Huo Ren dozed off in a daze, suddenly awakened by the sound of a gunshot tearing through the air.
He instantly sat up, reaching out for Yao Yao’s hand but grabbed at thin air.
Another two gunshots rang out the next second, startling birds in the distance into frantic flight.
“Down!” Xie Lianyun slapped his palm: “Long-ge’s marksmanship is impressive!”
Yao Yao was squatting nearby breaking up firewood: “When can we eat?”
“Not processed yet, wait a bit.”
Chi Ji was too exhausted from setting up the tent, now sleeping so deeply that not even thunderstorms could wake him.
The others, however, were bursting with energy, pondering midnight snacks at two in the morning.
Huo Ren crawled out of his sleeping bag, peering over the edge of the tent to see what they were doing.
“Ren Ren’s awake? Come help.” Long Jia glanced over, holding two long legs: “This one… is a roe deer, right?”
“The meat isn’t much, but it’s delicious to eat,” Xie Lianyun said satisfied: “Enough for the six of us to share.”
Huo Ren hastily put on a jacket and trousers to help with the prey, while Bo Jue had already sharpened the knife and brought a basin over.
“I’ll do it.”
His long hair was tied back with a deep blue ribbon, giving off a bit of a French noble vibe, his knife skillfully slicing from the throat to the end, adeptly helping to separate the skin and flesh.
The others, having never dealt with this task, clumsily helped hold down the deer’s legs, as if fearing it might suddenly come back to life.
After a whole piece of musk deer skin was peeled off, Bo Jue held it up for inspection: “Three bullet holes, the first two hit the leg and belly, the third went through the eye, a pity for this skin.”
Long Jia humbly nodded: “My skills are not refined.”
Xie Lianyun vaguely felt he was the only pampered one left, attempting to help make a fire.
However, Huo Ren had already prepared the charcoal and spices, even setting up a grill on a smokeless stove: “Uncle Jiang even brought me a bottle of Lao Gan Ma.”
“Don’t use that, he doesn’t know cooking—just brush with pepper salt and sprinkle some cumin, what we’re after is the original flavor.”
The others helped tidy up bowls, utensils, and chairs, occasionally warming their hands and clothes by the stove, Long Jia squatting beside the deer, carefully watching Bo Jue bleed and butcher, chin propped in fascination.
The three special forces cameramen had gone their separate ways, the scene too gory to use any footage.
“What are you looking at?” Bo Jue, rolling up his sleeves to remove the innards, looked more like a meticulous Doctor Bo from a medical school than a butcher, despite the blood on his disposable gloves.
Long Jia, smiling, reached out to tuck a stray hair behind Bo Jue’s ear: “Learning from Teacher Bo.”
Bo Jue dodged, his knife flipping skillfully, tone subtly prickly: “Mr. Long, it’s better to keep some distance from an ex-boyfriend.”
His words were sharp, but Long Jia seemed even more pleased as if knowing the other had finally moved on, no longer pained by the choice.
“By that logic, we should sleep together tonight, with a pillow between us for politeness,” he said meaningfully: “The wind’s strong in the mountains, who’ll it be blamed on if it falls?”
Bo Jue, face reddening, scolded him in a suppressed voice: “Why not just sleep at separate ends, what are you thinking?”
“Let’s sleep at one end,” Long Jia said softly: “Anger aside, I’m still worried you’ll be cold at night.”
Someone turned away, cheeks still flushed.
The deer was split open, cleaned of innards, and placed on the barbecue grill.
The beauty of the smokeless stove was that it allowed smoke to cling to the ground and climb along trees, disappearing before reaching the canopy.
Even in broad daylight, cooking, and boiling water, no movement was visible from afar.
The wild deer from the mountains, well-exercised and caught in spring, offered meat that was perfectly lean and fatty, sizzling with oil once grilled.
Mei Shengyao hummed a tune while making juice, Xie Lianyun, knife in hand, poked holes while calculating how much each of the six could eat.
Soon after, the eastern tent rustled, and Chi Ji, in pajamas, sleepily peeked out: “Smells good… what are you grilling?”
Huo Ren waved him over: “It’s almost done, come eat.”
The six feasted amidst the mountain fog, sleeping soundly with full bellies.
Throughout, three took turns peeking out of the tent to check the distance light, reassured only when it remained off, then returning to their snores.
They slept until nine in the morning.
Upon waking, Huo Ren saw two cameramen perched on a tree branch ten meters high, filming the distant scenery.
He silently applauded their professionalism, estimating the distance.
Today required a bike ride to a new location, moving from Wu Bu Mountain to Qiu Feng Mountain.
Before the shoot, they had changed their license plates early to avoid electronic scanning, switched them again upon disembarking, and stripped the car of its color stickers, turning the black off-road vehicle into navy blue, hidden in a previously scouted secluded spot.
But staying too long could lead to discovery, so caution was advised.
Qiu Feng and Ba Lu Mountains had different types of vehicles parked, running towards the far edges where dense forests offered the best cover from drone scans.
Packing up, each carried twenty to thirty kilograms of gear, heading to the next starting point.
Huo Ren led the way, occasionally checking his teammates’ physical condition, and allowing brief rests.
Long, Chi, and Yao, outdoor enthusiasts, felt liberated, not tiring even after an afternoon’s ride.
Xie Lianyun, pale and panting as if blowing bellows.
Huo Ren helped with passing water and patting the back, his expression full of sympathy: “Yun-ge, think about the concert coming up soon. This is also a form of advanced physical training.”
Xie Lianyun’s complexion was originally pale, but the thought of having to rehearse for the concert once they returned instantly turned him deathly pale.
“Then, going back, do we still, still run ten kilometers?”
“How about a discount?” Huo Ren uncertainly said: “How about running eight kilometers a day?”
“That’s basically no difference at all!! Is a discount even a discount!!!”
The roe deer they hunted yesterday wasn’t completely eaten. Before going to sleep, it was cut into pepper salt strips and stored in a fresh-keeping box, now all eaten up as provisions.
The physical activity from fleeing for their lives was too exhausting, and eating energy bars without warmth was far from enough. They needed ample protein and carbohydrates.
By the time the six of them settled halfway up Qiu Feng Mountain, it was already 5:30 in the evening. They had ridden about fifteen kilometers, all the while terrified of encountering backpacking hikers.
After finally finding a good campsite, they still had to force themselves to continue working by setting up tents and digging a wild stove, essentially extending their physical training with more labor.
Bo Jue was almost out of breath when he got off the cross-country bike, and lay down on his unspread sleeping bag to rest, making sure not a single hair fell outside on the dirt, angling himself perfectly.
Mei Shengyao didn’t join the tent-pitching group, busying himself with something for a long time before slapping his palm and declaring: “Done!”
Huo Ren was about to go work on the stove when he suddenly heard the bubbling sound of boiling water.
“Wait—where’s that coming from?!”
“We’re having hotpot tonight.” Mei Shengyao held up two packets of hotpot ingredients and vermicelli, smilingly asking: “Ren-ge, which staple do you want?”
A certain young genius, was not only burdened with a heap of must-answer questions but also carried a bag of extra credit.
He brought a solar battery, connected it to a small pot, and like magic, produced an array of essential hotpot ingredients.
A bag of Hai Di Lao tomato base was poured in, and the plain water immediately turned into a rich and fragrant broth.
“Beef tripe, seafood mushrooms, baby cabbage, yellow throat…” Mei Shengyao took out vacuum-packed ingredients one by one, while Xie Lianyun had already started ladling hot soup to drink.
Mei Shengyao, undisturbed, tilted his head to call Long Jia.
“Long-ge! Do we still have pineapple?”
“I’ve got one in the side pocket of my backpack.”
“That’s enough!”
The pineapple, once cut and dipped in salt water, silently spread its sweet and sour fragrance again, reminiscent of spring.
Huo Ren initially resisted the urge to drink the soup, prioritizing work before eating.
But the sweet aroma of the pineapple made him circle around a few times before quickly indulging in several pieces.
Bo Jue slowly rose from the dead: “It smells so good… help me up…”
Huo Ren fed him a slice with a fork: “Jue-ge, sweet isn’t it?”
“Sweet enough to cry.” Bo Jue whimpered: “I miss the cherries at home…”
The six of them, accustomed to a luxurious life, were actually not very used to an environment where everything had to be done by oneself.
Fortunately, having each other’s company, and just seeing their companions around them, made even the tiredness seem bearable for a bit longer.
Mei Shengyao put dozens of meat and vegetable ingredients into the pot, turning the tomato soup into beef broth, now into cabbage broth, eventually becoming a complete hodgepodge.
The hotpot ingredients and vermicelli were all eaten up, and in the end, three or four people shared the bottom of the pot, even remembering to share a bowl with the camera crew.
The warmth from the soup and food made drowsiness creep in silently like the night mist in the mountains.
They hurriedly wiped down with towels, set their timers, and went straight to sleep.
Remembering to say goodnight through the tents.
Bo Jue, accustomed to it, curled up into Long Jia’s embrace, breathing long and gentle.
Mei Shengyao and Huo Ren, like little lions and wolves, slept curled up together, wrapped in a blanket.
Chi Ji, having eaten his fill, felt much better, and dragged Xie Lianyun to set up several traps nearby, sprinkling them with corn kernels and cotton candy.
“Wild animals don’t eat cotton candy.” Xie Lianyun adjusted his glasses and said: “Just put some millet and black rice, that’s enough.”
“What if?” Chi Ji looked up at him.
“…Then give me two pieces to put in, don’t waste food.”
At three o’clock in the morning, Huo Ren’s timer vibrated on time.
He quickly woke up, turned off the vibration with one hand, pulled the blanket over Mei Shengyao, who was sleeping in an octopus position, then crawled out to check the light.
It was off, no issue.
Huo Ren breathed a sigh of relief, preparing to pull the tent flap down again.
Suddenly, the light turned on to yellow and started flashing urgently.
“It’s a drone—everyone wake up, a drone is coming!!”