Chapter 1532

[ 612 words ]

“Quinton was attacked first. His head was…”

The young soldier couldn’t finish the sentence, breaking down into ragged sobs.

The rest of the team wore grim, ashen expressions.

If there truly was a monster lurking in the pool, did that mean Officer Miller and the others had already met a gruesome end?

“You did well just making it out alive,” Silas said softly, not blaming the young soldier at all.

At least he had survived.

But with a monster waiting in the depths, what were they supposed to do?

A heavy silence fell over the group. Saving their comrades was the priority, but how could they dive down? And even if they did, would they be able to find Miller and the rest?

Just as they hit a wall of despair, Jace offered his assessment.

“I don’t think Officer Miller and his men are actually down there.”

Huh?

The group looked at him, completely bewildered.

Hadn’t Zeke explicitly stated that Miller and the team had fallen into the pool?

Silas turned to Jace. “Are you sure?”

Jace nodded. “The monster is vicious, but its existence seems tied to the mutated magnetic field in these mountains. It couldn’t possibly devour that many grown men in such a short window of time.”

“It’s over three feet long with razor-sharp teeth. Sure, it could kill an ordinary person with one bite, but Officer Miller and his tactical team are highly trained.”

“There simply weren’t enough signs of a massive underwater struggle to suggest an entire squad was taken down.”

That was Jace’s professional deduction.

The rescued soldier wiped his eyes, trying to recall the chaos. “I only saw one monster.”

“All the injuries it sustained were from Quinton, Jace, and me fighting back.”

That directly contradicted Zeke’s narrative.

Silas slowly turned his predatory gaze toward the guide. “Zeke, are you absolutely certain Miller and the rest fell into this pool?”

“Or are you lying?” As Silas spoke the words, he unholstered his firearm.

The barrel of the gun was aimed squarely at Zeke’s head.

“We’ve hit nothing but unnatural disasters since we started this trek. You’re the one pulling the strings, aren’t you?”

Silas was furious with himself for being so careless. If he had stayed by Miller’s side, this might never have happened.

As the crushing guilt washed over him, his hatred for Zeke—the apparent mastermind-boiled over.

Zeke looked utterly baffled. “Captain Carl, what are you talking about?”

“I’m just a simple guide. What could I possibly do to Officer Miller and an armed squad?”

“Do you honestly think I killed them?”

“Aren’t you giving me a little too much credit?”

Zeke pleaded his case desperately.

But Silas was entirely out of patience.

“I told you from the start, I’m just a guide with no special skills. You were the ones who insisted I lead the way.”

“I even got hurt trying to guide you

Xhone mountains, and

a single complaint just

gritted my teeth and kept going.

“Now that things have gone wrong, you’re pinning the blame on me?”

Zeke slumped onto the ground dramatically. “What kind of karma is this!”

Claire wasn’t paying any attention to

the theatrics. She was completely focused on scouring the immediate area for Dreamweed.

Elias Sterling was right beside her, acting as her assistant.

The two of them were racing against the clock to synthesize an antidote.

If they didn’t, the airborne Dreamweed toxins would soon strip the entire team of their sanity.

Claire strongly suspected that the herd of wild boars that attacked them earlier had been driven mad by this exact toxin.

While she was too busy to intervene,

Dane stepped forward, holding the unburned firewood faced with Frenzy Dung that Claire had o collected earlier.

He shot a subtle glance at Brooks, who pulled the charred logs from his tactical backpack.

“Zeke, we were the only ones resting in that cabin last night. Do you recognize this piece of wood?”

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