Jack hid behind a tree. He did not rush to make a move, instead observing the pursuing team behind them.
Those people's target was extremely clear. During the pursuit, black-clad men continually approached and joined up with them.
Jack's gaze locked onto the staggering figure, and he quickly came to a conclusion.
"So they were after you." Jack muttered under his breath.
He recalled the first time he had killed those two black-clad men.
Those two had also been searching for something at the time, and the still-nervous Jack had instinctively assumed they were tracking him. But upon careful thought now, that clearly had not been the case.
If those black-clad men had already discovered his trail back then, the commotion he made when he returned to camp and dismantled the distress wristband would not have been small. Yet they had never appeared.
Moreover, the direction those two had come from had not matched his route of departure at all.
So this had actually been a misunderstanding. From the very beginning, the target they had been searching for had not been him!
Watching the student flee in a miserable state below, Jack considered it briefly before swiftly making a decision.
Save him!
Of course, this had nothing to do with any classmate camaraderie.
What truly made him willing to act were the resources on those black-clad men.
Firearms, Energy Stones, military rations—in this forest rife with danger, these things were the capital needed to survive. More importantly, with his current level of strength, even if this rescued genius suddenly turned hostile, Jack was confident he could slaughter the genius along with the rest!
With his own safety guaranteed and the chance to make things difficult for the other side, why not make a move?
With that thought, Jack lowered his