The whole nation is trying to survive on the cable car; I'm choosing one of three options at ea

The carriage was silent for a moment.

The silence wasn't because no one was speaking, but because all sound had been sucked away in that instant... The sound of the wind, the gunshots, the rustling of wheels crushing fallen leaves—all disappeared, leaving only the breathing of a cub with its eyes closed in the darkness.

Su Mu remained silent.

He gazed out the window at the horizon, tinged a dark red by the firelight. The enormous bird was larger than a golden bear, its wingspan so powerful it could flatten treetops. Its claws could pierce the body of a level ten python, and its beak could peck through the metal of an armored vehicle.

A silver leopard cub wouldn't even have the chance to run away from a monster of that caliber. He recalled the image of that cub darting out from the herd... a silvery-white figure weaving through zebras and wildebeests with lightning speed, followed by several hyenas many times its size. It was fleeing, not because of the hyenas, but because of that large bird.

The hyenas were just passing by; the large birds were what it was truly afraid of.

Lin Yuwei lowered her head, looking at the cub in her arms. The silver-spotted leopard cub's eyes were already closed, its eyelashes were trembling slightly, and its body was curled up into a silvery-white ball of fur.

Lin Yuwei gently stroked its back with her fingers, saying nothing. Her lips parted slightly and then closed, as if she were organizing her thoughts, but in the end, she said nothing.

Su Mu leaned back in his seat, gazing at the dark red skyline outside the window. The large bird went mad because its eggs were gone. The brown bear went berserk because the fake egg it was clutching had turned into a talisman.

The golden bear was enraged because it shielded the brown bear from the bird's attack, only to discover that what it had risked its life for was fake. Both of these events are related to Su Mu... He took the egg, and he had Lin Yuwei place the fake egg at his behest.

The animals escaped from the zoo, trampled, bitten, and thrown about on the streets. The silver leopard cub's parents died, leaving it an orphan. (Su)

Mu and Lin Yuwei exchanged a brief glance, less than a second, but it contained a wealth of emotions—guilt, unease, and a tacit understanding. Neither spoke, for nothing would be appropriate.

Chen Jun glanced at the two people in the back seat in the rearview mirror, then at Su Mu, before looking away and continuing to drive. His expression remained unchanged, but the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

He silently thought to himself, "Don't ask what you shouldn't ask, don't listen to what you shouldn't listen to, and don't look at what you shouldn't look at regarding Brother Su's affairs." He gripped the steering wheel tightly and focused his attention on the road ahead illuminated by the firelight.

......

The column at the front began to move again.

The hyenas didn't chase after us.

They circled Su Mu's car a few times, their noses twitching, sensing something unsettling, before tucking their tails between their legs and fleeing. Whether they were frightened away by the military's firepower or by the scent emanating from Su Mu, no one knew.

The lions and tigers also ran far away, their figures disappearing into the depths of the dense forest. Only the occasional low roars proved that they were still there.

The herd of animals gradually disappeared into the distance, and the forest returned to silence.

That kind of quiet wasn't normal quiet; it was the quiet before a storm, a suffocating quiet that felt like something was approaching.

The stench of decay was even stronger than before. Su Mu pulled a towel from his backpack, wet it, and held it to his nose. There was something in that smell—not a toxin, not a germ, but inhaling it for too long could make one dizzy and unable to concentrate. Lin Xiaohe and Lin Yuwei did the same. Chen Jun rolled up the car window, leaving only a crack.

The silver leopard cub calmed down in Lin Yuwei's arms.

It stopped trembling and panting, simply curled up on her lap, its amber eyes fixed on the increasingly dark forest outside. Its ears were perked up, twitching slightly, catching every sound around it. Its nostrils twitched as it sniffed the stench of decay, and its tail ceased wagging.

The silver-spotted leopard cub suddenly raised its head and let out a low, warning hiss towards the depths of the dense forest.

Su Mu's gaze followed its line of sight. Deep within the dense forest, the hazy gray light had somehow become brighter. Not stronger, but closer.

It was moving toward them, not fast, but the oppressive feeling was increasing, like a boulder rolling down a mountain, faster and heavier, until you could no longer ignore its presence.

Su Mu tapped his knee lightly with his fingers twice.

Bai Liuxi glanced back at him. Su Mu didn't know what she was looking at; perhaps she was watching his reaction, or perhaps she was checking if he also felt that oppressive feeling. She didn't speak, just glanced at him, then turned back and continued walking.

The silver-spotted leopard cub buried its head in Lin Yuwei's arms. Its body began to tremble again, not from fear, but from a more primal, instinctive reaction, like when it encounters a predator.

Lin Yuwei looked down at it, her fingers gently stroking its back. The silvery-white fur slipped between her fingers, as soft as silk.

She whispered, "Don't be afraid."

The silver-spotted leopard cub's ears twitched. Its trembling hadn't stopped, but its heartbeat had slowed. Lin Yuwei didn't know why she had said those words; she just felt she should.

Su Mu heard it, but he didn't turn around.

His gaze fell upon the approaching, hazy light deep within the dense forest, and he tapped his fingers twice more on his knee. This dense forest, that light, the animals that had escaped from the zoo, and the silver-spotted leopard cub that had chosen Lin Yuwei…

Su Mu didn't know what the connection was between them. But he knew that what was inside that ball of light was coming soon.

Bai Liuxi stopped at the front of the line and glanced back in Su Mu's direction. Her gaze lingered on the bread truck for a moment before she looked away and continued walking.

Old Wei asked in a low voice, "Commander, is that thing...?"

"Mm." Bai Liuxi interrupted him without turning around. "Soon."

Zhao Cheng gripped the hilt of the Tang sword, his knuckles turning slightly white. A Qi's fingers danced across the control panel on the metal box, the screen displaying a dense array of data.

Xiao Jiu was holding a flowerpot. The color of the flower had changed from deep purple to almost black, and the edges of the petals had a faint red glow.

Ahead, a hazy light flickered in the forest, like an eye slowly opening in the darkness.