Chapter 296, available for pre-order: "A Mystic Boss Provokes Her Ex-Husband on a Divorce Variety Show" (Mysticism + Werewolf, SARS ABO).

[First update of Chapter 12 (Bonus Chapter)] [In our China, everyone is a villain, sorry about that.]

Day 296 of the story [First update of Extra Chapter 12]

Yin Yu realized something was wrong when he switched the screen. Before Steve could answer, Zhou Zhou had just finished speaking when Yin Yu urged him in a low voice. The two of them immediately set off for the off-road vehicle.

"The items haven't been fully inventoried and replenished yet," the staff member in the SUV shouted as Yin Yu jumped into the vehicle.

"Is the tank full?" Yin Yu interrupted and asked.

"It's all added!" the staff member replied quickly upon seeing this, while simultaneously grabbing the replenishment supplies and stuffing them into the vehicle even faster.

Upon hearing this, Yin Yu immediately said, "That's enough, let's go, Zhou Zhou!"

"Received!" Zhou Zhou hurriedly ran to the passenger seat, grabbed the largest-looking bag from the staff, and got into the car without even having time to check what was inside.

Yin Yu stepped on the gas, Zhou Zhou slammed the car door shut, and the SUV sped into the depths of the jungle in the night.

The staff who remained in place were stunned by what they saw, as if they hadn't quite recovered yet.

"We've been robbed," a staff member muttered under his breath. "That was our main camp's food supplies."

“”

Zhou Zhou got into the car and then had time to check what was in the supplies package. He saw that after opening the package, there were boxes of self-heating meals neatly stacked up.

Zhou Zhou: "Captain Yin, I think I smuggled a bag of boxed lunches from headquarters onto the bus."

Upon hearing this, Yin Yu glanced at the document quickly, his lips twitching slightly: "Not bad either."

[What kind of response speed is that! That captain reacted way too fast!]

[That monster is so cunning! The thermal perception didn't work at all! Luckily, our captain is experienced and reacted quickly!]

[Ahhh, I'm dying of laughter! Friend, are you some kind of highway robber? You even stole the biggest bag!]

[This can't be the staff's dinner, can it? Hahaha, damn it!]

[Switching back and forth between moral dilemmas and damn funny moments, hahaha]

[Ugh, am I the only one wondering what flashed by on the security camera?! The captain ran off too early, I didn't see it clearly!]

Steve's face turned deathly pale as he saw the crystal-clear image on the monitor screen.

"Yin! Yin!" He turned around and called out to Yin Yu, but just as he was about to look for Yin Yu, he realized that Yin Yu and Zhou Zhou were already gone.

Fan Bei glanced at Steve and kindly reminded him, "Team Leader Yin and the others have already set off."

Upon hearing this, Steve nodded nervously, then asked Fan Bei, "What was that just now? Did you deal with it?"

Fan Nan said, "We call that thing a tree spirit. It can walk upright on two legs like a human. It is green all over, and green vines and leaves grow on all seven orifices. However, I have only heard of it and never actually seen it. There are many derivative legends about its appearance in many places, but it is hard to say whether they are true or false."

Steve listened and murmured, "Green Valley, so that's why it's called Green Valley? Tree spirits, green men?"

Fan Nan and Fan Bei exchanged a glance, then shrugged and gave a noncommittal reply.

Their gaze returned to the vast amount of surveillance footage.

In addition to the fixed cameras tracking the participants, hundreds or even thousands of surveillance cameras were installed throughout the entire event area. At the base camp alone, there were dozens of staff members responsible for monitoring any abnormalities in the footage.

"Where did that monster go? Give me vision of the Athena convoy!" Steve snapped out of his daze and shouted the order.

The image in the center of the screen was magnified, showing Athena's car standing alone, its headlights shattered. It seemed no one was inside; only the open door was visible, and the team members inside were nowhere to be seen.

Looking at Yin Yu and Zhou Zhou's side, the location cursor representing Yin Yu's SUV is rapidly approaching the scene of the incident.

///

Yin Yu's SUV began to slow down when it was less than 100 meters from the scene of the accident.

"Did you see the tire tracks?" Yin Yu asked Zhou Zhou.

"We haven't found anything yet." Zhou Zhou shook his head. The rain had lessened, but it was still drizzling.

Zhou Zhou peeked out, wiped his face, and looked around. After a while, he suddenly shouted, "Captain Yin, slow down! Slow down! We've found something!"

Upon hearing this, Yin Yu slowed down and gently stopped near the spot where Zhou Zhou had discovered the situation. The two got out of the car to investigate.

“Look at this, the tire tracks are deep and messy, it’s definitely the tires that locked up and spun around, it’s most likely the Welsh car,” Zhou Zhou said. After he finished speaking, he looked around again, pushing aside waist-high bushes, trying to find the overturned Welsh car.

Yin Yu squatted down, his fingers tracing the messy tire tracks. The muddy ground in the forest was muddy from the rain, but it was also the perfect place to preserve all the traces.

Yin Yu looked around, and soon followed the ruts for a few more meters, discovering several irregular and abrupt breaks in the rut patterns.

A Welsh car should not have large gaps in its tracks when driving normally, unless it has been cut off by something.

A thoughtful look flashed across Yin Yu's eyes. He then pulled a dagger from his calf strap and plunged it into the empty space where the rut had broken. After a few thrusts, he saw the surrounding mud loosely pouring into the blade, indicating that there was nothing underneath. This meant that something had once been there.

Zhou Zhou quickly returned to Yin Yu's side and was taken aback when he saw Yin Yu pounding mud: "Captain Yin, have you found anything?"

"The accident involving the Welsh car here wasn't an accident; something must have happened." Yin Yu checked several other locations, and the completely consistent situation confirmed his suspicions.

He sheathed the knife, directly tucking it back into his waistband for easier movement.

Zhou Zhou's eyes widened slightly upon hearing this: "A tree spirit?"

“No, the underground space is limited; it’s something much smaller than a tree spirit,” Yin Yu said, letting out a soft breath before turning to Zhou Zhou. “Wales and the others encountered more than one type of monster.”

Zhou Zhou's eyelids twitched heavily upon hearing this: "What luck!"

“Oh, right, I spotted their car,” Zhou Zhou said quickly, calling out to Yin Yu.

[Huh? Huh?? Holy crap, such a small area, and there's more than one kind of monster?! Are they still alive?!]

I never imagined that being a safety officer would be so dangerous.

[Wow, I take back my mockery of people from Country A for their poor driving skills, but this guy was just really unlucky.]

[The captain always carries a knife! Cool!]

"We have to bring it, it's a high-risk profession."

[The captain is so steady! He managed to pry clues out of the chaotic scene. Amazing!]

[If it were me, I would have stepped on the gas and sped straight towards the car, but he actually got out beforehand. That's some amazing experience!]

I have to say, the more I look at this Asian man, the more mysterious and reassuring he seems; it's hard not to fall in love with him.

【】

Yin Yu and Zhou Zhou had already reached the bottom of the slope where the overturned SUV had been. Zhou Zhou immediately looked around to see if anyone was hiding.

Yin Yu then used a flashlight to scan the inside and outside of the SUV. The interior was very clean, with almost no bloodstains. There was only a little blood on the shattered glass of the car window, which was normal.

Yin Yu climbed over the stones onto the overturned car, the strong beam of his flashlight sweeping across the gaps between the four tires.

He paused slightly, and the bright light that had been sweeping across the tire suddenly returned to it. He pulled a small tuft of pink fluff from the tread of the thick tire.

The downy feathers, dampened by the rain, formed a small clump, a deep pink color that was easily overlooked without close inspection.

Pink down is so rare in the jungle that few creatures retain such bright and vivid "skin" through natural evolution; it would be tantamount to attracting predators to eat them.

Not only in that one tire, Yin Yu also found the same fluff in another tire, only this time the color had turned blue.

"What is this?" Zhou Zhou asked, looking over as Yin Yu jumped down from under the car, holding several clusters of things in his hand.

"The discovery of it stuck in the tire," Yin Yu said, tossing it to Zhou Zhou. "At least it proves that our earlier guess was correct."

Zhou Zhou took it and looked at it, muttering in puzzlement, "What kind of bird's nest did this guy crush or what?"

Yin Yu shrugged and looked around. "Didn't see anyone?"

“They’ve all run away. The footprints are all over the place.” Zhou Zhou shook his head. “Athena’s car is over there, shall we go over there?”

"Clean up the supplies in this vehicle," Yin Yu said.

Although they had supplies in their vehicle, Yin Yu didn't want to go back to the vehicle to get them, as there was no guarantee they wouldn't have to walk a long way to find someone later.

He had thought that these people wouldn't be able to run far given their speed and courage, but now it seemed hard to say, since fear was the primary factor in unleashing potential.

The two men divided their tasks and swept away the overturned SUV.

Take the batteries, take the flashlight, take the first-aid kit, pack all the bottled water, take the lighter, and the cigarettes? Take them. Chewing gum? Sure, it won't take up much weight.

"Tsk, these people brought quite a few snacks." Zhou Zhou pulled out cigarettes and chewing gum and couldn't help but click his tongue. "This relaxed attitude is something I need to learn."

Yin Yu glanced at Zhou Zhou, who immediately shut up and quickly slipped out of the car: "Report! All supplies have been searched!"

[Ugh, I can't seem to learn even a little bit of relaxation, okay?]

[They were learning one moment and sitting up straight the next, separated only by a single glance from the team leader.]

I'm saying, if I were in your shoes, I'd be honest too.

【I'm different. If he glared at me like that, I'd be thrilled, hehehehehe】

Something's not right with you.

Don't let your guard down too much; this relaxation led to a disaster, and we ended up being captured by a monster.

[You know what, you know what, the way those people were squatting there, not daring to move, really gave off a bit of a prisoner vibe, uh...]

Don't make me want to laugh at such a terrible moral point!

[Hiss, but I think everyone should still be alive. That monster doesn't seem like it's about to be killed; it really does look like a prisoner.]

[Well, I wonder how long it can stay]

【Wait, didn't they all run away?! And some were even caught?】

Uh, I don't know, but several of the drones that were filming were attacked, so we lost our viewpoint.

Yin Yu and Zhou Zhou moved over to Athena's car. The car looked fine, except the headlights were broken. But when Zhou Zhou climbed in to try to start the engine, he found that the accelerator and brake pedals inside the car had also been destroyed.

“No wonder no one came back.” Zhou Zhou’s lips twitched. “This monster is so cunning, it even knows how to destroy the car so it’s useless.”

The two also picked up some supplies to take with them, and Yin Yu called headquarters to request a viewpoint.

“There are three people hiding together. The other two are out of sight, but their location shows they are still moving. They are scattered at two different coordinates, both very close to you. We have already sent a message. The search and rescue team has been dispatched, but we cannot contact them now. They are staying where they are.” Steve’s voice came through the walkie-talkie.

After confirming the coordinates sent by headquarters, Zhou Zhou nodded slightly to Yin Yu.

Upon seeing this, Yin Yu responded, "Understood. We'll go find the moving target first. Where are the others?"

“The other three may have malfunctioning tracking watches and haven’t received any coordinate feedback.” Steve took a deep breath. “We will continue to search the area and will notify you immediately if we find anything.”

"Okay," Yin Yu replied.

Zhou Zhou led the way with a coordinate electronic map, and the nearest one was moving quickly in their direction.

“One of them ran back,” Zhou Zhou said to Yin Yu. “Shall we deal with this one first?”

Yin Yu nodded.

"Solve this?" Ugh, this doesn't sound like you're trying to save someone!

[He has a villainous vibe, hahaha]

【We Chinese are all villains, sorry!】

Upon hearing the latest news from headquarters, the comments section noticeably relaxed.

Yin Yu and Zhou Zhou moved toward the approaching coordinates. They hadn't gone far when Yin Yu suddenly grabbed Zhou Zhou's arm and took the electronic map to examine it.

The flashing cursor was still rapidly approaching their direction.

"Captain Yin?" Zhou Zhou paused upon seeing this and looked at Yin Yu.

"They're moving a bit too fast." Yin Yu narrowed his eyes and lowered his voice. "Either something is chasing us, or Steve's information is wrong and he has no vision over there. We should be careful. Spread out and ambush."

Zhou Zhou's heart skipped a beat: "I understand."

[Author's Note]

I'll try my best and post two updates today!