Lin Feng's spear remained firmly pointed forward, his gaze as sharp as an eagle's.
He looked at the several staggering, emaciated women, their original clothes now tattered. Each of their faces bore the deep weariness, fear, and despair.
They finally got closer and saw Lin Feng and the cave behind him with smoke rising from it and the aroma of food. A glimmer of hope flashed in their eyes.
But he was immediately intimidated by Lin Feng's cold gaze and the gleaming spear tip in his hand, and involuntarily stopped in his tracks.
"Lin...Lin Feng..."
It was Qin Lan who spoke; her voice was hoarse and dry.
Her once capable demeanor had been worn away by endless suffering, leaving only a haggard face and a deep sense of powerlessness.
She took half a step forward, her voice trembling with tears, and said, "We...we encountered a pack of wolves...Liu Fei...Liu Fei...she was carried away by wolves...Waaah..."
Before Qin Lan could finish speaking, Tang Bao behind her burst into uncontrollable sobs: "Sister Feifei... Sister Feifei is dead! She was dragged away alive by a pack of wolves... Waaah... It's so scary..."
Su Wanqing's eyes were also red, and her body was trembling slightly, clearly indicating that she had also been greatly frightened.
Ruan Mengtian and Qian Xiaoxiao were deathly pale, too exhausted to even cry. They just stared blankly at Lin Feng, their eyes filled with pleading and a last glimmer of hope.
However, Lin Feng's expression did not change at all; it remained that cold and aloof demeanor.
He listened quietly to their cries, his eyes as calm as a bottomless pool of cold water.
For him, Liu Fei's death was like the falling of a leaf in the forest, causing no ripples whatsoever.
"so what?"
Lin Feng finally spoke, his voice flat and devoid of any emotion: "What does her death have to do with me?"
His words were like a cold, sharp blade, piercing the hearts of these already exhausted women.
"How...how could you say that!"
Shen Jiaqi screamed first, pointing at Lin Feng, her voice trembling with emotion, "Liu Fei is dead! She was a living, breathing person! Don't you have any compassion at all?"
Lin Feng's lips curled into a mocking smile: "Compassion? What is that? Can it allow me to survive in this godforsaken place?"
"You cold-blooded bastard!"
Qian Xiaoxiao also mustered her courage and pointed at Lin Feng, cursing, "If... if you had taken us in, stayed with us, and protected us, Feifei wouldn't have died! It's all because of you!"
"That's right!"
Tang Bao wiped away her tears and choked out, "If you're willing to help us, how dare the wolves come!"
Upon hearing this, Lin Feng's eyes suddenly sharpened, and a chilling anger emanated from him.
He suddenly took a step forward, his spear pointing directly at Qian Xiaoxiao's throat, which terrified her so much that she screamed and collapsed to the ground.
"Protect you?"
Lin Feng's voice sounded like it was being squeezed out from between his teeth, filled with suppressed rage: "Why should I protect you? Do I even know who you are? What are you to me? A bunch of useless trash who only know how to scream, complain, and hold me back!"
"Men...men should protect women! It's their natural duty!"
Su Wanqing took a deep breath, suppressing her fear, and spoke loudly.
"It's only natural?" Lin Feng thought to himself that he had heard the funniest joke in the world.
He laughed in fury, his laughter filled with disdain and violence. "Screw your self-righteousness! All I know is that in this forest, whoever has the strongest fist survives!"
"Your life or death has absolutely nothing to do with me! I'm a man, but I'm telling you plainly today, I—will—not—protect—you!"
His last few words were almost roared out, making the surrounding pine needles tremble.
After saying this, he sheathed his spear, turned around and took the simple wooden bow from beside the cave entrance, nocked a sharpened stone arrow, and pointed it directly at the group of terrified women.
"Get the hell out of here now, immediately!"
Lin Feng's eyes were icy cold, devoid of any human emotion, like the most ferocious predator in this snowy forest: "Dare to take another step closer to my cave, or dare to utter another sound in front of me, don't blame me for my arrows having no eyes!"
Seeing Lin Feng's murderous and unyielding demeanor, the women were utterly desperate.
They knew that no matter what they said or did, this man would not help them.
He was like a block of ice that never melts, cold to the bone.
A deep sadness and helplessness flashed in Qin Lan's eyes. She helped the limp Qian Xiaoxiao to her feet and said to the others, "Let's go. We're not welcome here."
The women, supporting each other, left Lin Feng's cave step by step, filled with resentment, unwillingness, and despair.
Their cries gradually faded into the distance, eventually disappearing into the vast snow-covered forest.
Lin Feng coldly watched their departing figures until they were no longer visible, then slowly lowered the bow and arrow in his hand.
His face was expressionless, as if he had just chased away a few annoying flies.
He turned and went back into the cave, continuing with his own business as if nothing had happened.
He dragged a simple cage made of vines out of a corner, inside which was a fox with fiery red fur.
He had caught the fox in a trap a few days ago, but instead of killing it immediately, he left it alive.
Lin Feng picked up a small bundle of various plants from the side. These were all collected by him in the forest. Some he recognized, while others were completely unfamiliar.
He held a small blade of grass with purple spots to the fox's mouth. The fox sniffed it warily, then turned its head away in disgust.
Lin Feng changed to another green plant with thick leaves, but the fox still wasn't interested.
He tried them one by one, carefully observing the fox's reactions.
This is an ancient and primitive method for identifying plant toxicity—by having animals taste it. While not entirely reliable, it was the best he could think of in the absence of any scientific instruments.
He needs to learn as much as possible about this forest—what's edible, what's poisonous, and what's medicinal.
He carried out his "experiment" methodically, while the fate of those women was long forgotten.
On the other side, Qin Lan, Su Wanqing, Tang Bao, Ruan Mengtian, Qian Xiaoxiao, and Shen Jiaqi, six women, dragged their heavy steps back to their simple cave.
The scene before them plunged them into despair once again.
Their "home," that small but at least sheltered cave from the wind and rain, was now a complete mess.
The entrance to the cave had been torn open, and the dry grass and leaves inside were in disarray, with wolf paw prints and scattered fur everywhere.
The small amount of food they had painstakingly collected also vanished without a trace.
What terrified them even more was that at the very back of the cave, near where Liu Fei had been lying, there was a large pool of congealed, dark red blood, a truly shocking sight.
A few strands of Liu Fei's hair and fragments of her clothes were scattered nearby.
“Feifei…Feifei, she…”
Tang Bao looked at the pool of blood, her legs went weak, and she collapsed to her knees, bursting into tears again. She was closest to Liu Fei, and the heartache she felt at that moment was indescribable.
Su Wanqing and Ruan Mengtian couldn't help but shed tears, silently mourning for Liu Fei.
Shen Jiaqi and Qian Xiaoxiao looked terrified. They couldn't imagine what would have happened if they hadn't left.
Qin Lan suppressed her grief and fear and carefully examined the area around the cave.
She discovered that the wolves hadn't gone far; there were fresh wolf droppings and footprints nearby. This meant they were no longer safe.
"What...what do we do now?" Ruan Mengtian asked, her voice trembling with tears, filled with helplessness.
"Lin Feng...why won't Lin Feng help us?"
Qian Xiaoxiao suddenly screamed, venting all her resentment on Lin Feng: "He clearly had the ability, he could have saved us! Why was he so heartless! Is he even human!"
“Exactly! He stood by and watched someone die! He’ll get his comeuppance!” Ruan Mengtian echoed through gritted teeth.
Qin Lan rubbed her forehead wearily and said in a hoarse voice, "What's the use of saying all this now? He has already made his stance clear. We can only rely on ourselves."
"Rely on ourselves? How can we rely on ourselves?"
Su Wanqing gave a bitter smile, "We don't even have a safe place to stay, we don't have any food, and Liu Fei is too..."
She didn't say anything more, but her meaning was already quite clear.
"What gives Lin Feng the right to treat us like this?"
Tang Bao asked between sobs, "We haven't offended him. Why does he hate us so much?"
The women chattered amongst themselves, cursing Lin Feng's cold-bloodedness and deeply worried about their own future.
They couldn't understand why, when they were both stranded in this strange world, the man could live such a "comfortable" life, while they could only struggle on the brink of death.
They couldn't understand why that man harbored such immense malice and disgust towards them, the "goddesses" who were usually fawned over by everyone.
Their anger, confusion, fear, and despair seemed so insignificant in this cold and cruel forest.
The distant howls of wolves, like a death knell, sent chills down their spines.
They knew that if they didn't find a solution, one of them might be the next to die.
"Let's go, let's get out of here quickly," Qin Lan said.
Although the women had no choice, they could only leave.
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