over him. Luckily..." Diao Zhuo gently patted Brother Long's slightly protruding beer belly, "his fat protected him. The Grave Mound Mushrooms could only absorb nutrients from his subcutaneous fat for now. If we had found him a few hours later, once the mycelium penetrated his muscles and internal organs, he would have been dead."
Xiang An laughed heartily, hands on his hips. "So being fat can sometimes save your life?"
Tan Lin's imagination ran wild. "Why don't we take some Grave Mound Mushrooms back and open a Grave Mound Mushroom weight loss center? We could let women plant the mushrooms wherever they want to slim down, easily turning them into slender little princesses?"
Seeing that Brother Long had indeed lost a lot of weight compared to before, Bayunye immediately raised her hand. "I'm in."
"Why hasn't the squad leader woken up yet?" Ge Mingliang asked anxiously.
"He was poisoned deeper than us, and with Grave Mound Mushrooms covering his entire body, his recovery might be several times slower than ours." With Brother Long successfully found and the Rescue Team's search mission completed once again, the pressure on Diao Zhuo's mind eased considerably, and he spoke a bit slower.
Hippo still hadn't woken up, and Brother Long was probably in rough shape. Bayunye raised an eyebrow and, unusually patient, crouched down to study the Grave Mound Mushrooms peeled off Brother Long.
"Sigh! I hope he wakes up soon and tells us what exactly happened!" Ge Mingliang rubbed his hands together and, unwilling to give up, kept shaking Brother Long's body. "Hey! Wake up! Wake up!"
"We can't stay here forever. How about we take turns carrying them back?" Qi Zi suggested.
"That works too," Ge Mingliang said. "Besides Master Ba, Da Qin, and Fat Monkey, the rest of us can take turns carrying the squad leader and Ah Shui. Ah Shui is lighter, so we can take turns carrying him on our backs. The squad leader is heavier, so two people can work together."
"I can't just sit idle either. How about... I'll pack up our things?" Fat Monkey offered enthusiastically, limping over to pick up the items and backpacks everyone had dropped.
"I'll help too," Bayunye said, disliking when others gave her special treatment because she was a woman. She patted her chest. "Sharing hardships is what makes good comrades."
"Master Ba is a true hero. In ancient times, she'd probably be a famous chivalrous woman known throughout the land," Ge Mingliang praised. "Then Master Ba, come with us!"
After assigning tasks, Diao Zhuo carried Hippo on his back first, while Tan Lin and Ge Mingliang carried Brother Long front and back as they began their journey back.
Due to exhaustion and a shortage of food and water, they moved much slower than on the way in, but with laughter and chatter, the atmosphere remained relaxed.
Unnoticed, the sky darkened. With their strength spent, they decided to set up camp. Bayunye led some of the group to search for food, while Diao Zhuo, Ge Mingliang, Da Qin, and Fat Monkey stayed behind to pitch tents and start a fire. Everything seemed to be going smoothly, except that Brother Long and Hippo still hadn't woken up.
When an oxygen tank ran out, Diao Zhuo went to the tent to look for more and discovered two were missing. Had they been left behind in the rush when everyone was hastily packing up? He grew suspicious and went to check the remaining filter masks, only to find they had all vanished without a trace.
Something was wrong.
Just as he was about to stand up, something cold, black, and hard pressed against his temple. From the corner of his eye, he could see it was a gun, fitted with a silencer. He caught a glimpse of the person's clothing and felt a chill run down his spine—it was Fat Monkey.Fat Monkey yanked off Diao Zhuo's mask and pressed the gun barrel against his back, forcing him to walk outside. Once outside, it became clear that Da Qin was likely the first to be attacked—he lay unconscious on the ground, his condition unknown. Ge Mingliang’s hands were bound behind his back to a tree with plastic zip ties, his mask removed, and his mouth tightly sealed with transparent tape. His eyes were bloodshot, and he kept making muffled, frantic noises. Fat Monkey’s betrayal left Ge Mingliang both furious and helpless. His gun had probably fallen into Fat Monkey’s hands, leaving him powerless to resist.
Diao Zhuo obediently followed Fat Monkey’s instructions, deliberately slowing his breathing as he wondered, What on earth is going on? Aren’t Fat Monkey and Ge Mingliang colleagues? Then, he vaguely recalled Ge Mingliang’s earlier introduction of Fat Monkey: "...When Old Squad Leader asked me to look into some matters, I often turned to him for help... I originally came alone this time, but he was worried about me and took leave to help with the search."
Clearly, Fat Monkey knew something about Brother Long and, through Ge Mingliang, likely understood what Brother Long was investigating. Could it be that the corrupt element hidden within the team, previously suspected by Officer Ran Jinxian, was actually Fat Monkey?
Diao Zhuo glanced at Fat Monkey’s leg injury and realized it wasn’t severe enough to hinder his movement. Earlier, Fat Monkey had deliberately feigned difficulty walking—on one hand, to convince everyone he was incapacitated, and on the other, to avoid rescue efforts and conserve his energy. Now, everyone was exhausted from moving Hippo and Brother Long, leaving only Fat Monkey with any stamina left. If Fat Monkey had ulterior motives, how would he deal with Bayunye and the others when they returned? Diao Zhuo needed to find a way to disrupt Fat Monkey’s plans, buy time, or send some kind of signal to warn Bayunye.
"Diao Zhuo, I know you’re cunning. Don’t try any tricks," Fat Monkey said, already suspicious of his compliance. "You’re in a dead-end situation with no way out."
"While we were discussing how to move the injured, you left behind masks and oxygen tanks for those criminals, didn’t you?" Diao Zhuo asked. "You’re working with them."
Fat Monkey didn’t answer, but his expression turned sinister and menacing.
"When the others were hallucinating, the enemies they imagined were either Japanese soldiers or faceless monsters, but you..." Diao Zhuo paused. "If I remember correctly, your fear-induced hallucination was of your colleagues—a group of police officers. You’re a police officer yourself, yet you’re afraid of the police. Why? Guilty conscience?"
"Shut up! Shut up! You’re about to die, and you still have so much to say! One more word, and I’ll blow your brains out!" Fat Monkey roared, pressing the gun barrel hard against Diao Zhuo’s forehead, his expression vicious.
"I can die, but spare Master Ba’s life," Diao Zhuo said calmly and firmly.
"Wishful thinking... Your Master Ba will go with you, so you’ll have company on the road to the underworld," Fat Monkey sneered. From behind the tree trunk emerged a disheveled Li Haozhang, who seemed even more deranged. The two of them worked together to bind Diao Zhuo’s hands behind his back to the tree trunk. They tore off a piece of transparent tape, intending to seal his mouth, but Li Haozhang, driven by some twisted malice, taped over both Diao Zhuo’s mouth and nose, clearly intending for him to suffocate painfully.
"What about Bayunye’s side?" Fat Monkey asked.
"Already taken care of," Li Haozhang replied. "Let’s go search Renlong Duoji now."The two of them walked together toward Brother Long's tent. Diao Zhuo, unable to breathe and hearing something about "Bayunye's side being taken care of," was filled with terror and struggled violently. Despite the plastic strip being thin, once it bound your hands and feet, brute force alone wouldn't break it free.
Was this truly a dead end?
Fat Monkey lifted the tent flap and saw Brother Long lying on his back. He nudged him with his foot, but there was no response. Exchanging a glance with Li Haozhang, he crouched down, yanked off Brother Long's oxygen mask, and began searching him.
"This fat guy is no simpleton. He stole Old He's stuff, knew that going back or following Old He's original route would be a dead end, yet dared to come into this forest, making us go through all this trouble." Li Haozhang rummaged frantically through Brother Long's pockets, looking highly agitated. "Old He isn't easy to deal with either, thinking he could pull off one last job and then flee overseas to enjoy life in America. Must've been in the upper ranks too long, forgetting how tough it is for those below. If the deal were as simple as he imagined, what would the rest of us even be doing?"
"Keep your voice down," Fat Monkey reminded him impatiently, then suddenly seemed to remember something. "Wait, have you checked the other tent?"
Li Haozhang looked up, his expression dull. "If you want to check, go check yourself!"
Fat Monkey's face darkened. He rushed out and saw Diao Zhuo and Ge Mingliang still tightly bound, with transparent tape still covering Diao Zhuo's mouth and nose. Diao Zhuo's head hung low as if he had already suffocated. Letting out a sigh of relief, Fat Monkey hurried to the other tent, only to find that "Ah Shui" had long since disappeared.
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