Chapter 1525
[ 630 words ]
Zeke’s face was etched with profound guilt.
“I had no idea they’d go into a frenzy the moment they smelled blood.”
Miller, ever the pragmatist, slapped a heavy hand on the guide’s shoulder. “It’s fine. It’s not your fault. You couldn’t have known.”
“Yeah, these things are drawn to raw meat, and we’re practically reeking of fresh blood right now.”
Silas chimed in to defuse the tension.
Zeke was their only guide through this hellish terrain; alienating him now would be a fatal mistake.
But did he truly not know?
Zeke had spent his entire life making a living off The Aila Highlands. He had crossed this territory countless times. Was it really possible he had never noticed a single anomaly in this stream before?
Silas couldn’t help but feel a twinge of suspicion.
Watching Miller treat the guide with absolute, unquestioning trust made Silas wonder if he was just being paranoid.
The rest of the team didn’t blame Zeke either. He hadn’t been bleeding during his past treks, so naturally, he had rested by the water without incident.
This time, it was just their own rotten luck!
The group retreated from the bank and set up a temporary camp to rest for two hours.
Claire was so thoroughly exhausted that she instantly passed out, leaning heavily against Dane’s chest.
Dane wrapped an arm around her, closing his eyes to feign sleep, but in reality, he was more hyper-aware than anyone else in the camp.
The moment a leaf rustled, his predatory gaze snapped open.
Silas quietly offered him a cigarette.
Dane declined with a subtle shake of his head.
He rarely ever smoked.
Nicotine held zero appeal for him.
“We’ve had terrible luck so far. Running into massive beasts right out of the gate.”
“I just hope the rest of the route is smoother.”
Silas wasn’t worried about himself; his priority was the safety of his four infected men and Claire’s group.
“Do you really think this is just bad luck, or was it premeditated?” Dane didn’t speak the words aloud, opting instead to type them on his phone and tilt the screen toward Silas.
Silas’s expression darkened instantly. “What did you find?”
He had genuinely been clueless. Claire and Dane had taken the cabin, while he had pitched a tent outside in the mud:
Dane typed again: “The firewood inside the cabin was tampered with.”
He briefly explained his and Claire’s deduction.
It boiled down to two possibilities: either someone accidentally
gathered wood smeared with Frenzy Bung, or someone intentionally planted it in the stack to sabotage them. . FindNovel.net
Silas subtly shifted his gaze toward Miller’s side of the camp.
Miller was currently rationing out dry biscuits and MREs to Zeke.
They had been marching for the better part of a day and were completely drained.
It wasn’t just exhaustion; they were starving.
Having a hot meal now would give them the energy needed to push forward.
But who was the traitor?
There was definitely more than one suspect in the camp.
The men had boiled a large pot of wild mushroom and vegetable soup.
Eating the dry rations with hot soup was leagues better than choking down dry crackers alone.
They also had self-heating meals, but no one had the appetite for heavy food so early in the morning.
Claire was coaxed awake by the savory aroma of the mushroom soup.
The moment her eyelashes fluttered, Dane noticed.
“You’re awake. Want some hot soup?” Dane asked, offering her a steaming bowl.
Claire was famished. She took it, blew softly to cool it down, and took a few tentative
sips.
Dane handed her a packet of dry rations to go with it.
She ate quietly, soaking the biscuits in the broth.
Once everyone had finished their quick breakfast, it was time to move out.
“We have to cross the stream right here,” Zeke said, pointing across the churning water.
That was going to be a massive problem.
The image of their teammate getting
his flesh shredded by the mutante
piranhas flashed in everyone’s minds, turning their faces ashen
If you find any errors (non-standard content, ads redirect, broken links, etc..), Please let us know so we can fix it as soon as possible.