Survival in the Ruins: I can make everything evolve infinitely

Chapter 20: The Girl Is So Easy to Read

In the darkness, several voices could be heard.

“Damn those bastards. Do you think they got eaten by wild beasts?”

“Let’s hope so. If not, the boss will make them wish they were dead.”

“Hey, do you think those idiots got killed by the people in that small camp?”

“As if! Who would dare cross our boss? They’d have a death wish!”

“True enough.”

Three disheveled men trudged along, grumbling as they went.

As scouts for the Blood Beard Bandit Gang, traveling in the early hours of the morning was routine.

At least it wasn’t the dead of night when the chance of encountering wild beasts was over 90%.

They also had special techniques to avoid some beasts, but if their luck ran out and they couldn’t dodge, death was inevitable.

In the Blood Beard Gang, there was no room for incompetence.

Those without skills were reduced to being slaves, enduring humiliation and torment—a fate worse than death.

“How much further?” one of them asked.

“We should reach it by dawn.”

“Why does the boss even bother working with that small camp? Wouldn’t it be easier to just kill them and take their stuff?”

“Don’t forget the pack of Moon Wolves we stumbled upon last time. We lost a lot of people. The boss is probably looking to replenish our numbers.”

“Yeah, that was rough. I heard every scout on that trip died.”

“Shut it and keep moving.”

The three men fell silent, focusing on their journey.

Occasionally, they stopped to rest or hid behind rocks to avoid passing beasts.

Finally, as the horizon glowed orange, signaling dawn, the three men reached a hill and looked down at the small camp in the distance.

“Hey, look! Is that the place?” one of them asked excitedly.

“That’s it,” the leader confirmed.

“Let’s split up and approach from three different directions. We’ll meet back here afterward.”

“Got it.”

The three men moved stealthily toward the camp.

However, as they approached, each of them couldn’t shake an uneasy feeling.

There was no sign of life, no sound. It felt eerily deserted, as though the camp had been abandoned.

“Thud!”

One of the scouts suddenly tripped and fell.

“What the hell?” He quickly got up and inspected the ground, trying to find what had tripped him.

After searching for a while, he found nothing.

“Weird,” he muttered, growing more cautious.

Each of the three scouts stumbled in a similar way upon entering the camp.

After their exploration, they regrouped at the hill to exchange findings.

“The doors were all left open. Everything important is gone. They left in a hurry.”

“The charcoal in the fire pits hasn’t burned out yet. They must have left before dawn.”

“Same on my side.”

The three men exchanged uneasy glances, their expressions grim.

“Damn it! They actually ran away!” one of them cursed.

“They haven’t gotten far. Should we go after them?” another suggested.

“You, follow their trail and leave markers along the way,” the leader instructed. “The rest of us will head back and report to the boss.”

“Do you think the boss will personally chase after them?”

“Why ask such a stupid question? Those people made a fool of him. Of course, he’ll come after them!”

“If they’d left yesterday, maybe the boss wouldn’t bother. But now… heh, they’re as good as dead.”

“Enough talk about the boss. Rest for a bit. We need to hurry back with this intel.”

“Understood.”

After a quick meal, the three scouts divided into two teams and set off in separate directions.

Once they were gone, a two-meter-long lizard emerged from the nearby rock face.

The Tri-Color Lizard had been lying motionless, observing the scouts from less than five meters away.

“Hiss, hiss~~”

It flicked its tongue silently, awaiting instructions from Muliang through their mental connection.

After a moment, the lizard slithered down and began tailing the duo heading to the Blood Beard Gang’s headquarters.

Meanwhile, several kilometers away, in the hills near the camp, the Rock Armored Turtle was dozing.

Camouflaged against the rocky terrain, it was nearly impossible to distinguish it from its surroundings.

Since it could sustain itself with evolution points instead of food, it rarely needed to move around anymore.

“Just as expected. The plan’s working smoothly. We’ve completed half the setup and can move to the next stage.”

Muliang stood up from the fire pit, stretching lazily with a confident smile.

At around three in the morning, he had gone back to the camp and set all the woodpiles on fire.

By the time he returned, he’d barely managed four hours of sleep before being alerted by the Crimson Ghost Spider about the scouts triggering the tripwires.

Since then, he’d monitored the scouts’ movements, carefully analyzing their behavior.

The scouts had performed just as anticipated.

Muliang had then sent the Tri-Color Lizard to tail the duo heading to the headquarters and instructed the Crimson Ghost Spider to eliminate the other scout.

That way, if the lone scout realized something was wrong and tried to return to the headquarters, the entire operation wouldn’t be compromised.

“Damn it! I overslept!”

Mino appeared, her hair a mess, her rabbit ears perked upright. Hugging a wolf pelt, she dashed out of her room.

Spotting Muliang by the fire pit, she panicked.@@novelbin@@

“Muliang! We need to hurry to the camp and set the woodpiles on fire!”

“No need,” Muliang replied calmly.

Hearing this, Mino looked like she was about to cry.

Seeing her expression, Muliang relented and explained gently, “I already lit the fires last night.”

“Really? Did we get the timing right?” Mino clutched the wolf pelt tighter, her nose twitching adorably.

“Perfect timing. The scouts already fell for our trap.”

As he spoke, Muliang casually adjusted Mino’s slipping neckline, preventing her clothes from sliding off her shoulders.

“Eek!”

Mino’s face flushed bright red. Letting out a cute yelp, she scrambled back to her room in a flustered panic.

A moment later, her voice rang out from behind the door, clear and slightly indignant.

“Muliang! Why didn’t you wake me up before lighting the fires?”

She had told him the night before to wake her so she could help with the task.

“I forgot,” Muliang replied casually.

In truth, he hadn’t wanted to disturb her after seeing how peacefully she slept.

After a long day of building and piling wood, she was utterly exhausted—unlike him, who had undergone several rounds of physical enhancement.

“Hmph!” Mino huffed indignantly.

Though she knew Muliang’s excuse was weak, she felt a twinge of guilt for not being more helpful.

Muliang smirked faintly at her door. “I’m leaving breakfast to you today. Can you handle it?”

“Of course I can!”

Mino appeared at the door instantly, her voice clear and confident. “Leave it to me!”

“Good. Breakfast is all yours,” Muliang replied, turning away with a knowing smile.

Ah, the girl really was easy to understand.