At a time like this, there's no reason for Xiao Jin to turn off her phone!
"Chen Xiao... I have a feeling of unease." Xiao Qing quietly tugged at Chen Xiao's clothes.
Chen Xiao's heart skipped a beat, and he glanced at Xiao Qing.
In fact, he also had a strange premonition in his heart—a premonition that seemed to be similar to the times he had encountered danger before. His heart felt heavy, as if something was going to happen, or as if some danger was lurking nearby!
Chapter Seventy-Nine: Isolation
"Keep searching!" Chen Xiao gritted his teeth. "All the girls stay where they are and gather together! Leave two staff members here just in case! The rest of you continue searching... But remember, no one should act alone! At least two people per group! Keep communication open!"
"Could it be... a prank?" a female waitress couldn't help but ask.
Xu Ershao glanced at her, then at Chen Xiao: "No... We know Xiao Jin's personality. We're all very anxious. He wouldn't make such a joke."
While they went out to search, Ya Ya and the four female waitresses stayed behind, along with a male security guard. The rest of the group went out and spent another half hour before returning to the meeting point…
"Huh? Where are Xiao Wang and the others?"
A female waitress called out.
"Yes, where are Xiao Wang and the others?"
The "Little Wang" they were referring to was a male waiter on the island. When they set out to search, he was paired with another plumber. But now, neither of them has returned!
"Their walkie-talkies are switched off," a security guard said uneasily.
All the staff on the island were wearing walkie-talkies. According to the security guard, they would talk on the phone while searching, and the most recent conversation with Xiao Wang and his companion was about ten minutes ago.
"At the time, he said they were on the hillside..."
Before the security guard could finish speaking, Chen Xiao had already turned around and sprinted towards the hillside! Xiao Qing shouted to Xu Ershao, "Don't scatter anymore! Everyone gather together! Call the police!"
Then, Xiao Qing chased after Chen Xiao all the way down...
The hillside is located on the north side of the island. It's just a low, small hill, originally bare with no trees on its top. Only a signal receiving tower has been erected there, providing mobile phone and satellite TV coverage across the island.
Chen Xiao and Xiao Qing rushed to the top of the hillside one after the other—the area wasn't very large. Apart from a metal signal tower several meters high in front of them, there were no visual obstacles, only a few rocks on the hillside. Besides that, there wasn't a single tree—not even a blade of grass.
"Nobody's here." Chen Xiao frowned, glancing at Xiao Qing beside him. "Did you find anything?"
Xiao Qing's face darkened. Suddenly, she sniffed, "Did you smell something?"
Chen Xiao sniffed, his expression changed, and he quickly walked to the metal tower. Using the light of his flashlight, he carefully searched the metal frame and saw a corner of the metal tower gleaming with a divine light. He reached out and touched it, and it felt sticky.
"Blood!" Chen Xiao stood up.
At that moment, Xiao Qing suddenly appeared beside Chen Xiao. Staring intently at the metal frame, her expression stern, she said, "Chen Xiao, look!"
Following the direction she pointed, Chen Xiao looked up...
The metal tower was made of steel, and each of its structural members was about the thickness of an arm. It was located about half a meter above Chen Xiao's head, just above Xiao Qing's finger...
Several deep marks appeared on the thick metal frame!
The marks seemed to be twisted... or perhaps they were claw marks left by several powerful forces!
Moreover, and most shockingly, the signal receiver at the top of the metal tower had been completely torn apart! The way it was torn apart suggested that it had been forcibly ripped apart by some huge tool, such as steel pliers or something similar!
Without hesitation, Chen Xiao climbed up and carefully touched the mark. His expression turned even more grim: "These marks... don't look like they were made with a tool. And..."
His fingers touched the edge of the mark; the steel twisted, forming a sharp, protruding piece. He gestured, "Xiao Qing... how much strength do you think it takes to bend such a thick steel frame in one go?"
Chen Xiao jumped down, but before he even landed, Xiao Qing, who was standing in front of him, suddenly twisted his expression. His eyes filled with terror, and he screamed, "Watch out!"
call!
A gust of wind swept in from Chen Xiao's side! A black shadow rushed across! Chen Xiao's body was still in mid-air and had no way to dodge.
At that moment, Xiao Qing had already leaped up and delivered a flying kick in mid-air. Chen Xiao heard the sound very clearly!
Xiao Qing kicked the dark figure, sending it flying and crashing heavily into the rocks at the top of the hill with a dull thud!
But when Xiao Qing and Chen Xiao landed and turned around to look for it, there was no trace of it anywhere.
Chen Xiao rushed over in a few steps, on guard while looking down to check the ground.
The stones on the ground were knocked apart, and Chen Xiao touched them a couple of times before picking something up from the ground.
Turning around, Xiao Qing noticed that Chen Xiao's face was very pale, and between two fingers in his hand was...
A feather, a black feather!
The two were still in shock, staring at the feather in Chen Xiao's hand... It looked like some kind of bird, but the feather was longer than any bird feathers they knew!
“Just now…” Xiao Qing’s face turned pale: “Just now, I think I saw the shadow of that thing…”
"It's huge, isn't it?" Chen Xiao swallowed hard.
It was indeed huge! The black shadow that suddenly attacked the two of them was at least the size of an adult in the darkness! And... most importantly...
"It seems to be able to fly!" Chen Xiao gritted his teeth, and the two of them looked around warily—the feather in their hands further confirmed their guess—that thing seemed to be able to fly!
"Could there be some birds of prey nearby? Like a large eagle or other birds of prey..." Chen Xiao thought for a moment, then shook his head. Based on his common knowledge, although wild eagles existed in the hilly areas of the south, most were small mountain eagles. Those mountain eagles could only prey on smaller animals like rabbits, field mice, or sparrows—attacking people? That was absolutely impossible.
It's even more impossible for it to be that big!
"This is a huge problem." Chen Xiao quickly pulled out his phone and dialed a number...