Diао Zhuo finished а сigаrеttе, stamped оut thе butt, and lifted thе lid of the рrеssurе сооker. Steаm rose, carrying the sаvоry аromа оf muttоn.

Еverуоnе gаthеred аround. "Smells amаzing!"

Nоt heаring Bayunуe's usual bоisterous vоiсе, Diао Zhuо instinсtively lооked fоr hеr, оnly tо seе hеr stainless stееl lunchbоx sitting alonе on a blaсk саnvas bаg, with several lаrgе рieсеs оf tоrn-uр flаtbreаd insidе, haрhazаrdly brokеn.

"Wherе's Маster Ва?" Нiрpo alsо noticed someоne missing and glanсed arоund. Seеing hеr cаr and Xiao Zi were both gone, he figured the two had probably driven off to use the restroom somewhere farther away.

"Come on, let's eat, eat!" Da Qin urged. Having gone a day without food, everyone was starving. At the sight of the mutton soup, they clutched their lunchboxes, eyes gleaming green like hungry ghosts.

"Too bland..." someone couldn't wait and took a sip, then went looking for salt.

Hippo called out, "Make sure to save some for Master Ba! If she comes back and finds you've polished it all off, she'll definitely—"

From a distance, Diao Zhuo heard a car horn—one long blast followed by three short ones.

It was a distress signal.

"Three people, come with me!" Diao Zhuo said, already running toward the car.

The wolf pack's encirclement gradually tightened. Two wolves had already moved in, ready to trip Xiao Zi. Once she fell and struggled, the wolves would swarm, with the alpha lunging to bite her throat.

Bayunye had ten thousand thoughts about taking on the wolf pack single-handedly, but years of military training reminded her that without weapons or teammates, such impulsiveness was unwise. She looked around, then grabbed the fire extinguisher from under the passenger seat, jumped out of the car, aimed at the alpha wolf, and sprayed fiercely.

The sudden burst of white powder startled the wolves again, causing them to retreat a few steps. Xiao Zi finally burst into loud sobs, gasping heavily as she clung to Bayunye.

"Stop crying and get in the car!" Bayunye ordered.

The wolves soon realized the continuous spray of white powder posed no real threat.

Xiao Zi trembled as she turned around, but due to oxygen deprivation from her earlier high-speed sprint, her vision went dark, and she suddenly collapsed unconscious.

"Hey!" Bayunye called out to her.

Seeing their prey fall, the wolves regained their aggressive stance. Fortunately, Bayunye heard the sound of car engines—they were coming.

Two off-road vehicles stopped behind Bayunye. Diao Zhuo, Xiang An, Da Qin, and Hippo got out one after another. Diao Zhuo and Xiang An stood on either side of Bayunye, while Da Qin and Hippo worked together to lift Xiao Zi.

The wolves knew the hunt had failed but still didn't leave immediately, continuing to watch with lingering greed.

Diao Zhuo stepped forward a few paces, his tall, sturdy frame shielding Bayunye. He spread his arms, raised his right leg, and stomped heavily on the ground, letting out a fierce shout. The wolves jumped back in unison, their momentum instantly shattered. Once the alpha turned away, the others immediately scattered in all directions.

The crisis was over.

Bayunye collapsed heavily, unconscious.

This startled everyone. Xiang An quickly checked her for wolf bites, finding her clothes intact and no tooth marks or bloodstains on her hands or feet.

"Master Ba!" Xiang An shook her.

After waiting until the wolves were mere gray dots in the distance, Diao Zhuo walked back a few steps.

"Look at this.".. Da Qin pointed at Bayunye lying sprawled out like a "big" character, saying nervously.

Diao Zhuo remained silent, mouthing the words to them—"Faking it."

Even Xiao Zi wasn't injured. How could she be so severely hurt as to faint? Nine times out of ten, she was just pulling another stunt.The group relaxed, their expressions a mix of helplessness and amusement. Hippo patted Diao Zhuo’s shoulder, signaling that only he could handle this situation.

“Master Ba actually gave his life to protect Xiao Zi,” Diao Zhuo said without moving, raising his voice. “It’s not easy to dig a grave here, so we might as well leave him where he is. Let’s each bow three times to express our condolences. Come on.”

Bayunye cursed his ancestors ten times in her heart while continuing to play dead on the surface.

“I’ll go first.” Diao Zhuo really bowed at a 90-degree angle.

Hippo said, “We still need to take Xiao Zi back to rest. Captain Diao, as our representative, please bow a few extra times for us. See you later.”

With that, the group got into the vehicles and drove away.

Diao Zhuo crossed his arms. “Still not getting up?”

Bayunye was determined. Since she was playing dead, she’d see it through to the end.

Unfortunately, the steel-straight man had no idea she was pretending just so he’d pick her up.

“Really dead?” He gently nudged her arm with the tip of his shoe.

Bayunye thought, Damn, shouldn’t he be giving me CPR right now?

“In that case, farewell forever, my comrade.” Diao Zhuo turned and got into the car, slamming the door shut with a bang. After waiting a few seconds and seeing she still hadn’t moved, he smoothly stepped on the gas without hesitation.

He’s really leaving? Bayunye gritted her teeth in anger, secretly opening her eyes a crack to see he had already driven far, far away. She took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and opened her eyes fully. The stars were faint, the wind strong, and a strange, ghostly blue tinged the horizon, like the eyes of the wolves earlier.

Venturing alone into the Uninhabited Area was probably just like this. Between heaven and earth, there was only herself—loneliness and pride coexisting. Making it out would be glory.

From the distance came the long howl of a wolf. The wind battered her, making her head ache.

Bayunye sat up. She wasn’t the melodramatic type who’d stubbornly wait for Diao Zhuo to come back and carry her. Taking out the small flashlight she always carried, she hadn’t walked more than a few steps toward the camp when her foot kicked something with a thud. Shining the light, she saw it was an earth-colored kraft paper envelope, almost the same color as the ground. If she hadn’t kicked it, she might never have noticed it.

She bent down to pick it up and turned it over. Several large characters were written on it:

For the Fated One. From Zou.

Zou?! She froze, her eyes lighting up with joy.

Headlights shone from afar, the engine noise particularly distinct in the silent wilderness.

Diao Zhuo had turned back.

“Diao Zhuo!” Bayunye raised both hands and waved vigorously, tossing the earlier failed attempt to trick him into carrying her to the back of her mind. “Look what I found!”

Diao Zhuo rolled down the car window, took the envelope, and opened it. She stood on tiptoe, leaning against the car door and craning her neck to look—not at the envelope, but at him.

His facial features were sharp, and the stubble he hadn’t tended to for days had grown out, a dark shadow extending from his chin up to his temples, looking prickly.

I really want to touch it.

Diao Zhuo didn’t notice her blatant gaze, focused only on the contents of the envelope—an MP4 player.

“Is it Zou Kaigui’s?”

Diao Zhuo was silent for a moment. “Let’s head back to camp first.”

“If it’s his, it proves our route is correct. He passed through here before he…” Bayunye swallowed the word “died,” nearly choking on it. “…before he went missing.”

“Get in.” Diao Zhuo gestured toward the passenger seat with his chin.

Bayunye climbed in, as smug as a wolf with a big tail. “If I’ve made a contribution, how will the captain reward me?”Diao Zhuo placed the envelope on the storage platform. "What reward do you want?"

"I..."

"One chance—if I disagree with what you say, the reward is canceled."

"How do you know I’ll ask for something you’ll disagree with?" Bayunye sighed. "Forget it. A grown man going back on his word—I won’t say it."

Diao Zhuo teased her, "Go on, I’m all ears."

Bayunye directly reached out and rubbed his chin roughly a couple of times.

Hmm, indeed prickly.

After a second of surprise, Diao Zhuo calmly continued driving. He realized he still hadn’t fully grasped her tactics, or perhaps she was just a female rogue who didn’t play by the rules.

Hearing that Bayunye had found something possibly belonging to Zou Kaigui, everyone’s spirits lifted. Bayunye watched as Diao Zhuo put on gloves, took out the MP4, and someone handed him what looked like a fingerprint chart. He examined it against the light for a moment, then frowned and stared at the MP4 screen. After a while, he said, "The match is consistent. It’s Zou Kaigui’s."

Bayunye was astonished. "You... compared fingerprints with the naked eye?"

Diao Zhuo gave a faint "hmm."

"How is that possible?" she said incredulously.

Da Qin chuckled, pulling out a piece of transparent tape. "Master Ba, want to give it a try?"

Bayunye pressed her fingerprint onto the back of the tape and gave it to Diao Zhuo. He turned his back, and she pressed another fingerprint onto a separate piece of tape with Da Qin, Hippo, and Tan Lin, carefully handing it over. "See which one is mine."

While Diao Zhuo examined the fingerprints, the others used a solar charger to power the MP4 for a while, successfully turning it on. Inside were a bunch of classic old songs. Clearly, by the time Zou Kaigui reached this point, he no longer considered music a way to pass the time. Whether he truly believed the beauty of Qiangtang surpassed the melodies or had experienced some other psychological shift was unknown.

At that moment, Diao Zhuo pointed to one of the fingerprints. "Yours?"

Bayunye widened her eyes—he had guessed correctly. "You... you can actually do this? Where did you learn it?"

"Never learned. I’m just visually sensitive to textures."

Bayunye stared at him blankly for a moment, then cautiously asked, "If I gave you a photo... never mind, forget it."

"What did you want to say?" The wind was loud, and Diao Zhuo thought he hadn’t heard clearly.

"Nothing."

Hippo glanced at her, then at Diao Zhuo, deep in thought.

Ye Xun appeared quite calm upon seeing the MP4. After confirming there were no recordings inside, he focused again on filling his stomach. Xiao Zi woke up after being carried out of the vehicle, still shaken and dazed, repeatedly muttering, "It’s too terrifying," and crying, asking the Rescue Team to send her back, refusing to go any further.

Bayunye held her lunchbox; the knockoff lamb stew with bread was bland and tasteless. She took a few bites, then, as if having forgotten, brought up the old topic again: "Captain Diao, I’ve made such a contribution. You should reward me properly."

"Wasn’t that earlier one a reward?" Diao Zhuo retorted.

"Which one? Oh..." Bayunye slapped her forehead. "That thing... doesn’t count."

Which thing? Everyone paused their chopsticks, holding their breath. Outwardly nonchalant, they all had the same question in their minds. Their gazes turned toward Diao Zhuo, scrutinizing him up and down.

Diao Zhuo cleared his throat loudly, looking at Bayunye. "Make yourself clear."“Wouldn’t it be too explicit to say it out loud…?” She scratched the back of her head sheepishly. “Weren’t you the one who told me not to say it in the car just now?”

Everyone exchanged glances, their expressions growing even more suggestive.

Hippo stifled a laugh. “Master Ba, just say it. Clear Captain Diao’s ‘innocence.’”

Bayunye stretched out her hand, wiggling her fingers as if reliving the prickly sensation of his stubble. Her eyes rolled thoughtfully before she sighed, “…So long.”

Five or six people choked simultaneously, while Diao Zhuo wore a look of utter resignation.

After a long pause, she touched her own chin. “I meant the beard.”

No, you definitely didn’t mean the beard—everyone thought to themselves.

No, she really did mean the beard—Diao Zhuo glanced around at the group, unable to defend himself.

Hippo doubled over laughing. “What reward do you even want now?”

Bayunye explained, “That earlier moment was my reward to him for rushing to our aid and driving off the wolves. The reward I’m talking about now is for me leading the way accurately and personally picking up Zou Kaigui’s belongings.”

Da Qin fanned the flames. “The latter achievement is even greater. You should ask for a bigger reward.”

“Captain Diao probably won’t agree.” Bayunye made a pained face.

Diao Zhuo narrowed his eyes slightly, completely unfazed. “You’ve accomplished a great feat. Whatever request you make, I’ll fulfill it. Go ahead.”

She stretched lazily, glancing sideways at the tent not far away.

His tent was pitched solidly, with few of a man’s miscellaneous belongings inside—only a solitary sleeping bag.

Diao Zhuo wondered whether she was serious or just stirring up trouble.

Probably just stirring up trouble.

Bayunye stayed silent, and Diao Zhuo didn’t press further, but the onlookers grew anxious. Deep down, they all knew nothing could really happen in these conditions, yet they were all eager for the show.

At that moment, the guileless Xiao Zi couldn’t help but point at the tent and exclaim, “Master Ba, you’re not planning to sleep with Captain Diao tonight, are you…?”

Bayunye burst out laughing. What had been a fun atmosphere instantly turned dull once Xiao Zi spelled it out.

Diao Zhuo pulled out a cigarette, flicked open the lighter cap, and a flame sparked to life. In a low voice, he said, “You’re welcome.”

She shook her head. “Captain Diao isn’t being very welcoming.”

“What’s the point of being welcoming to you now?” He held the cigarette between his fingers, his handsome features faintly veiled in smoke. The poise and steadiness of a mature man were all in that calm gaze—ready to handle whatever tricks she might throw his way. “Come on, I’ll make sure you don’t survive the night.”

“You’re scaring me…” she pretended to shrink back fearfully.

The adults’ banter was too much for Xiao Zi. She looked from Bayunye to Diao Zhuo and said, “Master Ba, could you stay and sleep with me instead? I’m really scared.”

“Alright, alright, enough joking!” Bayunye waved her hand dismissively. “I don’t have any other requests. It’s just—after driving for days, I’m exhausted. Tomorrow, I’d like to ride in Captain Diao’s passenger seat.”

“You’re welcome.” This time, Diao Zhuo clapped sincerely a few times.