Having lingered in this primeval forest for so long, what we feared most was hearing strange noises coming from a certain direction in the woods, because such localized noises were often a sign of wild animals appearing.
Hearing a sound behind me, I instinctively turned my gun and pointed it at the bushes.
"Splash!"
The bushes were still swaying, and we all pointed our guns in that direction.
Thump!
Sasha pointed the gun diagonally upwards and fired a shot into the air. The sound echoed outwards, which he did to scare away the wild beast and prevent it from being injured or going berserk.
Sure enough, as soon as the gunshot rang out, the indescribable thing in the bushes disappeared into the distance.
Looking at the violently shaking bushes, Song Laosan's eyes were filled with vigilance: "It looks like it's not just one thing coming, but a pack. Could it be wolves or something?"
"It wasn't a wolf, it was a person!" Zhou Peng stood behind us, his body trembling. "That thing walked upright. I saw it, I really saw it!"
Looking at the skeletons around me, I said in a deep voice, "Perhaps what Zhou Peng saw really was a savage! Sasha also said that these bones under our feet could not have been made by wild animals, and there have always been legends of savages in the Western Mountains. Combining the two, the possibility is very high."
The monkey chimed in, "If this place is truly man-made, why does it look like an altar?"
Seeing us standing there talking, Sasha urged us anxiously, "Mr. Duan, no matter what the situation is here, we shouldn't stay any longer. It's getting dark, and we need to find a suitable campsite as soon as possible while visibility is good."
I didn't find any clues at the altar, and the place also gave me a vague feeling of unease, so I quickly followed Sasha out.
We were already near the top of the mountain, and without much effort, we found a small valley shaped like an inverted triangle, where we set up camp.
Because Zhou Peng insisted that he had seen a wild man, the rest of us dared not let our guard down. So we split into two groups to take turns keeping watch. I was in one group with Monkey and Song Laosan, while Zhou Peng, who knew Russian, was in another group with Sasha and Ivan.
The moon rises and the sun sets, and the sky is dotted with stars.
The three of us sat by the campfire at the entrance of the valley, holding our hunting rifles and gazing into the distance.
Song Laosan roasted the mushrooms he had picked up by the fire, stuck them together with a stick, and stuffed them into his mouth: "So far, the situation is going smoothly. At least along the way, we haven't found any traces of anyone else who has been here, which means we should be the first team to reach Xishan."
"That's not necessarily true. Don't forget we still have three locations to investigate. If others know the exact location of the tomb, there's no need to spend two days circling this mountain. Tomorrow, let's speed things up and try to finish the rest in one day..."
I warmed my hands by the fire, about to say something, but suddenly stopped and looked into the darkness in the distance.
Song Laosan instinctively raised his gun: "Xiao Duan, did you see something?"
"Um!"
I nodded and pointed to the darkness in the distance: "I think I just saw a dark shadow flash by over there. I don't know if it was just my eyes playing tricks on me because of the firelight and smoke, or if there really was something there."
"brush!"
The monkey pushed the flashlight aside and shone it on the open ground over there: "There's nothing here. If there really were wild animals, they wouldn't be moving this fast, would they?"
Although he said that, he still asked cautiously, "Should I go and wake up the others?"
"Never mind, maybe I'm seeing things."
I looked at the empty wilderness ahead and waved my hand slightly: "These past few days, Zhou Peng has been making a fuss about me, and I feel like I'm going crazy too."
"Bang!"
As I was speaking, I suddenly heard the sound of something hitting the ground behind me.
Judging from Song Laosan and the monkey's actions, they had clearly heard the sound as well.
"Bang!"
Immediately afterward, another muffled thud was heard, followed by Sasha's scream, and then gunshots rang out.
"Oh no!"
Upon hearing the gunshots, I was the first to run into the valley. At the same time, I was also puzzled. There was no road behind the valley where we lived, so how could someone have attacked Sasha and the others?
As I was running, I vaguely heard some noise from one side of the valley, so I instinctively shone my flashlight in that direction.
On the hillside stood a humanoid creature.
The reason I used "human-shaped" to describe it is because, apart from standing, I couldn't tell that it was a person at all.
This thing was covered in a layer of downy hair, and its head was also covered in tangled hair, making it impossible for me to see its facial features clearly. It must be the legendary wild man.
At that moment, the savage was holding a stone. When I shone my flashlight on him, he made a strange "vomiting" sound and disappeared from my sight.
Thump!
Gunshots rang out again from ahead, along with Sasha and Ivan's shouts. I shouted back, "Watch out for the high places on both sides of the valley. We were misled by our preconceived notions and chose places to defend against wild animals, but there really are savages here. These guys are much smarter than wild animals. Be careful, everyone."
As I was shouting, someone came up beside me. I thought it was Monkey or Song Laosan, but when I caught a glimpse of that hairy figure with a particularly large head, my heart clenched instantly.
I don't know when, but a savage rushed up to me and hurled a rock at my head.
"Bang!"
I dodged to the side, but the savage hit me on the shoulder with a stone and I fell to the ground.
Thump!
In a moment of panic, I pulled the trigger. The bullet flew off somewhere, and the savage in front of me was startled by the gunshot. He stood frozen for about a second before continuing to hurl stones at my face.
Thump!
The monkey that rushed up fired a shot at the savage at close range, the bullet sending him flying, and scalding blood sprayed all over my face and body.
"Awooo!!"
When the other savage saw his companion dead, he pounced on the monkey in a frenzy. I quickly got up, swung my hunting rifle around, and smashed the butt of the rifle on his head, knocking him down.
This wild man was extremely agile. As soon as he fell to the ground, he jumped up and continued to pounce on the monkey relentlessly, holding a long, thin object in his hand, which he thrust straight at the monkey's chest.
At such close range, the monkey had no time to dodge, and I didn't have time to reload either. In a moment of impulse, I rushed up and hugged him.
This savage was only about 1.6 meters tall, but his strength was astonishing. I hugged his body from behind, and he dragged me toward the monkey. As he spread his arms, I even felt a tearing pain in my joints.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com