My heart sank as I looked at the remaining ammunition.
I had intended to boost everyone's morale, but they had already started their own small meetings.
Jin Qiaoyue and A Yuan stood by a tent, whispering something to each other.
Meanwhile, Jiang Ye and his wife were squatting by a campfire not far away, murmuring in hushed tones.
Rexiti had spread the map on the ground, trying to find a defensible terrain.
Li Chuang looked at me and asked, "Mr. Xiang, what do we do now?"
It was better when he didn't ask. The moment he did, I felt an invisible pressure on me.
Seeing my silence, he anxiously said, "You're the captain of the expedition team, say something."
I thought to myself, 'Damn it, you consider me the captain now?'
When we set off earlier, you arranged everything without even asking me.
Despite my annoyance, I knew that although the project manager role was nominal, it still held some authority in situations like this.
I took a deep breath and asked Rexiti, "If we depart now, how long will it take us to reach Alai Valley?"
He glanced at the map and replied, "If we leave now and move quickly, we should arrive around five in the morning. However..."
"However, what?"
"However, I don't recommend leaving now."
"Why?"
He frowned. "If we leave now, and encounter a wolf pack halfway, the situation will be much more dangerous than it is now. Regardless, we still have a campfire here. But if we're caught on the road..."
"You must understand that we have no ammunition left. What will we do if the wolf pack attacks again? Are we supposed to fight them hand-to-hand?" Fatty chimed in.
Both of them had a point. Whether we stayed or continued, the risks were significant.
Li Chuang looked at me. "Mr. Xiang, you make the decision."
I was also at a loss, honestly unsure of what to do.
After some thought, I said, "Why don't we gather everyone and vote?"
Li Chuang hesitated for a moment. "That's fine too."
When everyone was gathered, I explained the situation to them.
No one expressed any immediate opinions, so I said, "Raise your hands if you agree to continue our journey."
Fatty was the first to raise his hand. I also agreed with continuing the journey.
After all, it was better to take a gamble than to stay here and wait for death.
Next, Song Bing raised his hand, followed by Jin Qiaoyue and A Yuan.
Rexiti hesitated for a while before also raising his hand. Li Chuang, however, after glancing at those who had raised their hands, did not.
Out of the nine of us, six agreed to continue, making the situation quite clear.
Just as I was about to announce the result, Jiang Ye spoke up, "No! My wife is not feeling well. If we force ourselves to travel, she definitely won't be able to bear it. Besides, what if the wolf pack catches up to us while traveling at night?"
Before I could respond, Jin Qiaoyue said, "That's simple. Those of you who disagree with continuing the journey can stay behind, and we who agree will proceed."
Jiang Ye's expression changed upon hearing this. He frowned and looked at Li Chuang, saying something to him in English.
Soon, Li Chuang forced a smile. "We are all one team, and naturally, we must advance and retreat together. We agreed on this when we came..."
"When did we agree?" Jin Qiaoyue asked coldly. "The contract doesn't mention anything about advancing and retreating together!"
"It's not in the contract, but don't forget, the contract stated that the project manager needs to bring every team member to the destination," Jiang Ye said, looking at me.
I looked at Li Chuang with confusion. He hadn't mentioned anything about the contract when we set off, nor had he told me about such a clause.
Li Chuang smiled sheepishly at me. "Mr. Xiang, in my opinion, we should stay here tonight. These wolves have suffered such a great loss, they shouldn't attack us again anytime soon. After all, they don't know we're out of ammunition, do you agree?"
"What if?" Jin Qiaoyue asked, crossing her arms. "What if the wolf pack surrounds us again, what will we do then?"
Watching them argue back and forth, I got a splitting headache.
Finally, I gritted my teeth and said, "Alright! The risk of staying here is too great. I believe we should continue our journey. Mr. Jiang, your wife will ride a horse later. We need to leave here quickly. You saw that wolf king just now, I believe it won't let us off so easily. Rather than waiting here to die, it's better to escape to safety."
My words were extremely firm, leaving no room for doubt.
I also felt a surge of anger. Li Chuang hadn't told me anything when we set off, and now he was pushing me out to handle things.
This guy was a fence-sitter. I knew he actually agreed with continuing the journey.
The reason he hadn't raised his hand was undoubtedly to appease Jiang Ye and the others.
What a cunning fellow!
Frankly, if I weren't so unsure about finding the Suihou Pearl, I would have left with Fatty and Song Bing long ago.
I had previously suspected that Guan Zhenwan must have some contingency plan, and it seemed highly likely now.
Li Chuang must still hold some information I was unaware of. If I reneged on my promise halfway, or failed to fulfill it, I probably wouldn't gain anything even if we reached our destination.
Jiang Ye's brow was furrowed. After a long pause, he sighed and spoke to Zhao Xuezhen in English.
After their conversation, he looked at me. "Fine, we'll continue the journey. But let's be clear beforehand, if any unforeseen circumstances arise on the road, you absolutely cannot abandon us."
Before I could speak, Li Chuang smiled and said, "Don't worry, Mr. Jiang. We will definitely fulfill the terms of the contract."
"That's for the best. I'm sure you understand that if we cannot return safely, you won't get the remaining payment!"
After saying this, Jiang Ye turned and began packing his belongings with Zhao Xuezhen.
Now I understood. It turned out everyone who came had only paid half the money.
No wonder Li Chuang didn't dare to offend anyone along the way.
Perhaps they hadn't expected to encounter such trouble on this trip; otherwise, they would have come prepared.
Once the decision was made, everyone began to pack their things.
To allow everyone to finish packing and orient ourselves, our group continued on.
The biggest problem with traveling at night was the poor visibility. Although we had lighting equipment, the visibility remained very low.
Anything beyond fifty meters was practically invisible.
To prevent a sudden wolf attack, Fatty, Rexiti, and I took the lead, Song Bing and Li Chuang covered the rear, and everyone else was in the middle.