Zhuang Xiao lightly reached out her finger and held it under the young man’s nose—warm breath lingered at her fingertips.

She had lost count of how many times she had checked whether this person was still breathing.

Ten times? Twenty times? Or even more?

In any case, up to now, his breathing was steady, body temperature normal—there wasn’t the slightest sign of someone on the brink of death.

But… he also showed no signs of waking up.

Still, she was immensely grateful. At least he was alive.

Being alive was good.

Otherwise, in an environment like this, having a corpse lying next to her would only make things even more terrifying.

Actually, the moment she saw him tumbling down the slope, she had already done a rough check of his condition. Aside from a few light scrapes, there were no signs of broken bones in any critical areas like his limbs or ribs.

As for why he still hadn’t woken up?

Her initial guess was that he might’ve sustained internal injuries—or maybe a head injury—when he fell.

After trying to revive him by pressing on his philtrum and failing, she gave up.

Zhuang Xiao sighed quietly in her heart. Sigh… Who knows when this guy will finally wake up.

She stretched her slightly numb legs, scooted herself back under the bushes about two meters away from the man, hugged her knees, rested her chin on her backpack, and kept her eyes on the figure lying in the grass.

The young man’s face was pale and gaunt. Bruises were clearly visible on his philtrum from when she had tried to revive him. Feeling a little embarrassed, Zhuang Xiao averted her gaze downward.

His clothes were a coarse brown, appearing to be made of some kind of plant fiber.

Except for a silver-gray metal wristwatch on his exposed wrist, he didn’t have any personal items like a phone or wallet that might reveal his identity.

And come to think of it, her own situation wasn’t much better than his.

If she still had her phone, she could’ve at least called for help.

She could’ve saved herself, and this man too, in one go.

But fate had already made the choice for her. Among all the items she’d had on her, the only two things that could prove her identity—her phone and her ID—were both gone.

It was… unbelievably frustrating.

Just like the current situation she found herself in. Seriously—she had only gone out for a simple hike.

Did it really have to end with her waking up in a place this bizarre and eerie?

Zhuang Xiao sighed again, louder this time.

Maybe… she’d have to survive in the wild on her own?

She couldn’t just sit here and wait to die with this guy.

The sun was gradually sinking, and night was about to fall.

The wilderness around her was eerily quiet, thick with vegetation. Flowers the size of basins bloomed wildly. Giant ancient trees towered high, seemingly reaching into the clouds. Everything in sight felt surreal and distorted.

It felt like a massive, unknown creature could appear at any moment and swallow her whole.

Wouldn’t even leave her time to dig her own grave.

Basically, even the slightest rustle made her feel on edge, like she was walking on a knife’s edge, nerves taut.

The only thing giving her a bit of comfort… was the unconscious young man nearby.

No matter how she looked at it, staying overnight in this wilderness was not a smart decision. But?

Venturing into a strange, creepy world alone wasn’t exactly a brilliant plan either—especially since she might encounter someone with bad intentions.

Two hours ago.

Just as Zhuang Xiao was about to leave in search of a way out, hidden in the bushes, she had personally witnessed a murder—or maybe just a body being dumped.

In that instant, whatever little courage she had to brave the wild alone instantly crumbled to dust.

People tend to sympathize with the weak.

And it was obvious: whether it was outright murder or just a corpse disposal, the people up on the slope were clearly not good people.

I mean, what kind of “kind and innocent” person dumps bodies in the wilderness?

In short, whether she assessed the natural dangers or the human threats, this world was not friendly.

In fact, it was downright hostile.

There were “wolves and tigers” outside, and a body lying next to her—life was tough…

Given the choice between dying early or suffering through exposure, she picked the latter.

If a wild beast came, well—at least there was a whole slab of meat next to her to distract it!

Later—many times later—she would thank her luck that the “slab of meat” woke up, and she ended up following him out.

Otherwise, the two of them together wouldn’t have even made up half a slab of meat.

When Zhuang Xiao placed her finger under his nose for the eighth time that day, Huo Xiao had already woken up.

His mind was still foggy, but he could more or less recall what had happened.

Yes. He, Huo Xiao—former team leader of one of the top-three mercenary squads in combat strength—had actually been ambushed and dumped like a corpse.

If his old teammates found out, they’d laugh themselves silly.

To be honest, he didn’t want to die at all.

Even though he had left the mercenary group and departed the safe zone—even though he was now in a broken, frail body that felt practically useless—he still wanted to live.

If a person isn’t even afraid of death, what else in this world could possibly scare him?

On the wastelands, surviving was the most terrifying thing of all.

Originally, Huo Xiao had planned to keep pretending to be unconscious and wait until the girl left before sneaking off.

After all, in this wasteland world, you couldn’t judge people by appearances. No matter how fragile she looked, with no fighting strength at all, he wouldn’t dare underestimate her.

Even a moment’s carelessness could get you killed.

And so, despite the intense radiation that afternoon, he gritted his teeth and stayed still for a whole hour.

Then he passed out from heatstroke.

While drifting in and out, he vaguely heard the girl mumbling to herself—sometimes grumbling, sometimes pitiful—and even cursing him a bit in the process.

The moisture in the ground was getting heavier.

Huo Xiao didn’t know why this girl still hadn’t left, but he had to wake up.

Because at night, the wastelands belonged to mutant beasts.

Even though this area was supposedly cleared regularly by the base, no one could guarantee absolute safety.

In the wastelands, survival was already difficult. No one would gamble their life without reason.

And nightfall made it even worse.

Even the strongest mercenary squads—fully armed—would never choose to sleep in the open unless absolutely forced.

As for Huo Xiao now? There was no way he would.

A burning, stinging pain spread across his exposed skin—it had to be sunburn from the afternoon’s intense radiation.

Huo Xiao pushed himself up from the ground and slowly sat upright.

Hearing the rustle of grass, Zhuang Xiao looked up and saw the person she’d been watching all afternoon sit up. “You’re awake!”

She jumped up from the ground and ran toward him.

Seeing someone suddenly rush at him, Huo Xiao instinctively raised his arms to defend himself, shielding his chest.

Zhuang Xiao skidded to a halt and slowly backed away.

Huo Xiao noticed how cautious the girl was—almost more nervous than him.

He let out a self-deprecating laugh and slowly lowered his hands.

Using both hands to support himself, he got to his feet.

They had spent the whole afternoon together, and the girl had been fully awake the entire time. If she wanted to kill him, she would’ve done it already.

Maybe… he was just being overly paranoid.

Huo Xiao began making his way up the slope.

By now, the sky was growing darker, and not a single figure could be seen in the wilderness—only deepening the fear in his heart.

This place was full of hidden dangers, and he had only one thought: get back as soon as possible.

Seeing the young man stumbling his way up the hill without even glancing back, Zhuang Xiao hesitated for a second, then quickly chased after him.

“Hey! Wait for me…”