Many of the exposed rocks were covered in moss, making them slippery to step on, which greatly increased the difficulty of walking. The path ahead was winding, dark, and damp, and occasionally one could see centipedes as thick as a finger crawling by.
Tang Shu’s gaze briefly swept over the many small poisonous creatures; even though his backpack already contained a sufficient stock, a flicker of regret still passed through his eyes upon seeing them.
Just when victory seemed within reach, a thud was heard, followed by a scream.
All eyes turned back and saw Alina sitting on the ground with her right foot caught in an iron net, bending at a strange angle.
"I think I heard something snap; it couldn’t be a bone, could it?"
The group gathered around, and Alina’s already weary little face turned even paler, her lips cracked and dry.
Andre looked at the iron net with a shock crossing his face, even showing a hint of fear.
The others were clueless as to why the usually calm Andre was showing such a frightened expression.
Austin, who was walking with Tang Shu, also had an ugly expression, tensing his nerves and warily looking around. After noticing nothing out of the ordinary, he clearly breathed a sigh of relief.
"You don’t often see this kind of iron net; if I’m not mistaken, it’s likely a tool used by mercenaries to capture their prey."
Owen’s expression grew solemn as he revealed a shocking truth to everyone.
"What, mercenaries? Are you sure you’re not mistaken? Are you sure this isn’t just an animal trap used by local hunters?"
"No, look at the markings on the iron net. This is specialized for mercenaries, different from the animal traps used by regular hunters. Besides... this is a remote island, where ordinary people generally don’t come."
The Southeast Asia Region is vast and sparsely populated, and people generally have a comfortable life; with more than enough to eat right at their Doorway, who would go out of their way to hunt game?
Moreover, even if people wanted wild meat, they could easily buy it at ordinary supermarkets or convenience stores.
Lin Yi and Yin Dong exchanged glances and decided to trust Austin’s words.
"We’re not professional explorers, and we don’t understand these matters. If he says it’s true, it probably is."
"Judging from the bright green color of this animal trap, it has not yet oxidized, suggesting that it was placed by its owner not too long ago."
"Does that mean there could be mercenaries nearby?!"
For the group, this was indeed not good news.
Roger, realizing the gravity of the situation, spoke in a rather unpleasant tone, "Didn’t the Program Team scout the area before we came? How could they have missed this?"
"Not sure, maybe... they didn’t find them, or perhaps they sneaked in after we entered."
"Anyway, we need to be careful from now on."
Although victory seemed close at hand, the joy in everyone’s hearts had vanished; if they were to encounter unamenable mercenaries, they feared they might even lose their lives here.
"Let’s just get to our destination first; hopefully, there will be someone from the Program Team to meet us."
They didn’t have any electronic devices on them, only a walkie-talkie each, but walkie-talkies have a distance limit and are useless beyond a certain range.