Chapter 79: 79, No snowflake is innocent

Perhaps it was due to the daylight, so Ren Xiaosu and his companions truly encountered no further dangers. They had once come across a wildcat charging toward them, but the cat did not attack; it simply fled.

As Ren Xiaosu's group drew closer to the Qingshi Group's location, they grew increasingly cautious.

"Following the combat brigade's habits, they must have scouts on the periphery laying hidden sentries when conducting reconnaissance and blasting," Xu Xuanchu said: "We must be extremely careful as we approach."

"Are they that professional, with hidden sentries?" Ren Xiaosu replied: "But it's not just the sentries—their surrounding area has likely been swept clean by force. Look at that wildcat earlier; it was clearly frightened."

Ren Xiaosu understood animal habits well. After returning to the wild, cats were typically calm and cautious creatures, rarely displaying such panicked behavior.

Indeed, as they cautiously approached again, they could faintly hear dense gunfire.

Ren Xiaosu mused that the Qingshi Group's armed forces seemed far stronger than private troops. Private troops felt like they were sent to die, while the Qingshi Group was like hanging a beast in Jingshan to beat it.

He suddenly recalled Zhang Jinglin's words: Human firearms were far more powerful than they imagined.

Ren Xiaosu possessed advanced firearms skills, so he now deeply understood the truth in Zhang Jinglin's statement.

At that moment, a wounded wild boar charged toward Ren Xiaosu's group. Xu Xuanchu whispered: "Let it pass, don't shoot!"

This wild boar was larger than any they had seen before, yet its head and belly were gushing blood, driving it into a frenzy.

Xu Xuanchu and the others stepped aside from the boar's path—not because they couldn't handle it, but... since they could hear the Qingshi Group's gunfire, the group could hear theirs too.

What Ren Xiaosu feared most was being discovered by the Qingshi Group beforehand.

Liu Bu watched the boar and said: "We could stop it and roast it for food—we haven't eaten in nearly a day!"

Ren Xiaosu sighed at how some people existed only to highlight others. He said to Liu Bu: "I envy you—having evolved intelligence yet never using it, looking so carefree..."

Liu Bu was speechless for a long moment. Xu Xuanchu explained: "If you light a fire here, isn't that telling the Qingshi Group you're here?"

Wang Lei watched the boar brush past them, puzzled: "We're all human. Shouldn't we rush to join them? Why fear being discovered?"

Wang Lei, Liu Bu, and Luo Xinyu now wished the Qingshi Group would come save them immediately!

At that moment, Yang Xiaojin said: "The mysterious land controlled by Fire Seed Company had once dispatched armed forces from multiple consortiums to investigate, but without exception, Fire Seed Company silenced them all. So do you think if the Qingshi Group finds you here, they'll treat you well and send you back to the Bastion?" This was why the 113th Bastion had to disguise itself as a private force—though it was like plugging one's ears to steal a bell, self-deception.

To the consortiums, the secrets here were worth more than human lives.

"You actually think a consortium like that would save you," Xu Xuanchu sighed.

Originally planning to seek refuge with the Qingshi Group, Liu Bu, Luo Xinyu, and Wang Lei were devastated upon hearing this. Honestly, the world they knew was still at the bottom tier for the consortiums—they had no idea how the consortiums thought. Protected as they were, they didn't know how cruel this world could be.

Within the Bastion, they only needed to work daily to have food and drink, no beasts, no hunger.

The consortiums told them the outside world was safe, that beasts had been eradicated beyond the Bastion's perimeter, and they believed it. The Bastion was a place of peace and prosperity.

"Then why go at all?" When Liu Bu realized he would be silenced if discovered, he lost the last spiritual pillar supporting him that day. Seeking help from the Qingshi Group had almost become his final lifeline.

Liu Bu slumped to the ground: "Go on without me—I'm not going."

Ren Xiaosu and the others paid him no mind and continued forward. To them, Liu Bu's life meant nothing. Honestly, Ren Xiaosu hoped Liu Bu would stay.

But before they had gone far, Liu Bu, hearing the faint rustling in the trees, grew more frightened and scrambled up: "Wait for me!"

At that moment, Ren Xiaosu asked: "What if we encounter the Qingshi Group's combat forces?"

Xu Xuanchu pondered: "Retreat to the rear immediately. Their main task now must be excavating pre-catastrophe civilization, not hunting us."

"You underestimate the consortium's resolve to suppress information," Yang Xiaojin shook her head: "Once they discover us, it will be a fight to the death. Moreover, their helmets have wireless communication systems. If they can't eliminate us immediately, they'll call for reinforcements. Then you'll wish you were with the human-faced worms instead."

Ren Xiaosu was stunned—was the Qingshi Group that ruthless? He asked curiously: "You seem to know a lot about the consortium's combat forces?"

Yang Xiaojin glanced at him but didn't answer: "If we meet them, kill all visible targets immediately. Show no mercy—they won't either."

"The consortium's soldiers have families too," Wang Lei hesitated: "Isn't that too cruel?"

Yang Xiaojin said calmly: "When an avalanche comes, no snowflake is innocent. Whether voluntary or swept along, everyone in war is a tragedy—and a maker of others' tragedies."

"Let's go," Xu Xuanchu gazed toward the forest ahead.

The secret within Jingshan beckoned them. If the consortiums treated it carelessly, they might lose interest too—but since the consortiums valued it so highly, it must hold something precious.

Turning back meant death; only moving forward offered a chance to survive.

Xu Xuanchu and the others carefully identified the source of the gunfire, avoiding encounters with the Qingshi Group's forces. Ren Xiaosu had a rough estimate—perhaps within an hour, they would uncover what lay hidden in Jingshan.