Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely Chapter 4 - 4 4 Golden Finger Arrives Please Favourite and Follow!

Xia Hong shot a quick look at Xia Chuan and silently passed him a hand axe.

He moved ahead and addressed the pair of Xia Dings:

"Father, my brother and I can't distinguish the true from the false one.

Could we each take a position nearby, observe more closely, and then decide?"

"Fine, go ahead!"

The two Xia Dings answered together, obviously full of assurance.

Xia Hong drew in a steadying breath, tapped his brother Xia Chuan to indicate the left side, as he headed to the Xia Ding on the right.

Both siblings advanced at the same moment, reaching the two Xia Dings nearly simultaneously.

Xia Hong opened his eyes wide, inspecting the right Xia Ding from top to bottom.

Feeling the need for a thorough check, he circled around to view from behind.

Xia Ding's face showed pure sincerity, his demeanor assured, permitting Xia Hong to walk around him, and even adjusting his stance for better inspection.

But the instant Xia Hong positioned himself at the back, his gaze filled with a crimson light, and his features twisted into a savage glare right away.

"Strike!"

A abrupt yell left everyone dumbfounded.

Xia Hong and Xia Chuan lifted their hand axes, targeting the "Xia Ding" before them, and brought them down with savage force.

Crack...

The hand axe met the skull; normally, one might anticipate splattering brains and blood, a scene of pure horror.

However, Xia Chuan's axe was seized mid-air by the foe before it touched Xia Ding's head.

On the other hand, the more powerful Xia Hong succeeded in burying the axe into Xia Ding's cranium.

Splitting it cleanly in half.

Yet, in a terrifying twist, no pus or brain fluid emerged from Xia Ding's head; it parted like timber, severed yet clinging to the neck.

Even more horrifying, with the head cracked open, "Xia Ding's" eyes kept shifting, curiously eyeing Xia Hong, and a grin spread across his features.

Still, that grin appeared malevolent from any angle.

"Chuan, fall back!"

Xia Hong lacked the moment to yank free the stone axe and yelled at Xia Chuan across the way, pulling back swiftly toward the group in the camp.

At his words, Xia Chuan hastily retreated too, ditching the stone axe and moving rearward.

The camp's residents had been frozen in terror by the brothers' bold move, and now witnessing "Xia Ding's" true form, realization dawned on them all.

Evidently, the later-arriving Xia Ding on the right was the impostor.

And the left one?

Why did Xia Chuan attempt an ambush on him too—was he also counterfeit?

As doubts swirled among the onlookers, the left Xia Ding stirred.

He approached the right Xia Ding, plunged a hand into the divided skull, lightly rubbed a couple of times, then squeezed the halves shut.

The cleaved head astonishingly fused back seamlessly.

Furthermore, that "Xia Ding" rotated his neck slightly, then faced Xia Hong amid the camp folk, flashing a wicked smirk.

This ghastly display sent shivers racing through the spines of everyone present.

The left Xia Ding advanced a step and directed words at Xia Hong.

"Fascinating, truly fascinating.

My pair of inventions resemble your father perfectly without a single slip-up.

How on earth did you two detect it?"

His tone grated like splintering wood, raspy, grating, and utterly alien.

"If one were genuine and the other false, the impostor surely wouldn't grasp so much about us or Father.

Yet both acted as if they knew it all, therefore..."

Xia Hong halted there, his face darkening.

Naturally, the real Xia Ding wouldn't share every detail with them.

This Deceitful Monster possessed extensive knowledge of the camp and Xia Ding.

Just one explanation fit.

"Heh heh, sharp thinking.

That Xia Ding fled away from your camp's direction before his demise, attempting to draw me off.

It appears he held you all dear!"

"I'll end you!"

Next to him, Xia Chuan, enraged by the Deceitful Monster's mention of his father Xia Ding's death, erupted in fury and lunged at the creature unarmed.

Xia Hong swiftly held him back with a piercing gaze.

"Steady yourself!"

To claim Xia Hong felt no pain would be false.

Yet sorrow couldn't be indulged now.

The duo of "Xia Dings" pressed closer, with the twenty-four logging team followers advancing blankly, evidently ready to assault.

"All of you, battle with everything you've got—survival might still be possible!"

Xia Hong wasted no time, bellowing in rage and charging straight ahead.

Despite his words, doubt gnawed at Xia Hong inwardly.

Facing twenty-six logging-strength combatants, even with over two hundred camp dwellers fighting desperately, odds looked slim.

Worse, regarding this shape-shifting deceitful monster mimicking Xia Ding, he understood zilch.

Undoubtedly, its powers extended past mere disguise.

After all, mere weeks after crossing over, was this the conclusion?

The outcome seemed clear.

The camp inhabitants indeed joined his rush with a thunderous cry.

However, the pair of "Xia Dings" felled foes with single blows each.

Before long, they'd slain no fewer than twenty souls.

Blood sprayed everywhere, cries echoed piercingly.

A heavy metallic tang of blood soon permeated the cavern.

Thud...

Xia Hong took a brutal kick, crashing hard into the cavern wall, vomiting blood in reverse.

Observing the savage carnage unfolding in the cave, profound hopelessness welled up within him.

During this past month since arriving in this world, he'd prided himself on his hard work, always seeking ways to boost his power.

For Father Xia Ding and the prior logging crew had repeatedly warned him of the perils beyond.

But with gradual strength gains and the serene routine in the cave, he'd come to view this as just a chillier alternate realm.

Only now did the truth strike him:

The world's threats surpassed all expectations.

His so-called diligence paled utterly against the Deceitful Monster.

"Brother...

help...

me..."

Xia Chuan's ragged, faint whimpers pierced his hearing.

Glancing over, Xia Hong ignited with wrath, a torrent of fury boiling inside.

That "Xia Ding," wearing a cruel sneer, clutched Xia Chuan's throat, pinning him to the wall.

As if savoring the torment, the beast loosened its hold just enough to avoid snapping the neck outright, slowly ramping up the pressure to heighten Xia Chuan's asphyxiation and agony.

Ever since entering this realm a month ago, with Father Xia Ding frequently absent on outings, returning only after dark, and saying little even then.

Thus, Xia Hong hadn't bonded deeply with Xia Ding.

Conversely, he cherished his brother Xia Chuan, shared daily life with him, far more.

The fiend's grasp tightened further, crushing Xia Chuan's windpipe relentlessly, crimson leaking from his eyes, ears, mouth, and nostrils, his face contorting worse by the second.

In that instant, Xia Hong cast aside all dread of dying, gripped only by self-loathing for his weakness and a frantic craving for power.

If I could just be mightier, even slightly...

The killing spree in the cave raged on, with fifty or sixty bodies now strewn across the floor.

Numerous survivors bolted wildly for the cave mouth, but their pace and vigor couldn't rival the adversaries, frequently cut down short of escape.

[Catastrophic harm detected, system rebuilding camp, awarding basic structure: small bonfire, kindly claim it]

Right then, a voice echoed through his thoughts.

For Xia Hong, who had lived two lives, no sound had ever rang so sweetly.