Chapter 110: The Sudden Gunshot

Jared appeared somewhat excited, yet he consciously handed the gemstone over to Chen Cao. He knew that his own carelessness earlier had nearly cost Chen Cao his life, and he felt that such wealth should be controlled by the young man before him.

Chen Cao did not take the gem. Instead, he frowned as he looked at it. "On the black market, this stone would fetch at least 20,000 in currency, and through legitimate channels, it would be worth at least 40,000. If processed, the value could be even higher. To think such a precious item was found on a pygmy—could it be that all of them carry such things?"

Chen Cao rubbed his head, lost in thought. Jared dared not disturb him, so he leaned against a tree, idly turning the gem over in his hands.

As the sky gradually darkened, Chen Cao remained stumped. He turned around to find that Jared had actually fallen asleep, clutching the diamond, a look of blissful contentment on his face. It seemed that for a man driven to madness by poverty, this diamond promised a future of happiness. Who said wealth was ugly?

Chen Cao scanned his surroundings. The wind rustled the leaves, and in the pitch-black darkness, swarms of fireflies drifted by like moving constellations. He walked over and gave Jared a nudge.

"No, my beauty..." Jared jolted awake, instinctively drawing the pistol from his belt and aiming it at Chen Cao.

Chen Cao swiftly pressed down on the pistol, popping the slide off the frame. He then said nonchalantly, "Let's go. Stanny and the others are still waiting for us, and I don't think their guns are any more reliable than a stick of firewood." With that, he handed the slide back to Jared and stood up.

Jared suddenly remembered that his sister was still waiting for them. He scrambled to pick up the slide, reassembled his weapon, and followed Chen Cao, limping. "Hey... I say, we don't have a map, how are we going to find our way back?"

Chen Cao looked back, a pistol in one hand and a dagger in the other. "We can smell our way back. First, we need to find the place where we were ambushed by the pygmy natives."

"Smell? Where are we going to find a hound?" Jared stared, bewildered by Chen Cao's words.

Chen Cao couldn't explain it easily; to do so would be to admit he was becoming like a dog. His sense of smell had been sharpened by Duan Tianya and his team, allowing him to distinguish specific odors. The site of the recent battle would surely be thick with the stench of blood, making it easy to identify. He had to try everything; in the jungle, anything was possible—or perhaps nothing was. But without using one's brain and pushing one's limits, failure was certain.

Though Jared didn't understand, he had no choice. Ever since Chen Cao had killed the police officer, Jared wasn't sure whether to hate him or thank him. He touched the gem in his pocket. Perhaps his attitude had changed from the moment he found the first stone; with no retreat and no assets, he had to bet his life.

Chen Cao led the way, moving slowly. The jungle seemed to have been cleared; there was not a single sound of beasts, nor even the chirping of insects—nothing but the rustling of leaves in the wind.

He was on the right path. Chen Cao flared his nostrils slightly and looked toward a clearing not far ahead.

***

Despite Jared's injury slowing them down, they hadn't traveled far, and they soon returned to the site. They quickly spotted the corpse of a pygmy.

"Ah, a gem!" Even though finding a short, stout corpse in the quiet, pitch-black jungle wasn't exactly a cause for celebration, for a man obsessed with wealth, a body carrying riches was a different story.

Jared lunged forward before Chen Cao could stop him.

A necklace of beast bones still hung around the pygmy's neck. Jared grabbed it and yanked it off, causing the corpse to shift.

"Huh? Why aren't there any gems?" Disappointment washed over Jared. To him, this bone necklace without a gem was repulsive, and he reached out to toss it away.

"Wait, let me see!" Chen Cao stepped forward, reaching for the necklace, but he paused. Instead of taking it, he asked, "Jared, do you feel anything?"

"What?" Jared looked at Chen Cao, confused. He looked down at his own hand, which was still gripping the necklace, and realized his palm had turned pitch black.

"Ah!" Jared felt a sudden wave of dizziness, but he snapped back to reality. "But, I really don't feel... wait, my hand! I can't feel my hand at all!" He hurriedly dropped the necklace and clutched his hand.

"Don't move!" Chen Cao barked. He looked at the necklace on the ground, nudged it with his dagger, and inspected it closely. "The bone that held the gem was removed, and it was coated in poison." He lifted the necklace; in the faint light, he could see a layer of black, resin-like substance.

"Oh no, my hand!" Jared was distraught, as his hand had turned black and gone completely numb.

"Don't worry, there's always a way," Chen Cao said coldly. He was annoyed by Jared's recklessness but also deeply sympathized with the desperate hunger for wealth of an ordinary man.

Sometimes, wealth can drive the desperate to madness.

"These natives are not simple, but I don't think this poison is impossible to cure, or you'd be dead already. You live in the jungle—do you know about venomous snakes? Where the most poisonous snakes live, the antidote is sure to be nearby. Don't panic. These natives may be human, but they are different from those in civilized society. You might say they are just a more primitive biological species, so their nature is similar to a snake's."

Jared looked at Chen Cao's calm demeanor and nodded earnestly. "You mean the antidote is nearby? It must be nearby, right? My God, it has to be!" As he spoke, he knelt down. At this moment, Chen Cao was his God.

Chen Cao nodded impatiently and pulled Jared to his feet. Hoping his deduction was correct, he drew his pistol and carefully walked back into the heart of the battlefield. The area was still littered with corpses; it seemed the natives had no custom of burying their own. After checking for any threats, Chen Cao examined the pygmies one by one. All of them had had the gem-holding bones removed from their necklaces, and their furs and long knives had been stripped. Even the submachine gun he had discarded was gone. The pygmy corpses lay bare, their large heads and deformed, thick limbs emitting a nauseating stench in the jungle heat, forcing even Chen Cao to cover his nose.

Finding nothing of use, Chen Cao quickly scoured the perimeter and soon gathered a handful of herbs growing nearby. He couldn't be certain they would neutralize the poison, but he had to treat a dying horse as a living one. He couldn't afford to lose Jared's combat power; Meimei was waiting with Stanny, and he couldn't delay. If he could just get one hundred gems, the funding issue would be solved.

"You're back, Boss!" Jared had grown accustomed to the nickname. Seeing Chen Cao return with a bundle of herbs, he felt as if he'd seen a lifeline. He pushed himself up against a tree, forcing a smile.

"I don't know if this will work, but you'll have to take the gamble." Chen Cao mashed the herbs into a paste. In his memory, these herbs had detoxifying properties—they wouldn't kill him, but whether they would cure this specific poison was unknown.

Jared didn't hesitate. He took the herbs from Chen Cao and shoved them into his mouth, dirt and all. He winced; the taste was clearly foul.

Chen Cao stood up and scanned the area. If Stanny didn't act rashly and stayed put, there shouldn't be any danger. If he waited another ten minutes, he could make it back to them.

He looked at Jared, who was chewing the herbs like a cow, his throat convulsing as he swallowed. His eyes rolled back, whites showing, clearly in agony, but the desire to survive kept him going.

"While you swallow, don't forget to stay alert. I'm going to find some water," Chen Cao said with a sigh.

"Mmm-hmm..." Jared looked at Chen Cao with grateful, rolling eyes.

Chen Cao turned away, thinking that since there was no water source nearby, he would have to collect dew from the leaves. He looked up at the broad leaves on the branches, vaulted onto the tree, folded a leaf into a cup, and carefully collected the droplets.

Soon, he had collected half a cup of water, but just then, he heard the sound of a gunshot.