After walking for more than an hour, they encountered three more corpses. This mortality rate was indeed quite careless about human life.

Xiao Feng glanced at the man behind him, who had fallen to the ground with a sunken chest, and asked nonchalantly, "For working so hard, the reward must be generous, right?"

Hu Zhenqing chuckled bitterly, "Not really generous. Each of us gets only three million, with another two million after the task is done. Actually, everyone knows we're just here to die for the foreigners."

"If you know it's a death mission, then why did you still come?" Lu Yao asked, puzzled.

Hu Zhenqing's smile grew more bitter as he replied, "Some of us are deep in debt because of gambling, others are fugitives, living their lives on the run.

Everyone is thinking of making a fortune, then living the rest of their life comfortably, just getting by. We all know that more than half of us won't make it, but each believes they will be among the lucky few who survive."

"Aren't you afraid of retaliation for taking the money and not completing the job?" Lu Yao pursued her question.

"Afraid!" Hu Zhenqing nodded earnestly. "But moving forward means death, while going back gives us a chance to live, and live well. If it were you, what choice would you make?"

Lu Yao was suddenly at a loss for words.

She thought people like Hu Zhenqing were quite foolish, yet his reasons were so reasonable.

This made her think of a saying: Never try to argue with a fool because they will end up making you think from a fool's perspective.

In the end, you can't even tell who's the fool anymore.

"Have you withdrawn the three million from your bank account yet?" Lu Yao asked.

Hu Zhenqing immediately went on alert, "What do you mean by that?"

Lu Yao casually explained, "Nothing, just worried that when the time comes, you won't be able to withdraw the money if it just sits there."

"No, I checked with my phone. The full three million is there, and I've received the text notification," Hu Zhenqing responded indifferently.

Lu Yao sighed internally. She initially thought that the money in Hu Zhenqing's account would most likely be frozen, making it impossible for him to withdraw it later.

But now, it seems more likely that there's no three million in Hu Zhenqing's account at all.

Such fake transactions could be easily done with a simple Trojan, and for Lu Yao, it's a piece of cake.

If this guess is correct, it means that people like Hu Zhenqing are just being used for free, and even if they survive afterward, they won't get any benefits.

Thinking about this, Lu Yao couldn't help but lament the fact that there are too many fraudsters in this world, but even more fools, buying things at their own loss. It's truly pathetic and lamentable!

Seeing Lu Yao's expression, Xiao Feng walked over, patted her shoulder, and said, "Everyone has a bit of a gambling mentality. Even knowing the odds of losing are high, people still hope for a small gain from a big risk.

So it's not surprising that you find it hard to understand why someone would gamble their life for perhaps nonexistent five million. It just means you're still clearheaded.

There's nothing abnormal about what people like Hu Zhenqing are doing. Right now, the percentage of people who can earn five million in a lifetime is still too small."

After walking for nearly two more hours, Hu Zhenqing halted, pointed to an arched doorway ahead, and looked clearly frightened: "The spider is inside. I can only take you this far."

Xiao Feng calculated the time and suddenly asked, "So far, how long have you been down here?"

Hu Zhenqing frowned, thinking hard, and asked, "What day is it today?"

"The 10th," the little girl replied.

Hu Zhenqing nodded and said, "We came down on the morning of the 3rd, and if today's the 10th, it's exactly a week."

Everyone was left speechless at Hu Zhenqing's answer!

A week's time to get here, were you crawling all the way?

"Don't believe it, but it really was a week," Hu Zhenqing said helplessly. "Those foreigners are extremely afraid of dying. Usually, they have one person walk ahead a hundred meters, wait for a while, and only when they're sure it's safe do the others rush to catch up.

And then they repeat this process over and over.

If they don't encounter traps, it's fine, but if they do, it often takes a long time to handle it. Crossing the single log bridge, for instance, took two whole days."

"..." Xiao Feng and the others felt too tired to even make a sarcastic comment.

Given such a walking method, arriving here in a week was actually highly efficient.

However, this confirmed something for Xiao Feng—that Darcy and his group are not from the Devil's Concentration Camp, but likely from another organization.

Moreover, they didn't seem particularly eager, almost as if they were intentionally slacking off.

A moment later, Hu Zhenqing rubbed his hands, looking quite embarrassed, and said, "I won't accompany you further. Could I maybe have some food for my return?"

Xiao Feng readily agreed, "No problem."

Over the past few hours, Hu Zhenqing had indeed been useful, and now it was time to fulfill their promise. Xiao Feng would certainly not be ambiguous.

Handing over two bottles of water and five packs of beef jerky, Xiao Feng reminded him, "We weren't just scaring you earlier. The single log bridge is broken, and there are quite a few snakes crawling around. Are you sure you want to go back?"

Hu Zhenqing was silent for a while, then nodded heavily, "I'm sure! The road ahead is unknown, and dangers are bound to increase. I definitely won't make it to the end. Thanks for your concern."

Having said this much, Xiao Feng no longer tried to persuade him. The choice of which path to take was Hu Zhenqing's to make after all. Xiao Feng had already said what needed to be said.

If he perishes, it'll be his own doing.

After receiving the water and beef jerky, Hu Zhenqing thanked them again, then quickly turned and walked away, as if he were afraid Xiao Feng and the others would change their minds.

However, he had only taken a few steps when a voice called out from behind, "Wait!"

Hu Zhenqing froze and did not dare to continue, turning back to ask, "Is there something else?"

He feared that Xiao Feng and the others would send him into the arched doorway as cannon fodder.

Xiao Feng handed over a flashlight, "Take this. It might improve your chances of survival a little."

Hu Zhenqing was stunned.

At that moment, instead of feeling touched, he was instinctively wary, suspecting that going over might get him killed.

"No, it's alright. My broken flashlight can barely work," Hu Zhenqing hesitated for a while before choosing to refuse.

Xiao Feng shook his head and laughed, motioning that he was free to leave.

Although not explicitly stated, Hu Zhenqing's wariness spoke volumes about what he was thinking.

Since the well-intentioned offer was taken as a vice, Xiao Feng thought there was no reason to push and give him the flashlight anyway.

Whether turning back leads to survival or death, that depends on Hu Zhenqing's own fate.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.