The boy raised his hand in a gesture, and the wolves’ howling came to an abrupt halt.
He led the Red Wolf slowly toward the vehicle, finally stopping at the front to lock eyes with Ronan Kendrick.
"It’s going to rain," he said.
Evelyn Ford glanced out the window. The weather wasn’t great, but there were no signs of rain.
Ronan Kendrick opened the car door and stepped out. The two of them spoke briefly, and when Ronan Kendrick returned, he announced that they were going to the boy’s home to shelter from the rain.
"Ronan Kendrick, are you serious? They look so bizarre. They can’t be normal. We should just get out of here."
Quincy hadn’t expected the boy’s family to look so peculiar. He found it hard to look them in the eye; they just made his skin crawl.
"He invited us over to shelter from the rain. If we refuse, I’m afraid we won’t make it out of the Rocksea Forbidden Zone."
Ronan Kendrick motioned for Quincy to look at the distant wolf pack. Quincy gulped and shakily got to his feet, holding Zoe.
"They remind me of those savages."
"They aren’t savages. Except for the middle-aged woman, the others’ intelligence seems to be normal."
After he spoke, Ronan Kendrick took a coat, draped it over Evelyn Ford’s shoulders, and led her out of the vehicle.
The RV couldn’t enter the woods, so it had to be stored away. If it were lost, Evelyn Ford would be heartbroken enough to cough up blood. Even though she had plenty of other vehicles in her pocket dimension, this Unimog was her absolute favorite.
The boy had already returned to the four people, leaving only the Red Wolf standing in place. He waved at Ronan Kendrick, then entered the woods with the others.
After Ethan Dawson and the others got out of the vehicle, Ronan Kendrick briefly explained the situation.
"Then let’s go. I’m actually quite curious why they live here."
Taylor Vance had been intrigued ever since the boy first appeared yesterday.
"All right. Everyone grab your backpacks. We’ll follow the Red Wolf into the woods."
"What about the RV? Should we leave two people here to guard it?"
"No need." Ronan Kendrick raised his hand, and the RV vanished. Watching it disappear, Miles Vaughn and Joelle Finch, who were standing behind, stared wide-eyed.
Even though they already knew Ronan Kendrick was no ordinary person, this ability was still shocking.
"Let’s go." At Ronan Kendrick’s command, the group followed the Red Wolf into the forest.
The trees here grew tall and dense, and with their lush foliage, not a sliver of light could get through. Inside the forest, you couldn’t see the sky at all when you looked up.
The gray wolves had vanished. Evelyn Ford silently memorized the path they had taken, sprinkling some fluorescent powder on the ground to avoid getting lost.
The path through the forest was treacherous, with the ground covered in moss and loose stones. After walking for about an hour, the Red Wolf suddenly stopped. It let out an "AWOO" toward the front, then led everyone onward again.
"How much farther do we have to go? This place is so eerie."
Evelyn Ford glanced back at Quincy. "Be quiet. We should be there soon."
The Red Wolf led them twisting and turning through the forest until they finally reached the edge of a cliff. Looking down, they saw a dense cluster of stone houses, with various crops and vegetables planted nearby.
"Oh my god, there’s really an isolated tribe here."
"They’re all stone houses, just like the stone-mound graves in the desert."
"Are we supposed to go down? But how? This cliff must be dozens of meters high."
...
Evelyn Ford looked at the cliff. Without ropes, it would be incredibly difficult for an ordinary person to get down. The Stone Village below was truly like a hidden paradise. Though it was cold, there were no traces of the natural disasters that had ravaged the outside world.
Plumes of white smoke rose from the stone houses, and in the distance, Evelyn Ford could faintly smell the aroma of cooking meat.
The Red Wolf flicked its tail and started walking off to the right. Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick exchanged a look and followed it.
To the right was an extremely narrow and steep path that wound down the cliff face like a giant python. The Red Wolf walked onto it, looked back at the group with an "AWOO," and everyone continued to follow.
"You call this a path? It’s only twenty centimeters wide! Are you sure we won’t fall?"
"I have a bit of a fear of heights... I can’t do this, my legs are shaking."
The Red Wolf shot them a disdainful look, then casually trotted down the path.
Evelyn Ford took out her dagger and drove it into the cliff face. With the dagger for support, the descent would be a little steadier.
Everyone else followed her example. By the time they all made it down the cliff face, half an hour had passed.
At the bottom of the cliff, the boy appeared before them again. This time, he was accompanied by seven or eight other children of similar age, both boys and girls. However, none of them were tall, and they all had facial and limb deformities.
"Patrick, are these the monsters you brought back?"
Patrick was the boy’s name. The one asking was a little girl standing to his left. She had webbed feet, just like Patrick, but her eyes were normal. Her cleft tongue and harelip, however, were even more severe.
Patrick nodded. "They look weird, don’t they?"
The girl and the other children beside her all nodded.
"Patrick, are they really monsters?"
Patrick shook his head. "I don’t know. My dad said they’re monsters."
Ronan Kendrick led the group to Patrick. The other children seemed afraid of them and quickly hid behind him.
Evelyn Ford finally understood why Patrick had given the Dried Meat to Zoe and Wendy. The people here were short. Patrick was the tallest among them, and he was only about 1.4 meters tall. The children next to him were only around 1.3 meters tall.
In Patrick’s eyes, Zoe and Wendy, who were also short, were just like him.
"When is it going to rain?"
Ronan Kendrick asked, getting straight to the point.
Patrick glanced at the sky and grinned. "I was mistaken. It probably won’t rain today."
His smile was strange, filled with a thick air of mockery and provocation. Ronan Kendrick didn’t get angry; he just glanced at him before looking toward the Stone Village ahead.
"This really is a nice place," Ronan Kendrick said ambiguously. He took Evelyn Ford’s hand and started to walk right past Patrick and the others, heading into the village.
Patrick patted the Red Wolf’s head, attempting to block Ronan Kendrick’s path.
Ronan Kendrick’s gaze was calm as he looked at Patrick. "This is a fine wolf. Thank you for having it lead the way."
Patrick spread his arms, blocking Ronan Kendrick. "You really are monsters."
"Who are you calling a monster? Take a look at yourself! You have the nerve to call us monsters? So you were just messing with us? What are you planning to do, luring us in here? You little monster, you ugly freak."
Quincy stepped right in front of Ronan Kendrick, planted his hands on his hips like a shrew, and unleashed a merciless tirade against Patrick.
Patrick was furious. His face flushed red, his cheeks puffing up as if inflated, and then he emitted a strange sound.
Evelyn Ford quickly covered her ears. The sound was unsettling, like the cry of a bird mixed with the roar of a wild beast.
A few seconds later, the vanished gray wolves all appeared on the cliff above. They threw back their heads and howled without pause, their eyes slowly turning from green to red.