Tracking Clues

Tracking at night was even more difficult, but since the apocalypse descended, there had long been no sun; day and night were almost indistinguishable.
The sky was eternally dark, starless, endlessly hazy.
And they lived as if in a frozen ice cellar.
The group all wore thick winter clothing, lit handheld lamps, and searched along the way for traces left by the other group.
The chilling wind, at minus twenty degrees, lashed their bodies, posing a certain difficulty for tracking.
"If they escaped through the back door during the chaos, they would definitely leave traces along the way." Jiang Chu held a large handheld lamp, standing at the front of the team, observing this path leading to the back mountain.
Perhaps it couldn't even be called a path; lush green weeds grew as high as her calves, so much so that the path was formed by human footsteps.
Since the apocalypse, this area was designated a safe zone, and the newly built back door was completely sealed off. Construction teams worked through the night to build high walls to prevent zombie attacks, and also to prevent survivors from entering or exiting here. Almost no one set foot in this place.
And about ten meters from the back door, there were trampled traces in the weeds, leading straight to the back mountain. Her gaze coldly swept across the weed-covered ground ahead, where large and small indentations were formed by footprints.
"There were not just two people in their group; there were also people providing support." She finished speaking, stopping her steps, the corner of her lips curving into a mocking smile. No matter which force took Ji Chen, they must have arranged a complete plan.
With people providing support from outside, there must also be their inside informants within the safe zone; otherwise, it would be impossible to enter and exit so smoothly.
The analyst following behind, who had worked in criminal investigation before the apocalypse, agreed: "Indeed so. The initial assessment is that there were no fewer than ten people in the group. But beyond this mountain are more mountains; it will be very difficult for them to get out from here. Vehicles like cars can hardly go forward, and walking... is even more impossible."
Jiang Chu continued forward, turning her head slightly, saying coldly: "They can't walk out, but what if there's helicopter support?"
The three teams were all shaken.
Just as they were about to reach the foot of the mountain, a wild beast's roar suddenly echoed from the gloomy back mountain, reverberating at the foot of the mountain and in the forest.
Everyone's expressions changed drastically.
"When choosing the safe zone, we didn't investigate this area for wild beasts."
Moreover, the sound was getting closer and closer to them.
Jiang Chu seemed to be contemplating: "This sound is different from ordinary wild beasts; it might be a zombie beast."
Hearing her words, the three teams following her showed a hint of fear on their faces. Zombies were already difficult to deal with; if it truly was a zombie beast, they would basically be unable to retreat unscathed, and might even die under the beast's claws.
They all stopped, with embarrassed smiles on their faces: "Ms. Jiang, this operation is relatively dangerous. Wild beasts are inherently ferocious, and after turning into zombies, their movements will be even faster and more brutal; they are not afraid of injuries. In the dark, human vision will also be limited. Let's go back first to request backup; you should return with us."
These words made sense; zombie beasts were difficult to deal with.
Jiang Chu slowly looked at Chen Qing Qing, saying: "It is very dangerous. You go back with them; I'll continue searching."
Chen Qing Qing suddenly shook her head, grabbing her hand: "I'm not afraid of danger. I'll go with you. If we encounter danger, I'll run directly; I won't drag you down."
Chen Qing Qing's attitude was firm; she absolutely refused to return with the investigation team, showing a stance of following Jiang Chu wherever she went, and if Jiang Chu didn't allow it, she would secretly follow.
Jiang Chu helplessly pressed her forehead, hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
Before she could speak, snowflakes began to fall from the noisy sky, and in the blink of an eye, the group was covered in snow. In an instant, a thin layer of ice formed on the ground at the foot of the mountain, and the temperature showed a tendency to continue dropping.
This sudden change made most people shiver uncontrollably; five people immediately started sneezing, and their speech became stammered.
"This temperature... will freeze people to death!" The investigator, wrapped in a thick down jacket, was still shivering from the cold.
He was not wrong. The base currently had tens of thousands of people, and resources were limited; it was impossible to ensure heating for all tens of thousands of people. In such abnormal weather, many people would die.
Another person huddled and spoke: "Ms. Jiang, please temporarily return with us; otherwise, we won't be able to explain to the base. In this kind of weather, even if there are clues, they will quickly be covered by ice, and accidents are very likely to occur in extreme weather. We cannot go any further."
Jiang Chu resolutely set off on the mountain path, her attitude firm: "You all go back and report truthfully; I will not return."
Chen Qing Qing hurriedly followed her up the mountain. She pulled three hand warmers from her bag and gave them to Jiang Chu, breathing on them to warm them: "When you said Brother Ji was missing, I guessed you would go look for him, so I packed a bag. The base is quite good; they prepared supplies like hand warmers for us."
Jiang Chu accepted her kindness, opened the packets, and stuck them inside her clothes.
She had rich experience in resisting the cold, and her ability was ice-elemental, naturally adapted to such extreme cold environments. Her clothes were thick enough, but ordinary people would truly freeze to death!
Jiang Chu looked straight at Chen Qing Qing. She stuck the remaining three hand warmers on herself, muttering that she wouldn't go back, determined to stay by Jiang Chu's side.
Jiang Chu hesitated for a moment, then took out two scarves and a sturdy pair of gloves from her space, along with ten more hand warmers. She wrapped a scarf around Chen Qing Qing's neck and put the gloves and half the hand warmers into her bag.
Facing Chen Qing Qing's curious, questioning gaze, she said with a stern face in a low voice: "Don't ask anything. There really are zombie beasts up ahead. If they appear, stay behind me."
Chen Qing Qing nodded blankly, tucking half her face into the dark blue scarf, and blindly followed her up the mountain.
The terrain behind the mountain was extremely uneven; every two steps there were potholes and mud puddles. Now, without vegetation covering them, parts of the mountain path were covered with thin ice, making walking both slippery and difficult.
Jiang Chu lowered her handheld lamp, bending down to stare at the muddy ground. Right beside a tall round tree, a footprint was concealed.
She was skilled at observation and recognized it as a man's footprint, size 41 to 43, likely belonging to someone between 1m78 and 1m83 tall.
Chen Qing Qing discovered another trace. She found a wooden branch and circled it, saying to Jiang Chu: "Half a finger is buried here; come quickly and take a look."
Jiang Chu's eyes narrowed, and she immediately went over. Chen Qing Qing prodded the severed limb; this half-finger had already turned pale, and the cut surface was dry of blood.
Chen Qing Qing asked somewhat nervously: "This shouldn't be Brother Ji, should it?"
"No," Jiang Chu denied.
This finger's skin was darker and relatively rough, with calluses between the index finger. This was a trace only found on the index fingers of people who wield weapons year-round. And beside the fingernail, there was a deep scratch revealing bone, caused by a wild beast's claw.
"This person had their hand clawed by a wild beast, then either they themselves or someone else helped them sever this half-finger," Jiang Chu said calmly: "If the action was faster than the spread of bacteria and viruses, there's a chance they could survive."
The person who took this path was ruthless enough to themselves.