“Come back! Move with the main group! You can’t do this alone!”
Si Nan remained silent, standing behind a rock, his silhouette seemingly half-merged with the shadows.
“…Come back,” Zhou Rong’s voice lowered: “Si Nan, come back to my side.”
His final tone sounded somewhat sad, with thick, unmistakable anxiety and worry. Si Nan listened intently for a moment, then suddenly shook his head and laughed: “You’re wrong, Zhou Rong.”
The gunfire continued, the zombies’ howls becoming increasingly sparse, with the airborne troops’ battle nearing its end. Si Nan no longer lingered, drawing his submachine gun and melting into the night.
Near five in the morning.
Through night vision goggles, countless pale green figures wandered aimlessly between the trees, while Si Nan swiftly traversed the towering tree canopy, leaping over zombie heads with the agility of a monkey.
Waterfall.
Si Nan swung from a branch, instantly locking onto the faint water sounds ahead. More flexible than a snake, he darted just above the treetops before zombies could surround him.
He recalled hearing the noise during the parachute drop – during Spring Grass’s conversation with Zhou Rong, a muffled rumbling of water.
As long as this damned canyon wasn’t dotted with waterfalls every few steps, following the water sounds would lead to the crashed campsite!
The water vapor grew heavier, and suddenly a thunderous waterfall burst through the rocky, layered forest.
Si Nan climbed to the treetop and pulled out military binoculars.
This was the lowest point of the linear canyon, a medium-sized waterfall crashing down into a deep pool, splitting into two rivers flowing through the winding valley. Si Nan continuously adjusted the binocular focus along the riverside forest, then suddenly froze – hundreds of meters away on the riverbank, the rocky shore was uneven, scattered with objects resembling military packages.
Without hesitation, he slid down from the treetop.
He sprinted the challenging mountain path in just two minutes. The darkest pre-dawn moment had passed, gradually lightening, the valley and river slowly outlining deep gray shadows. Si Nan, breathing heavily, stopped on the rocky shore, staring at the few corpses eaten away, still wearing tattered camouflage uniforms, his throat moving dramatically.
He approached, hands trembling, turning over each corpse to check their decomposed, unrecognizable faces and chest tags.
