The man released me immediately, pointing at Selene. "Alright, alright. Don't do anything rash. I'll let you go."
It seemed the woman was his weakness—Selene had chosen the right target.
With a hostage in hand, we finally had a chance to escape, slowly backing away. The man's crew kept their distance, continuously coaxing: "Don't do anything, please don't do anything rash. Let her go and we can talk. I'll let you go, even give you our entry tickets, how about that..."
Like hell we'd believe that. We kept retreating and before long, we spotted the supply point.
It was an abandoned lumber yard, probably built in the sixties or seventies. The walls still bore faded slogans: "Grasp Revolution, Promote Production, Sprint into Communism."
The woman we'd taken hostage chuckled: "So, you think you're safe now?"
"Cut the crap!" Selene barked.
"Let me give you some advice—let me go now and maybe you'll still have a way out. Otherwise, once you really piss off Tarkan, he'll grind every one of you to dust!"
I couldn't help cursing: "Why do you have so much—"
Before I finished, she suddenly burst free of Selene's grip, slipping out like an eel. But Selene was quick—she yanked the woman by the back of her collar. The woman twisted to counter, but instead ran straight into the arrow tip.
The sharp wooden arrow pierced skin with a wet crack, plunging into her neck. Her eyes went wide. She grabbed the shaft, stumbled backward, and collapsed.
"Yana!" The man across from us let out a heart-wrenching roar.
Selene was stunned too. She hadn't intended to kill—she hadn't expected this to happen. A moment later, she recovered and shouted: "Run!"
I hauled Lucas, Selene dragged Jasper, and we sprinted toward the supply point. The lumber yard gate was less than a hundred meters away. For the first time, I felt like I was racing Death itself!
We burst through the gate and crashed into the lumber yard. The four men chasing us stopped at the boundary, panting heavily, their eyes looking up.
I looked up too. Behind the compound gate stood a watchtower with two patrolling inspectors, fully armed with automatic rifles, watching everything below.
One of the iron rules of the hiking trip: "Combat is prohibited within supply points." If they came in after us, they'd be shot on sight.
I exhaled a long breath. We were saved at last.
Squinting into the distance, I saw the iron-tower man hadn't given chase. He knelt where he was, head buried, cradling the dead woman's body, weeping bitterly.
Damn it. This grudge was set in stone.
I was curious how Selene knew the man's name.
Selene said: "I've collected files on them. Their leader is called Tarkan. He received mercenary training, then infiltrated Somalia and joined the local anti-government forces. After those forces were wiped out, he took his men and became pirates in the Strait of Hormuz, raiding every vessel in sight—cargo ships, merchant ships, even small naval vessels. Nothing was off-limits. These people are exceptionally cruel. They abduct hostages and demand massive ransoms. If the money isn't enough, they torture their captives to death, then mail the dismembered remains to the victims' families in installments."
A chill ran through me.
Of course—only people like that would be the type of participants the Death Trip organizers favored most.
I turned to Selene. "You already left. Why did you come back for us?"
Selene gave me a disdainful glance. "You're a grown man. Stop being sentimental."
That shut me up—I nearly choked.
The lumber yard warehouse held the supplies we desperately needed: food, water, medicine, antibiotics, plus surgical sutures, forceps, and other basic medical equipment. Several injured people were already lying inside, wrapped in bandages, looking like they'd given up on life.
They'd probably lost their combat ability and forfeited, holing up here waiting for rescue.
We stitched Lucas's wounds and gave him antibiotics. His fever broke and he fell into a deep sleep—he'd be fine.
The bigger problem was Jasper. His right shoulder had been struck by Tarkan's stone, swollen and bruised, and he couldn't lift his arm. I figured it was fractured.
"Old Jasper, we can't treat this here. You'll need to get to a hospital." I frowned.
"Bastards hit harder than a bear." Jasper winced.
"You could wait for rescue here. The helicopter's coming tomorrow to evacuate the wounded. You can go with them, though that means you forfeit."
Jasper knew I was half-joking. He didn't take the bait—he glanced at the sleeping Lucas and whispered to me: "Ryan, something's off about this kid."
"Like what?"
"I can't read him." Jasper shook his head. "I've been observing him carefully, but he seems to shield himself with a layer of disguise. I can't deduce his background or history at all."
"That's your professional paranoia acting up," I laughed. "What kind of history could he have? He nearly got killed by a bear. If he hadn't run into us, he'd be dead in the forest."
"But—"
"No buts. He's already forfeited. You won't see him again in future trips."
Jasper couldn't argue with me. He let out a helpless sigh.
Selene came over. "We'll rest at the supply point tonight. Get some sleep, and we'll set out early tomorrow."
I felt uneasy. "Do you think Tarkan's crew might enter the supply point and attack us while we're sleeping?"
Selene looked up at the surveillance cameras covering the warehouse. "Probably not. If they fight here, Headquarters won't let them off."
Exhausted from the day's ordeal, I found a cot, lay down, and was out cold within moments.
I don't know how long passed, but through the haze I heard someone calling my name. I groggily opened my eyes to find Selene patting my face.
"Wake up. Pack your things. Let's go."
"Go?" I checked the time blearily—it was only three in the morning, still dark out.
"Two to four AM is when the body needs sleep most. We crossed Tarkan—he won't let us off easily." Selene packed as she spoke. "We exploit that time gap. Maybe we can slip past them."
I snapped wide awake, quickly roused Jasper, and told him to pack up.
Just as we were ready and stepped out of the warehouse, someone came running after us, calling out: "Please, take me with you!"
I turned—it was Lucas.
I was puzzled. "Weren't you going to wait for rescue here?"
He shook his head. "I thought just surviving would be enough. But now there's a chance to reach the finish line—I don't want to give up. Let me come with you. I know you're good people."
I scratched my head. The more allies, the better—if we met him in future trips, he'd return the favor. But I didn't want to fracture our alliance again over him, so I looked to Selene to decide.
Selene clearly had the same thought and looked to Old Jasper.
Jasper, as usual, had no opinion and looked back at me.
Great—the ball had been kicked full circle right back to me.
I walked over and checked his condition. "Your wounds okay?"
"Fine. I can take it. I can walk, I can run. Don't worry—I won't slow you down."
"Alright," I reluctantly decided. "We've come this far—we'll see it through. Come with us."
And so the four of us left the lumber yard and plunged into the vast night.
The route from here was much simpler. The second supply point was only twenty kilometers from the finish line, via two mountain paths. After discussion, we chose the more remote one.
This path had been carved by mountain villagers back during the Qing Dynasty's Qianlong era. Though overgrown and poorly maintained, it was flanked by towering dense forest—excellent cover, and if trouble arose, easy to hide.
Plan for defeat before planning for victory—that was the soundest strategy.
The mountain trail at dawn was utterly silent. The entire forest seemed in hibernation, without even the chirp of a bird. We walked as though traversing the belly of a colossal beast—only escaping its jaws would bring us into the light.