Bloody Romance: I, the big troublemaker, Zhong Yuemin!

Chapter 406 Wolves!

"Besides, just because the teams that are currently in the lead are having a good time doesn't mean they can stay ahead forever."

The Gobi Desert is a dangerous place. Who knows, maybe one of our teams has strayed off course while searching for water, or someone has fallen behind due to heatstroke. Anything is possible. Let's maintain our pace and wait for the opportune moment.

Zhang Haiyang nodded, still somewhat worried.

"I'm afraid we only have three days, and we won't be able to reach our destination by then, and we don't know how far it is."

“It won’t be too far!” Zhong Yuemin said confidently.

"How did you know?"

Zhong Yuemin said,

"Look at this place! It's the desolate Gobi Desert, a place rarely visited by humans. Even for special forces assessments and competitions, there are too many uncertainties and dangers. No one can guarantee that the participating teams won't encounter unforeseen dangers along the way."

If the area is too large, the danger and uncontrollability will increase exponentially. Then there's the rescue operation, which also poses risks to the rescue personnel. Therefore, I think it will be kept within a reasonable range, not too far.”

Zhang Haiyang and the others nodded, finding it quite reasonable. After finishing their food, and knowing they had been traveling all day and would have to get up early again the next day, they lay down to rest on the spot. The campfire nearby gradually died down, plunging the cave into darkness, with only the howling wind outside.

After an unknown amount of time, Zhang Haiyang, who was originally on guard duty at the cave entrance, was so tired that he fell into a deep sleep.

I was awakened by a continuous, teeth-grinding creaking sound. The sound was very close, almost right next to my ear, like something sharp was repeatedly scraping and scratching at their simple door frame.

Crunch, crunch, crunch...

He was half asleep and didn't pay much attention at first, thinking it was just the wind outside. He smacked his lips, shifted to the other side to continue sleeping, but the strange noise persisted, and a pungent, fishy stench assaulted his nostrils. He groggily opened his eyes and saw the bottom of the simple wooden door frame...

A furry, sand-covered paw, its base hollowed out, was struggling to reach under the door. Its sharp, curved claws gripped the soil and rocks on the inside, making a chilling scraping sound.

dog?

This was his first reaction in his chaotic mind, but the next second, the thought was completely shattered!

Following the claw upwards, through the crack in the door, my gaze met a pair of "lanterns" that gleamed with an eerie green light in the darkness.

That's definitely not the look in a dog's eyes...

Cold, ferocious, and filled with ravenous greed, in the dim light of day, I could see a blurry 'dog head' baring its pale white fangs, emitting a low, threatening growl through the crack in the door; foul-smelling saliva seemed to drip outside.

Wolf!

It's a damn Gobi wolf!!!

"Holy shit!!!"

Zhang Haiyang jolted awake, instantly wide awake. He practically kicked backward, his back slamming heavily into the still-sleeping Zhong Yuemin, his voice trembling with fright.

"Wolves! Wolves! There are wolves outside!!!"

His piercing scream was like a bomb dropped into a silent cave.

The people sleeping inside sprang to their feet almost simultaneously; their long-term combat instincts instantly snapped them awake.

Zhong Yuemin reached for his entrenching tool with one hand, while Ning Wei quickly grabbed his short knife from his waist. Da Long and Xiao Pang also had entrenching tools in hand.

"where?!"

Zhong Yuemin spoke calmly, his voice hoarse from just waking up, but without a trace of panic.

"The door...the crack in the door, they're trying to pry it open!"

Zhang Haiyang pointed to the makeshift door frame that was constantly being scratched, creaking and even shedding wood chips, and spoke somewhat incoherently.

Zhong Yuemin patted the man on the shoulder.

"Calm down, it's just a wolf. Big Dragon, Little Fatty, start the fire, quick..."

Da Long and his companion immediately gathered some dry wood to rekindle the fire. Zhong Yuemin strode to the doorframe; the wooden door was teetering on the verge of collapse, with wolf claws still clawing at it from below.

"Damn it, how dare you cause trouble here!"

Without any mercy, since they were already about to crawl in and devour them, what was there to hesitate about? With a swift movement, the shovel cleaved off the wolf's claws. The wolves outside let out a piercing scream, followed by more howls of "Awoo, Awoo..."

Damn it, there's more than one! Zhong Yuemin peeked through the crack in the door and saw dozens of lanterns emitting a faint green glow outside—at least five or six.

"Damn it, we've been targeted by a pack of wolves!"

Zhong Yuemin cursed inwardly, but he wasn't too flustered.

"Light all the remaining firewood, make the fire burn brightly, wolves are afraid of fire!"

The campfire crackled, its light casting indistinct shadows on their faces. However, the wolves outside remained, their howls echoing throughout the area.

Da Long came up, gripping his shovel tightly, looking somewhat nervous.

"Yuemin, how come so many wolves have suddenly appeared in this desolate Gobi Desert? During the day, let alone wolves, I haven't seen a single bird in the sky."

Zhong Yuemin said:

"This kind of Gobi Desert is sparsely populated and cannot be survived by humans, but it is not necessarily unsuitable for animals. There are wolves, foxes, antelopes, and even bears. They hide in their caves during the hot day and only come out at night to hunt for food."

"Are they treating us like prey?"

After a stalemate, the hungry wolves outside showed no sign of leaving, howling incessantly, seemingly trying to summon more of their companions.

They couldn't just sit and wait to die; if they attracted more wolves, their makeshift cave wouldn't withstand repeated attacks. Plus, their firewood was limited; if the fire went out, the wolves would likely swarm in and attack.

Zhong Yuemin made a decisive decision.

"I'm going out to fight these hungry wolves. You guys guard the cave entrance."

Count me in.

Zhang Haiyang gripped the dagger tightly in his hand, his earlier panic gone, replaced by a hint of excitement in his eyes.

"Damn it, you wolf cub, if you want to eat me, then you'd better be prepared to be killed by me."

Ning Wei and the other two also took a step forward.

"You all stay here."

Zhong Yuemin tried to stop him, but he had his own plans. Even if he was outnumbered, he could easily hide inside the space. He could come and go freely alone; having more people would only hinder his fighting ability.

"I'll go and test the waters first!"

Without waiting for a reply, with an entrenching tool in hand, he quickly slipped through the rickety doorway, creating a crack, and almost simultaneously summoned the two cheetahs he kept in the space.

"Little Black, Little Yellow, go..."

One man and two leopards charged swiftly towards the wolf pack. In the darkness, Zhong Yuemin grinned, showing no fear, only excitement and anticipation...

Zhang Haiyang, Ning Wei, and the others remained inside the cave, listening to the howling of wolves outside. At first, the noise was quite loud, but it gradually subsided, the sounds growing weaker and weaker. The howling wolves now sounded like they'd been hit with bricks or clubs, like dogs with their tails between their legs, their previous ferocity gone.

About ten minutes later, it became completely silent outside, deathly still. Zhang Haiyang called out a few times.

"Yuemin, Yuemin," but there was no response.

He couldn't help but worry, "Will Yuemin be in trouble?"

The group could no longer wait. Zhang Haiyang tightened his grip on the dagger, opened the door, and went out. Ning Wei and the others followed closely behind. It was pitch black outside.

Not far away lay the carcass of a wolf. The group approached to examine it and recognized it as the same wolf that Yuemin had slashed off with a shovel when it tried to enter the cave. The wolf's neck was now a bloody mess, with a large gash, as if bitten off by something. A pool of dried blood lay on the ground; it was utterly dead. There were no other wolves in sight, and Yuemin was nowhere to be seen. The surroundings were eerily quiet.

The group called out several more times, but still received no response. Panic ensued; they wondered if Yuemin had been carried off by wolves. They dared not venture too far. The torches they carried were in danger of being extinguished at any moment by the fierce wind. If the torches went out, they would be unable to see the road ahead—it would be pitch black. Forget searching for Yuemin; they could be attacked by wolves at any moment, or even get lost, which would be disastrous.

Just as they were getting anxious, light footsteps came from ahead, "tap tap tap..." and the group tensed up.

Zhang Haiyang shouted in the direction of the sound.

"Who's there?!"

The dagger was pointed at...

A dark figure emerged from the darkness, its outline gradually becoming clear. It was none other than Zhong Yuemin, who had just gone out alone. Apart from a patch of blood on his chest, he looked otherwise unremarkable.

Upon recognizing the newcomers, Zhang Haiyang and his companions quickly approached.

"Yuemin, are you alright? You...you're injured?"

Zhong Yuemin waved his hand, his other hand holding an entrenching tool, the blade still dripping blood.

"Don't worry, this is the blood of a wolf cub, not mine."

"Where are the wolves?" Da Long asked.

"I chased them all away, they won't bother us anymore, I can finally get a good night's sleep."

He said it so casually.

"They...they really ran away?"

"How could it be fake? Look, there are still wolves howling over here!"

Without much explanation,

"Let's go, let's go back to the cave to rest. We have to travel early tomorrow morning, so let's get some rest."

He led the way into the cave, while the others exchanged puzzled glances. Since everyone had returned unharmed and the hungry wolf was gone, they didn't ask further questions and followed him back into the cave.

After this incident, Ning Wei said he would take over the guard duty for the second half of the night, while the others continued to rest and catch up on sleep. They didn't encounter any more wolves afterward.

The next day, around 5 a.m., as dawn was breaking and the sun had not yet risen in the distance, the group had already left the cave, packed their gear, and prepared to set off. They needed to hurry on their way while it wasn't too hot.

They hadn't gone far when they found the carcass of a wolf, completely dead and frozen stiff. At first, they didn't pay much attention. But after walking another mile or two, they found four or five more wolf carcasses. Without exception, either their throats had been bitten open, or their bodies had been sliced ​​in two by some sharp metal, with only bits of flesh connecting them.

They were all dumbfounded. It couldn't be such a coincidence. These were probably the same pack of wolves who attacked them last night. Ning Wei and Haiyang were alright, knowing Yuemin's abilities, but Da Long and Xiao Pang were teaming up with Zhong Yuemin and his group for the first time. They had just met, but they knew his capabilities. During the counterattack against Vietnam, he had repeatedly distinguished himself in battle, even capturing an enemy division commander alive.

But those were all things I heard from others. Nothing compares to the shock of this bloody scene. This is what Yuemin was talking about last night: scaring away the wolves.

"You clearly slaughtered the wolf pack! And judging from the location of the wolf carcasses along the way, the pack seems to have been fleeing, and you were chasing after your 'prey'!"

One man, in the dead of night, deep in the vast Gobi Desert, ventures alone, and single-handedly slaughters a pack of wolves.

What an astonishing record!

If one didn't have absolute confidence in their skills and abilities, they wouldn't dare to do that.

At this moment, I have a completely new understanding of Zhong Yuemin's combat capabilities. He truly deserves the reputation of a combat hero who captured the enemy division commander alive.

Meanwhile, at the same time, the training location for this special forces recruitment was very basic. It was deep in the Gobi Desert, with a tent pitched under a rock for shade. There was no one on guard outside, making it look rather desolate, more like a tourist's overnight lodging. It had absolutely no connection to a special forces competition.

Inside the tent, however, was a completely different world. Several radio communication devices were set up on a table, and several signalmen in military uniforms were sending telegrams. On another long table, there was a simple Gobi Desert topographical map, densely covered with many small flags, which were the location maps of the teams participating in the competition.

A long leg was propped up on the edge, and a figure leaned against a chair, a military cap covering his face, feigning sleep.

A shout of "Report!" startled everyone awake.

The figure, still wearing their hat, was disturbed and was somewhat grumpy from being woken up.

"What is it?"

The communications officer said, "Several squads were attacked by wolves last night, and some personnel were injured."

"No one died, right?"

"No, but two people were seriously injured and have been sent to the nearest hospital in time. Also, this is the personnel list that was just submitted today. Currently, due to various reasons, twenty-three people have withdrawn."

"Ah!"

The figure scoffed, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "In just one day, nearly half of them have already withdrawn. These are supposedly the elites handpicked by each unit. I think they're all incompetent fools."

The communications soldier standing nearby looked embarrassed, because he had also been temporarily seconded from a lower-level unit. If you scold them, isn't that indirectly scolding him?

Try to defend yourself with one sentence.

"Reporting to the commander, the environment in this Gobi Desert is too harsh. Coupled with the sudden start of the competition, the team members were completely unprepared. To make matters worse, they encountered wolves last night. There were too many unexpected factors, so..."

"Don't make excuses. Failure is failure," the figure said coldly.

What is a battlefield?

The battlefield is never a dinner party. Will the enemy follow the rules? Will the weather give you a heads-up? Or will it give you a 'ding' warning before you step on a landmine?

His tone carried a cold, mocking tone:

"What I need are soldiers who can complete missions in any environment, soldiers who can turn the impossible into the possible, not a group of delicate porcelain that need to be cared for by nannies and operated according to the instruction manual."

If they can't even handle this kind of emergency, getting chased away by a few beasts and even deserting with their signal flares, then they truly don't deserve to wear the special forces insignia.

The figure spoke in a languid tone, shifting his position to find a more comfortable one, and said lazily:

"Twenty-three have been removed. Good! The sand has been sifted out, and only the true gold remains."

Tell the medical team to do everything they can to treat the wounded, but those who voluntarily give up... record it, send them back to their original units. I don't take in useless people.