Bright Sword: Conquer the monk at the beginning and take down Zhou Weiguo

"This kid... has really suffered a lot following me." Qin Cang murmured in a very soft voice, as if he was afraid of disturbing this moment of tranquility.

His eyes swept over the bag of emergency rations, then looked deeper into the shaft. The passage leading to the core of the bunker coiled like a snake's belly, pitch black without a trace of light, like a gulch that swallowed everything.

He knew in his heart that if he rushed in now, he might be able to find some clues while the enemy was off guard, or even find the core of the intelligence - but this was only a "possibility".

One wrong move could lead to death. He knew all too well that the enemy was well-defended and more skilled in psychological warfare than they were. The patrolling soldiers' rhythm, gaze, and stride were nothing like those of ordinary guards. They were more like professional trackers and hunters. The slightest sign of trouble could set the entire bunker in motion.

"I can't gamble." He told himself clearly in his heart, "I can afford to gamble once, but I can't afford to gamble my life."

This was intuition, and also experience. Qin Cang never took chances with his life; his actions were always based on survival as his primary principle. The enemy wasn't afraid of death, but he had to be. If he died, without being able to convey the message, the mission would be ruined, and Xiaohu would be buried with him.

So he put away the map, tiptoed back to his hiding place, squatted beside Xiaohu, and reached out to pat the boy's shoulder.

"Xiaohu, wake up." He lowered his voice, like a gust of wind blowing into your ear.

Xiao Hu's eyes snapped open, his hand instinctively raised, his gun half-raised, but he immediately relaxed when he saw Qin Cang. He blinked a few times, clearly still not fully awake from his deep sleep, and said in a low, hoarse voice, "Captain... am I dreaming?"

"It's not a dream." Qin Cang said calmly, "You followed me in, and now we can only leave together."

Xiaohu scratched his head, a trace of embarrassment on his face, "I...was worried it would be too dangerous for you to go in alone."

"Are you afraid of me?" Qin Cang raised his eyebrows slightly, "I'm afraid of you, you're too impulsive."

Xiao Hu fell silent, lowering his head, looking as if he had admitted his mistake. Seeing him like this, Qin Cang didn't say much. After a moment of silence, he slowly said, "We won't go into the bunker for now."

"Why?" Xiaohu looked up, with a flash of surprise and even disappointment in his eyes.

"Too risky." Qin Cang whispered, his eyes fixed on the deep passage deep in the darkness. "The enemy's security is too strict. We don't have complete information. Once we enter, it's like walking in the dark. If we take a wrong step, no one can save anyone."

"So...what do we do now?"

"Let's go check out the village." Qin Cang's tone was calm, yet contained a hidden sense of urgency. "I remember the map said there was a small village not far from the bunker. If the enemy really has deployed something in the bunker, the village will definitely be affected."

He paused, then continued, "If we circle around from the outside, we can both understand the surrounding environment and determine the enemy's extended control range. Perhaps we can even find some clues in the village."

Xiaohu's eyes lit up, "Should we disguise ourselves?"

"You're definitely in disguise, but your outfit is too eye-catching." Qin Cang glanced at him and whispered, "Go out and change your clothes first, and then we'll act accordingly."

Xiaohu said "hmm", quickly took out a coarse cloth jacket that he had prepared long ago from his backpack, and found a tattered straw hat to put on, and immediately turned into a small country boy.

Qin Cang didn't say much. He took out the suit he had prepared in advance, quickly changed out of his raincoat, wrapped the gun with rags, hid it in the bottom of the woven bag, and stuffed a few dirty-looking firewood on top of the bag.

He looked up at the wellhead. The exit looked like a well leading to the real world, and it was particularly dazzling in the darkness.

"Let's go," he said.

They crawled out of the well slowly and carefully, like mice leaving their nest, crawling step by step until they were completely out of the camouflaged forest at the wellhead.

It was late at night, the moonlight was obscured by clouds, and only scattered starlight was left on the ground. It could not illuminate the road ahead, but it was enough for them to see the basic outline.

The village was about two kilometers to their left, separated by a low-lying rice field and a shapeless shrubbery. They followed the terrain, zigzagging forward, their footsteps as light as a night owl gliding through the forest.

On the way, Xiaohu whispered, "Captain, do you think that bunker is used to hide something?"

Qin Cang didn't answer immediately. He walked, then suddenly stopped, his gaze fixed on a patch of grass ahead that had been trampled and somewhat messily trodden. It was the mark of human activity, the regularity of the footsteps, indicating that the area had been frequented by a large group of people, not just a path for villagers to stroll.

"It's not 'likely', it's 'definitely'." His voice was soft, but filled with immense certainty. "There's something in that bunker, but what? We need to find out from the village."

Xiao Hu swallowed and fell silent. He could sense the growing tension and clarity in Qin Cang. It wasn't a surface calm, but a deep-seated sense of oppression, like he was about to face a ferocious beast that hadn't yet appeared.

They continued walking until they reached the end of the rice fields. In the distance, the outline of the village finally emerged in the hazy night.

Dim lights dotted the backs of a few windows, flickering cautiously, as if afraid of being blown out by the wind. Farther away, a figure seemed to be moving slowly, pacing back and forth at the entrance of the village, as if on patrol—or perhaps simply waiting for something.

The village's outline grew clearer in the night, like a crouching gray cat, silently staring at the two approaching it. The night wind blew through the rice paddies, blowing the weeds along the ridges flat, as if bowing to the darkness. Qin Cang and Xiao Hu crouched behind the ridge, their gaze fixed on the dim earthen-walled houses ahead.

There are lights, but no one is there.

It shouldn't be like this. At this hour, in a normal village, after dinner, you'd at least hear a few dogs barking, a few neighbors chatting. Even if every door was shut, there would still be children crying, the elderly coughing, or the clinking of dishes in the kitchen. But at this moment, the entire village seemed weighed down by an invisible aura: dead silent, closed, and even unspeakably strange.

"Why aren't even the dogs barking?" Xiaohu asked quietly, a hint of unease in his tone. "This place... is eerie."

Qin Cang nodded, but didn't answer. He glanced warily around the edges of the village, especially at the outer windows. The light was yellow and flickering, but it didn't feel like an oil lamp. Instead, it looked more like a masked electric light, its brightness deliberately dimmed. That light didn't seem like it came from the villagers' homes, but rather someone deliberately using it to simulate life.

"This is fake." Qin Cang whispered, with a chill in his voice.

Xiaohu frowned: "Pretending? Who are you pretending for?"