Chapter 1 What Sound Did You Hear?

"Did you hear... what's that sound coming from over there?"

At the same time, Xiong, who was in Wu Village, looked towards the mine and asked Duan Lei with some uncertainty.

"I heard it. Someone is calling for help!"

Duan Lei replied with a calm expression.

"Then... are we still waiting here?"

Xiong looked at Duan Lei in surprise.

"The boss told us to wait here, so we'll wait."

Duan Lei turned his head to look in that direction.

"But what if... that sound is coming from him?"

Xiong asked again.

"Maybe that sound is related to the boss, but it's definitely not him!"

Duan Lei said, "Besides, we can still feel that summoning. Going over there wouldn't help at all; it would only be a burden to him!"

"So, that's your reason for hiding here?"

Xiong frowned and asked.

"I'm here because the boss told me to wait for him here, no reason needed!"

Duan Lei looked back at Xiong: "I once said that the boss understands this world the most, so... our best choice is to listen to him in everything!"

"Then... what if!"

Xiong hesitated for a moment, then finally asked: "If we are besieged and might not be able to escape, but your boss tells you to leave him and save yourself, what would you choose?"

"I would run for my life immediately!"

Duan Lei said without hesitation: "Many times... even most of the time, well-intentioned actions don't necessarily bring good results, and may even have the opposite effect. Just like now, I also wanted to go over there, but the boss told me to stay here, so I'll stay here. If I insisted on going, or even secretly followed after the boss left, then maybe that cry for help would have been me."

Duan Lei's answer made Xiong frown. He seemed to want to refute something, but in the end, he held back.

"I know you don't agree with my point of view, and I don't want to change your mind, but at least while you're still with us, I need you to remember what I just said!"

Duan Lei looked at Xiong and said, "No matter what, obeying someone who is stronger than us and knows more than us is always the best choice, even if you have a better choice in your heart!"

"You..."

Xiong looked at Duan Lei, stunned for a long while, finally shaking his head with a wry smile: "If you weren't so young, I would almost think you were a soldier, taking obedience to orders as your duty. It used to belong to us, but it seems even more thorough in you."

"You're wrong! I only obey the boss's orders, other people's..."

Duan Lei suddenly laughed.

"Alright!"

Xiong nodded: "Then we'll wait here, until... your boss comes back! But what if... I mean, what if he never comes back?"

"Then we'll keep waiting!"

Duan Lei replied without any room for doubt, which made Duan Xue couldn't help but give her younger brother a strange look. Ever since his legs recovered, he seemed to have become a different person.

The three of them waited in the second-floor room. When waiting, time always passes very slowly, especially in an environment that seems fraught with danger. It can be described as a year passing in a day.

More than two hours passed, and apart from that scream, they didn't hear any other sound. The entire village was so silent that even the chirping of insects couldn't be heard. It was deathly still.

Xiong turned back to look at Duan Lei and found that he still had a calm expression. He couldn't help but admire him inwardly. If there weren't other people in this house, and it was just Xiong himself, he felt that he would have gone crazy long ago.

"The summoning is gone!"

After a long time, a sliver of dawn appeared in the sky. Duan Lei suddenly raised his eyebrows and said.

Hearing Duan Lei's reminder, Xiong, who had been wandering in front of the window all night, sometimes sitting on the ground in a daze, sometimes getting up and pacing back and forth, suddenly stopped. He felt the feeling in his heart, and sure enough, he found that he no longer had any desire to go to that mountain range.

He immediately looked in that direction, a trace of anticipation in his eyes. Now that the summoning had disappeared, that guy... should be coming back soon.

Before, the summoning had always existed, and Li Chenzhou had been out all night. Now the summoning suddenly disappeared. No one would believe that it had nothing to do with that guy.

Moreover, Duan Lei's attitude was very clear. If Li Chenzhou didn't come back, he would keep waiting here, so Xiong naturally couldn't leave either. But to be honest, if he had to wait like this for another day, Xiong felt that he would collapse.

Therefore, driven by curiosity and the desire to leave this place, Xiong had actually become the person who was most eager for Li Chenzhou to appear.

And Li Chenzhou didn't disappoint. Before long, his figure appeared in everyone's sight.

Because it was still dark, Duan Lei and the others could only see a vague figure. Xiong instinctively drew his gun and stared at him warily, while Duan Lei looked relaxed. As a follower, even if he couldn't see the person at all, he could sense that the person approaching was Li Chenzhou.

However, when they were finally able to see Li Chenzhou clearly, they were all stunned, because Li Chenzhou at this time was completely different from when he left.

At this time, Li Chenzhou was covered in dirt mixed with blood, hair, mud, plants, and even some unknown dark green liquid, even his face and hair were like that. It was as if he was wearing a ghillie suit.

And in his hand, he was carrying a stick. This stick was quite clean, even giving people a feeling of being spotless. Moreover, Li Chenzhou's hand holding the stick was constantly rotating, twirling out stick flowers...

"Is he... going to get the Buddhist scriptures?"

Xiong said blankly.

Duan Lei looked at Li Chenzhou, a trace of surprise flashing in his eyes as well, but he didn't ask anything. Duan Xue was the same.

"Is this girl still not awake?"

Li Chenzhou jumped over the wall directly to the second floor, his movements were quite graceful and concise. He was still holding the long stick in his hand, and asked as he looked at Xiao Ya, who was still unconscious.

Xiong was stunned for a moment, then turned to look at the place where Li Chenzhou had jumped from before, as well as the point where he had touched the wall, then back to the position where he entered the second floor, and after thinking for a while, a look of shock suddenly appeared in his eyes.

Because of his profession, Xiong had naturally received training in climbing and breaching, and his performance was among the best in the team.

But just now, after his own calculations, he discovered that Li Chenzhou's choice of route from the jump, to the point where he touched the wall, to entering the second-floor window, was actually the best route, and the movements he made were also the most energy-saving.

Xiong had also seen Li Chenzhou fight, move, and climb before. He dared to bet that the previous Li Chenzhou was definitely not this strong. He went out for one night, got a "ghillie suit" back, and actually had such a big improvement?

He couldn't help but look at that mountain range, a trace of regret appearing on his face. Li Chenzhou's improvement must be related to this mountain range. Maybe he fell into a valley and met an old man who had been trapped for decades or something. He should have gone with him...