Chapter 107: This Is a Trap

Miranda’s face flushed with a hint of embarrassment as she pointed out a place to relieve herself. Despite having lived in a world of darkness since childhood, she was, after all, still a girl.

Chen Cao had already stood up. He waved to Stanny, drew his pistol from his holster, and began to walk slowly toward the spot Miranda had indicated. Stanny, having already gripped his AK, followed close behind, the metallic click of him chambering a round echoing through the air.

It was only a distance of a few dozen meters, yet to Chen Cao, it felt as though he had been walking for an eternity. As he drew closer, his pace slowed to a crawl, so much so that Stanny’s palms began to sweat against his rifle. Jared, who had been guarding Miranda and Karissa, held his submachine gun and watched Chen Cao’s slow approach, the veins in his arms bulging with tension.

Sometimes, when danger looms, all attempts at cautious posturing can seem absurd.

As Chen Cao reached the thicket, a wave of putrid stench hit him head-on. The buzz of mosquitoes in this particular patch of grass was noticeably more intense than elsewhere. In the hot, humid weather, any dead matter decayed rapidly. Stanny, naturally catching the unbearable scent, immediately pressed his rifle stock into his shoulder, dropped into a semi-crouch, and aligned his eye with the sights.

Chen Cao parted the tall grass. Facing the stench, a body appeared before his eyes: bare-chested, with only animal hide covering its lower half.

Unable to endure the suspense any longer, Stanny called out, "Boss, what do you see?"

Chen Cao did not answer. He listened intently, and finding no signs of movement, he slowly crouched down. He made an "OK" gesture with his hand to tell Stanny to stand down. Putting his pistol back into its holster, Chen Cao drew his dagger and began to examine the corpse of the jungle native.

It was an adult male, likely around thirty years old. His hands were tightly gripping a spear made of snakewood, a timber of exceptional hardness. A necklace of animal bones hung around his neck, and his body was so emaciated that his bones protruded beneath his skin.

Everything appeared just as the television documentaries had described. However, as Chen Cao shifted his gaze upward, his expression tightened. There was a bullet hole in the native’s skull. It was not a natural death; he had been shot. It seemed others had arrived here before them. But what was their motive? Had this native seen something he shouldn't have?

With this theory in mind, Chen Cao scrutinized the body more closely. When his gaze fell upon the bone necklace, he stopped—something was wrong. Generally, jungle hunters cherished their trophies; they would never string broken, fragmentary bones into a necklace to wear around their own necks. To those who lived their entire lives in the jungle, such a thing would be a disgrace, much like a woman who could not tolerate wearing a broken diamond necklace.

The largest animal tooth in the center of this native's necklace was snapped off, and through the hollow cavity, it was clear that something of significance had once been housed there.

*What on earth was inside this?* Chen Cao thought calmly.

Just as he was lost in thought, the shrill screams of Miranda and Karissa erupted simultaneously, followed immediately by the sound of gunfire from Jared.

"Who told you to fire!" Chen Cao sprang up, furious. After all, they were an inadequately trained unit. As he turned, he saw Miranda stamping her feet in place, Karissa covering her mouth with a look of restraint, and Jared sprinting away with his gun in hand.

"What's going on? Jared, get back here!" Without thinking, Chen Cao chased after him, dagger in hand. He shouted, "Stanny, no matter what happens, do not leave those two women!"

Stanny, who had just heard the women’s screams and Jared’s gunfire, was already in a state of extreme agitation and had nearly wet his pants. Hearing Chen Cao’s order, he nodded mechanically, still dazed. Watching Chen Cao vanish, he recovered his senses and cursed, "What is going on? Can't we give a heads-up before doing something?"

Chen Cao followed behind Jared. Although Jared had lived in the jungle since childhood and moved through it with ease, Chen Cao was specially trained and quickly caught up.

"Jared, wait! What did you see?"

Jared stopped, clutching his submachine gun, and yelled indignantly, "I saw a little brat! Damn it, the little guy was stealing the food we left by the tree!"

Chen Cao chided him, "You still shouldn't have fired blindly. Did you hit him?"

Jared replied in frustration, "The little devil is incredibly slippery. I missed. Damn, what a waste!"

Chen Cao drew his pistol and scanned the surroundings. "Jared, don't be so rash next time. Gunshots will draw enemies to us in this jungle. You know how vulnerable our position is right now."

"Yeah," Jared grunted, though his eyes continued to scour the jungle. Chen Cao knew that for someone raised in a state of constant hunger, only two things mattered: food and water. To Jared, the theft of food was far more shameful than the theft of gold.

Suddenly, the jungle foliage rustled, and a figure emerged, half-hidden.

"There!" Jared, surprised that the creature dared to reappear, ignored Chen Cao’s previous warning. He raised his submachine gun, aiming at the figure, ready to fire. Chen Cao immediately pressed his hand onto Jared’s weapon, stopping him. "Are you crazy? That will draw the enemy!"

"He's right there! Are we just going to let this little brat look at us with such contempt? I’m going to blast his backside!" Jared kept his submachine gun leveled at the torso peeking out from the shrubbery, though he didn't pull the trigger.

Chen Cao looked at the half-revealed figure and finally saw it clearly: it was a yellow-skinned boy, no more than seven or eight years old. He was completely bare-chested and wore a necklace of animal bones just like the dead man.

"Hey, you... come here!" Chen Cao didn't speak the native tongue, but he gestured with his pistol for the boy to approach, signaling him not to make any sudden moves.

The native boy didn't move. He stared straight at Chen Cao with a completely blank expression.

"Come here!" Chen Cao continued to move forward slowly, pistol raised. It seemed the child didn't realize the black object in Chen Cao’s hand was the key to sending him to the next world.

As Chen Cao approached with the strange, dark object, the boy didn't seem to sense the impending danger; instead, a faint smile appeared on his face.

It was a smile of triumph, as if he had succeeded in something.

*Not good.* A sense of foreboding washed over Chen Cao. He tried to halt his steps, but a gust of wind flashed past his ear, and the next moment, he was tackled to the ground.

Chen Cao reacted with lightning speed, turning and rolling to his feet. He had no time to thank Jared. Seeing the spear still vibrating on the ground, he followed his instincts, fired two shots into the nearby dense forest, and then hauled Jared up. "Are you alright?"

Jared gripped his submachine gun and brushed the dirt off his clothes. "I'm fine. I knew this little beast was trouble. Damn it, where did he go? That almost cost me my life!"

Only then did Chen Cao notice that the seat of Jared's pants had been ripped open, though luckily, his skin remained unscathed.

The little native who had revealed himself was gone. Chen Cao held his pistol and said to Jared, "Take your submachine gun and cover me. I’m going to see what’s going on!"

Jared held his submachine gun and said in a low voice, "Can I fire if I find the target?"

Chen Cao, scanning the perimeter, replied simply, "Of course. Use your discretion, and stay hidden!" With that, Chen Cao moved toward the spot where he had fired. Based on his intuition, while he couldn't guarantee a hit, he had likely scored a minor success. He hoped, at the very least, to capture a live prisoner.

The vast jungle, save for the echoes of the recent gunfire, returned to an eerie silence, as if nothing had happened.

Treading on fallen leaves, Chen Cao and Jared moved one after the other toward the site of the shooting. Before long, he found a pool of blood, but no bodies. Chen Cao felt a flicker of disappointment; either the target was dead, or he had been rescued by his companions. He didn't lower his gun but said to Jared, who was guarding his back, "How much do you know about the natives here?"

Jared replied while keeping his weapon leveled, "Nothing. I’ve never been to this part of the jungle. I don't even think the Anthony family has had any contact with these natives during their drug trades. But I do know one thing: they are dangerous and highly aggressive."

"Looks like we’ve bitten off more than we can chew this time," Chen Cao said with a pained smile. He had seen the native boy again. He was still bare-chested, staring blankly at them. But then, the bushes around him began to rustle violently, and several more heads, even shorter than his, emerged.

They leaped out rapidly, baring their teeth and hissing at Chen Cao.

"What... what are these?" To Chen Cao, the creatures leaping out were barely a meter tall. Their heads were perfectly round, like basketballs, and they wore similar animal bone necklaces, though smaller in scale. Despite being dwarves, their arms were exceptionally thick and powerful, their bodies sturdy. In their large, green-furred hands, they dragged machetes nearly as long as they were tall.

Within moments, twenty or thirty of these small, machete-wielding dwarves had jumped from the thicket. They glared with pitch-black eyes, dragging their blades across the ground. To maintain a uniform, intimidating presence, they synchronized their breathing. They began to advance on Chen Cao and Jared with aggressive intent. For a moment, the sound of their rhythmic breathing and the scraping of blades against the rotting leaves made time seem to stand still; only the scent of fear remained.