Chapter Sixty-Nine: The Scent Umbrella

After searching through the thicket for a long time, Liu Chang finally found the charred half of the insect’s body amid the scorched branches. The powerful force of the rocket had already blasted its hard torso into two pieces, and the remaining flames had evaporated much of the fluid within it, making the pus-yellow substance even thicker and stickier.

“It looks dead, but I don’t plan to confirm whether it really is,” Liu Chang stared at the insect corpse hanging from the tree for a while before turning to the others. “After all, there’s that saying—what is it again? A centipede…”

“Never stiffens, even in death,” Li Qingshui climbed up from the ground, wiping away the nosebleed caused by the shockwave. “Luckily, there weren’t many fragments here; otherwise, I’d have died right on the spot.”

“You survived, but he didn’t.” One of the soldiers who had gotten up pointed to the wounded man Li Qingshui had been carrying. He had already been severely injured, and after enduring the blast, he had finally breathed his last.

Seeing this, Liu Chang immediately thought of the little girl who was also gravely wounded. He quickly searched the ground and caught sight of Fatty.

Fatty’s back had been torn open by the rocket’s impact, the hair on the back of his head was half gone, and he looked badly hurt. The little girl who had been on his back was nowhere to be seen.

“Fatty, Fatty…” Seeing the situation, Liu Chang hurried over and pushed at his companion, asking anxiously, “Are you alright? Where’s Xiao Jing? You were carrying her earlier.”

“Mm.” Fatty let out a groan at Liu Chang’s touch and slowly lifted himself off the ground, revealing the little girl protected beneath his now not-so-plump body. “She’s fine, I was covering her. But I feel like I’m dying from the pain.”

Fatty sat up, reaching back with both hands to touch his wounds. “I think I’ve got a concussion. My head keeps buzzing and my ears won’t stop ringing! If the gunner had shot a bit closer, I don’t know if that monster would have died, but we definitely wouldn’t have made it.”

“Sorry, I didn’t know the target was so close.” The soldier who had fired the rocket looked apologetic, seeing his comrades all wounded by his shot.

“It’s fine, you managed to blow up that bug, and that’s a blessing. Otherwise, it would’ve been even harder to deal with,” Shen Mingyi got up from the ground, his sturdy body bearing only a few fragments and no major wounds.

“It pays to be robust!” Fatty stood up and slapped Shen Mingyi’s chest. “We should’ve let you go one-on-one with that bug—then none of us would’ve gotten hurt!”

“Me, alone against it? Ha, I’d die a terrible death!” Shen Mingyi chuckled, playing along with Fatty.

After this ordeal, more casualties had been added to their ranks. But no matter the pain or injury, none dared to waste time lingering here. After a brief five minutes to regroup, they set out once more.

Now, only nine remained.

As they traveled the jungle path, everyone bore heavy wounds, all wondering if the next to die would be themselves. With half the journey behind them and most of their group dead or injured, fear and uncertainty clouded their minds. Each began to doubt whether the team would make it to the end.

“Don’t be afraid, everyone. Actually, encountering that bug was a good thing!” Li Qingshui led the way, encouraging those behind.

“A good thing? We lost a severely wounded man—at least we can move faster now,” someone muttered, sarcasm bitter on their tongue. Fear breeds hostility, and wounded people lash out like frightened hedgehogs, reckless and defensive.

“Heh, that’s not what I meant.” Li Qingshui didn’t mind the soldier’s attitude and continued, “I mean the smell. Didn’t you notice that after meeting the bug, the bloody scent on us was masked by that bug’s strong, bitter, herbal stench?”

“So what?” someone asked.

“There are many advantages! First, hiding the scent of blood reduces the dangers we face. Second, that bug looked like a top predator in this jungle, and the scent of a top predator carries a certain deterrent. If we carry its scent…” Li Qingshui smiled, “then we’ll exert a much stronger pressure on other animals, like an invisible shield.”

“Is that so?” Holding the little girl, Liu Chang sniffed his sleeve. “If I’d known, I would’ve rubbed up on that thing more—maybe catch some of its luck!”

“Damn, your jokes are so cold they make my back hurt,” Fatty joked along, rubbing his wound as if it could ease the pain and fear.

Thus, the nine supported each other, joked, and pressed on. By dusk, they had encountered no further danger. Whether it was luck or the bug’s deterrence, they couldn’t say. As darkness fell, the nine finally approached their journey’s end—Zhengzhou.

“Come on, everyone, we’re almost there!” Li Qingshui looked at the sky and quickened his pace, calculating the distance.

Seeing hope so close, everyone forced their tired spirits to surge, moving swiftly through the jungle. Half an hour later, as darkness deepened and visibility dropped, Liu Chang once again sensed danger.

That familiar rustling sound.

The same rustling he'd heard hours before—the sound of countless tiny legs of centipedes scuttling through grass and leaves. The memory was vivid.

“More bugs are coming, the same kind as before. And this time, not just one!”

“Damn it, they must think we’re their own!” At Liu Chang’s warning, a soldier immediately dropped his gun and ran for the end of Zhengkai Avenue. A bug like the one they’d fought earlier could have wiped them out if not for luck and a well-placed rocket. Now, with several approaching and the finish line so near, the overwhelming terror and temptation drove everyone to abandon all will to fight.

Everyone—including Liu Chang, Shen Mingyi, and Li Qingshui—bolted at full speed. The little girl curled in Liu Chang’s arms as he crashed through the dense forest.

As the group ran, differences quickly became apparent. Shen Mingyi was in the lead, moving faster than anyone, leaping through the jungle like an agile monkey, vanishing without a trace.

Liu Chang followed closely, his stamina and wider field of vision allowing him to dodge obstacles even while carrying the little girl, running nearly as fast as Shen Mingyi.

Surprisingly, Li Qingshui was third, ahead of the elite soldiers despite his lesser physical strength. Each step seemed calculated, landing perfectly amid slippery fungi and tangled roots, always finding the easiest footing. His vision was limited, but he moved as if guided by a hidden sensor, dodging obstacles at the right moment, as though he’d practiced this escape route countless times. His flight was natural and instinctive.

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