area51novel Chapter 453: You were sent to scout ahead, and you kidnapped Evelyn?
Chapter 453: You were sent to scout ahead, and you kidnapped Evelyn?
"Stop! Everyone stop!"
Vassim roared and rushed to the edge of the cave entrance, lying on the snow and cautiously poking his head out.
The ice hole resembled a giant mouth, with sharp ice blades at its edges, leading down into pure, absolute darkness.
Wasim gasped, took two steps back, and looked at Lin Feng:
"Strange... I was clearly following the footprints, so why did I fall in?"
Lin Feng did not answer. He walked to the edge of the cave entrance, squatted down, and carefully examined the deep and shallow marks on the snow.
I glanced at it for a few seconds.
His pupils suddenly contracted.
"These footprints are wrong; they weren't made when we went up the mountain!"
His fingertip hovered over a clear footprint.
The footprint was fine and regular, with a subtle arc at the toe, while all of them wore hiking boots with rough, non-slip soles.
Although somewhat similar to footprints in the snow, there are subtle differences that are visible to the naked eye.
"How could this be..." Vassim frowned. "Besides us, are there any other people on this desolate, snow-covered mountain?"
"But who would deliberately fake footprints here just to mislead us?"
Lin Feng stood up and exhaled a puff of white mist: "It could be part of an illusion caused by the mist."
"A hallucination?" Vassim subconsciously reached out and gently pressed his fingertips on the footprints in the snow.
The cool touch traveled along my fingertips, and the patterns of the footprints were clearly visible, not an illusion.
"The sensation is so real, how could it be an illusion?"
Lin Feng was silent for a moment, then slowly spoke:
"I can't think of any other possibility."
"After all, it is extremely time-consuming and laborious to create so many realistic footprints along our route up the mountain in such a short time, while also precisely avoiding our sight."
"Or," he paused, his voice lowering, "this thing wasn't even made by a human."
Wasim's expression grew increasingly grave. He looked around at the thick fog and asked in a low voice:
"So what do we do now?"
"The fog is so thick, and these footprints are hard to distinguish. If we continue walking, someone might fall into an ice hole."
Lin Feng hadn't had a chance to answer—
Suddenly, a gasp came from behind.
In the middle of Group A's group, a thin young man noticed a dark orange trekking pole peeking out from the snow by the roadside. Presumably, he found the mountain path difficult and wanted to use the trekking pole to help him move forward, so he subconsciously went over to it.
But just as he bent down and reached out, his footing suddenly gave way, the snow collapsed instantly, and his body plummeted downwards.
In a split second, he instinctively reached out and gripped the snow at the edge of the cave entrance, his fingernails frantically scratching at the hard ice.
"Help me—! Help me!"
The red-haired girl closest to him instinctively lunged forward and grabbed his wrist.
However, she was physically weak and could not support the weight of the young man. In addition, the snow beneath her was slippery, and as soon as she exerted her strength, she was dragged forward by the young man.
"Let go! Let go now!" someone shouted from behind.
That's too late.
The snow eaves broke completely.
The two of them let out a scream and fell into the bottomless ice hole.
Dead silence.
This sudden turn of events left everyone frozen in place, their faces filled with horror and terror.
Just then, Xia Ning's voice came from within the mist.
Clear and calm, like a thin blade slicing through solidified air:
"5 minutes are up, time to rotate."
This sound was like a bucket of cold water, instantly waking everyone from their panic.
Team A now has only ten members left. The two team members responsible for carrying the male corpse are already exhausted, pale-faced, and panting heavily.
Upon hearing Xia Ning's order, they immediately and slowly lowered the stretcher. Among the remaining members of Group A, a stocky white man and a resolute-looking short-haired woman immediately stepped forward to take over.
Group B lost one player, but still has thirteen, allowing for a more relaxed rotation.
At this moment, the two team members carrying the female corpse slowly put down the stretcher, and then a tall, thin man wearing round-framed glasses, along with Wu Yunshandan from the Canglang Kingdom, stepped forward to take over and lift the heavy corpse.
Although both groups had lifted the stretchers, they hesitated to move forward. The fake footprints lay quietly on the snow, like rows of bait, waiting for the next prey.
"This can't go on." Lin Feng's voice broke the silence. "Evelyn."
Evelyn stepped forward, her eyes bright.
"You're lighter, so you can lead the way," Lin Feng said, waving his right hand to pull out a bundle of climbing ropes about the thickness of a thumb from his personal storage space.
"I'll tie you up with a rope, so if you slip, the rope will catch you."
Evelyn nodded solemnly without hesitation.
Lin Feng quickly wrapped one end of the rope around Evelyn's waist, tied two knots, and added a safety buckle.
He tugged hard on the knot to make sure it was secure, then wrapped the other end around his waist and tied a double knot as well.
Xia Ning took in the whole scene, and a hint of jealousy quietly rose in her heart.
She wished she were the one carefully bound and protected by Lin Feng, the one who went forward to explore the way; she wished she could face danger side by side with him, bound together in life and death.
But she knew that she now bore the special identity of a guide and was bound by rules, so she could not act recklessly and could only suppress the thoughts in her heart.
As her thoughts raced, her gaze fell upon the sturdy climbing rope, and her eyes flickered slightly.
Such an intertwined and tightly bound thing is suitable to be transformed into a private bond that belongs only to the two of them.
Evelyn walked slowly forward, testing the snow with her toes before placing her weight on it.
The rope firmly connected Lin Feng behind him, their lives hanging by a thread.
Everyone held their breath, staring intently at her figure as it gradually disappeared into the thick fog.
Suddenly, the rope jerked violently.
Lin Feng instantly gripped the rope tightly, his muscles tensing up as he prepared to pull with all his might.
"It's nothing," Evelyn's voice came. "I just stepped on a loose pebble."
Lin Feng loosened his tense knuckles, and his anxious heart eased slightly.
The line began to move slowly.
Group A followed Group B, one after another, like a long snake wriggling in the fog.
The entire ten minutes passed safely and without incident.
Just as everyone breathed a sigh of relief, the rope suddenly snapped taut.
A tremendous force surged along the rope, rushing straight to Lin Feng's waist. His whole body tensed instantly, and his feet firmly planted themselves on the snow, like an anchor firmly nailed to the spot.
"Evelyn!" Lin Feng shouted in a low voice, alternating his hands as he forcefully pulled the rope back inch by inch.
Evelyn gripped the rope tightly, pushed off the cold cave wall with her feet, and with a swift movement, climbed out of the cave and knelt on one knee on the snow, slightly panting.
Wasim immediately stepped forward and asked with concern, "Are you alright?"
Evelyn steadied herself, brushed the snow off her knees, and raised an eyebrow:
"Not bad, my adrenaline level went up a little."