Behind that clump of flytraps was a very narrow, deep cave, the kind you had to bend low and push aside branches to even notice. Lan Jin got down on the ground and carefully called, "Is someone there? Was that a cry for help?"
"Yes, it's me! Help me, please, I can't move, my leg is broken. I can't get out."
The voice that floated out of the cave was sweet and fragile. It sounded just like a sheltered young lady who had suddenly fallen into hardship, so pitiful it tugged at the heart. Even Lan Jin, who was a woman herself, felt a pang of sympathy.
But sympathy aside, they were here to find the missing members of their base squad. What did a stranded young lady have to do with their mission? Lan Jin lowered her voice and asked Brother Zhang, "Is this one of ours from the base? Brother Zhang, you recognize the voice?"
If it was someone they knew, fine. But if not, then what on earth was a delicate-sounding girl doing here, in this deadly frozen forest?
To her surprise, Brother Zhang frowned heavily and said, "Yes. She's one of the squad."
Yet as he spoke, his expression was clearly troubled. The situation was urgent, and Lan Jin was not a squad member herself, so it was not her place to press him with questions. Instead she raised her voice toward the cave, "That's such a small hole. How did you crawl in there?"
Especially with so many flytraps outside blocking the way.
The girl inside choked back tears as she explained, "One of the flytraps caught me and dragged me here. Just when it was about to eat me, I cut it with my knife. It hurt and dropped me, and I landed near this cave. I crawled inside to hide. But my leg is badly hurt, and there are too many flytraps outside. I can't get out. Please, I beg you, save me!"
Brother Zhang studied the surroundings carefully, then said, "Wait a moment. The cave is too small, we can't crawl in and carry you out. Can you move your upper body? I'll lower a rope. Tie it around your waist and I'll pull you up."
If it meant getting out, who cared about the method? The girl quickly agreed, "Yes, yes, I can move my body. Only my leg is injured."
Brother Zhang glanced around, wanting to call for help, but the flytraps ahead were still restless, and other plants around them were stirring as well. He had no idea who he could safely call over. Lan Jin stepped forward. "I'm very strong. I'll help you."
Brother Zhang hesitated, then nodded. He took off his backpack, pulled out a thick rope, and lowered one end into the cave. The girl inside waited anxiously, then when she saw the rope, her eyes lit up like she had seen hope itself. She tied the rope around her waist and shouted, "It's tied! Pull now! I'll try to climb too."
Brother Zhang exhaled in relief and heaved with all his might. But even straining until his face turned crimson, the rope didn't budge an inch.
Lan Jin frowned. Something was off. "What's wrong? Is she stuck?"
Brother Zhang shook his head, but kept pulling with every ounce of strength.
Lan Jin grabbed the rope just below his hands and added her own power. She hauled upward with great force, yet the person inside barely moved.
Lan Jin's strength far surpassed that of an ordinary man. Even a casual pull from her was stronger than a grown man at full exertion. Now with both of them pulling, it was the equivalent of two strong men working together, but still the girl hardly shifted. Lan Jin muttered, puzzled, "What is it? The gap down there too narrow, is she wedged in?"
She couldn't believe anything else. Otherwise, how could they fail to lift one girl?
Brother Zhang's lips tightened. He shook his head again. There was no easy way to explain without bruising someone's pride.
Lan Jin decided, "Fine, I'll use my full strength."
Brother Zhang was about to say that even both of them wouldn't manage, when suddenly Lan Jin gave a mighty yank and pulled out a full length of rope in one go.
Brother Zhang dared not slacken, and together, with gritted teeth and every bit of strength, they finally hauled the girl out of the cave.
Lan Jin turned to see their rescuee and froze in place. In that instant, she understood exactly why Brother Zhang's expression had soured earlier, why he had muttered about the cave not being so small, and why the girl had not taken offense.
Because the girl was fat. Extremely fat. If Lan Jin had to estimate, the girl's weight was probably more than her and Brother Zhang put together.
She was also tall. To be blunt, Brother Zhang alone could never have pulled her out.
Their stunned looks did not wound the rescued girl. Instead, the bloody injury on her leg caught Brother Zhang's attention. He hurried forward and asked, "What happened to your leg? Was this already inside the cave?"
The girl, her face still pale but relieved to see daylight again, said miserably, "No. I scraped it after crawling in. Good thing I wore thick clothes, otherwise my leg would have been gone. Even so, the sharp teeth cut deep. I didn't have the strength to pry it open. Outside was too dangerous, so I could only hide inside."
The thing that injured her was not some plant, but a metal trap — a beast trap. Yet beast traps only existed in the human world. None of them had carried such equipment here. So why was there one in this forest? Who had placed it, and what exactly was it meant to catch? As far as they knew, aside from plants, no other living creatures should exist here.
While Brother Zhang was still frowning over this, the girl said, "Brother Zhang, my team of three had only just entered here when we found signs of a first-tier savage beast. Burning the forest will not help. We must hurry…"
Brother Zhang's eyes widened in shock. "What? A first-tier savage beast? But that was not in the report you gave us!"
The girl's own eyes widened. "No, we definitely reported it. When we gave our location, we also added that message."
But she herself had not made the call. She looked past them toward the flytraps outside, then asked, "Brother Zhang, did you find my teammate? He made that call. Ask him, he'll confirm it."
Brother Zhang fell silent for a long moment, then answered quietly, "None of them… none survived?"