Discarding the Errand Boy

Xia Yu immediately became alert, smelling the scent in the air. In the wind blowing above, there was a strong human presence.

He kicked awake Ah Wei who was sleeping on the ground, and then shook Mei Mei awake.

Ah Wei looked confused as he stood up, only to see a large black shadow running into the distance. Needless to say, it was a brown bear; Mei Mei was not around, having been taken away by the bear.

Although he was unsure what had happened, he could sense the determination of the brown bear to escape. He immediately shouted out loud.

As he shouted, gunshots and panicked cries echoed from not too far away.

Bullets landed around them; Ah Wei didn't say much, but immediately grabbed Ah Hua and chased after Xia Yu.

The captain of the guards also quickly led his team members in pursuit.

With his night vision ability, the bear ran quickly. He was also grateful that he hadn't made a sound right away, but instead kicked Ah Wei to start running.

By the time Ah Wei had shouted, the bear had already escaped the enemy's firing range. Otherwise, the chances of a bear getting hit by a bullet were three to four times that of an ordinary person.

After who knows how long of running, even the bear with his endurance talent began to feel a bit tired.

"Wait for me!" Ah Wei shouted from behind, his voice barely audible amid the gunfire.

Would they wait for him while they were on the run? Xia Yu was unwilling to wait but thought that he didn't know how to get out of the forest and was completely in the dark about the surrounding environment. Ah Wei could still be useful.

Xia Yu sniffed again, listened to the gunshots, and concluded that the pursuers had not caught up. He slowed down a bit.

Ah Wei and Ah Hua, along with the guard captain and two soldiers, caught up with them.

"Stop running. The forest is so big, and we only have so few people. They shouldn't find us for the time being," said the guard captain.

Xia Yu looked at Ah Wei and after seeing that he also agreed with the decision, he stopped running.

He released the sleeping Mei Mei from his arms, grabbed the guard captain's water bottle, bit it open with his teeth, and drank half a bottle of water.

The remaining people took turns drinking water to calm their nerves, as their full-speed sprint just now had cost them greatly.

Seeing his own water bottle in the bear's hand, the captain eagerly waited for Xia Yu to return it to him. However, Xia Yu attached the water bottle to his belt without any intention of returning it.

So the captain snatched a water bottle from a nearby soldier and drank it.

After several people caught their breath, they gathered around and whispered to each other.

The guard captain took a deep breath and said, "Those guys are crazy, they just started shooting!"

"It may not be the people from the temporary government, but the rebels," speculated Ah Wei, but it was just speculation, with no way to confirm.

The captain cursed, and then said, "Fortunately, Brother Wei was alert, or we would have been surrounded."

"It wasn't me. I was fast asleep when the bear kicked me awake," Ah Wei sat on the ground, rubbing his foot. During the escape, he had stepped on a sharp stone. While it hadn't pierced through the sole of his shoes, it was painful nonetheless.

The group, who initially thought Ah Wei was their savior, immediately turned their focus towards Xia Yu.

Mei Mei stroked the fur on his chest.

"What should we do next?" Ah Hua asked as she covered her arm. Her arm had been grazed by a bullet.

"Let's go, walk quietly. We still have three or four hours before daylight. We should be able to avoid them," Ah Wei replied.

The group rested for another two minutes, then got up and continued on their way.

Xia Yu carried Mei Mei on his back again, and as he walked, he contemplated something.

His psychic senses had constantly been alerting him to danger, which suddenly intensified. He didn't know the reason before, but now he had some ideas.

Was it possible that the other team had been following from afar, waiting for them to fall asleep before launching an attack?

Otherwise, the timing would be too coincidental.

But how did that team know their whereabouts?

Was it hunting dogs or experienced hunters?

However, he hadn't smelled any dogs earlier.

A bear's sense of smell was much more sensitive than a dog's. The other team had been close enough, and even upwind. Xia Yu was confident that if there were dogs, he would have smelled them.

So it must be hunters?

If they were indeed being tracked by hunters, the chaotic escape earlier must have made it extremely difficult for the other party to pursue them.

"Let's go in this direction." Ah Wei took out his compass and began to lead the way.

The people who had been awakened with just an hour of sleep were listless, yawning uncontrollably.

Xia Yu was yawning too.

Suddenly, his psychic senses were triggered again, raising another alarm of danger, but just like before, it wasn't too severe.

This indicated that they were being followed again.

The other party didn't catch up immediately, probably waiting for daylight.

Nighttime attacks relied on catching the enemy off guard, and since they were already prepared, attacking at night was actually more risky.

Xia Yu didn't know what the other party was relying on to find them so accurately, which made him feel irritable.

Mei Mei sensed his irritation and patted his head with her hand.

Ah Wei also noticed the situation and walked over to Xia Yu, whispering, "Are the pursuers coming again?"

Xia Yu nodded and then shook his head.

"Are they following us from behind?" Ah Wei understood Xia Yu's meaning.

After Xia Yu nodded again, Ah Wei also became agitated.

Even though Ah Wei tried to change directions constantly, they still couldn't shake off the pursuers when daylight was approaching.

Xia Yu was feeling very restless when a sweet-smelling thing was stretched to his mouth.

Lowering his head, he saw Mei Mei's palm wrapped with honey.

The girl had brought the honey along in her bag.

As he licked her palm, Xia Yu calmed down and thought it through.

Although he didn't know much about the profession of hunters, he felt that they couldn't be so formidable to accurately catch up with them so quickly.

Could it be that instead of being tracked, the team behind them knew about their whereabouts through other means?

At this thought, Xia Yu glanced at the five people beside him, including Ah Wei.

If it wasn't due to tracking, there must be a traitor.

Two soldiers, the captain of the guard, Ah Wei and Ah Hua - who could be the traitor?

No, the firepower earlier had clearly been intended to eliminate everyone. In a life-threatening situation, it was unlikely that the traitor would continue to cooperate.

But there was also the possibility that the traitor had long given up on life and death, seeking benefits for their family.

No matter what, bringing these people along meant taking a risk, but leaving them behind wasn't unacceptable either.

It would be enough to just bring someone trustworthy.

Xia Yu looked at Awei, who proved himself trustworthy when he risked his life to distract the tiger when it attacked, in order to save Meimei.

He gently patted Meimei, signaling the girl to get down.

His sudden stop made the others who had been watching him, ready to follow him in case he fled, become alert.

At this point, the sky was already getting bright, enabling a clear view of their surroundings.

Xia Yu pulled Awei aside and patted both his and Meimei's shoulders, guiding them to walk in another direction.

The duo understood Xia Yu's intention and glanced back while walking away.

As the guard captain was about to catch up, Xia Yu stopped him.