The footprint left behind certainly wasn't ours. Comparing it with my own, it was about 55 yards larger.
Who on earth could have made such a mark?
An air of tension instantly enveloped us.
White Ruoxue gripped her gun tightly, her gaze vigilant in every direction.
Nose Cannon remarked, "With feet that large, it's possible it wasn't made by a human. Perhaps it's some sort of monster?"
"I'm not sure," I shook my head, pondering for a moment before responding, "What we can ascertain for now is that besides us, there's someone else nearby, breathing. Whether they're friend or foe remains uncertain. From this moment onward, we must exercise utmost caution."
Nose Cannon tugged at my sleeve, his expression one of astonishment. "Bro, over there, there's someone."
At his words, everyone reacted like startled birds, assuming a defensive posture.
Collecting myself, I followed the direction of the light and indeed spotted a figure not far off, or more accurately, a pile of bones with a skull resting atop them.
Upon closer inspection, I noticed two pieces of clothing placed beside the skeletal remains.
Nose Cannon's clothes were torn when he fell into the valley, a subject of ridicule by Liu Yuanbao along the way. He picked them up, gave them a shake, and found them surprisingly intact, immediately putting them on.
A hodgepodge of clothing, neither here nor there, Nose Cannon returned to his usual self.
Stone Jingxia quipped, "Even dead men's clothes, you're not picky."
Nose Cannon shrugged, "This is made of good fabric, wrinkle-free, a fine piece."
Suddenly, Sun Tiedan pointed at the pile of bones and said, "I think I recognize this person."
Nose Cannon wore an expression of disbelief, "Unbelievable! You recognize someone even when they're stripped bare? How's that possible?"
Sun Tiedan's tone was firm, not like he was making things up. So I asked, "What's the story behind this?"
Sun Tiedan recalled, "I recognized him from the clothes. It's one of those southerners who claimed they were here to develop Yanmen Mountain, the short one among them."
White Ruoxue pressed, "Are you sure, Tiedan?"
Sun Tiedan nodded, then shook his head, continuing, "Well, that person was wearing a white shirt, truly superior fabric that none of us in the village had. The shirt was so white, like freshly ground flour, it left a deep impression on me."
White Ruoxue pondered, "From the looks of it, they're not developers at all; more likely southern tomb raiders intruding into our territory. They deserved their fate."
I inwardly sneered, thinking back to the days in Yongling when your Bai Gang meddled incessantly, causing us significant losses, nearly being wiped out entirely.
Stone Jingxia puzzledly remarked, "Even if a person dies and decomposes, shouldn't there be some traces left? And who arranged the bones like this?"
Picking up a bone, I noticed numerous horizontal scratches.
In my mind's eye, I envisioned an endless sea, the cabin of Fishing Vessel Jiyu 0825, and the scene where Monkey King Xiaoliang was slicing fish.
A terrifying and insane thought emerged, causing me to shudder involuntarily.
Stone Jingxia inquired, "Guangting, what's wrong with you?"
Gathering myself, I said, "If I'm not mistaken, this person was eaten by someone else."
At this revelation, everyone was stunned.
Nose Cannon exclaimed incredulously, "Bro, that's unthinkable. There was a winter one year where I almost starved, but I never once considered eating human flesh. What sort of creature lurks in the shadows?"
Stone Jingxia's voice quivered, "Nothing is impossible. There was a time between Brazil and Argentina, can't recall exactly when, where a plane crashed. In the Andes Mountains, they made a pact to eat whoever died first. They survived for over two months like that."
I nodded, presenting three reasons.
Firstly, the marks on the bones were clearly made when flesh was being cut. Secondly, the fact that bones were arranged so neatly after being eaten suggests that the deceased and the perpetrator likely knew each other. Lastly, according to Sun Tiedan, the only ones who've been here were that group.
"Tiedan, how many were in their group?"
Sun Tiedan swallowed hard, "There were three in total."
Stone Jingxia continued, "Was there one particularly tall with unusually large feet?"
Sun Tiedan didn't hesitate, stating with utmost certainty, "No."
Nose Cannon looked around, then exclaimed once again, "Oh, I know! It's a wild man, must be a wild man."
Truly annoying, I felt an urge to sew shut his broken mouth.
I addressed everyone, "Alright, let's not speculate blindly and scare ourselves. Fortune favors the prepared mind, while disaster spares no one. Let's stay vigilant and adapt to any situation."
Regaining composure, we moved forward. After a dozen meters, we made a new discovery.
"Look, there's another pile of bones."
Nose Cannon's flashlight trembled, his voice extremely somber, "Bro, it's not one set, it's two sets of bones."
Following the beam of his flashlight, I saw another set of bones a few meters away from the first one.
My scalp went numb, and the others were silent, exchanging fearful glances, as a terrifying and eerie atmosphere enveloped the entire cave.
Struggling to calm our nerves, we carefully examined them. The situation was similar to the first set of bones: three individuals, all dead. Who could have done this?
"Tiedan, are you sure you didn't misremember? Were there really three people?"
"No, no, I didn't make a mistake. There were three people," Sun Tiedan stammered.
I looked at everyone, each with a grim expression and tense demeanor.
Having weathered many storms, I too felt a tremor of fear at the unknown. Fear of the unknown is the most dreadful.
Just then, a swooshing sound came from behind me, and a dark shadow, swift as lightning, darted past.
Turning around, I saw a diamond drill embedded diagonally in the ground, about a foot deep.
"Ha ha ha, it's been three years, finally encountered living people."
Immediately, a sinister and terrifying voice echoed in the cave.
Looking back, I saw a wild man over two meters tall, with a fierce face, crouching, and wielding an 8-pound sledgehammer, charging at us.
His hair, fifty to sixty centimeters long, twisted into dreadlocks due to lack of washing, swung like a whip as he took big strides forward.
If his aim had been slightly better just now, I would have been skewered, ready for the barbecue.
Nose Cannon turned pale.
"Truly unbelievable, he's...he's really a wild man."
With a snap, Bai Ruoxue raised her hand and fired a shot, pulling the trigger again, but there were no bullets left.
The wild man's shoulder sank, his body swaying for a moment before he let out a roar and charged towards us again.
Though there were six of us, the opponent's aura was too overpowering, and we were already mentally defeated.
"Everyone, run!"
I shouted, pulling out the diamond drill. Looking back, I saw that except for Stone Jingxia, everyone else had already run far away.
Damn, pure plastic emotions.
"Xiao Jing, run!"
"No, we go together."
"Nose Cannon, take Stone Jingxia and go."
Hearing my call, Nose Cannon turned back and forcibly dragged Stone Jingxia away.
In the blink of an eye, the giant was approaching, lifting the sledgehammer to strike at my head.