The mountains echoed with the calls of birds.
Yesterday, a great rain had fallen, and the very air of the forest was heavy with dampness. Every leaf glistened with dew, and in some spots where water pooled, mosquito larvae wriggled to and fro, making the place seem unsettling.
Wang Longhu thrust his gun forward to part the grasses and shrubs, racing along the route marked on his map.
The forest known as 'Yuan Shen' owes its name to its untamed wildness; dense vegetation, waist-high, blankets the area, leaving no discernible path.
Those venturing into the forest must manually clear a path to ascertain where solid ground is or where treacherous pits lie hidden.
Under Wang Longhu's relentless advance, the bushes along his route were all cleaved by his gun's edge. Within half an hour, he had covered roughly four to five kilometers, reaching an area where all signals to the outside world were lost.
