Chapter 104 – Request
The other four vehicles hadn’t driven far.
They soon found the cars, and the golden eagle swooped down with Xia the cat.
Old Liu was the first to spot them. He waved and shouted, “Have the cattle been driven away?”
“Meow!” Xia the cat meowed loudly in response, confirming the success.
The meow was loud, and with everyone having sharp hearing, they all understood what it meant.
Old Liu, watching the golden eagle fly by, had a sudden realization. “Is Captain Yan telling us to head back?”
Xia the cat was surprised by how in sync they were and immediately nodded vigorously. “Meow!”
Old Liu waved his hand and shouted, “You two fly above us, and we’ll follow in the cars.”
Dr. Ou leaned out of a car window and shouted, “Is anyone hurt? Should I rush over to help?”
Xia the cat shook his head and waved his paws in the air, indicating no one was injured.
Dr. Ou understood. “That’s good to hear!”
Satisfied with the smooth communication, the golden eagle flew lower.
The four trucks turned around and followed Kong Zhi’s lead, driving slowly in his direction.
Kong Zhi and Xia the cat led them back to Xia Huo Qu and the others, landing and shifting back into human form once they arrived.
Ba Niu and Xiao Tang had already started cooking. Their culinary skills weren’t remarkable, so they kept it simple, boiling beef in plain water.
The broth was already bubbling, and the aroma of beef filled the air.
When Old Liu and the others arrived, they parked the trucks in a circle and got out.
The smell of the boiling beef and the sight of the meat already prepared around the fire made everyone’s stomachs growl.
Old Liu approached and asked, “Captain Yan, everything okay now?”
Yan Xi Nian, sprawled out lazily by the fire, shook his head. “It’s all fine. The giant cattle have been driven away, and the next part of our journey should be relatively safe.”
Old Liu sighed in relief. “You’ve worked hard. When it’s our turn to lead, we’ll handle any snakes, rats, or insects.”
Yan Xi Nian gestured for him to sit. “Sounds good. But we’ll still need to head to the honeysuckle area this afternoon.”
Old Liu nodded. “Understood. We’ll scout the area nearby this afternoon, and tonight we’ll rest up. Tomorrow, we can explore the school building and the lab.”
Dr. Ou came over, representing the female team members, and said, “Captain Yan, we’d like to explore on our own this afternoon. We’re thinking of checking out the cafeteria.”
Yan Xi Nian agreed, “That’s fine. Just be careful and call for help if anything happens.”
Dr. Ou smiled. “Don’t worry. We might not be the strongest, but we’re good at staying safe.”
After a few quick exchanges, the afternoon plans were settled, and the atmosphere lightened.
Old Liu wandered over to check the calves in the back of the trucks, his eyes filled with envy.
“You’re really lucky, Captain Yan. We’ve searched so many times for supplies and only found two mildly mutated cows. You guys managed to find seventeen at once.”
Of the seventeen calves, Ba Niu and Xiao Tang hadn’t contributed much, so they’d probably only get two cows each. That meant the remaining fifteen belonged to Yan Xi Nian’s group.
Just the fifteen calves alone made this trip a huge success, even without considering anything else.
Yan Xi Nian said, “Fortune favors the brave. You’ll always gain more when you risk your life.”
Old Liu, thinking about the terrifying giant cattle, nodded in agreement. “That’s true. It’s one thing to find supplies, but you need to survive to bring them back.”
Xia Lu Nong, who had been listening to the conversation, was so tired that he almost fell asleep.
Exhausted, he ignored them and grabbed a bowl, filling it with soy sauce, vinegar, and chili sauce. He prepared a dipping sauce and started getting lunch ready.
Old Liu, smelling the sauce, poked his head out from behind. “Mind sharing some of that chili sauce? Yours smells incredible. After trying your sauce, everything else just doesn’t compare.”
“Brother Liu, don’t exaggerate,” Xiao Tang chimed in. “You’ve eaten their chili sauce before and loved it!”
Despite the banter, Xiao Tang called out to Xia Lu Nong, “Hey, Xia Nong, can I have some too? Your chili sauce is amazing!”
Xia Lu Nong’s chili plants were incredibly productive, and his family had stockpiled several jars of chili sauce and nearly a hundred pounds of dried chili peppers.
He waved generously. “Help yourselves. Just make sure to return the jar later.”
Xiao Tang cheered, “Xia Nong, you’re the best!”
Ba Niu added, “Xia Nong, you’re awesome!”
Luo Cong Xin chimed in, “Xia Nong, uh, you’re, uh, bold! Bold!”
Everyone burst into laughter, and the mood became lively.
Xia Lu Nong grabbed a large chunk of boiled beef from the pot.
The beef was tender and fell apart easily. He sliced it into thin pieces with a knife.
He dipped the steaming beef into the sauce, and when he pulled it out, it was coated in a rich, oily sheen, gleaming enticingly.
Xia Lu Nong stuffed the beef into his mouth, blowing on it to cool it down while savoring the tender, juicy, and flavorful meat, which had a unique milky fragrance typical of fresh beef.
Xia Lu Nong ate slice after slice of beef, thoroughly enjoying himself.
Kong Zhi and Xia Huo Qu were beside him, slicing more beef for him.
Xia Lu Nong raised his hand to block the bowl. “You guys eat too, I can slice my own.”
Kong Zhi glanced at him but didn’t insist.
Xia Huo Qu said, “I’m just slicing for you a few while I eat.”
Everyone had shifted into their beast forms earlier, which took a lot of energy, so they needed to replenish with plenty of food.
The freshly cut beef was piled nearby, and they kept boiling pot after pot until everyone had eaten to their heart’s content.
By the time they finished lunch, they had consumed at least half of the beef, easily over a hundred pounds.
Xia Lu Nong alone had eaten at least two pounds, so much that he felt the meat was stuck in his throat. He burped, and the taste of beef filled the air.
“That was satisfying,” Xia Lu Nong said, patting his stomach, his eyes drooping with sleepiness.
Kong Zhi reached out and gently lifted his face, whispering in his ear, “If you’re sleepy, go take a nap. I’ll get you a sleeping bag.”
Old Liu overheard and turned around. “Xia Nong, you guys can sleep in my truck. It’s cleaner, and I’ve got plenty of sacks you can use as bedding.”
Xia Lu Nong’s truck was packed full of calves, with barely any room left for anything else, let alone for someone to sleep.
Kong Zhi told Old Liu, “I’ll go with him.”
Old Liu agreed. “Sure, you two go rest. We’ll all take a break, and once we’re up, we can go our separate ways to do our tasks.”
Xia Lu Nong was already so exhausted that he barely understood what was being said. Kong Zhi led him to the truck bed and tucked him into a sleeping bag.
Xia Lu Nong fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.
Kong Zhi stayed by his side, watching him for a while before lying down next to him in another sleeping bag.
From the middle of the night until now, everyone had been busy, draining both their physical and mental energy.
Now that they could finally rest, everyone except for the lookouts fell asleep almost immediately.
The three trucks parked close together were soon filled with the sound of snores, even from the female team members’ truck. Some snores were loud, some were quiet, but it was a collective chorus.
Xia Lu Nong slept until the sun was almost setting, waking up groggy and disoriented.
He rubbed his sleepy eyes and looked around. Only Kong Zhi was beside him. “Where’s my brother?”
“They went to check the surroundings,” Kong Zhi said, handing him a water bottle. “Drink some water.”
Xia Lu Nong took a big gulp, tasting the sweet and fragrant honey water, which made his eyes crinkle with a smile. “Let’s save some for later.”
“You should use your resources when needed. If not now, when?” Kong Zhi said calmly from beside him. “If we run out, I can go out and find more honey for you.”
“No need, we’ve got plenty of honey back home,” Xia Lu Nong replied, feeling a bit awkward at the strange atmosphere in the truck. He quickly climbed out of the sleeping bag. “I’ll get out and wake myself up.”
When he stepped out, he realized there were only two trucks left nearby.
Dr. Ou and the other female team members had gone to search the cafeteria, and Old Liu had taken his team and driven off in another truck.
Ba Niu was keeping watch from the top of one of the trucks. When he saw Xia Lu Nong, he greeted him. “Woke up?”
“Yeah,” Xia Lu Nong replied. “Where’s my brother?”
“Over there,” Ba Niu said, pointing. “The one in black.”
Xia Lu Nong squinted and looked for a while before finally spotting his brother.
Xia Huo Qu and Yan Xi Nian noticed the movement on their side and walked back toward them.
Seeing that Xia Lu Nong was awake, Yan Xi Nian said, “Let’s get moving. We need to make a trip to the honeysuckle area before it gets dark. There’s still some honeysuckle that hasn’t been handed over to us.”
“No problem,” Xia Lu Nong replied, looking around. “Shall we drive there?”
“Of course. We’ll need the truck to carry all the honeysuckle.”
To avoid contamination from the calves, they had stored the honeysuckle they collected earlier in the truck’s cabin.
Now that they needed the cabin, they would have to move the honeysuckle out.
Everyone got into the truck, which rattled its way back to the honeysuckle field.
Under the setting sun, the honeysuckle bloomed even more brilliantly, the gold and silver flowers nestled among green leaves, shimmering like fragments of precious metal.
Xia Lu Nong shifted back into his beast form, and his brother carried him to the edge of the honeysuckle field.
Xia the cat lightly touched the honeysuckle vines with his paw, greeting them, “Meow.”
The entire field of honeysuckle shivered, producing a soft rustling sound.
Everyone tensed, their muscles on high alert.
Especially Kong Zhi, who was ready to shift into his beast form and swoop down to rescue the cat if needed.
“You’ve come?” The honeysuckle’s voice was calm. “You arrived sooner than I expected.”
Xia the cat replied, “We’re here to fulfill our promise.”
“No problem,” the honeysuckle responded smoothly. “I can give you the flowers now.”
Xia the cat felt slightly relieved and let out a small sigh.
The honeysuckle swayed its branches, and just like earlier, the vines moved in waves, gathering the flowers from all directions and creating a tall, long wall of blooms at Xia Lu Nong and the others’ feet.
Yan Xi Nian and Ba Niu grabbed sacks and began collecting the honeysuckle.
This time, they harvested a total of five and a half bags of flowers.
As they carried the sacks back to the truck, the honeysuckle said, “As you can see, I’m a reliable and trustworthy partner.”
“Yes,” Xia the cat meowed solemnly. “Thank you, it’s been a pleasure working with you.”
“You’re welcome,” the honeysuckle replied. “But I have a request.”
Surprised, Xia the cat hesitated before nodding. “I’m listening.”
The honeysuckle said, “Earlier, you asked how I reproduce. I was wondering if you would take my offspring back to your base and help propagate them.”
Xia the cat looked surprised. “Why?”
There seemed to be a hint of laughter in the honeysuckle’s voice as it pointed a vine toward the truck. “You’ve done a great job taking care of that little pepper plant of yours. I hope you’ll do the same with a honeysuckle or two.”
Xia the cat hesitated, his green cat eyes looking at the vast expanse of honeysuckle before him without replying.
The honeysuckle said, “Don’t worry, my offspring will be different from me. If it awakens under your care, it will become a new consciousness.”
