Chapter 15

At this moment, the man surnamed Qian also noticed something and said joyfully, "So you're not Shen Bancheng's man either, but have infiltrated with a different purpose. Ha! Now it's good, kid, no matter where you run, you're dead."

Xu Mo did not say a word, but rushed to the river, pulled out the stick he had marked, slowed down, and waited for the man surnamed Qian to get closer before suddenly jumping over the river.

The man surnamed Qian, without hesitation, followed him and leaped forward, landing on Xu Mo's back. He had made up his mind that if he couldn't dodge, he would first use his body to knock him down. At the same time, he extended his dagger and stabbed straight down, shouting, "Die!"

Xu Mo turned around, sidestepped to avoid the dagger, and swung the stick to strike the man's head, growling, "Down!"

The man surnamed Qian, in mid-air, couldn't dodge and was hit on the top of his head. He immediately felt dizzy and fell down. There were several 'crack' sounds, accompanied by the sound of water, as the man surnamed Qian broke the ice and fell into the water.

Just as he was about to struggle out, something suddenly surged from the bottom of the water, shooting out like an arrow, biting his neck. His body trembled, and a red snake over a meter long wrapped around his neck.

The snake's upper body slanted out, its tongue flicking, staring at the man surnamed Qian's face, extremely alert, as if ready to attack again at any moment.

The wound on the man surnamed Qian's neck swelled and turned black in an instant, black blood oozing out, emitting a pungent stench. This snake was clearly highly venomous.

The blackness quickly spread from his neck to the surrounding areas.

The man surnamed Qian, terrified, held a dagger, wanting to stab the snake but dared not, feeling the numbness spreading from his neck. He was even more frightened, standing still, afraid to move, for fear the snake would attack again. He looked at Xu Mo with a pleading expression.

Xu Mo steeled his heart, gritted his teeth, and poked the man with the stick. The man surnamed Qian's face showed a look of utter horror, his eyes rapidly moving, pleading for him to stop.

Seeing this, Xu Mo hesitated for a moment, but then thought, "If he doesn't die, I will. If I let him go, will he let me go?" He suddenly accelerated, poking the man's chest. The man surnamed Qian lost his balance and fell backward. The snake, startled, bit his nose.

The man surnamed Qian screamed, not caring about anything, grabbed the snake, and threw it at Xu Mo. Xu Mo quickly dodged, and the snake fell to the ground, crawling into the grass.

The man surnamed Qian cursed, swung his dagger, and lunged at Xu Mo. But he had just come out of the water and hadn't taken a few steps when his body suddenly shook violently. He felt a blackness before his eyes, the world spinning, and he fell to the ground, black blood flowing from his mouth, nose, eyes, and ears. The snake venom had taken effect, and he died in a moment.

Xu Mo glanced at the man's corpse, feeling shocked. But he had no time to think, and looked up at the black eagle in the sky.

Eagles are natural enemies of snakes. Although the snake was highly venomous, the black eagle, given its size, shouldn't have been afraid. But for some reason, during the time the man surnamed Qian was entangled by the snake, the black eagle circled in the air and did not come to his aid.

Xu Mo picked up a stone and threw it at the eagle. The eagle flew high to avoid it and flew away.

Xu Mo didn't dare to stay and followed the river downstream. Although the man surnamed Qian was not killed by his hands, he died because of him. It was the first time in his life that he had caused someone's death, and he was both worried and afraid.

His mind was in turmoil, and he didn't know what to do, only wanting to escape, to run to the ends of the earth, find a place where no one could find him, and hide for the rest of his life.

He kept comforting himself, and after a while, gradually calmed down. He then thought, "This man surnamed Qian died here, and anyone can see he died from snake venom. As long as I don't say anything, who would know it's related to me?"

He paused and thought, "This is Shen Bancheng's territory. The man surnamed Qian kidnapped his daughter, possibly sent by one of his enemies. Even if I do nothing, he will try to cover it up. Therefore, the news of the man surnamed Qian's death here is unlikely to spread."

He then thought of Liu Qian, the man who had been chasing him with a gun, wondering if he had escaped.

He was lost in thought when he suddenly heard footsteps and Liu Qian's voice calling, "Brother Xu, Brother Xu."

Turning around, he saw Liu Qian running down the mountain, quickly approaching. He was both surprised and delighted and asked urgently, "How did you escape? What about the man surnamed Zhao?"

Liu Qian, disheveled and extremely狼狈, kept moving, sighed, "Ah! Don't mention it. I couldn't escape at first. But the girl escaped and called for help, scaring the man surnamed Zhao away."

He then urged, "Hurry! The girl is leading people to search the mountain. Don't let them mistake us for the man surnamed Zhao's accomplices."

Xu Mo was startled and had to escape with him. Thinking of the zombie, he was full of doubts and asked, "Wasn't the girl guarded by a zombie? How did she escape?"

Liu Qian pondered, "Who knows? I've only read about zombies in books, never thought they actually exist. This is a bit eerie."

He then remembered something and said to Xu Mo, "What about you? I remember the man surnamed Qian and the eagle chasing you. How did you escape?"

Xu Mo vaguely replied, "I circled around in the forest, and they couldn't catch up. I don't know where they went."

Liu Qian didn't suspect anything and continued, "Let's find a safe place, bury the things, and then return to the dormitory."

Xu Mo was surprised again, "Not take advantage of the chaos to escape?" He had never dealt with such situations before and didn't think of so many things.

Liu Qian shook his head, "We can't escape. If we do, we'll be considered accomplices of those two. With such a big incident, Shen Bancheng will certainly be furious and investigate everyone on the mountain."

He then asked, "If you were the investigator and found two people missing from the mountain, what would you think?"

Xu Mo, being smart, immediately understood: If it were me, I would think these two people are guilty.

After a moment's thought, he added, "But Ma Wu is probably awake now. If he finds us missing, won't he suspect us? If the man surnamed Zhao escaped and told Ma Wu, wouldn't staying be equally dangerous?"

He accidentally revealed the man surnamed Qian's death, but Liu Qian didn't notice.

Liu Qian thought for a moment and sighed, "There's no way, let's deal with the present first."

Xu Mo didn't say more. The two found a safe place, buried their things, covered the spot with leaves, and remembered the location. They circled back to the dormitory.

They quietly pushed the door open and entered. To their surprise, Ma Wu was not in the dormitory, and the others were still asleep. They were both surprised and delighted and quickly returned to their beds.

They had just lain down for a short while when the courtyard became chaotic, with people's voices everywhere. The door was pushed open, and the room lights turned on. Xu Mo lifted his head.

A man stood at the door, it was the young Chen. He was patting the door and calling, "Gather, gather!"

Xu Mo, seeing his clothes, felt a shock, "Is the person on the fourth page of the Book of Revelation him?"

The young Chen, in a hurry to get up, had his coat on but hadn't zipped it up yet. His inner white shirt was clearly visible.

"The contents of the other pages of the Book of Revelation are all true, each page hinting at something. If the fourth page is really this young Chen, what is it trying to tell me?"

Xu Mo's expression remained unchanged, but he thought, "From the events that have happened, the Book of Revelation only hints at danger. Could this young Chen be a threat to me? Is he an accomplice of Ma Wu?"

The more he thought, the more he believed this possibility. He had always been puzzled why, after work each day, there was still enough time to send the part-timers back to the city, but the young Chen didn't do it.

Now it seemed like he was covering for Ma Wu's actions. He was secretly alert: "I must be careful with him."

Liu Qian also woke up, rubbed his eyes, and said sleepily, "In the middle of the night, what kind of gathering?"

The young Chen, seeing them, seemed slightly startled, a cold and fierce look flashing across his face, then immediately returned to normal.

Although the moment was brief, Xu Mo's keen senses caught it, further confirming his suspicions, "This young Chen is definitely an accomplice of Ma Wu. Ma Wu found us missing and told him, which is why he has this attitude. If he is, the off-road driver, Old Li, must also be. Besides them, who else? Is the bus driver?"

The bus driver had returned after dropping them off, so it was uncertain. But from the scene of the young Chen paying him before he left, it seemed unlikely, and they were probably in an employment relationship.

The young Chen urged again, "Get up quickly, gather."

Xu Mo and Liu Qian exchanged a glance, knowing that it was likely Shen Bancheng's people coming to investigate.

At this moment, the others also woke up, all complaining, "In the middle of the night, what kind of gathering?"

They eventually got dressed and walked to the courtyard. Xu Mo and Liu Qian remained calm and followed at the back.

When they encountered the man surnamed Zhao and the man surnamed Qian, Shen Bancheng's daughter was unconscious and didn't see them, so they were at ease, not fearing recognition.

The things they obtained on the mountain were already buried, so they weren't afraid of a body search.

The gathered part-timers were all men, which made sense, as the man surnamed Zhao and the man surnamed Qian were men, and it had nothing to do with women.

The young Chen ran to the front and called a few times, and the men lined up in three rows facing him.

Ma Wu appeared from somewhere, walked to Xu Mo and Liu Qian, and asked coldly in a low voice, "Where did you go a while ago?"