My Abyss Survival Diary

Chapter 31: The Chase!

Klein and Professor Loris were both looking at him, their eyes conveying different things.

There was a fire burning brightly in Klein's bright blue eyes, so bright that it made him tremble slightly.

Professor Loris's dim old eyes showed only exhaustion, the kind of exhaustion that comes from having used up all his strength and only having one last breath left.

Simon took a deep breath, as if he had made up his mind.

Theodore must die!

It wasn't because of the contract, the indulgences, or the supplies.

It's because of Klein.

Klein needed Theodore's death to give Anthony an explanation, and to give himself an explanation.

Klein cannot collapse in this small team. If he collapses, Badr will also lose his backbone, and the whole team will be dead in name only.

Moreover, hunting down Theodore is the best solution right now. While Professor Lorris's plan is somewhat feasible, it is a huge gamble. They cannot do anything else until the elevator is completed. Simon dares not bet all his chips on the possibility that the poorly made elevator can take them to the second floor.

"Kill Theodore first." Simon raised his head and finally made up his mind. "He will take a lot of supplies with him when he runs away. Those things are more valuable than indulgences. If we let him escape with the supplies, all our efforts will have been in vain."

Klein's fingers tightened on the sniper rifle's sling, then loosened.

He didn't say thank you, but walked over, reached out, and patted Simon's shoulder twice, not hard, but very firm, his palm lingering on Simon's shoulder for a second.

"Let's get going." He turned and walked toward Theodore's camp.

Badar followed behind him, his bald head gleaming coldly in the morning light, without uttering a word.

Professor Loris stood up from the rock, leaning on a branch. Simon went over and helped him up. The old man's arms were very thin; you could feel the bones even through his coat.

"I'll listen to you," Professor Loris said softly. "In this forest, you're probably the only one who still respects this old man."

"I'll take care of you," Simon nodded.

By the time the group returned to camp, the sun had already risen.

Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the tree canopy, illuminating the campsite, which was unrecognizable and resembled a wasteland.

The tents in the camp were knocked down, the wooden crates were smashed, and medicines and ammunition were scattered all over the ground.

The ground was littered with corpses, with only six people remaining in the same spot, all of whom were sinners who had been oppressed by Theodore.

They squatted beside the collapsed tents, some bandaging their wounds, some staring blankly at the guns in their hands, and some just sitting there with a dazed look in their eyes.

One of the sinners rescued by Simon stood up and looked at Simon:

"Theodore came back and ran away with the guns and all the canned goods, leaving us behind."

Simon nodded, walked to the side of the cabin, moved the planks aside, and jumped down into the cellar.

Most of the things in the cellar were gone; the ammunition boxes were empty, and the canned goods were empty too.

The sack of indulgences was still in the corner, heavy with copper coins clinking together.

He picked up the sack and threw it up, which Badar caught steadily.

There was also a birdcage in the corner of the cellar.

Simon picked up the birdcage, took Brienne's head from the side pocket of his backpack, put it in the cage, and closed the cage door.

"You're planning to lock me in here?" Brienne looked around the cage. "Hmm, the environment is not bad. Could you put some soft fur on it and spray some perfume?"

"I'm sorry I don't have those things. I just kept you in a cage because it was too inconvenient to carry you around." Simon hung the birdcage on the side pocket of his backpack and shook it, causing the head inside the cage to shake as well.

"You still care about me, admit it." Brienne turned her head in the cage. "You're afraid of losing me, aren't you?"

"I'm afraid I'll drop you on the ground and kick you around like a ball," Simon retorted.

He led Brienne out of the cellar, squatted down next to Klein, and untied the sack.

The copper coins were piled up like a small mountain in the bag, gleaming with a dark yellow luster in the morning light.

Klein squatted down beside him, reached out and grabbed a handful of coins, which jingled and tinkled as they slipped through his fingers.

The sound of money clashing is always so pleasant to hear.

"As we agreed before, you take 70%." Klein took a tattered cloth out of his pocket, spread it on the ground, and began counting the copper coins.

Simon counted fifty-seven coins and stuffed them into his backpack.

Klein counted twenty-three and put them into the inner pocket of his coat.

Simon stood up and walked over to the six sinners.

The sinners looked up at him, and several others did too, their eyes filled not with expectation, but with fear.

Simon took out eighteen indulgences from his backpack, three for each of them, and stuffed them into their hands.

"Here you go. The Ironwing Confession Room is not open for the time being, so keep the indulgences for now." He instructed meticulously. "Theodore's camp is empty, but there are some canned goods and medicines scattered on the ground. You can pick them up. Stay here for now and take good care of Professor Loris."

The sinner looked down at the copper coin in his hand, clenching it tightly until his knuckles turned white.

The young sinner next to him pressed the indulgence to his chest, tears streaming down his dirty face. The middle-aged sinner, covered in wounds, squatted on the ground, turning the three copper coins over and over, as if they were something precious.

Simon turned around, tightened the straps of his backpack, and held the harpoon in his hand.

Klein had already stood up, slung his sniper rifle over his shoulder, and tied his blond hair back up with a rubber band. Badar stood at the edge of the camp, holding a shotgun, his bald head reflecting the sunlight.

"Let's go!" Simon commanded.

The three men walked toward the woods to the west, with Brienne's head bobbing in the cage.

Professor Loris sat on the rock, watching the three figures disappear into the mist, then lowered his head and began to cough again.

The forest grew denser, and the fog thickened.

Simon walked in front, his eyes fixed on the footprints on the ground...

Theodore's footprints were deep. People with missing arms walk unsteadily, and his right foot stepped harder than his left, leaving footprints that were either deep or shallow, making them easy to recognize.

Klein followed behind him, sniper rifle held horizontally across his chest, his eyes scanning every treetop. Badar brought up the rear, shotgun in his hand, muzzle pointing forward.

Brienne's head swayed in the cage, then suddenly spoke:

"I saw five figures at the three o'clock position, about 120 meters away from us."

Simon keenly noticed that Brienne's pupils had once again multiplied into countless ones, a skill she had displayed when she discovered him hidden in the grass.

"Are you sure it's Theodore and his group?" he asked in a deep voice.

"I'm not sure, I can't see it now." Brienne's pupils returned to a single point as she explained simply, "I can dilate my pupils and use my eyes to monitor creatures more than 125 meters away, but I can't help you beyond that."

"Chase him! Even if the person standing here now isn't Theodore, he's someone who knows where he is."

Carrying a harpoon, Simon began to run wildly through the woods, and Klein and Badar could barely keep up with him despite their best efforts.

Klein gripped the sniper rifle handle tightly.

He wanted to kill Theodore himself to avenge Anthony!