Chapter 69

Thank you to Me Xingchen for the tip—I admit my will was raped by you all, so I revised the chapter I’d already written.

Flames blazed fiercely; the entire team’s vigilance had skyrocketed since the beginning, and even the expedition members were all tense and jittery.

The giant python earlier had served as a stark warning—though Rer had faced no mortal danger, his gruesome appearance remained etched in everyone’s minds.

“We’re no longer safe here—those damn beasts have already targeted us,” Ge’er adopted an unwavering stance, determined to convince them all. “I know everyone is obsessed with the Blood Orchid, but we can’t risk our lives for it. Let’s turn back—I, on behalf of Weihe Chuangtou, renounce the Blood Orchid. Is that not enough?”

“We can’t leave,” Paul said. “Listen—that sound in the distance—it’s the Shur.”

Hey yo! Hey yo! Hey yo hey yo! A group of primitive people approached, clad in barely-there attire, their lower bodies only barely covered.

“Is this the Shur?” Ye Nan stepped behind Paul, curiously asking. He’d only ever seen one Shur—Paul himself—but Paul dressed nothing like a Shur; he looked more like a modern man, shaped by modern civilization.

“Yes, Mr. Ye Nan. These are all Shur. But the Shur have many tribes—we don’t know how these differ from ours.” Paul spoke respectfully, then stepped forward and began speaking rapidly in a language Ye Nan couldn’t understand.

Hey yo! Hey yo! A Shur man who appeared to be the leader stepped forward to converse with Paul; a feather stuck out of his head—he looked unmistakably like an Indian.

Hey yo! Hey yo! Paul’s voice suddenly grew urgent, his face darkening.

“Talks broken down?” Ye Nan calmly signaled Kenneth. “Have the mercenaries ready—prepare for combat at any moment.”

He didn’t need to say it—the other mercenaries had already prepared for battle, their blackened gun muzzles aimed squarely at the Shur. One slightest movement from them, and they’d be shot dead on the spot.

Hey yo!!! Paul shouted something in anger, then returned to Ye Nan, bowing apologetically. “I’m sorry, Mr. Ye Nan. They won’t let us stay here.”

“Why?” Ye Nan asked, expressionless, but ready to give the kill order at any instant.

Facing these natives, Ye Nan felt not a shred of sympathy. He never regarded them as human—they were killers without mercy, more like beasts than people. That was the pride of a modern man from a civilized society.

Ed tensed instantly, ready to strike. As a mercenary, he’d killed countless natives—he felt no mercy whatsoever.

“They say they’re preparing a sacrifice—to offer their offering to their god,” Paul said dejectedly. He’d thought he could impress Ye Nan, but now this had happened. As a Shur himself, he knew how sacred a sacrifice was to the entire tribe.

“Also, Mr. Ye Nan, I think we should leave now. I suspect their offering is the giant python from earlier—but it’s already roasted.”

Paul whispered softly into Ye Nan’s ear, his eyes darting toward Ed. “If we don’t leave now, once they discover it, we won’t be able to escape.”

“Sacrifice to their god? Their offering is the giant python? Tell them the python’s already roasted. If they want to sacrifice, let them sacrifice the roasted one. And if they provoke us—hmm.” Ye Nan snorted coldly, showing zero concession.

They’d arrived here as night was falling; the surrounding forest teemed with unknown dangers. Ye Nan couldn’t afford to ignore the safety of his entire team.

If they refused to let the team stay, don’t blame Ye Nan for his ruthlessness.

“Stay behind me—watch out for their spears,” Ed glanced at the spears slung on the natives’ backs, then carefully stepped in front of Ellie, shielding her completely with his body.

He’d fought alongside many natives before—he knew their hunting method was the spear. They wielded them with deadly precision, capable of piercing through houses with ease.

“What are you doing?” Ellie’s face was cold.

“I want to protect you,” Ed forced the words out. As soon as he spoke them, his heart began pounding wildly, as if it might burst from his chest.

“I’m not interested in you. I don’t like you,” Ellie stepped out from behind Ed. “And I don’t need your protection.”

She walked to Ye Nan’s side, glancing softly at Ed, lips slightly parted, forming a silent shape: “I like him.”

Ed saw it—and was struck as if by lightning. His heart turned icy, plunging instantly into an abyss. His once towering frame suddenly crumbled into fragility.

“I’m sorry,” Ellie whispered inwardly, filled with guilt. She understood Ed’s feelings perfectly—and she understood Ye Nan’s too. But from some unknown moment, she’d fallen for Ye Nan. “Maybe it started then.”

Ellie recalled the moment Ye Nan had grabbed her hand and pulled her from the Velociraptor’s jaws. From that instant, a tiny feeling had stirred—toward that child who acted like an adult.

But she knew clearly: Ye Nan was still just a child. By the time he grew up, she’d be old.

Even though she knew this feeling would end in nothing, she was still willing to wait—to wait for the day he’d grow up, and still refuse everyone else.

When she sensed Ye Nan’s feelings stirring, she panicked instantly. She rejected Ed, regardless of the pain it might cause him.

“I’m sorry to you—but I’ll wait for him. Even if it’s only silently beside him, I’ll wait until I get an answer—even if it ultimately hurts me.”

Ellie looked at Ed, tears silently gathering in her eyes. She had wounded him in the cruelest way possible—all to gain the cruel hope of waiting for someone else.

Hey yo! Hey yo! The primitive man at the front of the line suddenly moved, raising his spear to throw.

“Attack.”

As Ye Nan’s voice fell, a barrage of rapid gunfire erupted—a dense net of bullets shredded the natives into sieves.