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Jimmy stepped back farther into the safe zone.
They did the same.
Only then did everyone finally let out the breath they had been holding.
"I'm sorry," Sam said, lowering her blade. "It's not that we didn't want to believe you. We watched Gordon and Ben get swallowed by pythons with our own eyes."
She shook her head. "That makes it hard to trust anyone saying they survived."
"I also saw Tran's waterproof flashlight floating on the water," Bill added grimly. "There was blood in the pool."
Jimmy exhaled. "Yeah, That would do it."
Then he looked past them and raised his voice.
"Look, They're here."
He waved. "Over here, Come this way."
The distant flashlight beams grew closer.
Voices followed.
"Where are you," Tran shouted. "Jimmy, Is bill's group alright?"
"Define alright," Jimmy replied.
---
Moments later, everyone converged.
Relief exploded through the group.
Hugs followed.
Some were driven by gratitude.
Some by affection.
And some, in Ben's case, were clearly opportunistic.
Once emotions settled, the full story came out. Everyone finally understood what had happened.
They thanked Jimmy repeatedly.
Then Gordon Mitchell spoke.
"As of now," Gordon said calmly, "I'm officially withdrawing support for Byron Mitchell Biotech."
The group went quiet.
"I'm placing the company under trusteeship with Sam Rogers's firm"
He looked around. "There's no Blood Orchid, Not even a sample. And the stone spider project was never legitimate to begin with."
Sam looked stunned.
Gail, however, looked shaken.
She had just graduated and joined Jack Byron as his assistant. She had worked nonstop, hoping to prove herself.
Now the company was gone before she had even begun.
Ben and Tran stepped in to comfort her.
How much of that comfort was genuine and how much was an excuse to hug longer than necessary was unclear.
Soon after, Gordon waved Ben over.
"Patch bill up first."
Ben pulled Jimmy's medical kit and went to work.
Johnson's arm had been grazed by a bullet. The round had passed through cleanly, but without proper treatment, infection could still kill him.
Sam picked up the satellite phone and contacted Wexel Hall.
She explained everything.
What she heard back made her expression darken.
"They say Jack called an hour ago," she said slowly. "He asked them to arrange a boat, Claimed he had already secured the Blood Orchid."
She clenched her jaw. "He told them the rest of us were dead, Killed by snakes."
Sam closed her eyes briefly.
She did not swear.
But she came very close.
She explained Jack's actions in detail, Shooting the captain, Using the spider on Gordon. Abandoning the team.
"This was attempted murder," she said flatly. "If not for Jimmy, Ben, Gordon, and Tran would all be dead."
Gordon nodded. "Once we're back in New York, I'll sign the transfer papers immediately. The trusteeship takes effect at once."
Wexel Hall approved the funds.
They could not help with boats.
That part was on them.
Johnson shrugged. "That's manageable. I know people."
Gordon clapped him on the shoulder. "Wexel Hall's credit is solid, Payment won't be an issue."
Jimmy listened, then spoke.
"Good! Call a boat. Forget the bamboo raft, That thing wouldn't get you out of Borneo even if the river was friendly."
He glanced at the dark water. "There are crocodiles and pythons out there, A real boat barely makes it. That raft never would."
He paused, then added, "You know the real tragedy, People die with money left unspent. Call the boat. Survive first."
He looked toward the trees.
"So.. Tonight, Do we stay here Or head back to the Ropa settlement."
The jungle did not answer.
But everyone felt the weight of the choice.
"Are we sure there aren't any more giant pythons around here," Cole asked, glancing nervously into the darkness.
"It's fine," Ben said, clapping him on the shoulder. "We've got a certified python killer with us."
Cole laughed weakly. "Then we actually have two, one is Mr Jimmy here. The other is the last Valkyrie herself, Sam Rogers."
He grew animated as he spoke.
"You didn't see it. I barely crawled out of that cave when this massive python came after me, Head this big. Mouth wide enough to swallow a person whole."
He chopped the air dramatically. "Sam took one step forward and took its head clean off, One swing, Done!"
Sam glanced at Jimmy.
Then at the Cloud Cutter Blade in his hand.
With Ben, Tran, and Bill all injured, and everyone else completely exhausted, the decision was easy.
They would rest here for the night.
At dawn, they would head back to the Ropa settlement and wait for extraction.
Even under perfect conditions, a boat would take at least seven days to reach them.
This was not a place to linger.
---
Jimmy whistled softly.
Horus descended from the canopy and landed nearby.
The sudden appearance sent Bill's monkey, Kong, into a panicked frenzy.
The bird's unusual coloration drew several stares, but no one had the energy to ask questions.
The jungle was still dangerous.
They set a rotating watch, built a ring of fire, and one by one, the group collapsed into exhausted sleep.
---
At first light, Jimmy led them back toward the Ropa settlement.
Horus flew overhead, guiding them along the safest route. By sunset, they were back at the tribal grounds.
Jimmy stopped at the edge of the trees.
"Well," he said calmly. "Good luck to all of you, I'm heading on with my journey."
He gave a casual wave and turned toward the forest.
"Jimmy," Ben called after him. "The jungle's crawling with pythons right now. It's not safe."
Jimmy laughed. "For me, it's safe, For them, it isn't."
And with that, he disappeared into the trees.
---
Jimmy and Horus returned to the landslide site later that day.
The collapsed cliff still loomed over the riverbank.
Jimmy looked at the Horadric Cube in his hand and nodded.
"Let's start."
Horus scorched the soil with controlled bursts of flame, hardening the earth.
Jimmy descended carefully and began transferring compacted soil into the Cube, relocating it elsewhere.
Occasionally, a half-buried python was uncovered.
Barely alive.
Horus considered those payments.
Jimmy had noticed something earlier.
Just a glance.
But enough.
That massive stone beneath the Blood Orchid had not been ordinary.
The flowers had not grown there by accident.
Jimmy decided to dig it out.
Horus, meanwhile, was perfectly content with the buried snakes.
It took two full days.
When the stone finally came free, Jimmy tested it with the Cloud Cutter.
The blade tip shattered on impact.
Jimmy went still.
Anything harder than the Cloud Cutter meant only one thing.
Vibranium.
He extended his claws and pressed against the surface.
The resistance confirmed it.
With a satisfied nod, Jimmy stored the massive stone inside the Cube's space and carried it to the river to wash it clean.
The smell lingered.
Strong.
Unpleasant.
Like concentrated fertilizer.
Jimmy grimaced.
"Yeah," he muttered. "Definitely worth investigating."
The jungle watched in silence.
And somewhere far away, a boat was finally being prepared.
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