"A hairband?"

Xiao Wu walked over, took it from Mia's hand, glanced at it, and said with certainty, "This is from Jiang Xian'er's hair. She's been carrying this ever since she came out of Hope Town, so it must be theirs."

With this clue, it means that Jiang Xian'er and the others were indeed taken away by Wu Hao.

The fact that the hairband was placed here also proves that, for the time being, Jiang Xian'er and the others have not been harmed.

After having this idea, Xiao Wu and the others breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's alright, thankfully they're all okay, Mike. It seems this was just an internal conflict between them." Xiao Wu turned to Mike and said excitedly. This discovery was very good, giving everyone a boost of confidence.

Mike nodded and replied, "You're right, this is actually very good news. Wu Hao will definitely not let Mu Shanhai get hurt if he wants to use him. As for the other two girls, they won't have any problems with Mu Shanhai around."

"Judging from the condition of the corpses on the ground, it's very likely that Wu Hao had a conflict with his two subordinates. Although the reason is unknown, think about who Wu Hao is."

"This guy is a sophisticated egoist. Once someone has any conflict of interest with him, he will definitely find a way to get rid of him. So, it is very likely that these two people knew something about Wu Hao, or that they were detrimental to Wu Hao, which is why they were killed."

"Indeed, Wu Hao is a beast. He even killed his own men. I don't understand why they still follow him. What good is a person like him?" Xiao Wu shook his head, his face full of righteous indignation. He had always had a very bad impression of Wu Hao, and seeing this scene only intensified his disgust for him.

This guy is willing to do anything; he's worse than an animal.

They simply hadn't realized Wu Hao was such a cunning person. Of course, the most important reason was Luo Chen. If Luo Chen had been with them, Wu Hao wouldn't have dared to do anything bad, even if he wasn't in the same car as them, and he wouldn't have exposed his true nature.

However, the key to the problem lies with Luo Chen. Wu Hao is only afraid of one person. When he did not come with Xiao Wu and the others, Wu Hao would do everything he could to survive when his life was threatened, which led him to this point.

Although he was a villain, he wasn't really that scary. To Luo Chen, Wu Hao was just a nobody, someone he could easily deal with.

Think back to when Luo Chen and Xiao Wu first appeared at the rest stop, what was Wu Hao's attitude? And then when Luo Chen showed Wu Hao how powerful he was, Wu Hao instantly changed his tune. This guy is completely opportunistic and a pure bully who picks on the weak and fears the strong.

"If we had known he was this kind of person, we should have had Xiao kill him directly. We might as well have just stayed at the rest point. That way, we might have been able to hold out. What use is Wu Hao, that bastard?"

Whenever Xiao Wu talks about Wu Hao, he is filled with anger. This is because when his teammate was killed by Mona, Wu Hao just stood by and watched. No wonder he has such feelings towards Wu Hao.

"Alright, let's not think about this anymore." Seeing that the others had rested enough, Mike stood up and instructed them, "Keep going. Before it gets dark, hurry up and catch up. It's been a whole day. If we don't catch up by now, it will be even harder to find them tonight."

After leaving the rest stop, they had been fighting here for almost a day, setting off when it was barely light in the morning, fighting Mona's people on the highway, and now they were at this point.

Time passed slowly, and another reason was that Mike knew that since leaving in the morning, no one had eaten anything. If this continued, everyone's energy would be depleted even faster, and they would have even less energy to pursue the enemy.

"Wait, Mike, everyone's tired too. Let's eat something before we go." Xiao Wu glanced at Mia and saw that she was panting heavily, which meant that she had indeed exhausted a lot of energy.

If this continues, it could lead to excessive dehydration and a rapid decline in physical strength, potentially resulting in shock.

Mia sat down on the ground, glanced at Xiao Wu, and quickly said, "Brother Xiao Wu, I'm fine. I can still keep chasing them. If we rest, then it will be difficult for us to catch up with them."

"No, I know that chasing Mu Shanhai and the others is important, but our own safety is also extremely important. Besides, do you think I wouldn't have considered Mu Shanhai and the others' situation?"

"Wu Hao's only option now is to head down the mountain. What's more, he doesn't have a car, so even if he walks fast, he won't be able to get out anytime soon."

"So don't worry, have something to eat, and then we'll go."

"Alright, everyone, hurry up and eat what you have on you, try to finish within ten minutes, otherwise it will be harder for us to catch up if we are too late."

Mike said he understood perfectly, but still gave a reminder. He then took out food from his mercenary uniform at his waist. This was basically what mercenaries used to replenish their energy when they were on missions in the wild. Although it was dry, it was very effective at replenishing calories.

"Are there any other roads that lead back to the rest stop?" Mike suddenly asked Xiao Wu while they were eating.

Xiao Wu frowned and thought for a moment, recalling that his friend had mentioned the general terrain of the area.

Having been a mercenary for so many years, Lao Tie is practically a walking map, possessing an intimate knowledge of virtually every location.

"Oh, right, I remember now, there seems to be such a place." Xiao Wu suddenly said, "After you go down the mountain, walk forward for about a kilometer, and there's a downhill road there. You can go from there to bypass the main road and return."

"However, according to my friend, the roads there are basically abandoned and dangerous to walk on, so no one usually goes there anymore, and basically no one knows about it anymore."

Thinking of Lao Tie, Xiao Wu felt a little sad. This was something Lao Tie had told him. It was all based on his experience as a mercenary, his understanding of various places, and his many years of experience in carrying out missions in different regions.

Mike listened intently to Xiao Wu's words, his head bowed, while his mind analyzed the situation.

"If I'm not mistaken, I think Wu Hao is very likely to do this this time; he's very likely to go down the path you mentioned."

"Why?" Xiao Wu squinted, his mind a little confused. He didn't quite understand why it was so obvious which place Wu Hao would go. Was there some connection between them?

"Mike, explain this to me, I didn't understand."

Mike nodded, then said, "Think about it, where can Wu Hao take Mu Shanhai and the others now?"

“There’s nowhere else to go, and the place we’re in right now is completely isolated. So Wu Hao can’t possibly take Mu Shanhai and the others to the Northern Frontier. If we went directly to the Northern Frontier, Mu Shanhai’s goal for this trip would be to fulfill his wish.”

"Wu Hao wouldn't have imagined that Mu Shanhai's people might be in the Northern Frontier. If he went there, he would be walking into the lion's den. So Wu Hao only has a few options now."

"First, Wu Hao could go back to where we started climbing the mountain, where there's a car. But the problem is that Xiao is currently fighting John and his group there, so Wu Hao definitely won't go to get the car. Therefore, this option can be eliminated."

Mike took a bite of the compressed biscuit and continued, "Second, Wu Hao would kill us, then wait for us and John to kill each other, and then he would come out to clean up the mess, drive the car away, and return to the location. But this plan is obviously impossible."

"As for the third point, you understand now, right?"

Xiao Wu's eyes gradually brightened. He looked at Mike and quickly replied, "You mean, at this point, Wu Hao only has one choice left: he can only head towards that abandoned road. He can't go to the Northern Frontier, so he has to go there first, and then make further plans after returning to the rest point?"

“Yes.” Mike nodded, looking like he was about to teach a child, and said, “Mu Shanhai is very important, but you need to think about this: he still has Jiang Xian’er in his hands. If Jiang Tao finds out that Jiang Xian’er has been captured, Wu Hao will definitely be in a terrible situation. So he must go back quickly, gather his men, and make a deal with Jiang Tao.”

"The advantage of this is that he doesn't have to wait for Jiang Tao to come to him, otherwise the nature of the situation would change. And after dealing with Jiang Xian'er, he doesn't have to worry about Jiang Tao causing trouble for him. After he has something to gain from Jiang Tao, he can deal with Mu Shanhai properly."

Xiao Wu nodded in approval as he watched Mike's analysis unfold so logically.

“Mike, you’re so smart. You’re almost as smart as Xiao. If you hadn’t told me all this, to be honest, I wouldn’t have known any of this.”

"Haha, you'll learn more. You've only been a mercenary for a few years, there's plenty to learn in the future," Mike smiled.

"So what do we do now?"

"It's simple, just split into two groups."

"Splitting into two groups?" Qi Yunlong, who had been silent all along, suddenly asked.

He frowned at Mike, seemingly not understanding why he had to do this.

"Is this a good idea? If we encounter Wu Hao then, our fighting strength will be difficult to deal with."