The situation became clear: there were indeed natives on the island, and they seemed highly dangerous. Butterfly had been captured and subjected to unimaginable torture by the natives. The tattered fur she wore was probably taken from the natives, and her original clothes might have been confiscated. Throughout the winter, she must have endured the harsh conditions within the native tribe.

For some reason, Butterfly had managed to escape the tribe recently and was ultimately rescued by me. However, Butterfly did not regain consciousness, and our medical supplies and medicines were limited. Despite our efforts to care for her, Butterfly succumbed to her numerous injuries without waking up or exchanging a word with us. We didn't even know her real name!

Everyone felt saddened, losing another life right before our eyes, feeling helpless. I buried Butterfly next to Wang Qin's grave. However, what none of us anticipated was that, while burying Butterfly, we discovered a blood-stained message hidden in her fur apron—a blood-stained cloth torn from what seemed to be a shirt, stained with mud and blood, bearing the marks of weathering. On this soiled piece of cloth, words were written in blood, though somewhat blurry, still discernible. The first thing that caught my eye was a large English word, "help."

Following that were a series of names: "We, Mei Fanghua, Liu Ning, Zhou Zhilang, Du Feng, Zhang Fan, Liang Jiewen, have been captured by the savage natives and enslaved. In the deep jungle to the northwest, help!" The word "help" was repeated several times, and the blood-stained writing appeared distorted, conveying a deep sense of fear.

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Seeing this blood-stained message, I roughly understood their plea. Butterfly believed that there might be rescuers outside, risking her life to escape the native tribe. She hoped to convey the message of Mei Fanghua and the others being enslaved by the natives to the outside world, expecting help to arrive. As I carefully examined the list of names on the blood-stained cloth, I couldn't help but feel shocked.

There were several people I knew on the list—Liang Jiewen, Liu Ning, both colleagues of mine, and Liu Ning was even a close friend. Moreover, I unexpectedly found Du Feng's name on the list. He hadn't perished after being shot that day! Instead, he had fallen into the hands of the natives. If not for this, he wouldn't have survived the heavy snowfall of the past few days.

However, I didn't feel much anger or disappointment. If Du Feng fell into the hands of the natives, his fate might be worse than death. After all, Butterfly bore numerous scars, and Du Feng's life in the native tribe could be more miserable than death, like a puppet manipulated every day.

Additionally, upon seeing this blood-stained message, both Su Jie and I felt complex emotions. Du Feng might not be worth worrying about, but Liang Jiewen and Liu Ning were our acquaintances. Liang Jiewen was Su Jie's close friend, and my relationship with Liu Ning was very good—we often helped each other. Learning about their misfortune now, how could our hearts not ache?