Chapter 82: Four Days in the Wilderness (Part Six)
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Chunshui River was not far from the camp. Everyone changed into swimsuits and did warm-up exercises on the riverbank.
This stretch of the river was about 100 meters wide. Skilled swimmers (non-professionals) could swim a round trip in four or five minutes. However, if using snorkeling, factors such as water pressure, breath-holding duration, and cardiopulmonary function needed to be considered, making it a relatively challenging activity, not a regular competition event.
Zhao Kaihe had learned about each member’s situation. Only two or three could be considered “good swimmers,” and the others could only guarantee not to drown under normal circumstances.
He found the good swimmers among the members and had them take care of one or two companions each. First, they swam a few rounds to warm up their bodies, then conducted spot breath-holding training, and finally held a voluntary sign-up snorkeling competition. Those not participating in the competition could go fishing nearby. Everyone had a sensor on their wrists with a range of 500 meters. In case of any accidents, activating the sensor would suffice.
An Bu was still in the same group as Jian Ningxuan, swimming in the river with the group at a leisurely pace.
The group of foreigners was only forty or fifty meters away, already showing off their swimming skills freely. Freestyle, butterfly, breaststroke, backstroke – they skillfully displayed their abilities, dazzling the onlookers with envy and jealousy.
An Bu had no interest in their performance and only cared about Zhong Rui’s whereabouts. So far, everything seemed normal, and his swimming skills were not bad. Unless he encountered a water ghost, there was basically no possibility of drowning in front of everyone’s eyes.
The morning passed without incident, and everyone enjoyed themselves. In the afternoon, there was only a recreational competition, followed by free activities.
People set up grills, caught some fish, shrimp, and clams, and prepared for a barbecue on the riverbank. While preparing the ingredients, there suddenly came a commotion from the foreigners’ side, seeming like a dispute.
After a while, Joey walked over with a serious expression and said to Zhao Kaihe, “Mr. Zhao, one of my companions is missing. Could you please help us look for him?”
“Missing?” Zhao Kaihe frowned. “Doesn’t your companion have a sensor on him?”
“He does, but we can’t locate him. Either his sensor is out of range, or it’s damaged.”
“How long has he been missing?”
“About ten minutes.”
Zhao Kaihe turned to call Zhong Rui, Chihuahua, and Zhang Yinjie, “Your swimming skills are good. Come with me to help find someone.”
An Bu, pulling Jian Ningxuan along, walked over. Zhao Kaihe said seriously, “Now is not the time to be heroes. Are you sure your swimming skills are okay?”
“Don’t worry, we won’t joke with our own lives,” An Bu assured. Among those present, except for Zhong Rui, there were no signs of impending death on others, including Jian Ningxuan, indicating that they were temporarily not in danger. An Bu just needed to stay close to Zhong Rui to ensure his safety.
Zhao Kaihe stared at the two for a moment before nodding in agreement.
Joey gathered those participating in the rescue, divided the areas, checked the equipment, and swiftly began the rescue operation.
Joey’s companions were not happy about seeking help from Z-country people. Their disdain was evident, but they refrained from making sarcastic remarks due to his face.
An Bu, Jian Ningxuan, Zhong Rui, and Owen were in the same group, responsible for the upstream 1000 meters of the river.
Without even a greeting, Owen jumped into the water and swam far away without any intention of cooperating with them.
“What’s his attitude? We’re helping, and he’s offended?” Zhong Rui was quite annoyed and almost wanted to quit the mission.
“Ignore him, saving people is the priority.” An Bu glanced at Jian Ningxuan and, with her, dived into the river.
Zhong Rui muttered a low curse and quickly followed.
The three swam in a V shape, with An Bu at the back, constantly monitoring the two. If anything seemed wrong, she would immediately go up to support.
An Bu was confident in letting Jian Ningxuan go into the water because although his swimming skills were ordinary, his breath-holding skills were extraordinary. Fine bubbles occasionally emerged on the surface of his skin, as if he was covered with a layer of air, for some unknown reason. In any case, it made him more adapted to the underwater environment than an average person.
Zhong Rui’s speed was fast, but he had to come up for air every minute. In contrast to the steady cat master, he looked like a wriggling guppy with attention deficit disorder.
Without comparison, there is no harm. Originally confident in his swimming skills, Zhong Rui was completely devastated after encountering two abnormal experts. Jian Ningxuan only emitted bubbles every two to three minutes, while An Bu was even more extreme; it seemed like she never surfaced at all!
Aren’t you afraid of suffocating yourselves!!!
In the midst of Zhong Rui’s distraction, he suddenly choked on water, his expression contorting. An Bu was about to help when she saw him surfacing on his own. After catching his breath, he stabilized himself and resumed the search.
The death aura around him became increasingly intense. An Bu kept an eye on his movements while observing the surrounding environment.
Before long, her gaze suddenly flickered, and she saw a familiar figure tens of meters ahead. It was Owen, who had previously left them behind. His right leg was stuck in a crevice and unable to free itself, his face filled with pain.
Seeing this, Zhong Rui rushed over, grabbed onto the crevice, attempting to help Owen pull his leg out. At that moment, several gray tentacles suddenly emerged from the crevice, wrapping around Zhong Rui’s throat. After struggling for just a few seconds, Zhong Rui’s body softened, weakly leaning against the crevice. His entire head was then enveloped by the tentacles, and Owen, seizing the opportunity, escaped, leaving Zhong Rui behind and hastily fleeing to the river surface.
The scene abruptly disappeared, and An Bu returned to her senses, catching sight of Owen dozens of meters away.
Owen wasn’t stuck in the crevice; he was restrained by a dangerous creature. Zhong Rui innocently became his scapegoat, and even after Owen was rescued, he didn’t consider turning back to help Zhong Rui. At that moment, Zhong Rui still had a chance of survival.
An Bu didn’t want to save this person, but Zhong Rui and Jian Ningxuan, unaware of the truth, wouldn’t stand by without helping. For their safety, An Bu had no choice but to take action. She pulled out a dagger from her leg, accelerated suddenly, resembling a swordfish as she swiftly passed by Zhong Rui. She reached the crevice first and grabbed one of the tentacles. With the dagger, she swiftly cut it into two segments.
Then, she grabbed Owen’s right leg, quickly severing the tentacle coiled around it. Whether intentional or not, the blade grazed his Achilles tendon. Owen screamed in pain, spewing out a lot of foam.
The whole process took only seven or eight seconds. Zhong Rui rushed over and, seeing the floating tentacles and the scattered blood in the water, turned pale. If An Bu hadn’t acted first, he might have thought that Owen was stuck in the crevice, completely unaware that a dangerous creature was hidden inside. Under such unguarded circumstances, he could have easily been trapped like Owen.
Zhong Rui thanked An Bu with a grateful look and quickly swam upstream with the semi-conscious Owen.
Jian Ningxuan came to An Bu’s side with a gloomy expression.
An Bu pulled him back a few meters, maintaining a certain distance from the crevice. At this moment, several tentacles shot out from the crevice, spreading out and sticking to the edge of the crevice. Accompanied by a dull impact sound, ripples appeared in the water, as if some creature was trying to break free from inside.
An Bu pointed upwards, and Jian Ningxuan understood. Together, they swam out of the water.
When they returned to the shore, Zhong Rui had already settled Owen and sent a message to Joey.
“Thanks for your help just now, An Bu.” Zhong Rui said with lingering fear, “What was that thing hiding in the crevice? It looked like an octopus.”
“It should be a mutated Submersible Spider. It grew too large and got stuck in that crevice. The tentacles of this spider contain toxins that can paralyze prey,” An Bu replied.
Hearing this, Jian Ningxuan quickly turned over An Bu’s hand and saw red welts covering her palm. His face darkened slightly.
An Bu comforted, “It’s okay, it will be fine in a while.”
Jian Ningxuan knew that she couldn’t feel pain, but it didn’t mean her body could withstand any harm. Once it exceeded the limit, she would die without any awareness—this was the truly terrifying aspect of her painlessness.
Zhong Rui was still shocked. If it weren’t for An Bu, he might have been in danger today.
After a short while, Joey hurried over with two companions, seeing Owen lying on the ground, he quickly ran over to help him up, asking in concern, “Owen, are you okay?”
Owen coughed painfully a few times and groaned, “Joey, quickly check my leg…”
Joey’s companion squatted down, carefully examining Owen’s leg, and asked with a deep voice, “What happened with this cut? It seems like you injured your Achilles tendon, and there are signs of poisoning around the wound.”
“It’s her!” Owen pointed at An Bu, “She cut my leg.”
Zhong Rui’s expression changed slightly, and he angrily said, “What are you trying to say? She saved your life. Do you want her to take responsibility for your leg injury?”
Jian Ningxuan protected An Bu and stared coldly at Owen.
“What exactly happened?” Joey hesitated, scanning the faces of everyone present.
“This is what happened…”
Zhong Rui was about to explain when Owen rudely interrupted, “These Z-country people are all cunning villains who don’t understand teamwork. They deliberately left me behind, acted on their own, and when I encountered danger, they hypocritically came to the rescue. Taking advantage of the rescue opportunity, they intentionally cut my Achilles tendon! Sh*t!”
Zhong Rui widened his eyes, stunned by Owen’s shameless words.
Joey looked at An Bu coldly, “Is what he said true?”
The other two foreigners also wore unfriendly expressions.
An Bu couldn’t be bothered to explain, leaning against Jian Ningxuan with an indifferent expression. This kind of person wasn’t worth saving, and cutting his Achilles tendon was already letting him off too easily.
“I’m really fed up. Owen, do you have any shame?!” Zhong Rui pointed at his nose and scolded angrily, “Clearly, you left the team on your own, acted recklessly, and now you turn the situation around, accusing us. An Bu saved your life. Not only are you ungrateful, but you also turn the blame on her, cutting off your Achilles tendon. You guys must be feeling pleased, right?”
“Saved me? If it weren’t for you intentionally leaving me behind, how could I have encountered danger?” Owen sneered, “You must have planned it in advance. Otherwise, with my swimming skills, why would I need your rescue? Now my Achilles tendon is cut off by you, and I can never engage in extreme sports again. Are you satisfied?”
Zhong Rui was infuriated, his face flushed with anger, and he disregarded any sense of propriety, “Enough of your nonsense! Do you have delusions of being a victim?”
An Bu silently watched Zhong Rui and Owen. The death aura that had enveloped Zhong Rui gradually dissipated, only to gather around Owen.
There was only one reason for this situation – Zhong Rui served as Owen’s scapegoat. Now that Zhong Rui survived, it meant the death aura that originally belonged to Owen had shifted back onto him. This time, there would be no one to help him bear the burden of death.
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