A truck full of snipers and a sedan were relentlessly pursuing them from behind. He had no choice but to drive the car into the suburbs. Bullets whizzed past his ears, and he shouted to her, “Give me the gun under your seat!” Nhanyi could hardly imagine the scene of the car speeding away.
She lowered her body as much as possible and felt around under the seat until she found a gun. As she pulled it out, he snatched it away, firing at the pursuers while steering the wheel. After a series of twists and turns, he managed to shake off all the pursuers, but the car was nearly totaled.
Nhanyi was dragged out of the car by him, and she couldn’t help but marvel at his combat skills, single-handedly taking down more than ten guerrilla fighters. The process, lasting several hours, was thrilling.
“The engine is broken,” he said while checking the hood of the car. Now she felt a bit regretful; why hadn’t she taken the chance to escape when they had just left the clothing store? It was clearly too late to think about that now, as they were surrounded by wilderness, and dusk was approaching.
He took some essentials from the trunk and glanced at her. “This place isn’t safe. We need to find somewhere to spend the night and leave early tomorrow.”
She had no other choice but to follow him. She knew her survival skills in the wild were almost zero. They walked for a long time and finally found a cave to shelter in before sunset. He removed the bullets from the chamber of the handgun one by one and reloaded it. “Wait here for me. If you get lost trying to escape, I’m afraid I won’t be able to save you.”
Nhanyi hugged her knees, curled up on the ground. After a moment, he returned with a bundle of dry grass and branches, which he piled in the cave. He looked at her and saw her still curled up quietly in the corner, so he went back outside. This time he was gone for about an hour, and when he returned, he brought back a wild rabbit. Skillfully, he slit its throat to let it bleed, skinned it, and started a campfire. He roasted the prepared rabbit for a long time until the surface was charred.
“It seems… done,” she said, her stomach growling as she stared at the rabbit meat over the fire.
He handed her a piece of the rabbit’s leg. Although the roasted meat looked unappetizingly black on the outside, the inside was fully cooked and fragrant.
She tried to take a bite, and mmm, it was really delicious.
After the sun set, darkness enveloped the surroundings, with only the light from the campfire illuminating the cave. Nhanyi felt a bit cold and moved closer to the fire, extending her hands to warm them. Outside, the howls of wolves echoed.
“Wolves!” Nhanyi nearly jumped in fright.
He chuckled from the other side of the fire, seemingly mocking her ignorance. “There are many wolves outside, at least five, three males and two females.”
“How do you know that?” Although she was reluctant to talk to him, she couldn’t help but ask.
He glanced at her. “Because their howls are different.”
“Good thing there are six bullets.” After the earlier battle, Nhanyi had complete faith in his marksmanship; even if one bullet was a blank, five wolves should be manageable.
“Only four bullets,” he said, tossing a dry branch into the fire.
She clearly saw that there were still six bullets. Although she didn’t know how he caught the rabbit, it was evident he hadn’t shot it.
Seeing through her confusion, he continued, “I always leave one for myself, and the other is for you.”
“Oh.” She stared at him, realizing that those who commit many wrongs will ultimately meet their demise. With so many enemies, it was a wonder he wasn’t ambushed while walking down the street.
“Get some sleep and conserve your strength. We have a long way to go tomorrow morning.” He slightly closed his eyes, leaning his upper body against the rock wall.
She wanted to sleep, but the howls of the wolf pack around them kept her wide awake. Besides, there was a wolf beside her, a wolf whose intentions were hard to discern. In the past two days, he hadn’t shown any inappropriate behavior towards her, but she couldn’t guarantee he wouldn’t suddenly go wild in the middle of the night.
