Chapter Forty-Four: Hidden Deeds and Silent Fame

As a saltwater crocodile, Lu Chen killed every day. Yet he did so mostly to fill his belly, to survive. Survival was paramount, above all else.

The law of the jungle in nature was, after all, the survival of the fittest.

But… Lu Chen possessed a human soul, his own moral convictions. Even some codes of conduct from his previous life lingered deep within him.

There were things worth doing, and things better left undone.

To Lu Chen, these boundaries mattered greatly.

If he lost even the most basic principles, his existence would boil down to nothing but killing—no different from an ordinary saltwater crocodile.

Or rather, he would truly become nothing more than a beast.

So, whenever he was able, he chose to act.

Of course, Lu Chen had no intention of revealing himself to humans anytime soon; to do so would be foolish. At least, not until he possessed strength enough to protect himself. Until then, he would remain hidden, lurking in the shadows, and keep his distance from humanity.

With his mind made up, Lu Chen fixed his gaze on the direction where the drone had vanished. He hurriedly gulped down a few chunks of flesh, buried the remaining carcass in the riverbed, and then swiftly swam upstream.

Within minutes, he caught the scent of more humans along the riverbank, mingled with the smell of dogs.

To test his suspicions, Lu Chen silently climbed a tall tree by the shore.

Several hundred meters away, he saw the search party. They likely did not know the precise location of the two fugitives and were heading in the opposite direction.

At this rate, they would only stray further, eventually missing their targets entirely.

He had to find a way to alert them… After a brief contemplation, Lu Chen devised a plan.

***

“Old Li, we’ve been searching in these mountains for three days now. We haven’t found any valuable clues. Do you think the two targets have already escaped elsewhere?” someone asked as they marched on.

“It’s hard to say. The targets might still be hiding nearby… Area searches have too many difficulties, and the heavy rains recently erased almost all trace and scent. Plus, there are plenty of distractions in the mountains—the search dogs are limited,” the leader replied with a shake of his head.

He harbored similar doubts but refrained from voicing them, so as not to dampen morale.

At that moment, the search dog began to act strangely again, growling low in a certain direction.

“Another large animal?” a team member asked.

He wasn’t a trainer, but after these days, he’d learned the basics of the search dog’s behavior. Whenever the dog detected an anomaly, it would immediately alert its handler. Generally, when it took a defensive stance, it meant a large beast was nearby.

“Maybe so. Xiao Liu, launch the drone again,” the captain ordered, just in case.

The drone rose, sweeping swiftly over the thickets.

As before, the real-time feed showed nothing amiss.

“Wait… what’s that?!”

The operator’s eyes widened in surprise.

“What’s wrong?” A teammate leaned in, then exclaimed, “Look, a red arrow! Captain, come quick, there’s something new!”

The captain strode over, equally stunned.

On the control screen, the drone showed the open valley a hundred meters ahead. In the center was a massive, millstone-sized green stone. Atop the flat surface of the stone was a huge red arrow, pointing precisely in one direction.

It was clearly not natural—definitely man-made.

Deep in the wilderness, where people rarely ventured, such an abrupt and mysterious arrow immediately conjured countless possibilities.

“Lower altitude, watch the surroundings,” the captain instructed.

The drone descended to four or five meters above the ground, revealing the arrow more clearly. Through the high-definition camera, they could even discern that the arrow was assembled from firestone flowers.

Firestone flowers are subtropical wild plants, common in the mountains, blooming in summer and autumn with bright red petals.

Aside from the large red arrow on the stone, nothing else seemed out of place.

All in all, the scene was startling, uncanny—almost as if someone mysterious was watching them.

“Let’s get closer and investigate. Everyone, stay alert,” the captain finally decided.

The group advanced in a defensive formation, cautiously threading through the undergrowth, arriving at the stone.

Just as shown on the drone’s screen, the arrow was prominent. No clear traces of human activity nearby, no other anomalies.

Any animal footprints in the grass were ignored.

“The firestone flowers were placed recently. Someone is watching us in secret,” the captain realized.

Though the season had passed high summer, the mountain temperature remained above twenty-five degrees. The sun blazed overhead, yet the flowers atop the stone looked fresh, not wilted, meaning the arrangement was less than an hour old.

“Xiao Liu, fly the drone higher, control the scene, and keep a close watch within a kilometer radius. I want to know who’s watching us.”

To the captain, since someone had drawn their attention here, there must be a purpose—perhaps the observer was still lurking nearby.

Yet, as before, nothing unusual appeared.

The search dog sniffed around the flowers, then dashed in the direction the arrow pointed.

“Follow it,” the captain called urgently.

The whole team hurried after the dog. After circling around, they arrived at a riverbank.

Here, the river blocked the scent, and the dog could only pace in place.

Fortunately, with the drone aloft, they soon spotted another red arrow marker in a clearing across the river.

“Find a shallow crossing, let’s go,” the captain grumbled, feeling led by the nose. Whoever was behind this remained a mystery. Yet, having reached the river, turning back was not an option.

Whoever hid in the shadows, he would root them out.

After walking just a few dozen meters, the search dog abruptly barked at a patch of dead leaves.

“Careful, it’s a trap…” the handler warned.

They soon discovered the trap had already been sprung, with no prey inside. Judging by the traces, it had been set not long ago.

This was deep within the protected zone, the nearest mountain village more than a hundred kilometers away. Who could be laying traps here so stealthily?

Even if not the targets, whoever it was must be highly suspicious.

After crossing two more traps, the search dog suddenly barked wildly ahead, the urgency in its voice unmistakable.

“There’s something… the targets may be nearby! Everyone, stay alert!” the handler called, excitement in his tone.

As a skilled trainer, he trusted his dog implicitly, able to glean different meanings from its barking.

With everyone on guard, the dog growled low at a patch of earth, pawing urgently.

From the soil, it was clear something was buried beneath.

Just as the leader was about to order someone to dig, the sentry cried out, “Who’s there—stop!”

…

A burst of gunfire echoed, and the two fugitives hiding in the cave were captured.

After confirming their identities, the team was left with a giant question mark.

Who left those mysterious arrow markers?

It was no exaggeration to say that whoever it was had practically guided them to their targets.

When the gunshots rang out, Lu Chen knew the two had no hope of escape.

He picked up the buried wild boar meat and slipped downstream along the river, his achievements hidden deep, his name unsung.