?Chapter 1614:


    The infrared glow hugged Taylor’s face, allowing him to spot wildlife moving in the dark. Suddenly, a single gunshot ripped through the stillness.


    Taylor snapped on his goggles, scanning, but it was too far to pinpoint.


    Brenna and Thiago picked up the sound and pointed together, hands steady. “It was from there—southwest!”


    As the group pushed deeper into the wilderness, the trail turned grim. Corpses littered the ground, and the sound of birds and insects had all but vanished.


    Felix’s knowledge saved them more than once. He could spot venomous snakes before they struck and recognized which nts could kill with ease. Because of him, they avoided more than a few nasty deaths.


    When night fell, Taylor’s team took turns standing watch in pairs, keeping their camp safe. Nothing went wrong during their shifts. Even so, Gary and Felix refused to lower their guard. Hired men like Taylor’s team were still strangers, and they didn’t dare trust them fully. They decided to stand watch themselves, taking turns.


    The expedition went surprisingly well. Whatever creatures might have been dangerous had already fled or been killed by the earlier groups. Brenna’s team came across nothing worse than monkeys swinging overhead, a few curious orangutans, and the asional snake slithering through the brush.


    By the fifth day, the distant crack of gunfire kept echoing from ahead.


    Weapons were drawn in an instant. Everyone braced themselves.


    Thiago mumbled as they advanced, “Human longevity, huh? If it’s such a miracle, why hide the research base in the middle of nowhere? Something’s fishy.”


    Brenna frowned. “Exactly. If you ask me, it’s something far darker. Maybe a bioweapon. Something that threatens people’s lives. Why else would they put the research base in a ce like this?”


    Thiago gave a lowugh. “You know what really bugs me? Look at all these bodies. Different groups, same destination. How did so many learn about a supposedly secret project?”


    Brenna had thought about that, too. “Right? A base this hidden should’ve been impossible to find. Feels like someone wanted the secret out there.”


    “Yeah. Wouldn’t surprise me if that’s the case.”


    Lose yourself in stories on gα?ησν????s


    The gunfire ahead intensified, hammering through the jungle until Brenna’s chest tightened. Her thoughts raced. Was Ethan surrounded? Out of bullets? Hurt?


    “Move! Faster!” she shouted, pushing the group onward.


    After another thirty minutes, the shots faded into silence. When they broke through thest line of trees, a massive clearing opened before them. The jungle floor had been stripped bare, a space wide enough for a dozen football fields. The grass was gone, the earth trampled t.


    A line of gray concrete buildings stood clustered together in the open, about thirty in total. The ce reeked of death, with bodies scattered across the dirt, many dressed differently—proof they belonged to rival factions.


    Brenna’s gaze swept over the corpses, searching every face. No sign of Ethan. She wasn’t sure if he had ever made it this far, but if he was still breathing, this ce had to be where he’d end up.


    “Stay alert!” she and Thiago shouted at the same time.


    .


    .


    .