Chapter 152: Fully Loaded
Hearing his brother’s command through the walkie-talkie, Xia Lu Nong immediately agreed, “I’ll go find Brother Xi Nian right now. Brother, speed up and get away from here.”
Xia Huo Qu remained composed, saying, “I’m accelerating, we’ll lose them soon.”
The armored vehicle continued forward, gaining speed.
The autumn vegetation had withered, and a layer of snow covered the ground, making it look flat and smooth.
The path before the vehicle was clear.
In no time, Xia Huo Qu had managed to outpace the bears.
The bears, chasing after the vehicle, could only let out frustrated roars.
Steadily holding the steering wheel, Xia Huo Qu glanced at the rearview mirror to assess the situation and said to his brother, “It’s time—tell Xi Nian to run.”
Yan Xi Nian, in the form of a giant tiger, was surrounded by bears. The situation wasn’t favorable, but thanks to his agility, he hadn’t sustained serious injuries.
Xia Lu Nong shouted to the golden eagle, “Kong Zhi, let’s go support Brother Xi Nian.”
The golden eagle screeched in response, flapping its wings and turning to fly toward the giant tiger.
The tiger was still locked in battle with the bears.
Seeing this, Xia Lu Nong shouted down from the sky, “Brother Xi Nian, find a chance to turn back into human form! We’re coming to get you!”
“Roar!”
The giant tiger let out a fierce roar, signaling that he had heard.
Sitting on the golden eagle’s back, Xia Lu Nong nervously watched the scene below.
His shooting skills weren’t great, and with the tiger and bears so close to each other, he didn’t dare to fire, fearing he might hit the wrong target.
However, if the bears were further away, he could use his gun to disrupt their movements.
With his help, the giant tiger managed to create some distance between itself and the bears.
Xia Lu Nong shouted, “Now! Do it now!”
“Brother Xi Nian, turn back into human form!”
The giant tiger heard him, rolled on the ground, and instantly transformed into a tall man.
At the same time, he pulled off the backpack hanging around his neck, took out a long down coat, and quickly wrapped himself in it.
The golden eagle swooped down and, just as he finished putting on the coat, grabbed him around the waist and soared back into the sky.
A bear lunged at them from the side, but its attack missed, causing it to somersault into the ground.
The golden eagle, carrying both men, flew eastward, quickly catching up to the armored vehicle.
The bears were left far behind.
Despite the distance, they didn’t relax and continued flying for a while longer.
Once they had completely exited the bears’ territory, they stopped, and the four of them regrouped in front of the armored vehicle.
Kong Zhi also transformed back into human form.
The four of them, though carrying some injuries, exchanged satisfied smiles.
This time, they had reaped huge rewards—far greater than when they had previously taken down two bears!
Xia Lu Nong patted the side of the armored vehicle, producing a loud thud. “This thing is amazing! I can’t believe we got our hands on it so quickly.”
Xia Huo Qu added, “There are plenty of onboard instruments and weapons inside. Once we get back, we’ll have the scientists at White Building to check if they can reverse-engineer them.”
“Sounds good,” Xia Lu Nong said, patting the vehicle again. “If we’d had this armored vehicle when we went to the university town, we wouldn’t have had to worry about those giant bulls.”
Yen Xi Nian chuckled, “Technology advances step by step. We’ll get even better vehicles and weapons in the future. For now, let’s find our truck and take a break.”
They had hidden their truck earlier, so it should be fine.
Still, they wanted to see it with their own eyes to ensure it was unharmed.
The truck wasn’t far from their current location.
Driving the armored vehicle, they reached it quickly.
The truck was hidden at the foot of a mountain, sheltered from the wind.
They parked the truck and the armored vehicle side by side, forming a semi-circle and set up camp in the middle.
The group emerged from the warmth of the armored vehicle and lit a fire in the snow to cook meat.
With the tense atmosphere gone, they finally had time to tend to their wounds.
Yan Xi Nian had the most injuries—scratches and bites covered his torso—but fortunately, none were severe.
He sat with his legs spread by the fire, while Xia Huo Qu treated his wounds.
The wounds were disinfected first, then medicated, followed by oral antibiotics.
Luckily, the cold weather reduced the risk of infection, making the treatment easier.
After tending to his injuries, they moved on to Xia Lu Nong.
Xia Lu Nong didn’t have any cuts, just bruises and swelling.
Kong Zhi helped apply a medicinal liniment to his bruises.
Kong Zhi warmed the liniment in his hands before rubbing it into Xia Lu Nong’s bruises, using firm pressure that made Xia Lu Nong wince in pain.
Xia Lu Nong hissed softly, then glanced across at Yan Xi Nian, who was sitting calmly on a low stool.
Yan Xi Nian sat there like a deity, his expression serene and composed.
Taking a deep breath, Xia Lu Nong stopped showing his pain and straightened his back, trying to maintain his image.
Meanwhile, the water in the pot had already begun to boil.
Xia Huo Qu poured the boiling water into bowls, then brought out some honey and honeysuckle flowers to brew honey-honeysuckle tea.
Each of the four had a bowl of tea, sitting around the fire, warming themselves while reviewing their spoils from the trip.
The most valuable prize they had obtained this time was, without a doubt, the armored vehicle beside them.
Apart from that, they had only gathered some small items.
Earlier, Xia Huo Qu had found several notebooks.
These were work journals or diaries left behind by people from the Black Gold Base, filled with a variety of scattered information.
Flipping through the pages, Xia Huo Qu saw that none of the content was particularly private, so he started reading them carefully.
The notebooks mainly recorded the experiences of the individuals who wrote them.
From these entries, it was clear that after the great catastrophe, the mutations in plants and animals initially fluctuated between rapid changes and calm periods, but eventually settled into a stage where most mutant species exhibited increased intelligence.
The others took turns reading the notebooks as well.
Xia Lu Nong muttered, “It feels like the line between humans and mutant creatures is getting blurrier. Even if we survive the material crisis, we might face a spiritual one next.”
Yen Xi Nian replied, “With the way we’re living now, we’re far from overcoming the material crisis.”
Xia Huo Qu nodded, “I agree. Our evolution relies on absorbing the energy from mutant plants and animals, which means species conflict is inevitable. We need to be ready for a long struggle.”
Xia Lu Nong stared at the notebook, thought for a moment, and said, “Well, we’ll take it one step at a time. This is a problem for all of humanity.”
Yen Xi Nian patted his shoulder. “Lu Nong’s right. This is a problem for all of us. When we get back, I’ll send a telegraph to exchange information with the other bases. But for now, let’s focus on getting something to eat and filling our bellies.”
They had plenty of food stored in their bamboo containers.
Given the harsh environment, they weren’t picky. They boiled a pot of steaming bear meat to go with some noodles.
Dressed warmly, Xia Lu Nong broke into a sweat after eating the bear meat.
He sniffled. “I wonder when we’ll get back to the base. I’m starting to miss home-cooked meals.”
Yan Xi Nian smiled. “Once we’ve dealt with these bears, we’ll head back. We should make it before the new year. By then, the pigs will be fat, the sheep will be fat, and the fish in the pond will be fat too. You can eat whatever you want.”
Hearing this, Xia Lu Nong’s eyes lit up, and the bear meat in his mouth suddenly tasted even better.
After finishing their meal, they didn’t rush into discussing how to handle the bears.
These bears were tough to deal with. Even with their strength, they would have to approach it cautiously.
The four of them placed a pot of water over the fire and climbed into the armored vehicle to rest.
Now that they had the armored vehicle, their safety was greatly improved.
They no longer needed to keep watch outside; they could stay warm inside the vehicle, taking turns keeping watch while resting.
Exhausted, little Xia Lu Nong immediately transformed into a giant forest cat once inside, curling up with his tail in Kong Zhi’s arms and falling asleep.
The armored vehicle’s interior was spacious, with all the seats able to recline like lounge chairs.
They no longer needed sleeping bags. They just took out blankets, lowered the seats, and slept comfortably.
Kong Zhi reached out and stroked the smooth fur of Xia the Cat. Hearing a soft purring in response, he whispered to Xia Huo Qu, “Brother, we’ll sleep for a bit, then take over watch from you later.”
Xia Huo Qu waved him off. “Go ahead and rest. We won’t be moving until tomorrow. You two can sleep in as long as you need.”
Without further protest, Kong Zhi lay down, hugging Xia the Cat, and quickly drifted off to sleep.
They took turns sleeping deeply, ensuring they were well-rested before they began planning their bear hunt.
These bears were highly cooperative and held grudges—a strength, but also a weakness.
After some discussion, they decided that Kong Zhi would carry Xia Lu Nong to lure the bears away from their group, isolating them for easier targeting.
The plan went smoothly.
No matter how clever the bears were, they hadn’t received formal education; their intelligence was purely instinctual.
Meanwhile, Xia Lu Nong and his companions had learned from countless examples of brilliant strategies.
In the end, they successfully hunted down 21 bears, leaving behind three large and two small cubs.
Their bear hunt was a complete success.
Having captured so many, there was no need to exterminate the entire bear population.
Besides, wiping out a small group like that could have disrupted the local ecosystem, which concerned them.
The four of them shared similar views and unanimously agreed on this decision.
They had been out in the wilderness for over ten days now.
During this time, Xia Lu Nong had been busy planting bamboo for the storage containers, amassing a large collection that they stored in the armored vehicle.
The containers were filled with bear meat and other supplies they had gathered.
Their wealth was now among the top few percent in the entire Black Gold Base.
Content with their haul, they decided to rest for two days before returning to meet up with Xiong An Tian and the others.
In certain situations, other humans could be more dangerous than wild animals, so they needed to ensure they were in top shape before re-entering a human settlement.
Xia Lu Nong had been working hard planting bamboo tubes these past few days, making him the most fatigued of the group.
He had grown noticeably thinner, and his eyes seemed larger.
His companions insisted he rest, refusing to let him do any work. They kept giving him electronic devices to read novels or play games.
Feeling drained, Xia Lu Nong didn’t protest and decided to take it easy.
The armored vehicle was incredibly warm, the lounge chairs were comfortable, and the bamboo containers held everything they needed. Staying in the wild felt even cozier than being outside the Black Gold Base.
Lying comfortably, Xia Lu Nong felt his bones start to relax and grow lazy.
One day, as he lounged and played a management simulation game on his phone, he grew drowsy from the gameplay.
Kong Zhi was beside him maintaining their weapons, occasionally serving him tea, snacks, and giving him a quick kiss.
