She took a deep breath. After convincing herself that this was the best option, she winced and reached into the man’s pockets.
She could feel the strong, lean muscles that coiled beneath the fabric of his pants. He clearly took care of his body—it was no wonder that he survived the lethal effects of the neurotoxin.
Meanwhile, when the man felt a hand pawing through his pockets, he grew alarmed and his eyes flashed open. The fear and shock were registered in his bewildered gaze.
Shadow 1 was taken aback by his abrupt awakening, but she recovered quickly. Her lips tugged upward in a smirk as she said, “You scared the hell out of me—I thought I was going to be scammed.”
He pursed his lips as he swatted her hand away from his pocket. His throat felt dry and with some effort, he gritted, “Get away from me.”
Peter was revolted at the idea of being touched by a woman who was not Janet. More specifically, he hated being touched by the blue-eyed blonde before him.
There was something unnerving about her. She was a total stranger, but familiar at the same time, which made her all the more despicable.
Meanwhile, Shadow 1 was aggravated by the scorn in his voice. She glowered at him as she seethed, “Bold of you to assume that I’d listen to you. Maybe you should take a long, hard look in the mirror before asking me to get away from you.”
She was not expecting any retort from a man who had been poisoned. It seemed as if he was stronger than she thought.
The disgruntled man pursed his lips and asked, “Then, why are you groping me?”
Rummaging through his pocket, Shadow 1 said witheringly, “I need the flashlight on your phone. I’m going to scavenge for food before we starve to death here.” As soon as she was done speaking, she pulled out his phone from his pocket and pressed on the buttons that ran on either side of the phone. The next moment, their faces were illuminated by the light from the phone.
“Call for help,” the man said hoarsely.
“Wow, why didn’t I think of that?” She drawled sarcastically as she cast him a sideways glance. “There’s no signal in this godforsaken place and your phone screen’s busted, so I can’t press the call button.”
Peter’s expression hardened as he heard that.
Shadow 1 gave him a look of disdain before pulling herself onto her feet. As she began to move away from him, she said coldly, “I’m going to look for sustenance.”
The man stared in silence at her back, the light from his phone flickering in her hand as she started toward the darkness beyond them. He could neither follow her nor make a run for it, given the state that he was in. He had no one else to rely on but her. After a while, he asked in a strained voice, “Will you come back?”
Upon hearing that, Shadow 1 stopped in her tracks and answered plaintively, “If I feel like it.”
They were rivals from the beginning and she ought to leave him stranded here on his own, but she would much rather have company at a time like this than to be alone.
Peter did not answer. His eyes were slowly closing and as his body gave in, he fell unconscious once more.
After what felt like an eternity, a light finally shone through the darkness.
The man’s eyes fluttered open and he stared as the light approached him.
Peter froze, surprised to see that she had returned for him instead of abandoning him. A wave of helplessness or relief crashed over him.
Shadow 1 was amused at the sight of his flustered look as he lay on the ground. She took a bite of the food in her hand. Then, she shoved the rest to him with a smirk on her lips. “Eat up.”
He bridled at the scorn in her voice. She was treating him like he was a weakling.
He kept his eyes on her since her return and his gaze darkened when she threw the food toward him.
When she saw that he did not respond, she crossed over and picked up the food she had thrown before putting it into his hand as she explained flatly, “This is a wild bamboo shoot. It’s meant to be rehydrating.”
Shadow 1 had searched for a long time in the woods before she came upon the single shoot.
However, Peter did not look convinced. With a sigh, she picked up the bamboo shoot and took another bite. “See? It’s not poisoned, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
Peter could hear the crisp and juiciness of the bamboo shoot when she bit into it. He swallowed and his throat ached desperately for water, but he answered through gritted teeth, “I don’t share food. It’s unsanitary.”
Shadow 1’s eyes widened at that. She was not sure if she wanted to laugh or to throw a shoe at him. “Are you for real? Fine, then. Don’t eat it. I hope you enjoy starving to death.”
When she moved to snatch the bamboo shoot away from him, his hands snaked like lightning before he deftly snapped the shoot in half. With a disgruntled look on his face, he bit into the cleaner end of the shoot.
At the sight of that, she let out a small laugh and the disdain in her voice was clear as she teased, “What are you acting all tough for?” Even tough guys need to survive in the wild.
However, Peter did not finish the small bamboo shoot and instead handed it over to her.
