Trembling At A High Altitude

"That new recruit still wasn't convinced after the squad leader's reprimand."

"He argued that humans stand at the top of the food chain because of their intelligence. He claimed that even someone who had never learned to fight could easily kill a bear in the deep mountains and forests by using the terrain to their advantage."

"He said that if he encountered a bear, he could simply climb a tree. Since bears are heavy and climb slowly, he'd be at the top by the time it reached halfway. Then with a flying kick and using the height difference along with the acceleration of gravity, he could smash the bear's skull in one blow, and its brains would spray all over the ground."

"The squad leader simply ignored him after that, and the other veterans ridiculed him in every possible way."

"However, the new recruit wasn't having any of it. The next morning, while everyone else was still asleep, he left the camp alone and headed into the wilderness to find that bear, determined to kill it with his bare hands to prove his point to us," Liu Hui paused, testing the temperature of the hot water she had just taken from the fire in a cracked bowl.

It was no longer too hot, so she took a few sips.

"What happened afterward?" Li Teng asked Liu Hui.

"Afterward, we went into the mountains with guns and found his body in the woods. It was gruesome... Half of his face had been gnawed off, his intestines had been pulled out and were strewn about... I don't even want to recall that scene."

"The squad leader has always felt very guilty about this matter, thinking it was his responsibility for not teaching the new recruit properly. However, one of the veterans didn't think so. He said the new recruit was fond of reading internet novels, especially those naïve and thrilling stories where the protagonist kills black bears as easily as rabbits, slaughtering several in one go, and he took it as the truth," Liu Hui remarked with a pensive expression.

"Too much of that naïve writing, and it makes people stupid," Li Teng said with a smile.

Although Li Teng also read those naïve and exciting stories, he never took them seriously. With today's advanced internet search capabilities, one could easily find answers to things that are common knowledge.

"Indeed, reading too much of that stuff, the mind devolves," Liu Hui agreed earnestly.

"By the way, avoid mentioning anything about killing rabbits in the future. Your sister would be upset to hear it," Li Teng reminded Liu Hui.

The last time they were in the "Time Prison," he tried to persuade Liu Yin to eat the giant rat meat by describing it as delicious as rabbit meat, and she ended up despising and condemning him for it. He still remembered the way Liu Yin looked at him, as if he were a murderer.

Liu Hui gave Li Teng a sideways glance before taking another few sips of water from her bowl.

By the light of the fire, Li Teng took another careful look at Liu Hui.

After spending time with her, he noticed that although she and her sister looked somewhat alike, they were nothing like twins; there were many differences between them.

Liu Yin was the cute type, while Liu Hui was more tomboyish.

Whether tomboyish or cute, both sisters were easy on the eyes.

Going back to a year ago, when Li Teng was working in an office subordinate to one of Galaxy Technology's branches, he didn't even know what the Liu sisters looked like when his colleague mentioned them.

"What are you looking at?" Liu Hui felt uncomfortable under Li Teng's gaze.

"I'm thinking about this script and how dark the director and screenwriter must be in their hearts to design such plots," Li Teng said, realizing his direct stare at Liu Hui was inappropriate and quickly changed the subject.

"Indeed, if it wasn't for you, anyone else facing this kind of scenario would likely be trapped in that southern outpost by now, without food, water, or fire, waiting to freeze or starve to death," Liu Hui mentioned indignantly.

Director Yuan had arranged for the black bear to kill them.

Instead, they had eaten it.

Of course, Director Yuan could argue that the black bear was provided as food for them.

But who could have actually gained the upper hand?

If it wasn't for Li Teng drawing the zombie horde from the east, there was no way ordinary people could have killed that bear.

Even knowing this method, how many could, like Li Teng, lead the horde in a mad dash for over five hundred meters in a blizzard, and then manage to climb a tree to avoid the assault of both the zombies and the black bear after entering the woods?

Not to mention dealing with the aftermath.

All of these were challenges that were simply impossible to complete!

Had those without real skills tried, they would have been dead by this point.

"Praising me, huh? I remember someone, who in the bus, firmly refused to act with me, saying that person must not have a brain either," Li Teng said, bringing up the scene when he and Liu Hui had first met.

"You're really good in all respects except for being petty," Liu Hui sighed helplessly.

"When I first saw you, I thought you were your sister, and happily went up to talk to you. And what happened? You splashed a bucket of cold water in my face, and now you're blaming me for being petty?" Li Teng shook his head.

"Can't you be magnanimous, and stop holding grudges against a little girl like me?" Liu Hui rolled her eyes.

"Alright, I'll let it go. But only because of your sister's face." Li Teng thought for a moment and replied to Liu Hui.

"My sister does indeed have quite the face," Liu Hui said with self-mockery as she shook her head.

After roasting all the chunks of meat, it was almost midnight.

The blizzard was getting fiercer, and it was impossible for any animals, people, or zombies to be active outside.

If there were any, they would have been frozen stiff.

Both of them were quite sleepy and ready for rest.

To avoid poisoning, they opened a small window. However, with the window open, the room wouldn't get warm, so they tried to huddle close to the fire for warmth as much as possible.

...

The next morning, when Liu Hui woke up freezing, Li Teng was gone.

The snow had stopped, and it was light outside.

Feeling somewhat groggy, she sat on the floor for a while before Li Teng finally pushed the door open and came back in.

He had gathered many thin branches from the trees, wrapped the meat roasted the night before, tied it into bundles, and made backpacks to wear on his back.

"I estimate that it will be difficult for us to find food again before we reach area C," Li Teng said after finishing all this and speaking to Liu Hui.

"Mhm." Liu Hui looked at Li Teng and once again thought of her father. When she was with them, she didn't have to worry about anything; they had everything thought through.

"We must get to this place before dark today to ensure the rest of the journey," Li Teng said, taking out the map and pointing to a certain location for Liu Hui.

"Okay." Liu Hui didn't look closely at the map. She could read it, but it took a lot of effort, and she felt that as long as Li Teng was there, she could just follow him.

"Alright, let's go!"

Li Teng walked over to the door and pushed it open.