The food tasted like wax in her mouth, but she forced herself to swallow it.
The metal edge of the Canned Food left a faint white mark on her finger.
Mu Xi stared at the mark and suddenly pushed the water bottle away.
Droplets splashed onto the concrete floor, glistening under the dim light.
“What’s the use of waiting here!” She stood up abruptly and tucked the Gun into her waistband.
The air in the Safe House felt suffocating; every second of waiting felt like swallowing shards of glass.
Mu Xi pulled open the heavy metal door, and cold air immediately rushed into her lungs.
The world outside was turning from pitch black to a faint dawn, with a weak pale blue smeared across the skyline.
The Forest looked particularly eerie in this light, with overlapping shadows of trees as if countless eyes were hidden within.
She took a few cautious steps, her long silver hair fluttering gently in the morning breeze.
In the direction of the distant Gold Mine, thick smoke spread across the sky like ink, and occasional sounds of gunfire shattered the pre-dawn silence.
“Ye Lan .. Li Xin … ” Mu Xi whispered, her slender fingers gripping the hem of her clothes.
She remembered how Li Xin looked the last time they met.
With legs severely injured, Li Xin had still watched her with that complex gaze.
There was pain, longing, and a certain unsettling fervor in those eyes.
Mu Xi walked forward a few steps and suddenly stopped.
A rustling sound came from the bushes ahead; it wasn’t the sound of the wind.
She held her breath and slowly retreated, her fingers already touching the Gun at her waist.
A wild dog emerged from the bushes, followed by a second, a third… In less than half a minute, at least seven or eight wild dogs had formed a semicircle, surrounding her.
Their eyes glowed green in the dim light, and low growls emanated from their throats.
Mu Xi’s back was pressed against a thick tree trunk, her finger on the trigger.
She couldn’t fire; the gunshot would likely attract more trouble.
But with her short legs and physical stamina, it was impossible to outrun these hungry beasts.
The lead dog pawed the ground, baring its sharp fangs.
Mu Xi quickly scanned her surroundings.
There was a low rock three meters away, and ten meters to the right was a fallen dead tree, its crown forming a natural shelter.
When the lead dog lunged, Mu Xi didn’t panic.
She grabbed a stone by her feet with her left hand and smashed it against the dog’s head, while simultaneously rolling to the right.
The dog howled in pain, and more dogs lunged at her.
Mu Xi scrambled onto the nearby rock, leaned down, and grabbed a branch.
She gritted her teeth and thrust the branch forcefully into the eye of the nearest dog.
The dog retreated in agony, buying her a few precious seconds.
“I can only handle one at a time … ” Mu Xi panted, her heart racing to its limit.
She had once watched an animal trainer’s performance at Ye Lan’s Manor and knew that beasts usually followed the leader’s commands.
Mu Xi jumped off the rock and sprinted toward the fallen dead tree.
As expected, the pack of dogs followed closely behind.
She crawled into the space formed by the dead tree, pressing her back against the trunk and facing the only entrance.
The dogs paced and howled in front of the entrance.
The lead dog tried to squeeze in, but the space was too narrow; it could only manage to stick its head and front paws inside.
Mu Xi took a deep breath, pulled out the Knife Ye Lan had given her from her pocket, and aimed it at the dog’s eye.
“Don’t force me … ” her voice trembled but was filled with determination.
Just as the dog was about to pounce, Mu Xi violently stabbed the Knife into its eye.
The dog let out a shrill howl, blood splattering onto her arm.
Seeing this, the other dogs became even more agitated.
They began digging at the dirt outside the dead tree, trying to attack from other directions.
The Knife in Mu Xi’s hand was already stained with blood, which appeared dark brown in the faint morning light.
The lead dog’s howls echoed through the Forest as it retreated in pain, blood gushing from its eye socket.
The other dogs were restless, yet they hesitated due to their leader’s retreat.
Mu Xi seized this fleeting opportunity, her slender fingers tightly gripping the Knife while her other hand quietly tightened around the Gun at her waist.
Ye Lan’s warmth still lingered on the grip of the Gun, sending a prickle through her fingertips as if the woman were invisibly gripping her wrist.
‘I won’t die here,’ Mu Xi whispered in her heart, her eyes fixed on every movement of the pack, ‘not before I find them.’
She bent her knees, her body poised and ready.
That Gun was her last resort.
Firing it meant revealing her location, but compared to becoming a breakfast for wild dogs, attracting human enemies seemed like a better bet.
At least humans offered room for negotiation, while hungry beasts only knew blood and flesh.
The lead dog shook its head, flinging blood onto the ground.
It backed away a few steps, a low, threatening growl rumbling in its throat, as if re-evaluating this seemingly weak prey that was capable of causing harm.
Mu Xi’s silver hair was soaked with sweat, clinging to her pale cheeks.
She stared intently at the dogs’ movements, her lips losing color from tension.
Suddenly, a bold plan formed in her mind.
She took a deep breath and lunged out of her hiding spot, simultaneously hurling the Knife fiercely at the lead dog’s other eye.
The Knife hit the target accurately; the dog let out a heart-rending howl and began to twitch violently.
“Your leader is done for! Do you still want to follow him to your deaths?” Mu Xi shouted sharply, her voice piercing.
She straightened her body, intentionally making herself look taller than she was, holding the Gun in her right hand and pointing it directly at the pack.
This was a technique she had learned from Ling Yue.
When at an absolute disadvantage, one must not lose in terms of momentum.
Even if her heart felt as if it were submerged in ice water and her leg muscles trembled slightly with fear, she maintained a formidable posture on the surface.
Surprisingly, the pack of dogs hesitated.
They surrounded their agonizing leader, making low whimpering sounds.
Without the leader’s guidance, the beasts appeared indecisive.
Mu Xi seized the opportunity and sharply identified a small path in the Forest ahead.
It was the trail she had left earlier, leading in the opposite direction of the Safe House—the direction of the Gold Mine.
She slowly backed away, keeping the muzzle pointed at the pack.
The dogs watched her but no longer moved forward, as if intimidated by her aura.
Once the distance was safe enough, Mu Xi quickly turned and ran toward the Gold Mine.
The morning mist in the Forest had not yet dissipated; damp, cold air filled her lungs, each breath carrying a sting.
Her short legs constantly tripped over vines and roots as she ran, but her intense desire to survive made her ignore these minor injuries.
Intermittent barking echoed behind her, but the distance grew.
The pack chose to stay and tend to their leader rather than continue chasing this dangerous prey.
Mu Xi didn’t stop until she was certain she was safe.
She leaned against a thick pine tree, panting heavily.
Sweat had soaked her thin clothes, clinging to her skin with a bone-chilling cold.
She looked down to check herself; aside from a few scrapes and bloodstains on her clothing, she was fine.
“Damn you, Ye Lan,” Mu Xi gritted her teeth, her lips trembling, “If it weren’t for you, I would be lying in a safe bed right now.”
But a voice in her heart countered: ‘You were the one who chose to leave the Safe House.’
She shook her head, trying to dispel the thought.
Sunlight had begun to pierce through the canopy, casting patterns of light and shadow on the ground.
In the direction of the Gold Mine, black smoke was still rising, but the gunfire seemed to have stopped.
Mu Xi put her Gun back into her waistband.
At this moment, she had to make a choice: continue to the Gold Mine to search for traces of Ye Lan, or return to the Safe House to wait for news of her.
The former meant risk, while the latter was an ordeal.