novelhk Chapter 455 The Demise of Group A
Chapter 455 The Demise of Group A
Ava was spun halfway around by the slap before falling heavily onto the snow.
The energy lines around her body snapped and dissolved rapidly, like cotton threads ignited by a raging fire.
As the energy lines completely collapsed, Ava's figure began to become transparent and illusory, dissipating into the air.
Almost the instant Ava vanished, the surrounding cedar forest began to shake violently, and the gnarled trunks and snow-covered branches gradually became transparent.
The thick fog that shrouded the mountains seemed to have lost its support, visibly thinning out and gradually restoring visibility to several tens of meters. The distant mountain roads and cliffs finally revealed their blurry outlines again.
"Great! We've broken the illusion!" The members of Group B burst into cheers that they had been holding back for so long.
Evelyn quickly walked to Lin Feng's side and asked curiously, "How did you figure out she was fake?"
Lin Feng raised his hand to wipe away the remaining blood from his fingertips: "It's very simple."
"If she is truly a remnant of a female corpse, her obsession must be with her lover. However, after she appeared, she completely ignored the direction of the male ghost and was only focused on leading us away."
Evelyn nodded, her eyes full of approval:
"As expected of you, even Sherlock Holmes would probably lose to you by a single move."
As the two were talking, Xia Ning's cool voice came from behind them:
"Five minutes are up, time to rotate the body!"
Everyone turned around at the sound and realized that Xia Ning had been standing not far behind them at some point.
Her gaze swept lightly over Lin Feng, subtly glancing at the bloodstains remaining on his fingertips.
The members of Group B immediately composed themselves and quickly began to take turns.
In this round, it's Evelyn and Martha's turn to take over.
Evelyn untied the rope around her waist and walked toward the stretcher, while Martha went to the back of the stretcher.
The two knelt down in unison and put the rope over their shoulders.
The one-armed Black man used his remaining arm to steadily support Martha, helping her maintain her balance.
Vassim gazed at the gradually thinning mist ahead and said in a deep voice:
"The fog hasn't completely dissipated yet, so we must remain vigilant. I'll lead the way from here on out."
After saying that, he reached out to pick up the climbing rope on the ground, but before his fingertips could touch the rope, a slender hand suddenly reached out and firmly grasped his wrist.
Uyunshantan quickly stepped forward and snatched the climbing rope from his hand:
"You're heavy, so if you accidentally fall into the ice hole, you might drag Brother Feng down with you."
"Let me do it. I'm light, so even if I miss a step, it'll be easy to pull me up."
Before Vassim could object, Uyun Shandan had already neatly tied one end of the rope around her waist, looked up at Lin Feng and gave him a reassuring gesture:
"Brother Feng, I'm ready and can leave anytime."
Lin Feng nodded slightly and said in a deep voice, "Let's go."
The left deacon at the rear took in the whole scene and couldn't help but chuckle, his tone tinged with a hint of teasing:
"They call him 'Brother Feng' so affectionately. Lin Feng is definitely very popular with girls."
The moment the words left her lips, Xia Ning's icy gaze swept over them.
The Left Deacon stiffened under that icy gaze and quickly coughed twice to try and salvage the situation.
"But then again, it's all just wishful thinking on their part."
"Lin Feng has always been selective in his affections, only choosing one person out of many. From beginning to end, there has only been one person in his heart: Sister Ning."
Upon hearing this, Xia Ning's lips curled into a slight smile, as if to say, "That's more like it."
........................
Studio:
"Really only taking a sip? You probably don't know that Brother Feng has five wives at home."
"What do you know, upstairs? In the dungeon, Brother Feng only has Xiao Ningning in his heart. That's called dungeon-limited edition devotion."
"Understood. Focus on this instance for now, and everyone will reunite after we clear it."
"Haha, as expected of someone who's been through the motions in the workplace, the Left Steward read Sister Ning's death stare in a second—his survival instinct is off the charts!"
........................
Wuyun Shandan led the way, her steps cautious yet swift.
Lin Feng followed closely behind, his hands lightly gripping the rope, his eyes scanning the surroundings warily.
Although the thick fog had thinned considerably, the eerie atmosphere still lingered like invisible vines, quietly wrapping around everyone.
The team members at the back of the group supported each other, occasionally looking up at the sky, their hearts filled with anxiety.
After walking for about ten minutes, the terrain gradually narrowed, and the snow slopes on both sides slowly rose up, forming a funnel shape.
The snow here is noticeably thicker, and it makes a dull "crunch" sound when you step on it.
Wu Yunshan suddenly stopped in her tracks.
Her body froze, as if she had been nailed to the spot by something.
Lin Feng immediately strode forward and looked in the direction of her gaze—
Then he stopped.
People were lying haphazardly on the snow ahead.
Ten corpses were scattered on the ground at the horn-shaped opening, each in a different pose.
Lin Feng's gaze swept over the first corpse, which was a stocky white man.
He lay on his back, his eyes half-open, his pupils dilated to a grayish-white, and his mouth wide open.
His gray robe was torn open with a huge rip, splitting from his collarbone all the way down to his waist.
The second body next to it was a young Black woman with a deep wound on her neck and her eyes staring blankly at the sky.
The third body lay face down on the snow, one hand outstretched forward, fingers spread, three fingernails broken, fingertips covered in congealed blood.
His legs were bent in the opposite direction, and his shinbone below the knee protruded from his trouser leg.
The fourth body, the fifth body, the sixth body...
The bodies were scattered over an area of about twenty meters, forming an irregular fan shape.
In the center of the fan-shaped area, there was a relatively flat open space, where a stretcher lay askew.
It's the one that Group A has been carrying around.
The ropes on the stretcher were scattered on the ground, and the knots binding them had been untied.
It wasn't cut, it was untied; every knot was carefully dismantled, and the ropes were neatly piled to one side.
The frozen body of the male climber was gone; only a frozen human-shaped dent remained on the stretcher.
Wu Yunshan's hands, gripping the rope, were bulging with veins, and her knuckles were cracking.
Fear, resentment, and unspeakable bitterness intertwined in her heart, heavy and suffocating her chest.
Wasim, arriving from the rear, spoke in a deep, incredulous voice: "Group A... completely wiped out?"
No one answered her.
The harsh answer is already laid bare before us, requiring no further explanation.
I heard the sound of footsteps crunching in the snow behind me, slow and steady.
Xia Ning walked slowly from the back of the group, her expression still cold and indifferent. To her, the ten corpses in front of her were nothing more than a few withered trees by the roadside.
"What a pity. We were almost at the foot of the mountain, but in the end, all ten members of Group A were wiped out here."
She slowly revealed the truth: "Daniel lured Group A into a deep illusion, creating the illusion of 'arriving at the temple'."
"The members of Team A mistakenly believed that the mission was completed and became complacent, rashly untying the ropes binding the stretcher."
"After the knot was untied, the frozen corpse underwent a transformation within two seconds and then began an indiscriminate slaughter of the Group A members."
"They had no time to react, let alone resist, and were killed one by one by the mutated male corpses."
"Finally, even the male corpse was swept up by the eerie power of the illusion and completely disappeared into the vast snow-covered mountains."
Her gaze slowly swept over everyone in Group B: "This is the price of blindly believing in false salvation!"