Chapter 176 — Prey and Hunter
"After the safety training," Nina said with a smile,
"I'll probably start by scouting for traps."
"Jake would make a good partner."
"Cut! Perfect!"
Michael nodded in satisfaction.
"Once we enter the forest, we'll shoot another segment—
tracking signs of the Mountain Men."
Nina acknowledged him with a nod and returned to the assembled group.
Michael then turned to Gideon.
"Father, we're ready on our end."
After the training, Gideon had gathered everyone in one place.
He released the captured Mountain Man and demonstrated its weaknesses, making sure everyone personally practiced simulated attacks.
Only then did he distribute their mission.
"Capture Mountain Men alive," Gideon announced through a megaphone.
"If you encounter danger, your own life takes priority."
"Move out!"
Fully geared up, the group advanced into the forest in triad wedge formations.
Gideon remained at the center, directing operations.
This increased the search area while ensuring nearby teammates could respond instantly if something went wrong.
Michael had initially wanted each team to split up—
Gideon rejected the idea outright.
Never give the enemy a chance to isolate you.
"Bzz—bzz…"
Static crackled through the radios.
"'No-Curiosity' Team checking in. Area secure."
"'Finish-It' Team reporting—no Mountain Men found."
"'Run-Like-Hell' Team checking in…"
The updates flowed through the channels.
Each radio had a talisman tied to it—
thirty-year-grade holy relics.
To prevent interference from malicious forces, every team had been issued one before departure.
Gideon glanced at his dead phone signal.
They had already gone quite deep.
The deeper they moved, the thicker the oppressive presence became.
The low-grade holy items on Gideon lost their effectiveness entirely.
Using Holy Sight, he watched as the divine power from them was slowly drawn toward the depths of the forest.
"This feels like a stripping technique," he thought.
But the radios still worked.
Which meant relic-grade holy items remained unaffected.
---
"No-Curiosity" Team
Nina and Jake moved cautiously, tools in hand, scanning the ground.
As they passed through a patch of fallen leaves, Nina suddenly grabbed Jake's arm.
His raised foot froze mid-step—
mere inches from the ground.
"Cover me," she said calmly.
After signaling another team to stand guard, Nina crouched down.
Jake slowly withdrew his foot and positioned himself to shield her blind spots.
Using a stick, Nina gently brushed the leaves aside—
A rope snare emerged.
Following its line, she found the main trigger tied to a tree.
She was about to dismantle it, when Gideon's earlier words echoed in her mind.
"Never rush to disarm a trap. Observe first. Danger rarely comes alone."
Her eyes widened.
Sure enough—
two more rope mechanisms lay hidden nearby.
Had she acted earlier, they would've been caught instantly.
These Mountain Men were cunning.
Swish! Swish!
Several precise strikes—
the traps were destroyed.
Nina and Jake exchanged a nod before slipping into the brush.
---
Not far away…
A Mountain Man with no upper lip crouched behind a large tree.
"!"
Bow drawn, it tracked the pair's backs for a long time—
then lowered the weapon in frustration.
The human male constantly shielded blind angles with a plank.
There was no opening.
Angry, No-Upper-Lip slammed its fist into the tree trunk.
It was one of the tribe's best hunters, exceptionally skilled at trap placement.
Earlier, when the humans approached, its eyes had sparkled.
It had expected another easy kill.
It had even planned to capture the female alive—
to use as breeding stock.
Yet the humans detected the trap.
They even dismantled the secondary set.
Before today, these humans had never been this careful.
Similar scenes were unfolding across the forest.
Before long, Mountain Men began appearing more frequently, unable to stay hidden.
They were growing impatient.
---
"Run-Like-Hell" Team
Thunk!
A throwing axe slammed into a tree.
A head emerged from behind its trunk.
Jones swallowed hard.
The axe had missed him by mere centimeters.
If he hadn't dropped instantly, his skull would've been split in two.
When moving through the woods, always identify cover.
At the first sign of danger—hit the ground…
Jones wiped sweat from his brow.
Thank God I listened to the priest.
"Hey—check if it's gone!" Elena whispered, tugging his sleeve.
The curvy brunette lay flat on the ground now, fully clothed, wrapped in protective gear.
She and Jones had been paired together.
Originally, Elena had aimed to team up with Dale or Jake.
But after the training, everyone dismissed her as dead weight.
Only Jones approached her.
Though she knew his intentions weren't pure, she had no choice.
I'll make all of you regret this, she fumed internally.
Jones scanned carefully.
"They're still guarding."
Elena frowned.
"Can we trap one?"
She hated feeling hunted.
Jones' eyes spun.
"The priest said it—
the best way to lower an enemy's guard is deception."
He quickly devised a plan.
From his backpack, he pulled out a plastic bag.
Inside was a severed leg—
taken from the Mountain Man back at camp.
"Oh—god…"
The stench burst free.
Both of them pinched their noses.
"I'll smear the blood on myself," Jones whispered.
After syncing with the other teams, Jones began acting.
Soon, pained groans echoed through the forest.
Not far away, a Mountain Man's eyes lit up.
So the throw had connected.
Gurgling sounds rattled in its throat as it sprinted downhill.
Before long, it spotted the "wounded prey" beneath a tree.
The smell of blood intensified, driving it into a frenzy.
It accelerated—
And then—
Its body pitched forward.
Seeing the target fall, Elena immediately brought her weapon down on the Mountain Man's joints several more times, ensuring it wouldn't be able to get back up anytime soon.
Beside her, Jones sprang to his feet at once, pulling out a rope and binding the creature securely.
As previously agreed, the other teams only watched from a distance instead of assisting—avoiding any openings the Mountain Men could exploit.
Bang!
The captured monster was dragged back in front of Gideon.
"Oh my God! You really caught a Mountain Man!" Michael exclaimed excitedly, instantly swinging the camera toward the Run-Like-Hell Team.
"Of course—we caught it using a trap—" Jones struck a victorious pose.
"These idiots never look at the ground," Elena squeezed into frame, eager for attention.
While the two of them were being interviewed, Gideon carried the bound Mountain Man off to the side.
After questioning it using Psychological Counseling, his brow lifted slightly.
"All male captives are eaten. Females are used as breeding stock."
"Children born to captives are kept near the forest edge. Those born between Mountain Men are sent deep into the forest."
Gideon stroked his chin.
The creatures' reproductive system was even more twisted and elaborate than in the original story.
At the same time, he noticed something else.
This Mountain Man was noticeably weaker than the one they had encountered on the highway earlier.
With too little data, however, Gideon couldn't draw a definitive conclusion.
Once it was clear the creature had no more useful information to offer, Gideon had it identify the traps it had set.
After that, it was relegated to the role of reserve bait.
Soon after, good news streamed in from the teams scattered through the woods—more Mountain Men were being brought in.
"As expected," Gideon thought,
"once people stay alert, these horror-movie monsters have a hard time catching anyone off guard."
Through further questioning, he learned more.
The Mountain Men living on the forest's edge called themselves "First-Generation Attendants."
Their task was to hunt passing "fortunate ones" and deliver food to the depths of the forest.
The term First Generation referred to hybrids born of Mountain Men and ordinary humans.
They were strictly forbidden from entering the deeper forest and were condemned to guard the perimeter for life.
Gideon considered this carefully.
"Based on this, the Mountain Men appear to practice some form of bloodline selection."
As for what made the purer bloodline different, these creatures had no idea.
Those memories had been erased as well.
And from the title Attendants, it was clear they served something—
a demon or greater entity hiding in the forest.
So far, however, Gideon had found no sigils or markings tied to it.
One final piece of information caught his attention.
"There's a cabin in the forest," they said.
"A higher-generation Mountain Man lives there."
From their descriptions, this being came from deep within the forest and held an extremely high status.
Every Mountain Man at the perimeter obeyed its commands.
More importantly—it was powerful.
"Very tall. Strong enough to crush a tree with one hand. Its tail can suppress the First Generation's regenerative abilities."
Gideon recalled the description.
"That sounds similar to the ogre Jenny's father mentioned."
This powerful Mountain Man periodically traveled into the depths of the forest, bringing food and newborns with it.
Yet when it returned, the deformed infants were never brought back.
Coincidentally, one of the female Mountain Men was close to giving birth today—
and was currently in the cabin, waiting.
Gideon immediately ordered everyone to change direction and head for the forest cabin.
Not long after they left, a slender figure appeared atop a tree.
She wore a gray cloak, with a long, narrow case strapped to her back.
A breeze rustled through the canopy, branches knocking softly against each other.
And the figure vanished as if she had never been there.
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