Sun Wenli took a moment to collect her thoughts, and the confusion in her eyes began to shift to calmness. " (Anchor), can you see the fate of these people, regardless of whether they live or die?"
She was obviously including that bastard Xu Chao in her words. After all, Xu Chao and this couple were locals, used to making deals here, so all three of them must know the way down the mountain.
"Sisters, are you planning a counterattack?"
"This is scarier than watching a horror movie!"
"Live streaming!"
The anchor replied, "Yes, be careful."
Now, Sun Wenli could only rely on herself for salvation. The trails and woods of Leigong Mountain were rugged and treacherous; someone unfamiliar with the terrain might not get out for months.
Modern city dwellers, used to supermarkets, takeout, and cars, had no wilderness survival experience at all.
Sun Wenli was hiding in a very concealed spot. The couple acting as snakeheads had searched the area thoroughly but had found nothing.
Crouched in a ditch that fit her form, she clutched her phone, the weak light illuminating a slimy slug clinging to a rock. Due to the cramped space, her head occasionally brushed against the slug, sending a chill down her spine.
"I don't have anything here. How about you?"
"Neither do I."
"Damn it, that little bitch runs so fast. When I catch her, I'm going to break her legs."
"If you break them, she won't be worth anything. Calm down, will you?"
"I think that little girl looks pretty good. If worse comes to worst, I can sell her to those perverted foreign clients; we'll still make a fortune."
"Alright, alright, let's find her first. We need to see if Xu Chao has gone down yet. Call him over to help look."
Sun Wenli lay still, straining to hear the sound of the two of them hitting the wild grass and bushes with sticks. Luckily, their voices grew fainter. Just as she thought about moving, she suddenly heard voices close above her head.
"Could it be that she really isn't here?"
"Maybe. Let's go check over there."
"Alright, bring the tools. If it comes to it, we can always let some blood out. It's better than her running away lively and full of energy."
As they talked, they stepped away, and Sun Wenli wanted to push herself up from the ditch; she had had enough of the slugs.
The anchor warned her in a serious tone, "Don't move."
Sun Wenli dropped her arm again, and the viewers in the live stream collectively held their breath.
One minute, two minutes, five minutes, ten minutes...
Just as everyone was getting impatient, thinking the anchor and Sun Wenli were being overly cautious, rustling branches and voices came from less than a meter ahead: "It really seems like she isn't here; otherwise, she would have come out."
"Strange. I clearly saw her come this way to hide."
"Let's go, let's keep looking ahead."
As the sound of footsteps and voices grew fainter, Sun Wenli finally relaxed her breath. Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably, and she quickly crawled out of the ditch, squatting on the ground to vomit up everything she had eaten before heading up the mountain.
This was the body's protective response to extreme panic. Sun Wenli cried and heaved, wiping her mouth with her sleeve when she was done. She leaned against a tree, struggling to calm her emotions.
After running away, her face and hands bore no unblemished skin, covered in bruises from branches and leaves during her flight. A large bump on her forehead from a previous fall had swollen her entire right eye.
Carefully, Sun Wenli got back up and quietly followed behind the two.
"It's hunting time!"
"I'm a big man and my legs are shaking. It feels like watching a horror movie where I barely escaped the chase of a psychopathic killer, only to find out I left my car keys with the killer, forcing me to return and take the risk again."
"Dude, you've nailed the essence of a horror film."
"In horror movies, it's usually one-on-one, but our Lili has to deal with three heartless human traffickers!"
"Lili, if you're in real danger, I'm a law school graduate with a lawyer's qualification, a top lawyer at a law firm. If you can survive and escape, I'll represent you for free."
"Awesome! What kind of gods are in Butterfly's livestream?"
At that moment, Sun Wenli looked down at the livestream chat and managed a faint smile. "I have to give it a try. I believe in Butterfly; if she says I won't die, then I definitely won't. Since I won't die, those three must die!"
She put her phone back in her pocket, and everyone could only feel the sounds of her movements in the dark until she suddenly stopped.
"Did you run into them?"
"Oh man, this is thrilling, but I can't see anything!"
Sun Wenli had indeed encountered the traffickers, but fortunately, she had stumbled upon Xu Chao, who was alone.
She deliberately increased the brightness of her phone's screen and placed it in a suitable spot for an ambush. Then, she grabbed a rock and hid in the bushes, quietly waiting for Xu Chao to approach.
In that moment, the roles of predator and prey had reversed; she had become the hunter.
She watched Xu Chao as he cautiously approached her phone, flashlight in hand, until he squatted down to pick it up.
Upon suddenly seeing the bright livestream screen, it was too late for him to throw it away.
"Whoa, now I can see clearly—he's really handsome!"
"No wonder the sisters were deceived; it's easy to lose one's principles when looking at someone's face. These traffickers really spend money on appearances; he could easily enter the entertainment industry."
Xu Chao didn't expect that Sun Wenli had actually started a livestream, and his face was now being broadcast live to millions of viewers in the Zhuang Zhou Meng Die livestream.
As he dropped the phone, it hit the ground, and at that moment, his head was struck hard by an object.
Xu Chao felt dizzy, stumbling backward. The uneven terrain caused him to step awkwardly and fall, his already injured head hitting the ground heavily again.
When Sun Wenli raised the rock to hit him again, his instinct for survival kicked in, and he grabbed her hands tightly. The physical difference between them was significant; plus, Sun Wenli was usually a homebody and didn't have the strength to break free from Xu Chao's grip to bring the rock down.
Xu Chao then spoke softly, "Lili, I was wrong. I won't sell you anymore. Can we go down the mountain? Please don't report me, and I'll let you go!"
Sun Wenli didn't believe a word he said. Feeling his grip tightening around her wrist and unable to break free, she decided to let go of the rock and instead raised her head to smash it hard against Xu Chao's face.