We retreated in the same direction we had come from.

So when I heard Uncle Xiong say he saw footprints, my first thought was that we had left them.

But after just one glance at the ground, I realized something was wrong: "These footprints are on entrails, which means they were left by a dead wild dog."

"Human strength is insufficient to tear wild dogs apart. Uncle Xiong previously stated that the reason the animals here are behaving strangely is because of an aura that terrifies them..."

Old Song paused for a moment: "Do you think these footprints might be because that zombie was in this area?"

"Keep a close watch on your surroundings!"

After listening to Song Laosan's analysis, Xu Le suddenly realized what was happening and took the silver bowl and chopsticks out of his backpack again.

This time, as Xu Le recited the incantation for the Ghost Inquiry Technique, the silver chopstick stood upright in the water as if it had been stuck into a solid object.

As I was feeling shocked, I started shaking the chopsticks in the bowl, slowly tilting them to one side, and then they fell out of the bowl.

Xu Le saw the chopstick fall to the ground and said with a serious expression, "That zombie is in this forest and is fleeing this area. We have to chase after it!"

Looking at the stray dog ​​carcasses scattered on the ground and the silver chopstick, I pressed, "Can you determine how far that zombie is from us?"

"It's very far."

Xu Le did not give a definite answer: "And it is fleeing to even more distant places, and at a very fast speed."

"In that case, we should definitely not chase after them."

I glanced at the compass on my outdoor watch: "That zombie is running northeast. With our current physical condition and injuries, we may not be able to catch it, and the smell of blood from our wounds will only cause us more trouble."

Song Laosan chimed in, "Xiao Duan is right. When we fought the wild dogs, many of our wounds got stained with dog blood. We have to clean them and bandage them as soon as possible. If we go into the forest with our wounds, and they get infected by sewage and rotting plants, it will be a real problem."

Uncle Kang, whose left cheek was bleeding from the scratches, also advised, "Senior Sister, we haven't seen any trace of the Huang family along the way. What they said makes sense. Now that we've determined the direction we're heading, we should make adequate preparations before tracking them. If we go into the mountains in our current state, we'll probably be doing more harm than good, and the Huang family might even gain the upper hand."

Xu Le pondered for a moment, and finally listened to everyone's opinion: "Alright, let's go down the mountain first, make some simple preparations at the station, and then we need to set off as soon as possible."

...

We helped each other and quickly made our way to the abandoned station.

This station was a transit point for people from Chanan Village to enter the mountains. Although it has been abandoned, it still stores a lot of daily necessities, which can be used as a rest stop for people who gather firewood or herd sheep in windy or rainy weather.

Old Xiong lit a few kerosene lamps in the station, took out two brown glass bottles containing powder from a cabinet in the corner, and walked over: "This is hemostatic powder made by the village's barefoot doctor. The ingredients are all precious wild medicinal herbs from the mountains. Villagers usually use this powder to kill bacteria and stop bleeding when they are scratched by wild animals. There has never been a single wound infection. It is very effective."

Seeing this, Song Laosan also took out a medical kit from his bag: "I have iodine, antibiotics and bandages here. Everyone choose their own medicine and treat the wounds in pairs."

Xu Le rinsed the wound on his arm with water, and then Old Xiong sprinkled some of his medicine powder on his arm. He then tied it tightly with bandages and a triangular bandage: "Now that we have found the trail of the zombie, I think we should go into the mountains as soon as possible, and not let the Huang family beat us to it."

"I suggest we wait a bit longer."

I turned my gaze to Xu Le: "Everyone here is injured, and we still have a team that hasn't arrived yet. Once they come, our team's strength will be greatly enhanced."

“Don’t you have satellite phones? You can transmit our location to them at any time. Let’s go find the zombie. Even if we can’t capture it for the time being, at least we can stop the Huang family from getting there first. I’m really worried about waiting here.”

Xu Le shook his head: "Even if your people arrive, we still have to go into the mountains. Such a short time won't be of much use for the recovery of injuries. If your people can't go into the mountains, they can stay here. I have no complaints. After all, the reason you're going into the mountains is to investigate the zombies."

Seeing that Xu Le was determined to leave, I glanced at the injured Wei family member and Sister Hua, whose body was still numb, and said, "It's not too far from the village. Let's send them back first, then replenish our supplies and head into the mountains as soon as possible, okay?"

"I also think we should go back."

Old Bear continued, "Ever since the zombies you're looking for appeared, this forest has been in chaos. Wild animals are running rampant, and it's hard for me to pinpoint their activity areas. If we're going to venture further into the mountains, I'll have to go back to the village to borrow some hunting rifles. Without firearms for self-defense, it's too risky for us to go into the mountains at night."

Song Laosan looked at the crowd and said, "If we're going back to the village, we shouldn't all go together. Everyone is injured, so let them rest. Manjing and I are less seriously injured, so we'll go back to the village with Uncle Xiong to get our guns."

When I heard Song Laosan say that, I wanted to say that I would go back with him, but before I could speak, I saw him shake his head at me.

Seeing Song Laosan's gaze, I quickly understood what he meant.

Since Xu Le discovered the trail of the zombies, he has become somewhat reckless. If someone isn't left here to keep an eye on them, Xu Le might very well risk going into the mountains.

Once we separated, we completely lost our way to finding the statue.

After everyone agreed on their roles, Song Laosan, Uncle Xiong, and Manjing quickly led the two injured people away. I also went outside, looked at the dark woods, and dialed Wei Shengnan's number: "How's the situation on your end? Have you picked up Qu Ruilin?"

Wei Shengnan replied, "Not yet. He estimates it will take him another two hours to get to the national park. How about your end?"

I lit a cigarette and replied, "I don't know if it's lucky or unlucky, but we've found the trail of the zombies. They'll be in the mountains in half an hour at most! Our partner is being very impatient with this, so I can't wait for you. I'll send you coordinates along the way, and you can find us by following the map."

Wei Shengnan was somewhat surprised: "Guess what? We found traces of zombies as soon as we got there?"

I took a deep drag of my cigarette: "Yeah, it's a lucky break. If all goes well, we'll see that thing tonight, and then we can focus on finding the statue."