Chapter 117: Don't Be Afraid

In the middle of the night, the entire campsite was quiet, with lights still on in only a few scattered tents. A faint night mist permeated the air, and the cool breeze from the mountain stream brushed against the chaotic shadows of the trees, the rustling sounds occasionally interspersed with a few bird calls.

Ling Wu tossed and turned inside his tent; he found it difficult to fall asleep in an unfamiliar environment, and his subconscious remained alert. A black shadow crept past his tent, followed by the sound of the tent zipper being pulled open.

"Hiss!"

Accompanied by the sound of an animal crawling.

A snake?

Ling Wu opened his eyes abruptly, grabbed the dagger at his side, and unsheathed it. He saw a cobra slithering in through the gap where the zipper had been opened, its surface covered in a layer of smooth, hard scales.

He frowned, threw his quilt onto the snake to cover its dangerous head, and pulled open the tent zipper to run out.

The cobra was covered under the quilt, with only its tail left outside. Ling Wu grabbed the tail with one hand and deftly dragged the snake out of the tent. The cobra's head was oval-shaped, and a pair of beastly pupils flickered with a cold, sharp light.

Sensing a threat, it quickly raised the front part of its body, and the skin folds on both sides of its neck expanded, forming a flat, disc-like shape resembling spectacles, as it moved with extreme speed to bite at Ling Wu.

However, Ling Wu used force in his arm to control the cobra's tail and swung it hard against the trunk of a tree on the path. The snake's body slammed into the tree and trembled twice before quickly clinging to it, flicking its scarlet tongue.

"Hiss, hiss, hiss... hiss!"

Ling Wu had excellent eyesight. Borrowing the faint firelight and moonlight of the campsite, he locked his gaze onto the cobra. From several meters away, he gripped his dagger and threw it fiercely. The blade flashed with a cold glint as it flew out, pinning the snake to the tree trunk!

This snake seemed to be man-made.

Ling Wu stood in the moonlight, his gaze sweeping around the campsite, but he saw no one.

The faint morning light shone on Song Mountain. Ling Wu hadn't slept all night; his complexion was somewhat pale, and there were dark circles under his eyes. Qi Yu started a fire and boiled a cup of hot water for him.

Ling Wu took it: "Thank you."

He had a nasal tone, as if he had caught a cold.

Qi Yu: "Ling Wu, your nasal tone is quite heavy. Did you catch a cold?"

Ling Wu drank the hot water and said with his eyes half-closed: "Maybe it's because I didn't sleep well last night... I'll be fine after a rest, don't worry about me."

Qi Yu tested the temperature of his forehead with the back of his hand.

It was a bit hot.

Qi Yu made a phone call. After hanging up, seeing Ling Wu looking listless, he said to him: "I just called to ask; the Academy's school bus won't reach Song Mountain until 10 o'clock. It's very cold in the mountains before the sun comes out. How about I have them take you down the mountain first..."

Jin Shaoyu suddenly spoke up, interrupting him: "Take him where?"

"You came just in time." Qi Yu: "He has a bit of a fever."

Jin Shaoyu pulled Ling Wu up, brooking no refusal: "Ling Wu, you didn't even tell me you had a fever? You had to drag it out until the school bus arrived, is that it? My car is parked by the road; come with me, I'm taking you down the mountain right now."

Ling Wu pointed at the tent: "My things are still inside."

"Throw them away!" Jin Shaoyu dragged him away, his tone puzzled: "Why take back a few thousand dollars' worth of trash? If you like them, I can give you a hundred sets."

"Stop dawdling. You weren't very smart to begin with, and now you've burned yourself stupid."

The cobra from last night was dead. Jin Bei walked to the tree, pulled the dagger out of the snake's body, and looked in the direction where Jin Shaoyu and Ling Wu had disappeared. His eyes were venomous, and he then made a phone call: "You can prepare to move."

On the other side.

Jin Shaoyu pulled open the car door, shoved Ling Wu inside without a word, then opened the driver's side door, sat in, and started the engine. The off-road vehicle's tires left a few tracks on the ground before quickly disappearing onto the road.

Ling Wu fastened his seatbelt and sat in the passenger seat, watching Jin Shaoyu's profile. He could clearly feel the stiffness and tension in his body: "Shao Yu, have you been avoiding me these past two days?"

Jin Shaoyu's hand gripping the steering wheel tightened. He looked at the winding road: "No."

"Ling Wu, you're overthinking it. You're not some flood or wild beast, why would I avoid you?"

Ling Wu pressed: "Then why did you only say one sentence to me yesterday? I called you, and you didn't answer."

The car fell into silence once more.

Jin Shaoyu irritably wanted to open the window, but remembering that Ling Wu had a cold, he rolled it back up. Recalling the things Yin Huaiyu had said, the corners of his mouth curled slightly, his gaze sharp: "Ling Wu, didn't you study psychology? Then why don't you analyze what I'm thinking right now."

"How about it?"

The vehicle soon drove down Song Mountain and was traveling in the suburbs. It was still a half-hour drive to Beidu City. Jin Shaoyu drove fast, but also very steadily, so there was no feeling of motion sickness.

On the originally wide road, two trucks merged in from the left and right, driving side-by-side in violation of traffic rules, blocking the road ahead completely. Jin Shaoyu frowned: "Did you leave your brains at home? Do you even know how to drive!"

Just as they drove to the next fork, Ling Wu keenly sensed that something was wrong. In a flash of lightning, the other truck prepared to crash straight into them.

"Shao Yu, stop the car!"

Jin Shaoyu looked to the right, understanding in his heart. He stepped on the brake, but there was no response. His eyes were pitch black, his brows pressed down, and his expression turned fierce in an instant. He gritted his teeth: "The brakes have been tampered with."

The fear of death made his heart race.

At this moment, Jin Shaoyu seemed to have returned to that moonlit night when the summer camp ended. When he heard the news of Ling Tingwan's death, he felt the same way—as if time had frozen, and all he could hear was the sound of his own heartbeat.

Thump!

Thump...

But Jin Shaoyu was different from back then; he was no longer a child to be slaughtered. At this moment, the calmness in his eyes was identical to Ling Wu's, or rather, to Jin Liangjin's: "Ling Wu, hold on tight!"

The truck's body was massive and heavy; if they collided, death was essentially certain.

Ling Wu: "Avoid them, crash out!"

Jin Shaoyu jerked the steering wheel. The front of the car instantly smashed through the road guardrail and drove onto the open field. There were many Abandoned Factories in the suburbs of Beidu. While avoiding these factories, he drove over a shallow ditch, attempting to reduce the car's speed, but the car was completely out of control.

If this continued, the speed would only get faster and faster.

The chance of survival would be greatly reduced.

Jin Shaoyu's rapid heartbeat gradually... gradually slowed down. He lifted his eyelids, struggling to maintain his somewhat scattered energy, and actually smiled faintly.

The Abandoned Factory appeared ahead.

Jin Shaoyu didn't even know if he could still live. His Adam's apple bobbed; the words he had wanted to say before remained unspoken. His eyes were just a little moist. In the next second, he let go of the steering wheel, pulled Ling Wu into his arms, and used his body to protect his head: "Brother, don't be afraid!"