As the large wolf stood just beyond the tree line, a soldier managed to spot it peeking from between the trees, causing his eyes to widen in shock.
"U...uhhh... boss? What kind of wolf is that?"
The question prompted the captain to swivel his head immediately, already on edge before the question. After the question was raised, the boss, Zhang Lei, immediately looked towards the direction the soldier pointed.
However, upon looking at where the soldier pointed, the captain saw nothing, even after looking for multiple seconds as sparse gunfire sounded around him.
"What the hell are you talking about? It's probably just a damn wolf, moron," the captain huffed as he remained vigilant, looking towards the tree line.
Just as the soldier was about to respond, a large wolf came bounding out of the forest. It was the male wolf that Chen Xuan had previously seen.
It came bounding out, sprinting with immense speed, clocking in at about 20 m/s, bounding in faster than anyone could react. What is surprising was that this speed was likely only the starting speed from a short buildup distance.
As the wolf bounded in, it dashed towards one of the recently injured people that hadn't had the chance to back up fully into the center.
"H...hey! Fire! Just don't hit him!" the commander yelled, quick to action due to his experience, already raising his rifle towards the escaping wolf, his finger moving to the trigger.
However, before the captain could fire, the wolf had already dragged the soldier near to the tree line.
"DAMMIT! AIM HIGH!"
With the order, multiple soldiers knelt down, aiming above the downed soldier as they fired, managing to shoot near the wolf, startling it and causing it to drop the soldier from its jaws.
A few of the bullets managed to graze the wolf, causing blood to splatter. However, the soldiers were stunned as the wolf kept on running, retreating beyond the tree line, not injured as heavily as it should have been.
"What the hell is that thing?!" a few soldiers yelled as they saw the wolf get shot but still keep running.
This time, one of the researchers chimed in, originally just cowering in the middle and yelling in shock.
"I...I...It's a h...himalayan w...wolf," one man stuttered out, still scared for his life.
At this time, the large wolf came out once more, quickly scooping up the soldier that had started to hop back to the ground, snatching him before he could react and taking him to the woods.
Immediately after, a scream sounded out before being silenced after but a moment. Everyone in the group tensed while the researchers cried out, screaming or gasping.
Seizing the opportunity, another large wolf, though smaller than the biggest one, bounded out, sprinting just past the group's circle, snatching up the corpse of the first deceased man.
Without the resistance of the soldier, due to his being dead, the wolf managed to get away quickly before the soldiers could react in time. The second wolf was perfectly coordinated, utilizing the shock and surprise from the opportunity.
Immediately after the first dead soldier was dragged away into the underbrush, a loud howl resounded, prompting the bushes surrounding the group to quickly quiet down. A minute later, the bushes stilled, silence taking its sovereignty back. Even the sound of birds had quieted from before.
Left with only the faint sound of birds chirping and the sobs of the researchers, the group stayed on edge, not moving from the tiny clearing and still aiming towards the woods surrounding them.
Every one of the soldiers was still tense, not wishing to end up injured just due to carelessness.
After a minute or so, Zhang Lei quietly asked any of the scientists, "Hey, which direction is the nearest exit of the forest?"
"I... it's the direction we came from."
This statement concerned the captain, who didn't want to travel for hours if possible.
He did, however, have no real choice, looking around at the people in the middle of the makeshift circle.
Within the center sat a dozen researchers along with one injured soldier who had his leg mauled.othwr than the injured soldier, all the other researchers were unharmed. They were however, in shock, which wasn't optimal.
"OK, listen you lot, we need to get up and get going now."
Zhang Lei then looked around at his soldiers to see who was left that was uninjured. "Ma Wei, you carry Yue Zhen and we will protect you."
"How do we get out boss? What if those wolves come back when we are in the woods and not in a small clearing like this?"
Clicking his tongue, the commander thought for a moment, looking towards the group thoughtfully before shaking his head to himself.
"Staggered column formation, moving in the direction we came from. The scientists go in the center, I'll be in the front."
Without hesitation, the soldiers moved into their positions as the captain went to the scientists who were still cowering.
"Get up or we'll leave you. You're dead weight, now get up and go to the center, copy my soldiers."
Hid voice was stern and firm, there was no denying that he would likely leave them if they didn't listen.
This time, no one dared to disobey, getting up and walking to where they were told. Some of the researchers legs shook, others had wet pants while others had stained cheeks from tears.
"Move out men! Keep your guard up!" Zhang Lei barked, immediately causing the soldiers to start moving. The scientists stumbled or shook as they walked, copying what the other soldiers were doing.
The injured soldier, was being carried by one of the largest men, Ma Wei, on his back. Both of them aiming their rifles in different directions. Ma Wei aiming to one side while Yue Zhen, the injured soldier, was looking around with his rifle raised.
Like this, the group of researchers and their guardians slowly moved out, attempting to slowly make their way back in the direction they came from.