Sasha's ideas about wild men, to be honest, didn't convince me.

As is well known, the Siberian region of Russia is notorious for its harsh environment, and coupled with its vast territory and sparse population, news of wild animal attacks on people is frequent.

Take our trip for example, we actually encountered brown bears and snow wolves, and we also saw lynxes and black bears.

Even with firearms, we still suffered casualties dealing with these wild beasts. If there really are savages here, not to mention how they would survive the long, cold winter, the complex ecological environment alone would be enough to give them a hard time.

However, if there are no cannibals here, then the two travel bags that appeared on the only road cannot be explained by normal human logic.

With my constant urging, everyone's pace has quickened considerably compared to the previous few days.

As the sun was setting, Sasha circled a pond and returned with several pieces of droppings: "There are many footprints near this pond, left by herbivores and small carnivores, as well as a lot of snow hare droppings, which means there are no predators in this area."

Looking at the main peak, which had magnified several times in my field of vision, I asked Sasha, "Can we travel through the night and try to shorten the arrival time?"

"No, I disagree!"

Zhou Peng didn't translate what I said to Sasha at all. He looked at me angrily and said, "My body can't take such a high-intensity march anymore. If I'm not allowed to rest, I'll die. I'm doing translation for you guys to make money, not to risk my life."

"Since you're a translator, you should know what your role is in this team!"

Seeing that Zhou Peng refused to provide services, I said in a deep voice, "We're all in this together now. If I can't achieve my goal, I can't deliver the bonus I promised you either. You have something to ask for, and so do I!"

"Then just kill me!"

Zhou Peng sat on the ground and immediately started to complain: "I need to use all my strength to even speak now. If I continue walking, I will definitely die from exhaustion! Since I'm going to die either way, I'd rather lie here and be eaten by wild beasts than suffer before I die!"

"Alright, stop arguing. We've already sacrificed so much to get here, and now we're almost at the finish line. What's there to argue about?"

At this moment, Song Laosan stepped forward to act as a peacemaker: "Xiao Duan, Zhou Peng is right. Everyone has been traveling beyond their limits today, and their physical strength is almost exhausted. Even if we travel all night, we won't be able to enter the mountains by the time we reach our destination tomorrow. Rather than that, we might as well rest and recharge our energy! I know you're anxious, but everything has two sides. Even if Wei Shengnan and the others are competing with us, they are still human and need to rest, right?"

Looking at Zhou Peng, whose face was ashen and eyes were lifeless, I finally gave in: "Alright, let's set up camp here. Zhou Peng doesn't need to keep watch tonight, he can get some rest. Also..."

Before I could finish speaking, the bodyguard on guard duty on the high ground suddenly waved his hand and then shouted something.

Although Zhou Peng had just threatened me, it was only because he was feeling unwell and wanted to rest; he wasn't really planning to betray me. Now that he had a way out, he quickly translated for us, "He said he's made a discovery and wants us to come over!"

The sun sets quickly, and by the time we climbed the hillside, the world was already shrouded in a hazy gray.

I looked in the direction the bodyguard was pointing and saw a point of light in the distant valley. My eyes widened: "What's that light coming from? A campfire?"

Old Song rubbed his eyes: "It's flickering, like a fire, but it's not shaking. It could be a lamp, or a fire lit in a sheltered place."

The monkey swallowed hard: "Holy crap! How come there are lights in this deep forest? Could there really be savages in this godforsaken place?"

"The savages are just legends, and we haven't seen any signs of human activity along the way. I think we've encountered a different group of people!"

I licked my lips: "Should we go take a look?"

Song Laosan blinked and replied, "Of course we have to go check it out. The presence of lights in a place like this is too strange, and the team's medicine is gone too! Even if we can't beat them, it would be good if we could steal some supplies!"

We discussed and came up with a plan, and decided to go and take a look.

The valley from which the firelight emanated was about a kilometer away from us. If it weren't for the fact that it was deep in the mountains and forests with no light source at all, it would have been difficult to even spot.

Before long, we arrived behind a small hill.

Song Laosan took a deep breath and loaded a bullet into his gun: "There are six of us left in the team. Xiao Duan and Zhou Peng are unarmed and wounded, so they don't need to participate in the operation! Sasha, Ivan, and I will sneak over. Monkey will stay behind to protect the others. You guys find your own hiding spots. If there are shots fired inside and the enemy has a lot of people, you can abandon us."

I nodded and took the lead in walking up the hillside: "Be careful. If we're really no match for them, there's no need to go and find out."

When we crawled into a thicket and saw what was happening in the valley, we were all stunned.

Inside this small valley, there was a narrow street lined with wooden houses on both sides. Almost all the houses had lights on, and in addition to the noise of people, there were also many horses tied up by the roadside, and hunting dogs were barking incessantly.

It looks like an ancient village that has existed in the mountains for hundreds of years.

At that moment, I felt a chill run down my spine.

The first image that flashed through my mind was the ghost temple I had encountered in India.

Sasha said that this area, covering hundreds of square kilometers, is entirely uninhabited. How could such a street possibly exist here?

Most importantly, there is absolutely no trace of modernity here; both the houses and the vehicles appear so primitive.

"Young Master Duan, this place looks so much like the ghost temple you encountered before!"

The monkey looked around the valley with a fearful expression: "Damn it, we have to get out of this hellhole as soon as possible, or who knows what kind of weird things might happen next!"

"Leave? Why should we leave?!"

Hearing this, Zhou Peng became angry again: "We've been wandering in these deep mountains and forests for so long. Now that we finally have a house and food, and maybe even medicine to cure my illness, why should we leave?"

Old Song shook his head slightly: "Don't you think it's strange that there are buildings in this kind of place? It's always better to be cautious. Let's all retreat first and explore again after the sun comes out!"

"By the time the sun comes out, I'll be frozen to death! You guys are afraid of this kind of thing, but I'm not! Even if I die today, I want to die in my bed, not in this desolate wilderness!"

After saying this, Zhou Peng took advantage of our inattention and ran out of the bushes, rushing towards the houses in the valley.