Chapter 355: Back to Camp!

However, if we follow the footprints now, I believe we can still catch up with Xiao Yi and his group, given their pace.

“Anji, what should we do next? Which way do we go?”

At this moment, Officer Ryan stepped forward and asked from the side.

Seeing this scene, Ryan had already guessed something, yet he still asked Anji for his thoughts and decision.

Upon hearing this, Anji hesitated slightly, then spoke up.

“Keep moving straight ahead—I want to see for myself!”

“Then…”

Seeing Ryan about to object, Anji quickly added again.

“We don’t know the exact situation of the production team’s rescue squad—better to be cautious!”

After hearing Anji say this, Officer Ryan no longer objected—he had no reason to—and called out to the others.

“Everyone, speed up!”

Not long after, Anji and the others arrived at the place where Xiao Yi’s group had just fought.

Yet the sight before them left every member of the Maple Country police rescue team in awe.

“Here’s a wolf corpse—killed by a dagger!”

“Here’s another—killed by a single axe blow!”

“And here’s another—this one looks like it was punched to death.”

Soon, more team members began shouting out as they discovered numerous wolf corpses.

Xiao Yi’s group had left without taking any of the wolf carcasses.

After all, Xiao Yi had already quit the show—he no longer needed to worry about food.

Besides, dragging around several wolf carcasses would be a hassle—they still had to care for the injured Group Leader Kong—and these carcasses seemed useless anyway.

“Are all these… the work of the production team’s rescue squad?”

At this, Ryan spoke, uncertain, almost disbelieving his own eyes.

The scene before him was nothing like what he had imagined.

Even though Ryan knew the rescue squad might have driven off the wolf pack alone, he had assumed they’d used guns to do it.

He never imagined it would be this bloody—truly brutal.

After all, their mission was to rescue, not to fight wolves to the death—they only planned to scare the pack away with gunfire and save Group Leader Kong.

Hearing this, Anji fell silent, staring at the scene before him.

He then unconsciously moved forward to examine further, and when he reached near one wolf corpse, he spotted a striking bullet hole on a nearby tree.

A little farther away were wolf paw prints and a few strands of wolf fur.

Of course, the most striking things were the pools of blood and the traces of struggle and running.

“Anji, should we go after Xiao and the others now?”

At this, Officer Ryan walked over again to ask, glancing at Anji with concern.

As if to say, “Do you really want to challenge someone like this?”

Though Ryan didn’t know how the fight had unfolded, he was certain Xiao had done the most.

This scene made it clear just how brutal Xiao Yi had been.

Seeing Ryan ask this, Anji looked at him, his eyes glowing with intensity.

As if answering Ryan: “Why not? Challenging the strong is what makes it interesting.”

Anji continued, “Everyone, since our rescue arrived a step too late, let’s follow the footprints and find Xiao and the others.”

Hearing Anji say this, everyone’s spirits lifted again—they were going to meet Xiao.

…

…

“Captain Yan, there’s a helicopter over there—probably the Maple Country police rescue team’s.”

Just as Anji and the others were about to exit the coniferous forest, Captain Yan and the production team’s rescue squad arrived.

But now, Captain Yan’s face showed no anxiety.

Wang Ming had already informed Captain Yan on the way here that Group Leader Kong and the others were safe.

So now, Captain Yan felt no pressure at all.

Hearing this, Captain Yan nodded and spoke out.

“Once you land, spread out around the perimeter of this coniferous forest. Xiao Shen and his group are likely exiting the forest now—if you spot them, signal with lights immediately.”

“Understood!”

“Understood!”

Hearing this, all members of the rescue team shouted in unison.

They had just learned that Group Leader Kong had been rescued by Xiao Yi, and they were all delighted.

After all, they were rescue professionals—yet their own teammate had needed a foreign rescue team to save him. The thought made every member uneasy.

But if Group Leader Kong had been saved by Xiao Yi, it was entirely different—Xiao Yi was “one of us.”

After the team dispersed, Captain Yan walked toward the Maple Country police helicopter.

“Hello! Are you members of the production team’s rescue squad?”

Before Captain Yan could get close, a stiff Mandarin voice called out from afar.

Two police rescue members, armed with rifles, walked over from beside the helicopter.

The Maple Country police rescue team knew the production team would send personnel, so some of their guards here spoke Mandarin.

“Hello, I’m the team leader of this rescue unit—you can call me Yan.”

“Hello, Captain Yan. Our rescue team has been in this coniferous forest for a while now. Your comrades will be rescued safely—we’re sure they’ll return soon.”

Clearly, these police rescue members didn’t know Group Leader Kong had already been saved by Xiao Yi, so they spoke with confidence.

Hearing this, Captain Yan smiled and exchanged a few more words of thanks.

Though Group Leader Kong hadn’t been rescued by the Maple Country police.

Still, they had expended manpower and resources to help—thanking them was only right.

“By the way, there’s a tent just to your left front—Anji suspects it might be Xiao’s camp. You should check it out.”

At this, the Maple Country officer finally mentioned something that deeply interested Captain Yan.

Captain Yan followed his finger and saw a real tent there—he hadn’t noticed it upon arrival.

Still, he was surprised by what the officer had said.

From his words, it was clear that Officer Anji knew Xiao Yi had entered the coniferous forest.

Still, Captain Yan thanked him twice more, then headed toward Xiao Yi’s camp.

“Umm! Umm!”

“Jiu! Jiu!”

As Captain Yan and the others approached, sudden growls erupted from inside the tent—warnings from the lynx kitten and the rough-legged hawk.

Inside Xiao Yi’s tent, the lynx kitten’s fur stood on end—it had just sensed the scent of strangers.

Earlier, two humans had opened the tent, seen them, and left without further action, which had slightly eased the lynx kitten’s vigilance.

Now, sensing strangers again, the lynx kitten tensed instantly.

With Xiao Yi gone, both the lynx kitten and the rough-legged hawk feared unfamiliar humans.

Captain Yan, hearing the cries, paused in surprise.

He then remembered: Xiao Yi did keep a lynx kitten.

He smiled at the others and said, “Our arrival has startled Xiao Shen’s pets. Let’s keep our distance.”

Hearing this, everyone nodded with smiles and stayed away from Xiao Yi’s tent.

…

…

“There’s light ahead!”

At this moment, Xiao Yi and the others were slowly walking through the coniferous forest when Xiao Feng suddenly pointed ahead and shouted.

Everyone turned to look—and their faces lit up with relief.

“They’ve actually made it out of the coniferous forest!”

Xiao Yi himself smiled faintly—he had sharp eyes and had already spotted scattered figures ahead.

He knew they were rescue team members, but he didn’t yet know if they were from the production team or the Maple Country police.

“Is that Xiao Shen? Group Leader Ji?”

At that moment, a distant voice called out.

Xiao Yi’s group could see the lights beyond the forest, and the rescue team had also noticed their lights.

“It’s our own rescue team!”

Hearing the call, Xiao Feng and the others couldn’t help but exclaim.

Such pure Mandarin couldn’t be spoken by the few Maple Country police officers who knew Chinese.

More importantly, they preferred seeing their own team over the Maple Country police.

After all, being rescued by the Maple Country police would be embarrassing.

“I’m Kong Wu—Xiao Shen is here too!”

Group Leader Kong shouted out despite his injuries, never forgetting to mention Xiao Yi’s name.

“Captain Yan, Xiao Shen and Group Leader Kong are back!”

“Xiao Shen and Group Leader Kong are back!”

Upon hearing Group Leader Kong’s voice from within the forest, the perimeter instantly erupted in shouts.

Captain Yan naturally heard these shouts and hurried toward them at a light run.

Due to the deep snow, Captain Yan lost his balance and fell straight into the snowdrift as he ran.

But Captain Yan paid no mind—he quickly got up and rushed toward them again.

Meanwhile, Xiao Yi and the others had reached the edge of the coniferous forest.

Before they had even fully appeared, they were surrounded by members of Captain Yan’s rescue team.

“Old Kong, are you okay? Huh? Why are you injured?”

Clearly, Captain Yan knew Group Leader Kong well—he immediately asked after him, then noticed the injured arm.

“I’m fine—just got scratched by a wolf pup. But we really owe our lives to Xiao Shen’s timely arrival. Without him, we’d be dead.”

Hearing this, Captain Yan now noticed Xiao Yi standing quietly to the side.

He quickly said, “I’m Yan Liping, team leader of this rescue operation. Thank you so much, Xiao Shen, for everything.”

“Captain Yan, you’re too kind—it was nothing. But Group Leader Kong’s injury is serious. Do you have a tent set up? We need to get him treated right away.”

“Oh! Right, right! You few, set up a temporary tent immediately!”

Upon hearing Xiao Yi’s words, Captain Yan gave the order.

Earlier, when Captain Yan and the others arrived, they hadn’t set up a tent—they hadn’t planned to stay long.

……

……

“Hss! Hss!”

“Quick, disinfect with alcohol, then apply hemostatic and pain-relief ointment!”

“Old Kong, how did you get so badly hurt? You just said you were fine.”

The tent was quickly erected—many hands make light work—and once it was done, medical staff called Group Leader Kong inside.

They carefully began unwrapping the bandages Xiao Yi had tied, and Group Leader Kong’s sharp hisses of pain filled the air.

His sleeve was soaked in blood, and his sweater had sunk into the flesh.

Then three bloody, mangled claw marks appeared before everyone’s eyes. Even those watching felt the pain—let alone Group Leader Kong, who bore it.

That’s when Captain Yan couldn’t help but speak up.

“Hold on, I’ll be more careful!”

Seeing Group Leader Kong gasping in pain, the medic quickly called out.

“It’s nothing—just a small wound!”

Men? Their toughest part is always their mouth. Even in agony, Group Leader Kong wouldn’t admit it.

Meanwhile, the drone that had entered with Xiao Yi had captured every moment.

Viewers in the live stream couldn’t help but gasp.

“So wolf claws are this powerful?”

“You think? That’s a wolf, not your pet Husky!”

“Group Leader Kong got really hurt—I couldn’t even watch.”

“Damn, I thought a wolf claw was just like my dog scratching me!”

“Thank goodness Xiao Shen wasn’t scratched during the fight.”

“Still anyone complaining the wolf pack retreated too fast? You really think this was a game?”

“Realize this: Group Leader Kong is with a rescue team. If he’d been alone in the wild and got clawed like this, he’d probably be dead soon—wounds like this infect too easily.”

……

……

The live stream was full of all kinds of comments, but most were stunned—they hadn’t realized a single wolf claw could do this much damage.

“Do they have rabies vaccine?”

Soon, Group Leader Kong was bandaged up—his face, except for his lips, was drenched in cold sweat.

Clearly, the pain had left a deep impression on him.

Seeing Group Leader Kong properly bandaged, Xiao Yi reminded them.

Wolves carry rabies virus; a scratch from a wild wolf in the wilderness absolutely requires a shot.

“Oh! I brought seven doses—I’ll give one to Group Leader Kong now. Anyone else scratched by wolves should get one too.”

Clearly, the number matched the group’s size. Hearing Xiao Yi’s reminder, the medic quickly replied.

“We’re fine—we didn’t have close contact with wolves. But Xiao Feng probably needs a shot!”

At this, someone nearby immediately called out.