Chapter 409 - Holding a Candle to the Devil (1/2)

Chapter 409: Holding a Candle to the Devil

Long Yuehong replied with a stunned expression, “Alright.”

Jiang Baimian then said, “We’ll help you put on the military exoskeleton then. This way, even if there’s an accident, you can resolve them more easily.”

“Sure, sure.” Long Yuehong snapped out of his reverie and quickly nodded.

Shang Jianyao and Jiang Baimian immediately divided the work. One remained on guard, while the other helped Long Yuehong wear the AC-45 military exoskeleton they had bought from Lehman.

“If anyone proposes to contact the advance base camp later to seek help, give them the go ahead,” Jiang Baimian instructed as she carried the remaining old military exoskeleton.

She and Shang Jianyao quickly ran into the forest and disappeared from Long Yuehong’s sight.

After moving forward for a while, Jiang Baimian stopped and looked back. “Why don’t I stay here and watch Little Red in case anything happens to him?”

“He can handle himself,” Shang Jianyao said seriously. “Trust him.”

Jiang Baimian fell silent for a few seconds before saying, “Alright.”

As the team leader, she was more eager to enter the cave, personally observe the environment, and set up the subsequent hunting operation.

The two of them didn’t delay any further. According to Genava and Bai Chen’s descriptions and the various traces along the way, they rushed toward their target destination.

In the area where the intense gunfight had taken place, Long Yuehong—who was wearing a military exoskeleton—stood guard at the spot where the two cars were hidden. He dazedly looked at Bob’s corpse and the weeds more than ten meters away.

He then exhaled and perked up. He cast his gaze at the Ruin Hunters—who had received first aid treatment for their injuries.

Some of these people sat with their backs against the trees, moaning in pain from time to time. Some of them weren’t fully awake yet, and they sat there like wooden sculptures. Some panted and constantly observed the environment as if they wanted to confirm their current situation and think about what to do next.

The seriously injured people were basically dead, and the ground was strewn with corpses.

This was different from the riot in Weed City. Most of the deaths were a result of the Old Task Force.

Long Yuehong monitored the area instinctively, but his mind was empty. He didn’t know what to think or what he should be thinking until he saw a Ruin Hunter with relatively light injuries stagger to his feet and walk toward him.

His slightly blank eyes quickly returned to normal as he looked at the Ruin Hunter. “What’s the matter?”

He asked very politely, but the assault rifle in his hand was already raised. As for the grenade launcher, laser, and mini submachine gun attached to the military exoskeleton, they were also locked and loaded.

The Ruin Hunter was in his early thirties, with a scruffy beard and messy brown hair that was dirty and greasy. His clothes were tattered, and it was unknown how long it had been since he washed and patched them.

At this moment, he held his right rib with one hand and raised the other, indicating that he was unarmed.

“I want to ask how you plan on dealing with us?” The Ruin Hunter’s gaze swept across the military exoskeleton on Long Yuehong’s body, and his expression became increasingly humble as he smiled.

Long Yuehong thought for a moment and said, “You aren’t criminals.”

He had gathered himself and didn’t hide his curiosity by asking, “What happened to you previously? Nobody knows each other at all. There’s no hatred, nor are there any spoils of war to vie for. Why did you suddenly attack us?”

After asking in one breath, Long Yuehong recalled that he should be polite. “How may I address you?”

“Just call me Roen.” The Ruin Hunter relaxed a lot when he saw that Long Yuehong’s attitude was relatively amiable. His blue eyes then revealed a look of reminiscence. “It’s also very difficult for me to understand why we were so crazy to kill you. It’s as if someone had issued such an order into our minds.”

“Were you guys… following that white wolf all this time?” Long Yuehong thought for a long time before finally coming up with the more appropriate term—’follow.’

Roen’s face immediately clouded over. “You can say that. That day, my companions and I encountered it. I watched helplessly as the few of them became fanatical—as if they had become wolves themselves and were no longer humans. Their eyes were filled with hatred and vigilance when they looked at me, so I was terrified and quickly turned around to escape. But after running a few steps, I actually—actually felt that I should obey the white wolf. It was so powerful, so charming—a natural master.

“Subsequently, my companions and I—as well as the other hunters—have been following it, helping it eliminate traps, drive away prey, and finish off enemies. Now that I think about it, I wouldn’t be able to recognize myself. I’ve willingly done so many irrational things. I-I suspect that my mind was controlled by it…” At this point, a horrified and confused expression couldn’t help but appear on Roen’s face.

He paused and said, “That white wolf will eat a person regularly. My two companions died in such a manner, but I wasn’t sad at all back then. I felt that all was fine as long as Master was satisfied…”

At this moment, a sentence surfaced in Long Yuehong’s mind: Holding a candle to the devil.

Long Yuehong’s feelings intensified when he recalled the Ruin Hunters’ relentless charge. At the same time, he sensed a problem and couldn’t help but ask, “When you encountered the white wolf, your companions were bewitched, but you were fine and could turn around to escape?”

“Yes.” Roen gave an affirmative answer.

Long Yuehong asked, “Were you walking at the back of the team back then?”