Good

Crack!

The sound of bones shattering tugged at everyone's nerves. They watched as the two-meter-tall black bear bit Wang Ding's head into a bloody pulp.

"A bear! It's a real bear!"

The burly man in work clothes immediately felt a chill spread through his entire body. A cold shiver crawled up his spine, and every muscle in him stiffened.

"Run!"

Zhao Ke's eyes turned cold. He put away the fruit knife in his hand, turned, and charged into the woods behind him.

The others immediately followed, chasing after Zhao Ke.

Li Hongbing's expression changed. He was closest to the bear, and at that moment, his whole body was frozen stiff. The repeated sounds of bones being torn apart and crushed left him too terrified to move.

"Move!"

Fortunately, someone grabbed the big man by the arm. It was the man scar-faced man had slapped twice earlier, his cheeks now swollen like a pig's head. He quickly tugged at the still-dazed Li Hongjun and turned to run.

A black bear was simply not something people like them could handle. As for playing dead, that was the textbook definition of seeking death. A bear's hearing was more than enough to tell whether someone was faking it.

Then, all it had to do was give your face a light lick with its barbed tongue, and you would instantly understand what it meant to be cut into a thousand pieces.

Climbing a tree was even more laughable. Whether it was climbing trees, swimming, scaling rocks, or running, it was all child's play for a bear, the so-called master of all land-based abilities.

The group ran and scrambled after Zhao Ke, but the bear's roars behind them were getting closer and closer. It was too fast. Just as Zhao Ke had guessed, one corpse was clearly nowhere near enough to fill its stomach.

Good thing I'm not alone here.

Zhao Ke glanced behind him. There was the female office worker in high heels, a female student with glasses, and Li Hongbing and the other man supporting each other as they ran.

As he headed deeper into the forest, Zhao Ke vaguely saw flickering light in the depths of the woods. His nose twitched. Though it was far away, he could still smell the scent of cooked meat, as if someone were making a fire and preparing food.

"This way!"

Zhao Ke pointed ahead. The four behind him also saw the faint light in the distance, and a glimmer of joy appeared in their eyes.

At that moment, the female office worker looked at the slope beside them, malice flashing through her eyes. She suddenly reached out and shoved the girl with glasses.

"Ah!"

Before anyone could react, the girl with glasses rolled straight down the slope. It was not very high, but it looked like she would not be able to climb back up anytime soon.

"What are you doing?!"

Seeing the student pushed down, Qi Liang, the college student who had been supporting Li Hongbing, changed expression. He stepped forward and shoved the female office worker away. "You're killing her!"

"What killing? Which eye of yours saw that? She slipped down by herself. Don't talk nonsense." The female office worker turned her face aside and flatly denied it.

At that moment, Li Hongbing stepped up as well, but he sided with the female office worker. "Yeah, she slipped down on her own. Forget about her. Let's go."

After saying that, Li Hongbing actually shook off Qi Liang's support and hurried toward the firelight, desperate to get away.

Qi Liang's face went pale, then flushed. His hands clenched tightly into fists, and the swollen flesh on his face trembled.

"You people... are you even human?"

After saying that, Qi Liang looked at the girl with glasses below the slope. "You run. I'll save her."

"Pah, idiot."

Seeing Qi Liang actually begin feeling his way down, the female office worker sneered coldly. She was secretly delighted. It would be best if both of them died here. Then the bear can eat them together.

There was a saying: if you encountered a tiger in the wilderness, you did not need to run faster than the tiger. You only needed to run faster than your companion.

The same saying applied here.

With two people left behind, when the bear came, they would buy the others plenty of time—enough to get far away from it.

The female office worker then looked at Zhao Ke, who stood nearby, and her eyes lit up. Compared with crude Li Hongbing, Zhao Ke seemed much more refined.

Besides, Zhao Ke had been leading the way at the front the entire time. His sharp, capable gaze and nimble movements made him seem far more reliable than the others.

There was another reason, too. In the blink of an eye, Li Hongjun had already run so far that he was nowhere to be seen. The only person she could rely on now was the man before her.

With that thought, the female office worker quickly ran to Zhao Ke and said in a coy, low voice, "Big brother, let's go together. Forget about them."

The faint perfume on her body made Zhao Ke frown slightly. Though the scent was light, it was still unpleasant to his sensitive nose.

He looked her over, and a wicked smile curled at the corner of his lips. He nodded. "All right."

Zhao Ke's answer came unexpectedly readily, but before delight could appear on the female office worker's face—

She failed to notice that the instant Zhao Ke nodded, a cold gleam flashed from his hand.

Pfft...

The female office worker's eyes widened as she looked down at the dagger buried in her abdomen.

She could not understand why Zhao Ke had stabbed her.

By the time she came back to her senses, Zhao Ke had seized her throat, grabbed her by the hair, and dragged her toward the nearby bushes.

That was right. People could not outrun beasts, but if he had to choose a sacrifice, he would not choose the woman beside him.

At least in an unfamiliar environment, someone with poor character was often unreliable.

She might drag you down, but she would never be of any help.

"Quick! Push harder."

At the bottom of the slope, Qi Liang held the girl with glasses' legs with both hands and pushed her upward with all his strength.

"Higher!" The girl with glasses clawed desperately at the ground ahead.

"Ahhh! I'm about to shit myself!"

Qi Liang's face was red from holding his breath. Standing at one meter eighty, he spread his arms and strained to lift the girl with glasses upward. She was skinny, but she was by no means light.

He exerted every ounce of strength he had to drag her up. Qi Liang himself felt like he was about to spray shit everywhere.

Fortunately, the weight above him suddenly became lighter, allowing Qi Liang to catch his breath. He hurriedly clenched his ass tight. If it had taken any longer, he might really have shit his pants.

Qi Liang looked up and saw Zhao Ke grabbing the girl with glasses by the arm and pulling her up.

"You!"

Qi Liang was surprised to see Zhao Ke. He had thought Zhao Ke would leave with the female office worker, but instead, he had come back to save them.

Zhao Ke had somehow found a wooden stick. Gripping one end, he held the other out to Qi Liang. "Stop standing around! Hurry up, that bear is coming!"

Although there was no sound, Zhao Ke knew that beast was nearby. The strong, pungent stench in the air was the same smell he had caught earlier.

"Okay, okay!"

Qi Liang hurriedly nodded and climbed up using the stick Zhao Ke offered. Looking around and seeing only Zhao Ke and the girl with glasses, he asked in confusion, "Where are the other two?"

The female office worker had seemed rather close with Zhao Ke earlier. How had she vanished in the blink of an eye?

"You sure are nosy. Hurry up and go. That beast is almost here!"

Zhao Ke sniffed. The thick stench was getting closer, and he urged Qi Liang and the girl with glasses to leave at once, as if to confirm his words.

The bushes to their left suddenly shook violently. Qi Liang's face changed. He did not think any further and quickly followed Zhao Ke away.

"Mmff, mmff, mmff!!!"

Inside the shaking bushes, a pair of helpless eyes watched Zhao Ke and the other two grow farther and farther away. The woman's face turned deathly pale, and she opened her mouth in a silent scream.

She lay facedown on the ground, blood gushing from her thigh and abdomen. She could only shake the branches desperately, trying to draw Qi Liang's attention.

Crack!

Suddenly, the female office worker's body stiffened. The heavy sound of breathing beside her was drawing closer and closer, like countless insects crawling into her collar, making every hair on her back stand on end.

Rustle...

The bushes in front of her were pushed aside, and a figure stepped out. He had a burly build and carried an axe in his hand, seeming to be a hunter from the mountains.

"It's a person!"

The female office worker's eyes lit up. Unable to suppress her joy, she hurriedly opened her mouth and gestured desperately, signaling for him to save her.

Yet the figure before her did not move. Thinking he had not seen her clearly, the female office worker struggled to crawl forward, trying to get closer.

She crawled to the man's feet, grabbed his pant leg, and pulled herself upward.

Damn it, is this guy an idiot? Why won't he give me a hand? He's just some mountain man. His brain probably doesn't work right.

At that moment, the female office worker's hand seemed to grasp something. It was cold to the touch. Feeling it carefully, it seemed to be a hand. She relaxed inwardly. So he finally remembered to pull me up.

But the instant she raised her head, the joy in her eyes vanished, replaced by a chill crawling up her spine.

The man raised the axe in his hand and brought it down in a single chop.