DF Chapter 60
by VolareChapter 60 I Concede Defeat
From morning to afternoon, the area around the volcano lacked dense vegetation. The only entrance was covered with the most primitive rocks, gullies carved by lava.
Sheng Jia, Song Ji’an, and Meng Yeran were hidden behind several huge rocks, occupying the most advantageous terrain. From here, they could sweepingly fire at anyone approaching.
But six hours had passed, and Dong Zhen and her team hadn’t appeared at the end of the road.
The three had already eaten two rounds of compressed biscuits, and their remaining water was running low.
“Could there be another road to the volcano?” Meng Yeran muttered, “Otherwise, how come Dong Zhen and the others haven’t arrived yet?”
“No,” Song Ji’an said, wiping the scope of her dart gun. “I asked Auntie Celina before. She said that only this one road has been developed on the entire volcano. You can’t climb up the other wild paths.”
“The angle of this volcano is almost over seventy degrees, and it’s evenly distributed. Our road is the only entrance to the volcano. Steps were built upwards later. It’s absolutely impossible to go up from other places.”
“Then why haven’t they come yet?”
“Haven’t come? That’s not necessarily true.” Sheng Jia, who was lying prone, observing the surroundings, said in a low voice, “They basically have no food or water for supplies. The coconut grove is a place we marked, so they definitely wouldn’t risk going back, in case we’re also ambushing there.”
“They either find a place to hide, or they’ve already arrived here, waiting to see who has the better patience.”
“But there’s no other cover here except for us,” Meng Yeran looked around. “If they want to hide, there’s no good place to hide.”
“It doesn’t have to be the crater. If you ask me, if they want to hide, they’re more likely to be over there,” Song Ji’an pointed to the hillside not far away, where they had come from. Compared to the bare rocks here, the vegetation there was lusher, obviously offering many places to hide. Of course, more importantly, they could see everything clearly from there. As long as they left the rock cover, it would be completely exposed to the other side.
“What should we do then? Are we just going to wait it out like this?” Meng Yeran narrowed her eyes. The opposite side was obviously a better hiding place than theirs. Even if the bushes swayed, they couldn’t see who was on the other side.
“No, we’re going out,” Sheng Jia smiled, “to go inside the crater.”
“You mean…” Song Ji’an was slightly stunned, with some bewilderment in her eyes.
“This road is very flat, but the range of the dart gun isn’t that long. Even if we go out, they won’t be able to hit us, but they can see us.” Sheng Jia said, “We don’t have to go out together. We just need to go out one by one, enter the crater, and then bring back the clues, taking turns.”
She explained it a little more clearly, and Song Ji’an and Meng Yeran understood.
At this time, it’s all about mentality. Whoever gets anxious first loses.
They were close to the crater, completely controlling the road to the crater. This was their advantage, and they naturally had to maximize it to make the enemy anxious.
–
At five o’clock in the afternoon, Anderst Island already had the rosy glow of dawn, rolling out a dazzling array of colors with the boundless sea.
Song Ji’an and Meng Yeran had already taken turns entering the mountain three times. This was the situation that Julia observed while lying in the small bushes. She wore a hard-earned gas mask on her head, covering her entire face, making it impossible to see any expression. As Sheng Jia had expected, they had been out of food for two hours now.
Zhou Qing had too few supply points, and Song Ji’an and the others had destroyed all the supply points they had obtained from Tawana. The things they had on hand could only last until now.
Julia couldn’t understand Dong Zhen’s choice. After all, they could only choose between supplies and clues. It was a matter of time, but she wasn’t without opinions on Dong Zhen’s complete selection of clues, which led to the lack of food.
In her opinion, they could have left one or two clues for Song Ji’an and the others to delay them for a while longer, so that they could free up their hands to grab some supplies.
Dong Zhen was not tall and plump, and like Tawana, had a round face, but her eyebrows and eyes were light, and she looked at everyone with indifference. She was very similar to the demeanor in the Chinese paintings of ladies that Julia had seen before, so she often jokingly called Dong Zhen a beauty who walked out of the painting.
At this moment, Dong Zhen was leaning against a tree, playing with the mask in her palm. When Song Ji’an and the others threw away their equipment, many scratches were carved on this batch of masks by branches. She picked the one with the most scratches.
“Dong Zhen, our physical peak is in half an hour. After the things in our stomachs are completely digested, our physical strength will gradually decline.” Hongyue—the girl Dong Zhen brought—touched her stomach and said seriously, “But they have been constantly replenishing their strength. If we don’t take action in half an hour, we may be at a disadvantage at any time.”
“How many trips have they made?” After a long time, Dong Zhen asked.
“The fifth trip,” Hongyue said, putting down the telescope. “Song Ji’an went in three times, and Meng Yeran went in twice. The girl you mentioned named Sheng Jia has never appeared.”
“They have more or less gained something in these five trips.”
“How can you be sure they have gained something?” Dong Zhen asked in a low voice.
“Because every time they come back, they blatantly show us new clues,” Hongyue couldn’t help but sigh when she said this. “They know we’re here, and we know they’re there. Isn’t this clearly making us anxious?”
“That’s not necessarily true,” Dong Zhen took the telescope and hooked the corners of her lips. “We can make fake clues for them, so how can you guarantee that what they show us is definitely real clues?”
“Since they all know we’re here, how could they waste their energy for no reason? If they really went into the mountain, is it possible for them to be so neat and tidy? Anderst Island is not a dead volcano. There are crustal movements every year. The crater is sealed, but there is no shortage of dust on the roads below.” She said slowly, “This is indeed provoking us.”
But it was clear that they had no other choice.
It was best to face the opponent head-on under the premise that their physical strength was still equal to the opponent’s. Otherwise, once night fell, they would not have the advantage of physical strength, and the current geographical advantage would basically be lost. Especially after nightfall, the field of vision that the telescope could see was also limited. Once Song Ji’an and the others launched a surprise attack, they would not be able to detect it in time.
Everything must end before dark.
“Dong Zhen, next, do we retreat or advance?” Julia’s muffled voice came from under the mask, but she could still hear the ease in her tone.
Believing in Dong Zhen was a habit she had developed over the years. Even on the island, before the conflict of interest between the two was completely exposed, she was willing to obey the other’s command.
“Advance,” Dong Zhen put on the gas mask, making her entire body airtight. She picked up her dart gun, parted the grass in front of her, and walked forward, “But only act in this mountain temporarily. We’ll walk separately. Don’t leave the mountain. Come back here to gather before sunset.”
“What do you mean?” Julia asked with some bewilderment, “Then what’s the goal?”
“Make noise and expose our position.” Dong Zhen pointed to the remaining hiding spots on the hillside. “Now, besides luring them over, is there any other way to wipe them all out?”
“A three-on-three confrontation. If it doesn’t end before sunset, we have no chance of winning.” She said slowly, “Let them be proud, let them think they have the victory in their hands. When the enemy is complacent, we have a chance, don’t we?”
Julia scratched her head. “If the three of us walk separately, won’t it be easier for them to defeat us one by one?”
“So, we have to complete two tasks. First, lure them here. Second, after confirming that they’re coming, occupy the best attack points on this hillside and surround them.” Dong Zhen replied, “Let’s go. It will be dark in two hours. We only have two hours.”
Hongyue followed Dong Zhen, step by step, but Dong Zhen turned her head and glanced at her, “Hongyue, you can choose to act with Julia.”
Hongyue paused slightly, then nodded, “Okay, be careful on your own.”
Julia leaned against the wall, looking a little lazy. She didn’t comment on Dong Zhen’s decision. Now she was the only lone wolf in the team. Dong Zhen’s dispatch of Hongyue to follow Julia was a tacit agreement that if a crisis occurred, Hongyue would sacrifice herself to protect Julia.
This was their tacit understanding, just like how they chose to send Martha to stalk Song Ji’an and the others at the beginning.
Hongyue picked up the telescope and looked at the path to the crater again. There, Song Ji’an was walking inside. This was their sixth time entering the crater.
They didn’t stay any longer. Even though they knew that Song Ji’an and the others might be deliberately making a show, they had to admit that their goal had been achieved, and the atmosphere within the three-person team was much more anxious and tense.
In the next half hour, several people stepped on the spot in many places on the hillside, exposing their whereabouts. Julia looked down at the trajectory they had walked, lowered her voice and said to Hongyue, “Should we go a few points further?”
If they went further, they would be extremely close to the crater, and they could be exposed to the range of Song Ji’an and the others’ fire at any time.
Hongyue was slightly stunned. She hadn’t made many decisions along the way, and Julia’s question was somewhat unexpected for her.
“Dong Zhen called you here, so you must have something special about you. She’s not here, shouldn’t you do something?” Julia met her eyes.
“Something special?” Hongyue laughed, “I can come with her because Ms. Fu Langyue sent me here. My only advantage is probably being obedient.”
“Ms. Fu said that Dong Zhen’s thinking is a tyrant’s thinking. The most important thing for her companions is to be obedient. Coincidentally, I am such a person. I’m too lazy to use my brain, and my execution is good. I do what she says, that’s all.” As she said that, she pointed to the front, “And now what I have to carry out is the task of protecting you. Once you encounter a crisis, please don’t save me, leave immediately. And now what we have to do, you need to decide.”
“Okay,” Julia shrugged helplessly. In fact, after Hongyue said these words, she had already made a choice.
The actions of Song Ji’an and the others entering and exiting the crater were provoking, and at this moment she couldn’t help but want to provoke back.
So she chose to go further, and let Hongyue stay high, and she walked to the open space between the hillside and the crater.
This was a place where everyone could shoot. She knelt down next to a dead tree, and then dug out a piece of paper from the soil, still a black and gold card, emitting golden light under the setting sun.
This was the last clue with a specific location among the clues Zhou Qing gave them that was close to the crater, and it was also the bait she chose this time.
Sure enough, there was a sudden burst of gunfire in the air. Julia quickly put down the clues and retreated. The blue smoke bomb nailed the clues to the ground. Hongyue behind her also fired a shot at the place where the gun was fired.
A red smoke rose from the rock a hundred meters in front of Julia. After the smoke, a familiar figure popped out half of her head. She set up her gun and aimed at Julia again.
It was Sheng Jia.
Song Ji’an and Meng Yeran had long disappeared. After the rocks, there was only Sheng Jia alone!
Where did they leave from?
Julia didn’t know. She bit her lip, raised her hands, and shouted from afar: “Sheng Jia, why don’t we talk?”
Sheng Jia was expressionless, but she didn’t pull the trigger. She only asked in a low voice: “What do you want to talk about?”
“Song Ji’an and Meng Yeran went into the crater together?” Julia asked.
“Yes,” Sheng Jia replied.
Julia laughed, “It seems they didn’t go in, then they’ve already entered the hillside behind us.”
This time it was a definite sentence.
“There’s only one bullet in your gun, right?” Julia continued, “But we still have three now. When you shoot at me, Hongyue behind me can explode your head at any time. Are you sure you want to confront us here?”
“It’s a good deal to exchange me for you and Hongyue’s last bullet behind you.” Sheng Jia said.
“Is it?” Julia said, “If you and I are gone, then there will only be two people left in Dong Zhen’s team. Hongyue picked up my equipment, then they will have at least four bullets.”
“Are you sure Meng won’t be instigated by Dong Zhen to turn her spear and betray your alliance, and then kill Ji’an? Do I need to popularize with you what Dong Zhen is best at? It’s not her reasoning ability, but that she can always find the best way in all difficulties, whether it’s to help herself or others, and to tempt people’s hearts.”
As Julia spoke, she walked forward step by step. Noticing Sheng Jia’s hesitation, she felt relieved and gradually moved away from the hillside, leaning ten steps away from Sheng Jia. Here, Hongyue couldn’t hear what she was saying, and could only see her still gestures.
“Just like now, she knows that with my character, once the team splits up, I will definitely come to provoke you actively because of this afternoon’s suffocation. This is the behavioral pattern I can’t change, but she will still take this step in order to break the situation, and she also sent Hongyue with me, ostensibly to protect me, but actually to tell me to be bold.” She smiled, and there was actually some slyness in those deep black eyes at this moment, “But I know that in the end I only have two endings, either die here, once we take you down here unscathed, if I’m still alive, Hongyue will immediately send a message to Dong Zhen, if Dong Zhen hasn’t met Ji’an and the others, or is at a disadvantage, then Hongyue will lead me back to support, and then kill me after it’s over, and once Dong Zhen takes down one person on the other side, Hongyue will kill me immediately.”
“She says she’s obedient, but only listens to Dong Zhen, and has no friendship with us, and can carry out any task without any emotion.” As she said that, she whistled, “This is the tyrant and knight cultivated by Ms. Fu.”
“So compared to them, I think it’s better to cooperate with you. Isn’t it also interesting to overthrow the tyrant together?”
Sheng Jia’s gun didn’t move, still resting on her forehead, and it was even easier to aim because she was closer. She was silent for a long time, so long that Julia felt a little uneasy, before slowly putting down the gun and beckoning to her.
Seeing this, Julia rushed into the shelter behind them. The two girls sat side by side behind them.
“What do you want to do?” Sheng Jia asked.
“I want to kill Hongyue with you.” Julia said truthfully, “All the clues we found are in Dong Zhen’s hands. I don’t completely know where she’s hiding. Once Hongyue dies, then the only cooperative partner she can rely on temporarily is me. I want to find out where the things are. When the time comes, we’ll share the clues. Whoever finds them first gets them.”
“Okay,” Sheng Jia agreed to this matter after a little thought, “Can she listen to you?”
“Before Dong Zhen left, she gave the order that Hongyue should listen to me and protect me first.”
“You’re really brave, are you so sure I only have one bullet? We also killed Ms. Martha and confiscated her equipment.” Sheng Jia wiped her gun in a low voice, “If I don’t care and have to kill you, you have no room to fight back now.”
“Would you?” Julia blinked and couldn’t help laughing, “We have completely disassembled the dart gun long ago. I think at the moment when Martha was caught by you, she should have already discarded the two bullets inside. I’m still confident about this.”
What she said was the truth. Martha’s gun was indeed empty, and looking for two more bullets in the primitive jungle was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Sheng Jia snorted with a smile, “Okay, then it depends on what you’re going to do next.”
“You kill Hongyue,” Julia said, “The color of your bullets is different from mine. If I do it, I guess I’ll never be able to gain Dong Zhen’s trust again.”
“I thought your alliance was very strong?” Sheng Jia complained, “Song Ji’an said you are old friends for many years.”
“Do you think the friendship between us is simply maintained by emotion?” Julia laughed, “No, she is a genius who turns her face and doesn’t recognize people, and always prioritizes her own interests, but this kind of person has a heart of gratitude and will have friendship with me to maintain her social needs. Don’t you think she is very interesting?”
“When it doesn’t involve interests, she is a very good friend, but once it involves core interests, then you have to be ready to be abandoned by her at any time. Of course, I am the same kind of person.”
The two didn’t say much. Julia clenched her fists and led Sheng Jia towards the hillside.
Seeing this, Hongyue slowly put down her gun and stared at them expressionlessly.
“We’re temporarily making peace,” Julia said to Hongyue, “If we continue like this, neither of us will get any good. Why don’t we cooperate to find all the things in the volcano and then distribute them separately.”
Hongyue frowned and looked at Sheng Jia, who was finally facing each other, “What are the conditions?”
“We give them 50% of the clues we find for free, and they give us the next dinner.” Julia said, “This is the best deal we can make now. If we all die, they will never be able to dig out those important clues. What is in the volcano is still uncertain. After the clues and food are divided, there is still one day left, and then each will rely on their own abilities to eliminate each other.”
Hongyue: “Can you make the decision?”
Sheng Jia nodded: “I can. Do you need to discuss it with Dong Zhen again? I have already talked to Song Ji’an and Meng Yeran.”
Hongyue and Julia looked at each other. Seeing Julia nodded, Hongyue took out the walkie-talkie and prepared to contact Dong Zhen.
The next second, two gunshots rang out, and red and blue smoke filled the air.
A look of astonishment appeared on Hongyue’s face. The walkie-talkie in her hand was full of red smoke, and the switch was completely broken, and her heart had been hit by blue smoke.
Before she could react, there was another gunshot in her ear.
This time, it was still blue smoke.
And Sheng Jia’s gun was pointing at Julia’s chest.
This unexpected change almost stunned Julia, without any real feeling.
The allies who were still talking so well just now unexpectedly shot her in the heart without looking back.
“Ms. Julia, you predicted one thing wrong,” Sheng Jia slowly opened her magazine, and the last bullet was still lying inside, “We didn’t get Ms. Martha’s bullets, but that doesn’t mean there are only my own bullets in my magazine.”
“Song Ji’an or Meng Yeran went after Dong Zhen with empty magazines?” Julia reacted immediately, “They would give you their bullets?”
“Yes, you and Julia are a loose alliance, but we are closer,” Sheng Jia hooked the corners of her lips, “They trust me enough, and each gave me a bullet, letting me wait here with four bullets for you to throw yourselves into the trap.”
“The conditions you offered are very attractive, especially in this situation where the enemy is strong and we are weak, you proposed conditions that would allow me to survive. But it’s a pity, neither I nor Song Ji’an have any intention of changing allies.” As she said that, she pointed to the gun in Julia’s hand, “Also, you asked me to shoot Hongyue, but you actually wanted me to exhaust my last bullet, right? Following your words, it’s not certain whether Hongyue’s equipment can get into my hands, and when I was shooting at you, weren’t you also preparing to shoot at me?”
“By solving me and Hongyue in one breath, everyone on the field will be weak and isolated. At this time, if you go to find Dong Zhen again, then the only person she can rely on for cooperation is you, and you can get one more bullet. Why not do it? This is what you thought at the beginning, right?”
“Let me elaborate a little more, after you discovered that Song Ji’an and Meng Yeran might have joined forces to chase Dong Zhen, you decided to kill me and Hongyue here, and then go back to the hillside, wait for Dong Zhen and Song Ji’an to generate a certain amount of consumption, and then go back and join Dong Zhen, it is best for Dong Zhen to generate 100% consumption, all the bullets are empty and then you appear, so that your ally will become a tiger that has lost its claws and can only rely on you.”
Julia finally reacted at this moment. She thought she was setting up a trap coated with honey for Sheng Jia, but she had already walked into a trap that Sheng Jia had designed for her step by step.
She even analyzed clearly what she was planning.
The blue smoke on her and Hongyue’s bodies was still emitting. She helplessly put down the gun in her hand, but there was no guilt in her eyes, “You really know us well.”
“I concede defeat.”
Sheng Jia confiscated the bullets from the two guns. She carried the gun on her back, tidied up her equipment, and suddenly asked, “Do you think Dong Zhen could have predicted that letting you come to fight two against one would result in your complete annihilation?”
Julia leaned against the low slope. Drones in the distance took pictures of their deaths. Looking from afar, a car was slowly driving on the road leading to the volcano to receive the dead.
She shrugged and joked, “She probably couldn’t have guessed this, but the deaths of the two of us will definitely make her realize that Song Ji’an and Meng Yeran, who went to chase her, are actually two paper tigers with only one bullet combined, and she might be able to achieve the same counter-kill as you.”