"You dare touch her?!" I flicked open my folding knife. "Think you're special with that toy?"
Liu Yang and Wang Pangzi's faces darkened.
"Met shameless people, but never *this* shameless." I tossed the knife to Shu Tong with a cocky grin. "Hold this for me."
(Later, Wu Yanxin would say I looked "like a preening peacock.")
Shu Tong caught it, alarmed. "Why give me your weapon? Expect me to fight them?"
"Just storing it. These clowns aren't worth steel." I smirked at Liu Yang. "Bare hands'll do."
Wang Pangzi snatched a wooden branch, face purple with rage. "No weapon? Big talk! Let me teach you humility!" He charged. "Stay back! I'll handle him solo!"
*My thoughts exactly.*
At three meters, I drew my pistol and fired.
***Thwip—***
My first real shot. Previously, it'd just been props.
But... *that sound?* A popped balloon was louder. If Wang Pangzi's branch hadn't exploded, I'd swear Jiyu gave me a toy.
The pathetic *thwip* froze everyone. *That* was a gunshot?
Wang Pangzi stared at the smoking pistol, then the splintered wood in his hand. He collapsed backward—right into the spilled boiling water. His scream pierced the air.
"H-how... a gun?!" Liu Yang gripped his knife, sweat beading on his forehead. "Fake! Students don't carry—!"
The fear in his eyes told me the bluff worked.
"Wanna test it? Head or gut—your choice." I theatrically racked the slide.
But *why* did I have a gun? How to explain? *Cop?* But after rescue...
*Fine. Cop it is.*
I flashed my wallet—ID, student card, driver's license blurred together. "Undercover police."
The boys who'd advanced with Wang Pangzi wilted like scorched grass, retreating behind Liu Yang.
"Seventeen... a cop? Impossible!" Liu Yang's trembling voice betrayed him.
"Who said I'm seventeen? Pushing twenty-seven. Baby face." I kept my tone icy. "Believe what you want."
*Had he committed crimes before?*
"Officer Du!" Wu Yanxin chimed in, hamming a Hong Kong cop drama accent. "This scumbag poisoned me! Illegal? Can you execute him?"
Others gaped. Only she looked delighted. She knew my every secret.
"Attempted poisoning? Felony. No deaths... no execution. But prison? Definitely."
"How long?"
"Five to six years. Less with good behavior..." Our improv act left the crowd stunned.
"Cop or not, we're still trapped!" Liu Yang collapsed, laughter turning hysterical. "We'll die here! Rot! Feed maggots! You too!"
Madness or despair? His point stood: if this was planned, rescue wouldn't come.
We weren't survivalists. Just kids.
But first—payback. I holstered my gun, hauled Liu Yang up, and drove my fist into his nose. Blood sprayed as he crashed down.
*That was for Wu Yanxin.*
"You hit me!" He wiped blood across his face, a grotesque mask. Snatching his knife, he lunged. "DIE!"
"Miaomiao!" Wu Yanxin tossed me a canvas bag—weighted like a rock, rope-handled.
I swung it like a flail. ***CRACK!*** The knife flew from his hand. Dropping the bag, I grabbed his collar and punched again. Harder. He hit the ground, motionless.
"Fair trade. You wanted me dead. I just want you hurting."
I flipped him with my foot, snapped a finger-thick branch, and brought it down on his back.
***THWACK!***
He writhed, cursing.
***THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!***
After ten strikes, his rolling slowed. Twenty—he curled fetal. Thirty—curses became pleas. Forty—whimpers. Shu Tong begged me to stop. Only at sixty did Wu Yanxin call it.
Liu Yang lay covered in blood welts, mechanically sobbing: "Sorry... wrong... mercy..."
"Help me drag him to the tent," Chu Yuan snapped. When no one moved, she glared. "Do it for *Du Miao*! If he dies, Du goes to jail! Without him, you'd all be—"
I silenced her. "My mess. I'll handle it."
Dragging Liu Yang by his collar, I dumped him in the medical tent. Chu Yuan treated his wounds—superficial lacerations, but his nose was definitely broken. I watched, ensuring the broken man didn't lash out.
Afterward, Shu Tong posted guards. Wu Yanxin, exhausted, slept against me. No one protested my idleness—not with Liu Yang's blood drying on my knuckles.
As I absently pinched Wu Yanxin's cheek, pain spiked between my brows. My gaze snapped to the treeline.
*There—the green wolf.*
Not a hallucination.
It stood draped in vines, emerald eyes holding human-like mockery. Wind blew ash into my eyes. I blinked—
It vanished.
But not before I saw it *smirk*.
*It wants me.*
Had it caused the crash? Shaking off paranoia, I gathered everyone.
"I need half the food," I stated flatly. "This was planned. I don't know why, but rescue isn't coming."
"So we save ourselves?" Shu Tong asked.
"Exactly." *And I must leave before that thing returns.* "I'll take three people tomorrow. Search downstream."
My "cop" status and violent display lent weight. We agreed: one more night. No rescue? I'd lead a team out.
Dawn brought no helicopters. Only despair.
My team: Liu Yang, Chu Yuan, and Wu Yanxin.
Wu Yanxin, still weak, insisted. "Leave me? I can't fight back if attacked!" Even Shu Tong's promise couldn't sway her. Her rare, fever-softened撒娇 broke my resolve. *How do I refuse her?*
Chu Yuan—"Sis Smut"—looked pure but spoke filth. A popular BL webcomic artist, her mind lived in the gutter. Since she'd decided Wu Yanxin and I were a "CP," her gaze turned our every interaction into fodder.
Her sole virtue? Doctor parents taught her field medicine. She'd set fractures. We needed her skills.
Liu Yang? Keeping him here risked chaos. His recovery was unnatural—yesterday's beating nearly healed overnight. Like Jiyu's steel-twisting strength... *unnerving*.
We set out downstream. The dry riverbed choked with ancient trees. Liu Yang hacked at vines, cursing "obstacles"—but his glare aimed at me.
I carried Wu Yanxin on my back. She blew in my ear, pinched my lobes—still finding joy in chaos. The green wolf stayed hidden, but my brow throbbed steadily. *Watching.*
At dusk, we camped on level ground. I'd warned Chu Yuan Wu Yanxin was female—not that it mattered. Her eyes gleamed as they shared a tent. *Poor Yanxin.*
By the fire, Liu Yang broke the silence. "Really a cop?"
I hesitated. The lie served its purpose. Now, truth might prevent another meltdown.
"No." Embers glowed white in the dark. "Would you have listened otherwise?"
"Then the gun? Not a toy!"
"People want me dead." I exaggerated Jiyu's warning. "Shoot first or be shot."
"Retired mercenary?!" Liu Yang's eyes lit up.
*I—* *Am I your father?!*
"Novels write it all the time! Retired special forces! Schoolyard romances! Beating up rich bullies..."
*I—* Speechless. Did anyone believe that? Mercenaries were grizzly bears. Not students. Not hiding.
And why would one enroll in high school? *Reincarnation?*