aircannonsinc Chapter 450 Let's have a Ferrero Rocher
Chapter 450 Let's have a Ferrero Rocher
"Someone has fallen!"
A young man from Group B, his face ashen, pointed at the vast white void, his voice trembling.
Everyone stopped.
The people in Group A turned their heads, their gazes passing over the swirling snow curtain, and looked towards the end of the line.
A quick scan of the crowd revealed that, almost simultaneously, everyone realized—the short-haired girl was missing.
"Is...is it Emily?"
"She was just behind me—"
"Where are they? Where are they?!"
Some people started running back, but Xia Ning's voice was like a knife, blocking everyone's way.
"Don't look back, keep moving forward!"
The one-armed man from Group A had a livid face, and his lips trembled slightly: "But she—"
"She's dead." Xia Ning said calmly. "You can't bring her back, you can't save her, and it's no use looking at her."
"move on!"
The group resumed moving, but at a significantly slower pace.
The psychological impact was gradually eroding everyone's will.
Two people have already died before the two bodies have even been found.
Two lives!
That's it!
Lin Feng silently observed the team ahead, his brows slightly furrowed.
Not far behind him, Vassim's lips were tightly pursed, and it was unclear what he was thinking.
Evelyn half-supported and half-dragged Martha forward. Martha's breathing was heavy, but she didn't utter a sound, gritting her teeth as she followed beside Evelyn.
Finally, someone from Team B spoke up.
It was a young blond man, who looked to be in his early twenties. His voice wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear in the deathly silence.
"How about... we help them?"
He paused, seemingly realizing that what he said was somewhat inappropriate, but he continued anyway:
"Two people from Group A have already died. If the remaining elderly, weak, sick, and disabled continue like this, I'm afraid—"
He didn't finish speaking.
But everyone understood.
The people in Group B exchanged glances. Some nodded slightly, while others lowered their heads. No one spoke up in agreement, but no one explicitly objected either.
"That's the karma they have to bear!"
Martha's voice came from the back of the group, and everyone's eyes turned to her.
The old woman was hunched over, but her eyes behind her glasses remained clear.
"We cannot interfere."
"The purpose of this mission... is to eliminate the weak!"
Martha lowered her head, looking at her withered, veiny hands, and a bitter smile appeared on her lips.
"Although... I am also a weakling."
"You're just physically weak," Lin Feng's voice came from ahead.
"But your experience and wisdom are not lacking."
Martha paused for a moment.
Something flickered slightly in those clear eyes.
........................
The team struggled in the wind and snow for nearly half an hour.
Just when everyone thought they were about to give up, a dark gap appeared in the mountain wall ahead.
It was a natural cave with a small entrance, but the space extending inside was quite spacious.
Xia Ning stopped and turned to face the crowd.
"Everyone, let's go into the cave and rest for a bit."
"The location of the corpse is not far ahead. Everyone, hurry up and replenish your strength."
The chosen ones filed into the cave.
The temperature inside the cave was much higher than outside. Although it wasn't exactly warm, at least it kept you away from the fierce wind that could freeze you to the bone.
Everyone found a place to sit down, took off their backpacks that were soaked with snow water, and unzipped them.
Cookies.
Beef jerky.
Thermos flask.
The aroma of food filled the small space, mingling with the smell of sweat and the dampness of snowmelt emanating from everyone.
No one speaks.
The sounds of chewing, swallowing, twisting the lid of a kettle, and rubbing fabric together created a strange tranquility in the cave.
Lin Feng leaned against the cave wall, took two bites of the biscuit in his hand and then stopped eating. His gaze swept over the faces of the people in Group A, then returned to the snow stains on the toes of his boots.
"Lin Feng".
Xia Ning's voice came from a corner of the cave.
Lin Feng looked up and saw her standing in a relatively secluded corner deep in the cave, her clear, cold eyes looking at him.
He got up and walked over.
The two stood facing each other in the corner, just in time to avoid being seen by others.
Xia Ning took a step closer and lowered her voice: "I've already spoken with Elder Song Yao. Tonight, we'll proceed as planned."
Lin Feng nodded and took out a Ferrero Rocher wrapped in gold foil from his spatial storage.
He peeled off the foil, revealing the gilded hazelnut chocolate shell inside, and handed it over.
"Would you like a Ferrero Rocher?"
Xia Ning glanced down at the chocolate but did not reach out to take it.
"Okay." Her voice was soft, "But... you have to feed me with your mouth."
Lin Feng smiled faintly and uttered two words in a low voice: "Mischievous."
As soon as he finished speaking, he put the chocolate in his mouth, leaned down and kissed Xia Ning's lips, slowly transferring the chocolate to her.
Just as she was about to step back slightly, Xia Ning reached out and wrapped her arms around him, refusing to let go.
Their lips intertwined, separated by a silky Ferrero Rocher chocolate, lingering tenderly for a full two minutes before slowly separating.
Then, Xia Ning gently patted Lin Feng's lower back, her eyes smiling, "Go back to your Group B, be careful on the way down the mountain."
Lin Feng replied gently, "Understood."
He turned around and walked back to his team, picked up the thermos, and slowly drank a few sips of hot water.
........................
About seven minutes later, Xia Ning raised an eyebrow slightly and uttered two words: "Let's go."
Upon hearing this, everyone stood up.
The team emerged from the cave once more.
The wind and snow had stopped, and sunlight poured down through the gaps in the clouds, gilding the entire snow-capped mountain with a layer of shattered gold.
Very beautiful.
But no one looked up.
The group followed Xia Ning and trekked uphill for a while longer.
Then Xia Ning stopped.
She stood on the edge of an ice slope. In front of her, a small section of a black marker pole was visible on the snow-covered ice. The red cloth strip on the pole had long since frozen into ice shards and hung there motionless.
She turned around and faced the crowd:
"The temple has already sent people to drag the body out of the ice crevice in advance, saving you the trouble of going down into the ice crevice."
Xia Ning raised her hand and pointed in the direction of the marker pole:
"Go get to work."
Lin Feng took the first step, his boots crunching as they hit the snow.
Wasim followed behind him.
The people in Group A also moved, but their steps were noticeably hesitant.
The ice slope is not long; it only takes a dozen or so steps to reach it.
Lin Feng squatted down and reached out to brush away the accumulated snow.
The snowflakes dispersed, revealing the pale, bluish-white surface beneath.
It was a young face with delicate features, and one could still vaguely see the beauty she had possessed in her previous life between her brows and eyes.
But at this moment, the face had completely lost its color, the skin had turned an unnatural bluish-gray, the lips had frozen into a deep purple, and were slightly parted, revealing the equally purple gums inside.
A layer of white frost clung to her eyelashes, her eyes were half-closed, and her pupils were cloudy, like two glass beads covered in dust.
Her long, black hair froze into strands, scattered in the snow.
The red and white down jacket for mountaineering had its left sleeve torn open at the elbow, revealing a bluish-purple forearm underneath...