Solving Middle Age Crisis by Intelligence System-Chapter 617 - 412: Unknown Scale

The trees in the forest were lush and full, with a thick layer of fallen leaves on the ground, which made a faint rustling sound when stepped on.

Brother Quan walked at the front, occasionally observing the traces on the ground.

The direction of that group hadn’t changed; they were still heading towards the lake.

They traversed three or four kilometers through the woods.

Suddenly, Brother Quan abruptly stopped, raised his hand into a fist, signaling them to halt.

The people behind him immediately stopped, held their breath, and swept their vigilant gazes around.

Their weapons were already in hand, ready to fire at any moment.

But after a careful check, they didn’t seem to find anything unusual around. An Zai couldn’t help but ask, "Instructor, what did you find?"

Since Brother Quan joined the team, he had been conducting special intensive training for them, so everyone was used to calling him the instructor.

Brother Quan’s face was solemn, his nose slightly twitching as he said in a low voice, "There’s a scent of blood!"

Upon hearing this, the others immediately tensed up, continuing to observe the surrounding environment.

"Over there!" Brother Quan pointed in one direction and took the lead to move forward.

The group treaded lightly, dispersed in a fan shape, their eyes firmly fixed on the bushes ahead.

As they gradually approached, they also smelled a faint scent of blood, seemingly wafting from there.

"Whoosh~"

A flock of birds resembling vultures suddenly flitted out from behind the bushes, as if startled, scattering in all directions.

The group paid no attention and continued forward, only to come across an extremely unpleasant scene behind the bushes that made everyone frown in unison.

It was a human corpse!

In fact, even the term "corpse" was inadequate; "partial remains" would be more accurate.

The dead leaves on the ground were stained a dark red from blood, littered with indescribable details... the scent in the air was several times stronger, stinging their nasal cavities.

Even for those who had been in battles, this scene felt a bit nauseating.

"It’s one of their people!" An Zai said, staring at a piece of clothing on an arm.

Brother Quan squatted down, carefully examining a part that hadn’t been gnawed by birds, his expression growing more severe.

It’s known that human bones are quite sturdy, so how much strength would it take to break bones without tools?

"Could there be lions or tigers here?" Brother Chen, who entered here for the first time, questioned.

Last time, just upon reaching the special energy field, Qi Yun had sent him back to prepare for rescue, so he didn’t know much about the situation inside.

Moreover, Qi Yun required everyone to keep quiet about what happened inside, so they rarely talked about it outside.

An Zai nodded, "There probably are. Last time, a herd of elephants twice or three times bigger than those outside chased us..."

"But elephants shouldn’t tear people apart like this..."

This sudden change cast a shadow over everyone’s hearts.

"I found something over here!" Niu Da shouted softly from the right side.

Everyone immediately moved towards him.

"Look," Niu Da said, pointing to a drag mark on the ground.

The drag trail was deep, with blood around it, stretching into the depths of the forest.

Nearby, equipment and handguns had fallen, yet there wasn’t a single shell casing on the ground.

Those people had weapons but didn’t fire a single shot...

Was it because they were too scared to shoot and just ran?

Or was there another reason...

"What kind of thing could do this to them?" Brother Quan asked himself silently.

He suddenly recalled when he left this space last time, Xiao Wu, who was covering the retreat, mentioned something seemed to be watching them, giving him a very dangerous feeling...

Could it be that thing?

"Should we go check the front?" An Zai asked, pointing to the depths of the forest.

After a moment of thought, Brother Quan shook his head.

They only had a few handguns; if it turned out to be the lair of that unknown creature, it would be troublesome. A few handguns might not be enough to handle it.

Just as he was about to stand up and give the order to proceed towards the lake, he thought he caught a glimpse of something shiny from the corner of his eye.

Brother Quan immediately squatted down again, his gaze quickly scanning the fallen leaves at his feet.

He carefully brushed aside the surrounding leaves, revealing a silver metal piece.

It was only called a metal piece because of its unique, shiny material. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

In fact, this thing looked more like a large fish scale, about the size of a Laoganma bottle cap, with fine serrations on the edges and a silver sheen on the surface.

It didn’t feel smooth like a fish scale but rather had a texture similar to frosted metal.

Holding it, Brother Quan flipped it over, seeing a few very fine lines on the backside, like some naturally formed pattern.

"What is this thing?" An Zai curiously leaned forward.

"It’s hard to say for now, but it seems to be unlike the scale of ordinary creatures."

Brother Quan laid the scale in his palm, and the group examined it closely.

Apart from the material feeling particularly special, they didn’t notice anything unusual.

"If this really is a scale, just how large must the creature be that has scales like this?" An Zai clicked his tongue in amazement.

No one answered the question.

Perhaps it was because they didn’t want to consider that possibility.

But just after a two-second silence, Niu Da uttered something that sent chills down their spines.

"Do you think... the corpse on the ground could have been done by that scaled creature?"

Upon saying this, the surrounding air seemed to freeze instantly.

An Zai instinctively took half a step back, disbelief in his eyes, "Can’t be, right? Even though this scale looks impressive..."

He wanted to find a reason to dismiss this speculation, but the words caught in his throat.

Brother Quan put away the scale, interrupting, "Let’s go, forget about this place. Head towards the lake."

The rest said no more, immediately following in his footsteps.

However, after only a few hundred meters, they encountered yet another patch of blood on the ground.

And the closer they got to the lake, the more frequent the dismembered limbs and severed arms became.

Based on a rough count of the arms, at least eight or nine people had met their end here...

"Damn... this place isn’t like it was last time..."

A sense of unease spread through everyone’s mind.

Brother Quan, leading the way, stopped and refrained from advancing further.

After some thoughtful consideration, he turned and gave the order to retreat.

"Forget the lake, we’ll return the way we came and intercept them at the exit!"

The group felt a sense of relief at this decision, undoubtedly the correct one.

Based on the traces on the ground, it was likely even more dangerous ahead.

If they had heavy weaponry, they might have had the confidence to investigate, but with only a few handguns, could they really handle that unknown creature?