```
Sighing contently, Qinghe listlessly sprawled onto the grass. The jungle was now her home, so she naturally didn't have to worry about safety; she lay down and fell asleep.
Seeing Qinghe lie down, Little Snow Wolf also ran over, rested its head on her arm, and drifted into dreamland, its small body curled up into a ball, looking exceptionally cute.
Meanwhile, Cui Guangyu and the others weren't so fortunate. They walked in circles but couldn't find a way out.
Now they didn't even know where they were, and as darkness fell, their anxiety grew.
They usually faced so many restrictions, which is why they enjoyed adventures, to relieve stress and set themselves free.
They had been to quite a few forests and knew the dangers within, but never had they encountered peril like this.
Perhaps their imagination had been too simplistic, treating this place just like any other forest, assuming others had exaggerated the dangers here.
But now, it appeared there was no exaggeration at all; they had walked for so long and observed for such a time—there were no signs of human presence, meaning it really was an unexplored Primitive Forest.
In the past, the forests they visited had seen other people, they might encounter snakes or other dangerous small animals, but they never encountered wild beasts.
This time, however, they had encountered large wild beasts not yet discovered or domesticated by humans and had almost been eaten.
Other than the daggers they carried and some chocolate they had already finished, they had no equipment left. Fortunately, there was some rainwater to drink; otherwise, they wouldn't even have the strength to search for a path.
This forest was truly bizarre; those who enjoyed adventure travel were right—once inside, it seemed nobody ever left.
They could now confirm this, because of the man-eating beasts and the boundless forest, even compasses were useless here. So no matter how much food one brought, there would come a day when it ran out, and those who came before either starved or were eaten by wild beasts.
Right, there was also that exceptionally beautiful and eerie girl—indeed, eerie. Anyone in such a desolate, beast-filled wilderness coming across a delicate girl dressed strangely and acting oddly would think so, wouldn't they?
Furthermore, wolves are dangerous animals to begin with, even if they exhibit some human-like behaviors. But they're wild beasts nonetheless. Wouldn't they eat her if they were starving?
In fact, when Fang Xiaoyang shared his thoughts earlier, they had already considered the same idea but quickly dismissed it.
It was really hard for them to believe that a girl with such demeanor was scheming against them, in collusion with others to kidnap them for ransom.
It wasn't because she was incredibly beautiful, but they had been taught from a young age how to observe people. Although they couldn't claim 100% accuracy, their judgments wouldn't be far off.
The girl, although strangely present here, had an open face and clear eyes, with a hint of slyness flashing occasionally.
A girl with such eyes might be mischievous, but she certainly wouldn't be involved in collusion to kidnap people.
She was so dignified, arrogantly perched atop the two-meter-tall Snow Wolves. How could she stoop to such actions?
The group kept walking non-stop, and before they realized it, night had fallen. Zhao Qing, frustrated, threw away the makeshift compass he had created from his watch: "Damn it, what kind of place is this? No matter what I try, there's no sense of direction."
```
Cui Guangyu looked around calmly and made a decisive call, "We can't keep going. Immediately gather some branches and start a fire. We need to light several fires."
Among them, he was clearly the leader and held the most authority. As soon as his words fell, the group automatically divided the tasks and busily got to work.
Meanwhile, Fang Xiaoyang, the young lady who had joined them temporarily, naturally sat down immediately. Exhausted, she kept rubbing her feet and dared not speak, crying softly, evidently suffering a lot.
The others didn't expect her to help. As long as she didn't hold them back, they were more than content.
Without needing any further instructions from Cui Guangyu, everyone had already returned with arms full of branches. They knew the commonsense requirement to gather enough branches to last the night, or else they would have a tough time making it through.
The five of them surprisingly lit five fires, sitting in the center of the fires with many branches stacked beside each person, clearly intending to keep the fires burning all night without planning to sleep.
The group, exhausted, finished their preparations. Seeing the fires surrounding them, they finally felt a bit of relief and slumped against each other in a half-lying position.
As they relaxed, they naturally felt hungry. In fact, they were quite skilled and had planned to catch a wild chicken or something to eat, but the animals here seemed to be cunningly elusive.
After walking so long, they only saw one rabbit. Just as they tried to catch it, the rabbit disappeared without a trace.
Having spotted only that single rabbit, they began to wonder if there were only large animals and no small ones in the area, explaining why the predators were so aggressive towards them.
But without small animals, what would the predators eat? There's a food chain for humans and one for animals, where big fish eat small fish—it's quite normal.
Yet, things were already so strange here that nothing seemed surprising to them anymore.
Along the way, they didn't only have to find a way out but also constantly stay tense, fearing encounters with more wild animals. They were already drained of energy, hungry but enduring, certainly better than being eaten by beasts.
Qinghe "watched" from afar as they leaned on each other, fast asleep, and Zhao Qing, trying hard to keep his eyes open to stand watch, and couldn't help but laugh.
Being smart is one thing, but that doesn't mean it'll work here. Other animals may fear fire, but that doesn't mean the animals here do.
Wolves, which often come out at night, and these wolves were underlings of those at her home, naturally would often appear by her side. She frequently roasted meat and even fed them.
How could such wolves, accustomed to fire, be afraid of it? Even if they were a little scared, it didn't stop their eagerness for a sumptuous meal.
Sizzling sounds… If it weren't for her holding them back, those wolves would have lost control already. But seeing their comfortable state while she was already well-rested made Qinghe quite uncomfortable.
Her eyebrows raised, her lips pursed; she thought, "Hehe, don't blame me, ah. Although those few people are quite pleasing to the eye, that brainless girl really annoyed her."
Moreover, if she didn't send them a "gift," how would they obediently listen to her and hand over the money? She didn't miss the flash of greed in their eyes.
Money—they would give it, but the one hundred and fifty million they mentioned might not all be forthcoming. Even if they were willing to give, how could their families possibly agree to such a sum?