Lin Zhen: “My partner caught a pika.”
Feng Tingxuan: “My niece caught a pika.”
Both spoke in unison, their tones tinged with pride, and after speaking, they glanced at each other.
Yu Wei clicked his tongue twice: “Comrade Song, you’re quite skilled.”
Song Wei modestly replied: “I just have good aim.”
“You can catch pikas, but there’s a big rodent on the grassland that you mustn’t catch.”
Yu Wei stuffed a pancake into his mouth and ate it. After running around for so long, he was indeed hungry.
“That thing is called a marmot. It’s much bigger than a pika, chubby and meaty. In the past, some people caught and ate them, but they all ended up getting sick. Many people died from eating its meat.”
Feng Tingxuan added: “Marmots are also called groundhogs. They carry many viruses and are highly contagious. They’re definitely not suitable for eating. Also, when walking on the grassland, it’s best not to get bitten by them.”
Song Wei nodded to show she understood.
It’s just a bit of a pity. According to Uncle Yu, that thing has a lot of meat.
On this grassland, pikas are at the very bottom of the food chain.
Pretty much any carnivore on the grassland can eat them.
But these creatures are also incredibly prolific, breeding as fast as rabbits, and their growth cycle is relatively short.
Yu Wei told them: “On the high mountains over there, there are blue sheep and antelopes. Deep in the grassland, there are herds of horses, wild camels, and wild donkeys—large herbivores. But it’s also dangerous because there are snow leopards, wolves, eagles in the sky, and even bears.”
“So… those areas must never be visited.”
He was afraid that Lin Zhen and Song Wei, having just arrived, might not know these things, so he came specifically to warn them.
Lin Zhen: …There is a possibility that after you said that, someone became even more interested?
Sure enough, as soon as Lin Zhen turned his head, he saw Song Wei’s big eyes filled with curiosity.
Lin Zhen felt a bit helpless. After the old squad leader left, he grabbed Song Wei and said:
“Don’t even think about running off.”
Song Wei, with her hands behind her back, looked as innocent as could be.
“What are you talking about? How could I run off?”
Lin Zhen pinched her cheek: “Don’t think I don’t know. You want to go catch antelopes and horses.”
Song Wei snorted: “You’re wronging me. Am I that kind of person?”
“Yes.”
Song Wei: “……..”
Having someone who knows her so well is really annoying.
“You can go, but not alone.”
Song Wei muttered: “Alright, alright, I definitely won’t go alone.”
On the other side, Feng Tingxuan waved: “What are you two talking about? The sheep are moving.”
Song Wei and Lin Zhen immediately mounted their horses and followed: “Coming.”
As the sun set, Song Wei saw the marmots that Yu Wei had warned them not to eat.
Looking at the marmot’s plump, round body, comparable to a bamboo rat, Song Wei’s mouth watered.
“Why can’t we eat it? Why not? Maybe it’s because no one has found a way to eat it safely. Should we give it a try?”
Such a big one—it’s such a shame not to eat it.
Feng Tingxuan & Lin Zhen: “……..”
How greedy can you be?
Under the stern gazes of her partner and uncle, Song Wei ultimately didn’t get a chance to act and had to reluctantly give up.
The night on the grassland was beautiful. The moon was bright, the stars were clear, and even the eagles flying across the sky were visible.
Song Wei took photos of the starry sky on the grassland with her camera.
Feng Tingxuan said: “Let me show you something even more beautiful.”
He ran into the grass, and tiny points of light flew up from the grass, growing in number as he ran.
Song Wei’s eyes widened.
“So beautiful.”
Lin Zhen walked up behind her and draped a coat over her shoulders.
“Fireflies.”
A large number of fireflies rising into the air was a stunning sight, as if echoing the brilliant stars in the sky—truly magnificent.
Song Wei quickly snapped a photo, and the silhouettes of her uncle and Lin Zhen in the grass were also captured in the picture.
As the night deepened, Feng Tingxuan felt more relaxed than ever before.
He held a blade of grass to his lips and began to whistle a melodious tune.
Since arriving here, Feng Tingxuan had never felt so at ease.
In the past, when he came to herd, his heart was heavy. How could he have the mood or time to appreciate the scenery of the grassland?
With this herd of sheep and cattle, he couldn’t relax during the day, let alone at night.
“Uncle, go to sleep. We’ll take turns watching the herd.”
Feng Tingxuan was indeed exhausted.
It wasn’t just today’s fatigue—it was the accumulation of exhaustion over time. Now, in this moment of relaxation, he felt an unprecedented drowsiness.
“Alright, thank you for keeping watch.”
With that, he crawled into the simple tent and fell asleep almost instantly.
Lin Zhen: “You take the first watch. Call me when you’re tired, and I’ll take the second half of the night.”
The early part of the night was the easiest to watch. It was the later hours that made you want to sleep more.
Song Wei nodded: “Go on, go on.”
Keeping watch was a bit boring, but fortunately, the sheep and cattle were also asleep at night and wouldn’t wander off.
About an hour later, Song Wei suddenly heard a rustling sound.
The herd was also a bit restless.
She grabbed her slingshot and quickly ran over.
At the very edge of the herd, a large bird’s talons were gripping a lamb, trying to flap its wings and take off.
The little lamb was bleating in panic, but its cries were too soft and faint to be heard from a distance.
This lamb must have been born recently.
The mother sheep was anxiously circling nearby but didn’t dare to step in to help.
Song Wei cursed under her breath. She had been sneaking over, lurking near the herd, when she suddenly shot out like an arrow.
Before the greedy bird, startled, could take off, she grabbed it by the neck.
“Whoosh!!!”
After catching it, Song Wei finally understood why this creature had risked grabbing a lamb.
This thing was huge.
Its wingspan was much larger than the lamb’s. No wonder it had taken the risk.
Holding onto its flapping wings, Song Wei threatened: “If you keep struggling, I’ll twist your neck!”
“Whoosh!”
She almost lost a lamb.
Losing a lamb on her watch would have been a great humiliation for her.
Dragging the bird back, Lin Zhen had already woken up.
He was more alert and had woken up shortly after Song Wei left. Now, the two of them met halfway.
“Is this an eagle owl?”
As Song Wei dragged the creature back, she had to examine it for a long time before recognizing it.
It couldn’t be helped. Many of the animals she knew were mutated versions, and many had changed so much from the pre-apocalyptic era that they were almost unrecognizable.
But the eagle owl hadn’t changed that much—it was just bigger in the post-apocalyptic world.
Big enough to carry off an adult sheep here.
“Right, this is the nocturnal creature.”
The eagle owl is a nocturnal animal and the largest species of owl.
If no one had intervened, that little lamb might really have been carried off.
But under normal circumstances, they rarely target sheep.
Because even a lamb is a bit too big for a bird.
But this one probably saw so much meat, with a small one nearby, and couldn’t resist the opportunity to try.
And in the end, this attempt got it caught by the neck.
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