Chapter 62: Taking Them Down One by One
Fang Xiaocao never imagined that human skin masks—those legendary disguises from martial arts dramas—would appear right before her eyes in real life.
Their presence explained the second major doubt she had upon waking up.
When she first regained consciousness, she had noticed something strange about Zhi Qi and the others—their expressions were stiff and unnatural.
Initially, she thought it was because they believed she had lost her mind after stabbing Yun Luoshu.
But now…
She understood!
With an extra layer of skin covering their faces, it was no wonder their expressions looked so odd.
Even poorly done plastic surgery made facial expressions unnatural, let alone wearing a mask.
Of course, “human skin mask” was just a name.
The material of these people’s masks was actually silicone, crafted so thin that it looked just like real skin.
Then, there was the third doubt—
The tents!
Fang Xiaocao was certain that among her own backpack and those of Su Wanqing, Wen Shi, and Yun Luoshu, there were only sleeping bags, not any portable tents.
Even if Zhi Qi and Wan Xiaozhou had brought tents, they couldn’t have carried so many.
Lightweight and easy to store as they were, their backpacks had limited space. Each of them could have brought at most one.
Yet in the camp, there was a tent for every person.
Such an obvious mistake, yet she had overlooked it in the heat of the moment.
“Xiaocao, what do we do now?”
Yun Luoshu gripped the gun tightly, nervous.
“I’ll help you outside. You keep watch while I take them down one by one.”
Fang Xiaocao thought for a moment before speaking.
“Okay, I’ll follow your lead.”
Since Yun Luoshu’s legs were numbed by the anesthetic, she couldn’t move them at all. Fang Xiaocao had no choice but to half-drag, half-carry her out of the tent.
After propping Yun Luoshu against the tent for support, Fang Xiaocao took a deep breath and approached one of the tents.
The fact that the impostors each had their own tent made her plan much easier to execute.
She quietly crept into one of the tents—inside lay “Wen Shi.”
Fang Xiaocao pulled out a climbing rope, slipped it around “Wen Shi’s” neck, and covered her mouth with one hand. With the other, she raised a rock she had found earlier and brought it down hard on “Wen Shi’s” head.
At the same time, she pressed her hand firmly against “Wen Shi’s” mouth to muffle any sound.
She had used all her strength in that single strike.
Blood spilled instantly as “Wen Shi” convulsed a few times before going still.
Fang Xiaocao checked for breathing—still alive.
She sighed in relief.
Quickly, she tied “Wen Shi” up with the climbing rope. Then, she yanked off her socks and stuffed them into her mouth, sealing it shut with duct tape.
Killing “Su Wanqing” had been an act of self-defense—a necessary move to ensure her escape and rescue Yun Luoshu. That could be justified as an emergency measure.
But if she killed more—especially people who were unconscious and defenseless—that would be much harder to explain later.
She rifled through “Wen Shi’s” belongings and found exactly what she expected: a homemade pistol and a knife.
No communication devices.
This discovery reassured her. At least she didn’t have to worry about their disappearance immediately alerting their handlers.
Pulling out her phone, she opened the camera and began recording.
She aimed the lens at “Wen Shi’s” face and pressed record.
Then, she reached out and rubbed her fingers across “Wen Shi’s” cheek. Sure enough, the edge of a mask lifted slightly.
Fang Xiaocao’s eyes lit up.
Grabbing the edge, she peeled it back forcefully.
A full-face silicone mask came off, revealing a completely unfamiliar face underneath.
She held the mask up to the camera before stuffing it into her pocket.
After finishing the recording, she tried to send it.
She selected Wang Qiang’s WeChat…
[Failed to send!]
[Please check your network connection!]
Fang Xiaocao: !!!
She checked her phone again, her heart sinking.
Now, she understood why these people carried no communication tools.
There was no signal in this mountain.
No signal meant no internet.
No way to call for help.
With no choice but to move on, she secured “Wen Shi” with extra bindings and haphazardly wrapped some gauze around her head wound.
Then, she slipped the pistol into her pocket and picked up the blood-stained rock once more.
She smirked coldly and stepped into the next tent.
Inside lay “Wan Xiaozhou.”
She repeated the process—cover the mouth, strike the head.
This time, however, “Wan Xiaozhou” momentarily opened her eyes, staring straight at Fang Xiaocao before passing out.
That nearly made her heart jump out of her chest.
Checking for breath—alive.
Satisfied, she bound “Wan Xiaozhou” tightly with another climbing rope.
Same gagging procedure—socks, tape, done.
She searched the body—another identical pistol and knife.
The uniformity of their equipment hinted at a well-organized group.
Fang Xiaocao pocketed the gun and turned her gaze toward the last three tents.
One belonged to her.
One had been “Su Wanqing’s.”
The last one belonged to “Zhi Qi.”
She saved “Zhi Qi” for last—
Because she was the most likely to be the Scarred Man.
That man… unsettled her.
She still didn’t know how she had lost consciousness in the first place.
She approached one of the remaining tents and listened carefully—no sound inside.
Peeking through the flap, she found it empty.
“Not here.”
She moved on to the second tent.
Also empty!
“Am I really this unlucky?”
Muttering under her breath, she turned to the final tent.
She hesitated for a moment before discarding the rock and pulling out the homemade pistol instead.
If “Zhi Qi” really was the Scarred Man, she would be extremely dangerous.
Fang Xiaocao planned to use the gun to knock her out first. If that didn’t work, she wouldn’t hesitate to shoot.
She wasn’t an expert, but she had learned the basics of shooting during college military training.
At the very least, she knew how to fire a gun.
Standing before the last tent, she took a deep breath.
She lifted the flap, ready to enter—
But inside—
Nothing.
The tent was empty.
“This is bad!”
Fang Xiaocao’s heart clenched in alarm.
(End of Chapter 62)
