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

Many people went from skepticism to disdain. Some shook their heads, some sighed, some laughed dismissively, and some deliberately spoke loudly so that everyone around could hear. "He only knows how to hide behind women."

"Commander Bai misjudged him."

"What's the use of being handsome? You can't eat it."

Su Mu heard those words. He tapped his finger lightly on his spear, then continued walking, stopping, and thrusting. He didn't care what those people thought of him. What he cared about was when the "danger behind" the military had mentioned would appear.

The light in the dense forest grew dimmer. It wasn't that the sun had set, but rather that the canopy was becoming increasingly dense, the purplish-black leaves weaving together into an impenetrable net overhead, blocking out even the last ray of light.

Some people turned on their flashlights, some lit oil lamps, and some took out their mobile phones. The lights flickered in the woods, like a swarm of fireflies searching for direction in the darkness.

But those points of light were too scattered, too dim, as faint as candles flickering in the darkness of the dense forest. The air grew even more humid, and the stench of decay intensified, becoming so strong it was nauseating.

Su Mu took out the towel from his backpack, wet it, and held it to his nose. Lin Xiaohe and Lin Yuwei did the same. Chen Jun took out a mask from his backpack and put it on, but the mask was too thin and couldn't block the smell. He frowned and took the mask off.

Deep in the dense forest, something was moving. It wasn't a monster, nor was it the wind, but something much larger, heavier, like something moving through the woods. The sound of branches snapping, tree trunks being pushed apart, and a low, deep sound, like something breathing.

Su Mu paused for a moment. His dynamic vision caught a blurry outline in the darkness.

The outline was enormous, so enormous that his dynamic vision could only capture a part of it... A leg, as thick as a tree trunk, covered with grayish-white scales; an arm, unusually long, with fingers like five curved scimitars; and a face, neither human nor animal, but a face that defied description and sent chills down his spine.

The face flashed in the darkness and then disappeared.

Su Mu gripped the spear tightly.

The person didn't just pass by them; they walked over them. Not flying, but walking, treading on the canopy as steadily as if it were the ground.

Proscius sensed it too. He stopped fighting, folded his wings, and stared at the dense canopy above him. The golden blade of light vanished in his hand, and his expression was no longer the elegant composure of before, but a more solemn one, as if he had realized something.

"What is that?" someone asked in a low voice.

No one answered. Nobody knew.

Zhou Weiren's voice came through the walkie-talkie. "Everyone, speed up, don't fall behind. We must leave this dense forest before dark."

No one spoke. The footsteps quickened, the breathing became heavier, and the beams of flashlights flickered through the woods like a group of rabbits running in the dark. Su Mu walked in the middle of the group, spear in hand, his gaze sweeping across the darkness on either side. His golden blood flowed within him, a golden aura surging beneath his skin, but not rising to the surface.

Lin Yuwei hugged the silver-spotted leopard cub tightly in her backpack. The little creature poked its head out of the backpack, its ears perked up, its eyes fixed on the dark canopy above, its tail curled up, and its body trembling slightly.

"Don't be afraid," Lin Yuwei whispered.

The silver leopard cub's tail changed from being curled up to swaying slightly.

it's getting dark.

There was no distinction between day and night in the dense forest, but Su Mu could feel... the oppressive atmosphere was stronger, the stench was more intense, and the feeling of being watched was clearer.

Something was watching them in the darkness, not just one or two, but countless things. They were hiding behind tree trunks, in the canopy, beneath the fallen leaves, in every corner where the flashlight couldn't reach.

Su Mu tapped his fingers lightly on the spear twice.

What's meant to come will come.

......

The sky grew completely dark.

It wasn't the kind of darkness in the city where there are streetlights, moonlight, and distant neon lights reflected on the sky; it was a real, pure darkness, as if something had swallowed all the light in one gulp.

The beams of flashlight swept through the dense forest like probes groping in the dark, but they were absorbed by the tree canopy and trunks before they could reach very far, as if the forest itself was devouring the light.

The group stopped in a relatively open clearing in the woods.

The term "open" only means that the trees are sparse, unlike other places that are dense and impenetrable. You can still see a small patch of sky above your head, fragmented by the tree canopy, with a few dim stars appearing and disappearing behind the clouds.

The military set up a defensive line on the perimeter. Soldiers cut down tree branches and piled them into makeshift shelters at the edge of the open area, mounting machine guns on the branches with the muzzles facing outwards. Armored vehicles couldn't get in, but their vehicle-mounted heavy machine guns were removed and positioned at the weakest point in the defensive line.

The Evolver squad was assigned to different directions to take turns on guard duty.

Zhao Derong's squad guarded the east flank, Chen Mo's squad guarded the west flank, Proxiu's squad guarded the south flank... The north flank, the direction the group had come from, was the responsibility of a joint squad from several guilds. Su Mu's squad was positioned inside the defensive line, responsible for support and mobility.

The first wave of attacks came quickly after nightfall.

Several goblins peeked out from behind the tree trunk. Their dark green skin was almost invisible in the darkness, and only their dark red eyes flickered in the beam of the flashlight.

Armed with stone axes and wooden clubs, they awkwardly swung down from the treetops, only to be mowed down by machine gun fire before they even hit the ground. Dark green blood splattered onto the tree trunks, sizzling and corroding.

The second wave consisted of zombies, about a dozen of them, crawling out from beneath the leaf litter. Their grayish-white skin blended into the surrounding tree trunks, making them almost indistinguishable without close inspection. They moved slowly, like snakes just awakened from hibernation, inching their way towards the defensive line.

Several guild members rushed out from behind the cover, swinging axes and machetes in the darkness, turning a dozen or so zombies into a dozen or so corpses.

The third wave consisted of a group of six or seven cat demons, whose levels were between five and six.

They moved swiftly through the treetops like streaks of dark red lightning. Chen Mo, guarding the west side, activated his aura, a pale yellow light enveloping the defensive line. The cat demons slowed down within the aura... not slower, but Chen Mo's teammates sped up.

Several people rushed into the group of cat demons. Amidst the flashing swords and clashing blades, in less than a minute, all six or seven cat demons were killed.

There were zero casualties.