At the edge of the fluorescent forest, upon hearing my request, everyone immediately turned off their flashlights and followed my gaze.

As we walked along, the mountain walls around us were like a tall city wall, rising abruptly from the ground and reaching all the way to the top of the cave.

In front of us, at a height of more than ten meters, there is a protruding rock on the mountainside.

Although we couldn't see the details on the stone from our position, we could vaguely make out the outline of a ring.

In addition, there are also many black and white stripes on the ground in front of us.

Upon closer inspection, it was astonishing to find the ground covered in bird droppings.

Jiang Man bent down and picked up a black feather: "This feather is the same as the one we saw before. If you look closely at this feather, the shaft is thin and the barbs on both sides are like fish bones with sharp ends. The whole feather is shaped like a dagger, which allows this bird to make full use of gravity acceleration when it dives. I suppose the strange bird we encountered before was this kind of creature."

"Based on feather analysis, this bird is entirely black, which is an excellent form of camouflage in this environment! As far as I know, the peregrine falcon can reach a speed of 390 kilometers per hour while carrying a heavy load, which is faster than a high-speed train! When the peregrine falcon is hunting, it is almost impossible to spot it with the naked eye."

I paused for a moment: "The cave here is so small, and the bird's feathers are so strange, which means it needs to swoop down a shorter distance! Now it seems that when the Wei family members were attacked before, it was also this strange bird that did it! Moreover, I think this bird is quite strong, at least enough to grab an adult!"

When we encountered the hairy monster in the distance, we found fragments of a person's body from Ping'an Village. However, based on the traces we examined, the body wasn't dragged there. At the time, I suspected that something like a bird was involved! But what I can't understand is, if the body looked like it was carried away by birds, why did it end up becoming food for the hairy monster?

"Perhaps these two creatures have a symbiotic relationship! Just like the rhinoceros and the oxpecker, the strange bird will throw food to the hairy monster and eat some scraps or the hairy monster's excrement."

Jiang Man paused for a moment: "This cave has been sealed for who knows how many years. Since these creatures can survive in this place, they must have formed a closed-loop small ecosystem."

"If that's the case, then the situation is not good."

Looking at the bird droppings all over the ground, I couldn't help but feel nervous: "Those hairy monsters are already difficult enough to deal with. If these two creatures are really in a symbiotic relationship, our situation will be even more dangerous. After all, it's very difficult for us to catch a trace of that strange bird. We don't know if the strange bird is in its nest right now. Let's find a way around it before it discovers us!"

Jiang Man pointed to the woods: "Go into the woods and use the tree canopy as cover."

I glanced at the bird's nest on the stone platform, feeling a little uneasy, and quickly walked into the woods.

The fluorescent plants in the woods provided illumination for our path.

After avoiding the stone platform, I led everyone forward for several dozen meters. Feeling that we had reached the right distance, we were just about to leave the woods to continue exploring when we suddenly heard a rustling sound coming from the bushes ahead.

"alert!"

Upon hearing the sound, Jiang Man immediately raised her pistol, and the others also drew their knives and surrounded me.

Everyone in our team has dealt with the hairy monster before, and we all know how terrifying it is. Even I drew my flare gun after hearing the sound.

After waiting for about thirty seconds, Jiang Man saw that it was still quiet ahead and said in a deep voice, "Something is not right. That hairy monster has an extremely strong ability to imitate sounds. It can make sounds wherever it is, but there is no sound in front of us. It doesn't seem like that kind of monster."

“I think it could also be other animals. Since there are hairy monsters and strange birds here, and they have a symbiotic relationship, they can’t just kill each other! They need a source of food to survive in this cave.”

Lin Que interjected, "I know there are fish in the underground river where we fell, but their food doesn't necessarily come from the water, don't you think?"

After thinking for a moment, I decided to step forward: "This is our only way forward. Everyone, go check it out. Everyone be on high alert! Jiang Man, if you encounter any danger, just shoot!"

After I finished speaking, I took the lead and walked towards the bushes. Jiang Man also followed beside me with her hands gripping the gun and her steps steady.

"Splash!"

As soon as we approached, we heard a commotion in the bushes ahead, and then a dark figure darted out of the bushes and quickly ran into the bushes in the distance.

Although we couldn't see clearly what the thing that ran out was, judging from its size, it was either a wild rabbit or a large rat, and at least it didn't pose any threat to us.

Seeing this, we all breathed a sigh of relief.

I had been walking in the forest for so long before and hadn't seen any animals, which means that either there are very few animals here, or the animals live in such a confined environment for a long time and are very sensitive to the smells and sounds of the outside world.

"Chirp chirp chirp!"

Just as I went to check the bushes, I suddenly heard a chirping sound coming from them.

Parting the weeds, there was a fledgling bird about the size of a pigeon. It had no feathers yet, and its belly had been ripped open, with its intestines spilling out onto the ground.

Jiang Man glanced at the fledgling bird, her expression changing: "The bird's down is also black, it's probably what that little beast carried out of the nest on the stone platform. The fledgling bird's cries are pitiful, it might be attracted by the adult bird at any time! We have to leave as soon as possible!"

"Bang!"

After hearing Jiang Man's words, I stomped on the baby bird's head and crushed it, then continued deeper into the woods: "Everyone, let's take a detour. It's dangerous here, so let's avoid those strange birds!"

No sooner had I finished speaking than a voice suddenly rang out from the woods ahead: "Strange bird!"

"Strange bird!"

"Strange bird!"

"...!"

Immediately afterwards, several similar sounds came from the woods around us, sounding like echoes, at least five or six of them.

"Oh no!"

Hearing the sounds around him, the monkey's face darkened instantly: "We had a hard time dealing with just one hairy monster before, and now a whole group has come. This is going to be tough!"

I took a deep breath: "Those guys are afraid of high temperatures and bright light. Everyone with flare guns, take them out. The rest of you, use the alcohol in the medical kits to make Molotov cocktails. Let's fight these monsters!"