Chapter 702: Chapter 702: The Mountaintop

"I want to go check out the summit. What about you all?"

Ronan Kendrick, of course, was going with Evelyn Ford. Ryan Rowe and Flynn Hansen didn’t hesitate either, hoisting their backpacks and standing up. "We’re going with you."

"I just checked with the binoculars. There’s a slope between the two mountains up ahead. It should be an easier climb from there. Let’s go. We’ll pass through this tunnel first."

Evelyn Ford took night-vision goggles from her backpack and handed them out. After they all put on their goggles and grabbed their handheld flashlights, the four of them headed into the tunnel. Evelyn and Ronan led the way, with Ryan and Flynn following behind. Their footsteps echoed loudly in the tunnel. The air inside was dry, even a little stuffy.

Inside the tunnel, there was nothing but some rocks, feathers, and droppings. After about five minutes of walking, Evelyn suddenly sensed that something was wrong.

"Look up."

The three men looked up at the ceiling of the tunnel. It was covered in a dense matrix of holes. They were completely silent and looked empty. Evelyn took a collapsible pole from her backpack and had Ronan poke at one of the holes above.

"They look like swallows’ nests, or maybe the cells of a honeycomb. Ugh, I can’t. Looking at them for too long is making my skin crawl." Ryan Rowe quickly looked down, unable to bear the sight of the holes. Ronan poked at one twice with the pole, and a nest of mud, feathers, and grass broke apart and fell to the ground.

Evelyn put on a pair of gloves, slipped a headlamp onto her forehead, and picked up a chunk of the mud to examine it.

"It’s definitely a bird’s nest. The feathers in the mud are red—red down, to be specific. I have a theory."

Evelyn held up the chunk of mud for everyone to see. "These nests were probably built by the Red Birds. They build nests to reproduce, to make it easier for their chicks to hatch. All the nests are a uniform size—about nine inches, with almost no variation. The mountain is covered in snow year-round, which might not be suitable for hatching, so they built their nests in here."

Ryan Rowe scratched his head. "But when birds incubate their eggs, the mother has to sit on them and use her body heat to keep them warm so the chicks can hatch. These nests are so small, if the Red Birds built them, they can’t possibly fit inside. Don’t tell me Red Birds don’t need their mothers to incubate the eggs?"

"That’s also a possibility." The nests were empty, but on the ground, Evelyn noticed some pieces of broken shell.

"So many nests, but only a few shell fragments left behind. You think they carried the shells away?"

The four of them searched the area thoroughly, but still only found a few shell fragments.

"The Red Birds’ behavior is really strange."

"Let’s get out of here. It’s too stuffy, I’m having trouble breathing." Ryan’s forehead was beaded with sweat. Evelyn took a bottle of water from her pack and handed it to him.

"Let’s go. Time to leave the tunnel."

Just as Flynn had said, the tunnel was only about five hundred meters long. If they hadn’t been delayed for a few minutes looking at the nests, they would have been out much sooner.

Emerging from the tunnel, the four of them were back on the narrow path. The abrupt change from cold to hot and back to cold again made Evelyn let out a series of sneezes.

"This damned weather is brutal." After muttering a complaint, Evelyn quickened her pace to catch up with Ronan.

「An hour later.」

They finally reached the slope in the valley. It was covered with massive boulders, and patches of snow remained in the crevices between them.

"You two need to change your shoes, or you’ll slip easily." After asking Ryan and Flynn for their shoe sizes, Evelyn found two pairs of green military-style sneakers for them.

She and Ronan were both wearing the same type of sneakers, which were not only lightweight and durable but also had non-slip soles. Ryan and Flynn were wearing the flat-soled rubber shoes issued by the base. They were fine for normal travel, but for mountain climbing, they made it far too easy to slip and fall.

As soon as the two had changed their shoes, Evelyn started up the slope. It looked steep, but the climb wasn’t actually that difficult. When Ronan wasn’t looking, Evelyn grabbed a handful of snow and pressed it against his face. The tip of his nose and the corners of his eyes turned a little red, but when he looked at her, his eyes were full of amusement.

"That’s cold."

Evelyn burst out laughing. "That was the point!"

Meanwhile, Ryan and Flynn were half-dead from exhaustion in the back, needing to rest for several minutes after every short stretch of climbing. The two up front were moving faster and faster, and still had the energy to fool around. Ryan looked down at his trembling legs and sighed in shame.

"Evelyn’s a beast. She looks so thin, but her stamina is terrifying. When I get back to the base after this mission, I’m definitely going to start working out properly." Flynn started muttering to himself. Ryan glanced at him, and his mood instantly improved.

"She trains every day. It’s only normal that we can’t keep up."

Flynn shook his head. "I’m not like you. The only reason I’m this weak is because of my injury."

"Hey, you’re a real piece of work, you know that? I’m trying to make you feel better, and you throw me under the bus!" Ryan fumed.

"I’m just stating a fact. If I weren’t injured, I definitely wouldn’t be in this shape. I’m done talking to you. They’re getting far ahead, let’s hurry and catch up!"

「At 3:00 PM sharp.」

Evelyn was the first to reach the summit. She sat on the ground for two minutes to catch her breath. Once she felt recovered, she slowly got up and began to survey the view from the top.

Looking up from the base of the snow-capped mountain, all she had seen were bluish-gray boulders, steep slopes, and winding paths. But now, standing at the summit and looking down upon the mountain range, she felt something entirely different. The view itself was another world.

When she saw Ronan reach the summit, Evelyn waved him over. "Ronan, look at that peak over there."

Ronan wasn’t flushed or out of breath; the climb had been no challenge for him at all. He had even paused halfway up to wait for Ryan and Flynn, to prevent them from slipping and falling, only continuing once they had caught up.

Following Evelyn’s finger, he saw a large grove of red trees on a nearby peak. Ronan was a little surprised. With his excellent eyesight, he could clearly make out the red fruits on the trees.

"Shocking, isn’t it? I was right again. There really are plants on the mountain. It looks like this is how the Red Birds survive."

"There’s movement over there." Ronan drew his gun, his expression instantly turning serious.

A sharp cry echoed through the valley. Several Red Birds took flight from the mangrove forest, beating their wings to hover in mid-air as they stared warily at Evelyn and Ronan.

Just then, Ryan and Flynn clambered onto the summit. They were just about to speak when a Red Bird suddenly swooped toward them.

"Evelyn, shoot!"

The words had barely left Ronan’s mouth before he lunged toward Ryan and Flynn. Just as Flynn’s legs gave out, Ronan reached them at top speed and hauled them behind a large boulder.

BANG! BANG! BANG! A volley of shots rang out. The Red Bird diving at Flynn was hit and dropped heavily to the ground. The gunshots deterred the other birds. They didn’t dare approach the group again, instead circling above and screeching piercingly.

"KRAAA... KRAAA..."

More and more Red Birds flew out from the mangrove forest. Faced with the overwhelming flock of red, Evelyn pulled a basketball-sized knockout-gas bomb from her storage space.

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