Real or Fake? Please Collect and Review!

"What's going on?"

Even Xia Hong could not help but tremble with fear.

Two Xia Dings?

The one outside was fake?

"Don't panic. That's a strange creature tricking us into opening the door. Stay quiet. Strange creatures chase the light. We haven't lit a fire, so it doesn't know anyone is inside. It'll leave soon."

Xia Ding inside the cave seemed frightened as well. Though he was comforting everyone, the panic in his voice was obvious.

"Brother, what's going on?"

Xia Hong was utterly dazed. Only when Xia Chuan, who had somehow come up beside him, called out to him did he suddenly snap back to his senses.

He lowered his head and pondered for a moment before asking Xia Chuan in a low voice:

"When Father came back just now, did you notice anything unusual?"

Realizing the importance of the question, Xia Chuan looked nervous and hurriedly recalled what had happened when Xia Ding and the Lumber Team returned.

But after thinking for a long time, he still shook his head.

Xia Hong let out a breath. This was already within his expectations.

When Xia Ding had returned with the Hunting Team just now, Xia Hong had been there too. There truly had not been anything unusual.

The one inside the cave should be Father.

But just as Xia Hong reached that conclusion, something unexpected happened.

"Xia Ding" outside actually pulled aside the branches blocking the cave entrance.

It was not yet dawn, but the instant the entrance was opened, a faint glimmer of light seeped in.

No fire had been lit in the cave. In the pitch-black surroundings, even that faint light was enough to lay bare the terror on everyone's faces.

And when they saw the scene outside the cave, their fear multiplied severalfold.

Because it was not just one "Xia Ding" standing outside.

The twelve members of the Lumber Team led by Xia Ding were there too.

This left everyone dumbfounded.

The Xia Hong and Xia Chuan brothers' pupils contracted in shock.

They had been the ones who had just greeted the thirteen members of the Lumber Team outside the cave.

Now, another identical group of thirteen had appeared. How could they not be terrified?

"Xia Ding" came in.

Xia Ding inside the cave hurried toward the entrance with the twelve Lumber Team members, blocking everyone behind them.

When the two Xia Dings locked eyes, both revealed looks of horror at the exact same time.

Then came fear and furious rage.

Though Xia Hong did not speak, his eyes remained fixed on the two Xia Dings and the people behind them. He did not dare miss a single detail, not even the slightest expression.

By now, they could be one hundred percent certain.

The "strange creature" from Redwood Ridge was standing right in front of them.

Of the two Xia Dings, one had to be the strange creature.

According to what the "Xia Ding" inside the cave had said earlier, the strange creature from Redwood Ridge killed by gaining people's trust. If they could distinguish the real from the fake, it would surely help.

So, under the faint light, Xia Hong tirelessly tried to distinguish them from every possible angle.

Unfortunately, after examining them again and again, he discovered in despair that there was no difference between them at all.

From their appearance and clothing to their slightest expressions, even down to all sorts of tiny details, the two Xia Dings—and the Lumber Team members behind them—were cast from the same mold, without the slightest difference.

And while he was trying to discern the truth, the two Xia Dings had already begun fighting, each leading their own twelve Lumber Team members.

The previously spacious cave instantly became cramped beneath the brawl of more than twenty people, and everyone in the camp retreated toward the back of the cave.

Though Xia Hong was retreating, his gaze never left the two Xia Dings. He feared that if he looked away, he would no longer be able to tell which one had come from inside and which one had come from outside.

When the first Xia Ding had returned earlier, dawn had already been close.

Sealing the cave, extinguishing the fire, and then this fight had taken so long that the white light outside the entrance had grown increasingly obvious.

That white light carried bone-piercing cold. The fear on the faces of the camp members hiding deeper inside the cave grew heavier and heavier, and their bodies gradually began to shiver.

Though Xia Hong's expression remained calm, his heart was growing heavier.

Daytime in this world was twice as cold as nighttime.

And during the day, cold beasts were even more active.

If the cave entrance remained open, then even if they somehow endured the low temperature, they might attract cold beasts. In the end, every last one of them would die together.

They had to find a way. They had to!

Just as he was burning with anxiety, the two "Xia Dings" spoke.

"Hong, Chuan, dawn is almost here. Take everyone and seal the cave entrance first. With me here, this strange creature can't hurt you."

"Even now, you're still pretending. Hong, Chuan, don't listen to him. Take everyone and help us drive it away first. Seal the entrance after it's gone."

The moment he was called out, Xia Chuan almost instinctively rushed to the left.

The Xia Ding on the left was the one who had returned to the cave first.

Clearly, Xia Chuan had also been watching the two Xia Dings, so he could tell them apart.

But after taking only two steps, a hand suddenly yanked him back.

"Brother?"

"Don't act rashly. Is he really the real one? Can you be one hundred percent sure?"

Hearing Xia Hong's question, Xia Chuan froze.

Of course, he leaned toward believing the Xia Ding who had returned to the cave first.

After all, that Xia Ding had not only led the camp members to put out the fire and seal the entrance, but had also told them about the strange creature.

But could he be one hundred percent certain? He did not dare say so.

After all, whether it was the two Xia Dings or the two groups of Lumber Team members, there truly was no difference at all—not in appearance, not in outward details, nor even in their movements.

Even the strength they displayed in battle was exactly the same.

That strange creature will turn into someone you know and deceive you into trusting it. Once you trust it completely, you will immediately become a human stake, left for it to slaughter at will.

Those words flashed through Xia Hong's mind, and his heart rose into his throat.

Whether the Xia Ding who had returned to the cave first was real or not—

At the very least, Xia Hong could now confirm that those words were true.

Since that strange creature had gone to the trouble of staging this scene before them—

It proved that it truly needed to obtain the camp members' absolute trust.

Right now, there were two choices:

First: listen to the Xia Ding at the back and seal the cave entrance first.

Second: help the Xia Ding who had returned first defeat the Xia Ding who came later.

At a life-or-death moment like this, whatever choice they made would naturally represent the camp members' absolute trust.

That meant that if they chose wrong—

Every one of them would become human stakes.

They would die!

At that moment, Xia Ding was not the only one who realized this.

Xia Chuan, along with a few people in the camp, also grew tense.

Many people turned their gazes toward Xia Hong.

They placed their hopes on him not only because he was the leader's son.

Aside from Xia Ding and the twelve Lumber Team members, Xia Hong was the strongest person in the camp.

And the two groups fighting at the cave entrance clearly realized this as well.

Both Xia Dings looked anxious. Seeing that everyone had handed the choice to Xia Hong, they hurriedly spoke to prove themselves to the two brothers.

"Hong, I returned to the cave first. I'm the real one. Don't believe him. If you really trust him, all of us will die."

"Hong, I'm the real one. That strange creature is best at bewitching people. It transformed into me first, returned to the cave, and deliberately gave you information just so you would trust it now. You absolutely cannot believe it."

"Hong, when you were knocked unconscious by an icicle last month, I was the one who applied medicine for you."

"Chuan, last night I helped you sharpen a stone dagger. Do you remember?"

This only left everyone even more confused.

Not only could both of them recount things involving the Xia Hong and Xia Chuan brothers, they even knew every detail of old injuries on their bodies.

Only Xia Hong, upon hearing the two of them mention different things about himself and Xia Chuan, gave a slight shudder. His right hand gripping Xia Chuan's suddenly tightened.

Xia Chuan turned back in confusion and met Xia Hong's gaze.

In but an instant, Xia Chuan's pupils contracted sharply as well.

Clearly, he had realized something too.

PS: Which one was real and which one was fake should have been pretty obvious, right?