Chapter Twenty: Waiting by the Tree for a Hare...

But after reaching the foot of the mountain, he didn’t head straight for the corpses of the two snipers. Instead, he kept running forward, covering several kilometers before finally doubling back, making a wide detour…

He intended to circle around, approaching the mound behind which the two bodies lay, to see whether those men were lying in wait somewhere, hoping to catch him off guard…

It would certainly take more time.

Yet after surviving this deadly encounter, after personally killing two men—after truly experiencing life and death—Fang Mu realized that, compared to safety, what did a detour matter?

If his guess was wrong, all he would lose was some time. The prize wasn’t going anywhere.

But if, by some misfortune, his guess was right and he brazenly walked straight in…

What he’d lose then might be his life.

And a life—he only had one.

So, no amount of caution could be considered excessive.

…

Two hours slipped by in the blink of an eye.

Fang Mu completed a wide circuit, covering dozens of kilometers. Even as an Iron-rank Evolver, he was left somewhat breathless.

But he successfully made his way to the mountainous area behind the spot where the two bodies lay…

As a gunfighter, Fang Mu had an excellent sense of direction and a broad strategic vision. Though the hills here were many, he could clearly identify the positions where the two snipers had fallen.

He glanced around, deciding first to find a vantage point for observation.

He quickly selected a target and climbed up.

Another half hour passed before he retrieved the G-301 from his dimensional armament and peered through its scope at one of the mounds.

That mound was where he had shot the second sniper. From his current position, he was about three hundred meters away in a straight line.

As he aimed for a while, his body suddenly tensed; his face hardened…

Through the lens, he saw clearly: behind a boulder on the opposite hill, facing toward the tiger’s corpse, someone was lying in wait…

“So they’re really there…”

His face twitched.

At the same time, a surge of immense relief flooded his chest.

He’d been about to go straight over! If he hadn’t changed his mind midway, he would have walked right into the trap—like a foolish rabbit dashing into a tree—ambushed outright!

“What kind of grudge is this? Two hours later and they’re still lying in wait for me?”

Fang Mu’s heart surged with a great fury.

Yet the angrier he became, the calmer he was. After a glance at the man lying behind the rock, he turned his scope toward the site of the first sniper’s death.

He needed to confirm: were both men in the same place, or were they lying in wait separately?

The other site was farther off, over six hundred meters away.

But soon enough, Fang Mu spotted it.

Someone was at the first sniper’s position as well!

His face twitched as his mind began to work.

…

“Brother Yao, it’s been over three hours now—could that guy really have left?” Zhou Yang, oblivious that he’d already fallen within Fang Mu’s sights, stretched his stiff neck and spoke with some impatience.

He wasn’t a sniper; lying prone for three hours was a record for him. The silent forest was becoming increasingly hard to endure.

Even as a Bronze-rank Evolver, staying prone for so long wasn’t a physical strain for him.

But the real issue was his fraying nerves.

“I don’t know,” came Li Yao’s calm reply through the earpiece.

“So what do we do? Just keep waiting?” Zhou Yang asked, a bit helpless.

“What else? Changle will be here in two hours. Once he arrives, we’ll make our move… By then, we’ll know if our target is still around.”

Li Yao was finding the wait hard to endure as well, though he didn’t show it.

“What if the target’s already gone?” Zhou Yang couldn’t help asking.

This question gave Li Yao pause. After a moment, he said, “If that’s the case, there’s nothing we can do. But if he chooses to leave under these circumstances, abandoning even the Gale Tiger’s corpse he hunted—well, it means he lacks courage. We’ll be much less likely to have trouble from him in the future.”

Zhou Yang was taken aback by this analysis, but after a moment, he nodded in understanding.

Indeed, if someone gave up even on the Gale Tiger’s body and left his hard-won spoils behind, it was clear he was afraid of an ambush…

Such a person was certainly cautious, but clearly lacking in boldness.

In that case, today’s matter might truly end here.

A man like that would never risk stalking them for revenge.

The counterattack earlier must have been an act of desperation.

There were plenty like him on the battlefield—cautious, always putting safety first above all else. They didn’t seek merit, only to avoid mistakes, and lived in a state of passive existence. They’d never stir up trouble deliberately, and if trouble came, they’d do their utmost to avoid it.

“I kind of hope he didn’t leave… Sigh, I still don’t know how I’m supposed to explain all this to Li Ru when we get back…” Zhou Yang sighed softly.

Li Ru was Li Tao’s younger sister. Zhou Yang was close with Li Tao, and Li Ru regarded him as an older brother.

This time, Li Tao’s death felt particularly stifling…

Utterly stifling.

Li Tao had been a close-combat Evolver, but for some reason he’d gotten it into his head lately to practice marksmanship…

Otherwise, how could he have died so easily?

The first shot would have been reserved for anyone capable of ranged attacks. If Li Tao hadn’t been carrying a sniper rifle, the one hit would have been Wang Cheng!

And thinking of Wang Cheng…

Zhou Yang cast a sidelong glance at the scorched, unrecognizable corpse not far away and felt not a trace of sympathy, only disgust.

In his eyes, Wang Cheng deserved to die.

Useless at everything, but always bragging; even with a little talent for shooting, he strutted around as if he were the battlefield’s finest gunfighter.

Zhou Yang had never liked him.

If not for Li Tao’s friendship with him, and the fact that Wang Cheng’s marksmanship was indeed decent, Zhou Yang would have kicked him out of the team long ago.

So when Wang Cheng died, Zhou Yang couldn’t care less—he was even pleased.

It was just a pity about Li Tao… who’d been killed because of him.

A thousand thoughts crowded Zhou Yang’s mind, and he sighed quietly.

“All right, stop thinking about it. Once we find him, we’ll avenge Li Tao,” Li Yao said.

Zhou Yang grunted in response, falling silent and turning his attention back to observation… not wanting their target to slip away right under his nose.

…