The snake spat out its venom.
Wu Fan parted the waist-high wolf tail grass in front of him, the fiery red wolf tail grass, and the softer horsetail grass. Behind him lay a sea of wild mugwort, and he was wearing a grass crown woven from mugwort leaves.
Carefully, he advanced, using a wooden stick in his hand to tap the soil at the base of the wild grass. After tapping each clump, he dared to peel back the next one. His recent search in the woods had put him on alert. A fiery red ant had passed by his fingertip, and who knew what else might appear when he peeled back the leaves. With the stick in hand, he was prepared for anything.
The snake swiftly slithered through the mugwort, its prey getting closer and closer. It couldn't help but salivate.
Just fifteen minutes ago, when Wu Fan had left 22 under a poplar tree, the man with lifeless brown hair could only utter one word, "water." He needed it. If he didn't replenish his water soon, he couldn't guarantee that something even more unfortunate wouldn't happen next.
Wu Fan tied the reins of the big guy to the tree trunk. "Good boy, stay here and behave. I'll be back soon." He patted the smooth scales on its body. The Quetzalcoatlus
watched him with puzzled and uncomprehending green eyes as he gradually walked away.
Wu Fan traversed the woods, turning over many clods of earth and slabs of stone. He found some caves, some seemingly safe, and some hiding danger. However, he couldn't find a water source no matter what. "I need to hurry, or he might really die of thirst." He wiped the sweat from his forehead. "If only sweat could be drunk, that would be great." He lazily thought to himself.
He struggled to recall the survival knowledge 22 had taught him. ( 22 was a great teacher who had shared a lot of useful wilderness survival knowledge with Wu Fan along the way, as if he knew the boy would eventually need it. The more detailed he spoke, the more repelled the boy felt. He felt as annoyed as the sparrows chirping incessantly on the branches.) "The soil will tell you the location of the water source, followed by the plants," he tried to find moist soil, plants with hairy roots, plump wild vegetables, and wild fruits. "If you really can't find a water source, the juice of wild vegetables and fruits can also alleviate thirst. But you have to be careful. The more vibrant the color, the higher the probability of toxicity. Secondly, the taste. Poisonous wild vegetables and fruits emit a charming fragrance and often sway in front of you, luring you towards death." 22 had said the same thing. Unfortunately, Wu Fan had not found any water sources or any wild fruits and vegetables along the way.
The snake squinted its eyes. It had long forgotten when it had last eaten a person, but the taste of human flesh was unforgettable.
The wind blew through the treetops, masking the faint sounds it made as it crawled. The boy bent down, and he would never discover it. This was the perfect opportunity to launch an attack.
"Ah," a deafening cry of pain.
Wu Fan felt something biting his neck, as if several knives were being thrust into his back.
"Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah," he tried to free himself from whatever was biting his back, struggling desperately like a flapping hen.
That familiar feeling again, pain, weakness, cold blood, fading consciousness.
It had succeeded. Twisting its long body, it threw the boy aside, then faced the helpless prey. Its flat head gently passed through the boy's belly, curling him up like a chopstick entwined with noodles.
The bone was about to be crushed, and the boy couldn't help but let out a more painful sound. The ground was covered in blood, and his thin outer garment was torn into pieces by the scattered stones, the gravel rubbing against his tender skin, leaving a winding trail of blood ahead.
With a cry, a mouthful of yellow juice spurted out, followed by fresh blood oozing from the corner of his mouth. The large snake dragged him through the grass, like a striking black amidst the green. At first, he could still shout and resist, but later it turned into groans. Finally, he felt something blocking his throat, rendering him speechless.
"Am I really going to die this time?" He felt drowsy, but couldn't close his eyes. Whenever he did, the intense pain in his back would wake him up again.
It carried him through the tall dogtail grass, over the lush, low carpet of greenery, to the base of a giant oak tree. The pale trunk, the emerald leaves, like a weathered old man with a head of thick hair, and the vines hanging from the branches concealed a dark hole.
It took him into the hole.
As the last bit of light turned into a dot, the surroundings plunged into endless darkness.
The air was filled with the peculiar smell of decaying plants, the sour stench of rotting mud, mixed with some indescribable strange odors. "I can't breathe, I can't breathe," the mud blocked his mouth and nose. He lay in the viscous sludge, the cold water stimulating his nerves, making him slightly more alert. He quickly grabbed the snake's back, which was strangling his neck, and tried to lift his head higher. Something suddenly tangled in his hair, feeling hard like a plant's root.
The snake's back was so smooth, he felt himself sinking into suffocation. "I can't die, I can't die," he warned himself in his mind. Tears slid from his eyes, mixing with the mud.
Finally, he couldn't hold on any longer. He let go of the snake's back with both hands, and his head sank into the sludge. "So cold, I'm so cold." Death felt like an invisible, icy hand tightly squeezing his neck, exerting pressure on the bones in his chest.
"Ah, so warm," when he closed his eyes, there was an indescribable warmth all over his body, as if someone was holding him. "Who?" He looked up and saw a young woman with gentle eyes smiling at him. He lay in her arms. "Mom, Mom," he laughed like a baby in swaddling clothes, tears of joy streaming from his eyes.
Wu Fan opened his lifeless eyes. "Let me take one last look at this world." But all he could see was darkness, like a fallen leaf in a stream, flowing into an even more crowded cave. His body slowly sank in the soft cave.
"You're tired enough, rest well." The voice whispered in his ear. "Yes, I'm tired, I'm really tired," he reluctantly closed his eyes.
The moon is always gentle and harmless, but who has seen its angry side?
The great serpent saw it, just before its death.
It saw a boy sitting slanted in front of it, the boy's eyes reflecting two cold and bright full moons. In that gentle moonlight, it witnessed its own demise. He was no ordinary human, his squatting posture, silent dignity, reminiscent of the supreme deity in long-forgotten ancient legends.
The great serpent coughed, a spurt of blood splashed onto the boy's body. The boy's expression remained unchanged. He dipped his right hand into the bloodstain, then slowly put it into his mouth, a bit salty and a bit sweet. The great serpent kept coughing, blood foam continuously spewing from its mouth, its insides already a mess. Just as it spat out the boy, the dark world, death in tow, it was unwilling. It opened its mouth wide, wanting to swallow the boy again. The boy lightly touched it with his right index finger, a comfortable sensation flowed into its mind through its nostrils. It remembered its master, remembered the happy times.
In that instant, revenge became meaningless. The great serpent slowly closed its deep green snake pupils, the intricate tree roots being the last scene it saw while alive.
It crawled out of the cave, covered in mud, blinking with dazed eyes. The back of the little mud man was swept by the vines, a fiery pain from the left shoulder to the coccyx.
Wu Fan was like a living corpse, or a machine, his mind unclear, his steps floating.
He looked blankly at the vial in his hand, "He needs water, I need to get it to him quickly." This thought occupied his mind.
What had happened before? He vaguely remembered entering a warm world, someone whispering to him, saying he was too tired, asking him to rest, and then he fell asleep. When he woke up, he took out the vial that 22 had given him, the unused crimson vial. 22 had told him that this vial could only be used externally, not ingested. So he could only pour the last drop of liquid into the pool at his feet, then drowsily refill the vial from the pool.
Wading through the knee-deep sludge, crawling over soft dry soil, retracing his steps, following the trail of fresh blood, walking into and out of the woods, he arrived at 22's side.
The brown-haired man's lips were purple, his eyes vacant, gasping for breath, "Water, water, water," his throat felt like it was blocked by a hot coal. Wu Fan knelt down, removed the cotton plug, and the dark red liquid flowed into the man's throat. "Cough, cough, cough," the brown-haired man coughed violently a few times. Feeding him was like pouring water into a furnace. The boy quickly turned him over, continuously pounding his back, mud and sand falling from the corners of his mouth, "Water, water, water," he rolled over again, turning his head towards Wu Fan.
Wu Fan plucked a leaf from a branch, rolled it into a bowl shape, carefully poured the liquid into the leaf bowl, ensuring it was free of impurities before offering it to 22's lips. Watching the man eagerly suck the liquid from the leaf, he couldn't help but wonder, "Is he drinking blood?"
After giving 22 water several times, the man finally turned his head to the side, looking at the sunlight shining on his legs. The boy propped up the man's arm and dragged him into the shade. 22 grumbled discontentedly, and Wu Fan felt the pain in his back almost making him faint.
He wanted to touch the scales on the Quetzalcoatlus
's body, perhaps the sentient creature would bring him some comfort, but he was too weak to do so. He leaned against 22, his back against the tree, curled up like a stray dog, and fell asleep.
He was awakened by the noon sun, the sunlight coiling around his ankles like a venomous snake. The pain in his back became increasingly severe, the wound from the snake bite was festering, and Wu Fan spat out a mouthful of saliva, feeling a strange and nauseating taste in his mouth.
He tore off a piece of mud from his face, the grey-black sludge like a heavy cocoon covering his body. "Ouch," he exclaimed, holding the injured shoulder with his good hand, his consciousness becoming clearer, but the pain becoming more acute.
Wu Fan glanced at 22 still sleeping at his feet. The man's complexion was no longer as flushed as before, more like lime soaked in cold water. He dragged him closer.
"You saved me," 22 opened his eyes, the sunlight filtering through the leaves shining on his brown eyes. "Thank you," his gaze was so clear.
Wu Fan hesitated for a moment, "It's nothing, sir," the boy was not ready to accept gratitude from others.
"What's wrong with you?" 22 reached out and patted his arm, but he reacted like a startled rabbit, "Nothing," he gritted his teeth, the pain making his eyes narrow into slits.
"Tell me, what really happened to you?" His eyes flashed with an unyielding sharpness.
"I encountered a snake, and a cave." Wu Fan recounted everything that had happened to him in the cave.
"I really don't know what happened. When I woke up, I was already back in front of you." 22 repeatedly asked about his experience in the cave, and whenever Wu Fan tried to remember, a strong electric current flashed through his mind, more painful than the wound on his back, forcing him to give up.
"Take me there, take me to the cave you mentioned." 22 crawled, moving with his hands, like a snake.
"Sir, perhaps we can wait for the sunlight to be a bit gentler." Wu Fan looked at the damned sun above his head, unsure if 22 could withstand the "journey".
"45, Wu Fan. I'm not as fragile as you think, I'm not a delicate vase." 22 smiled, and Wu Fan looked at his unconvincing smile, grabbing his collar, carrying him on his back. It was more like dragging than carrying, as 22 was half a head taller, and his body was heavier than he had imagined.
"Let me down, I can walk by myself."
The boy turned a deaf ear to his words, feeling the stubbornness from 22 on his back. He couldn't refuse his help. His chest had already been warmed by the man, and the boy's back was bleeding, the blood dripping into the soil, onto the grass, the sunlight shining in the blood, "Perhaps he really is the star of hope," at that moment, he seemed to believe more in that ancient prophecy.
They arrived at the base of the oak tree, and Wu Fan pushed aside the vines hanging over the cave entrance. "Wu Fan, I can do it, trust me, put me down," the boy placed him down with a doubtful look.
22 gave a bitter smile, shook his head, the boy's gaze made him angry, but he couldn't say anything. "Wu Fan, come with me." He lay on the ground, and the boy imitated his posture, lying down, propping himself up with his hands, the blood on his shoulders flowing faster. His tattered clothes had become a bloodstained garment, he was covered in cold sweat, his face pale, but there was a stubbornness in his heart. 22 patted his neck, a familiar electric sensation, Wu Fan rolled his eyes, something seemed to flash across his retina, he closed his sour eyes, and when he opened them again, nothing had happened."
"Go," 22 was the first to enter the cave. As the surroundings turned pitch black, faint rustling sounds echoed in his ears. Strange things happened. Suddenly, two pale green lights appeared in front of Wu Fan, like torches placed in his eye sockets, or fireflies. His head was entangled with tangled roots, clusters of milky-white and densely packed webs, with countless black dots crawling on them—black ants. He felt his scalp tingling and quickly lowered his head. He had a fear of clusters. Beneath him was a wine-red mud, which could be used to make ceramics. He had seen people use it as paint. He followed behind 22, staring at his worn-out shoe soles, unable to resist sniffing them. He wasn't sure if he had become accustomed to the cave's smell, or if it was for psychological reasons, but he felt that the strange odour in the cave was not as unpleasant as before.
With sticky mud clinging to him, he suppressed his nausea, squinting his eyes, trying to ignore the transition from dry soil to the black-brown muddy area.
The cave sloped downwards, and the rainwater flowing down the entrance moistened the ground. The further away from the surface, the harder it was for the moisture to evaporate. As for why the red dry soil turned into black-brown when wet, Wu Fan had no idea. At the narrow end of the cave was a spacious area. Wu Fan and 22 fell into a pool. Wu Fan's memory was suddenly awakened. It was here that the great serpent had swallowed him.
What happened after it swallowed him? He felt a tingling sensation in his brain, like touching static electricity. 22 scooped up a handful of dirty blood water and poured it into his mouth. The dead great serpent lay in front of them. Its body was curved, about three to four meters long. If the space were large enough, Wu Fan estimated that if it were stretched out, it would be at least twice as long. Its body was covered with black and white patterns, and its head was round, like it was wearing a half-meter diameter helmet. Wu Fan's first reaction was that it was an oversized cobra. (At the time when the great serpent suddenly attacked him, he didn't have time to react. When the serpent dragged him, he was in a half-asleep, half-dying state. When he fully saw the serpent's appearance, you can't imagine his shock.) But it wasn't a cobra-like hood. The large helmet was its head, and faintly visible were two black seams in front of the "helmet." "This water is poisonous," he suddenly realized, but watching 22 gulp it down, he couldn't help but taste it. It was bitter on the tongue, sour in the throat, and spicy in the stomach. Three strange tastes. He quickly spat out a mouthful of saliva, feeling numbness between his cheeks and the tip of his tongue.
The water was indeed poisonous.
"Poisonous, but not lethal," 22 smiled slightly at him.
"Poisonous, why didn't you say so earlier?" Wu Fan complained.
22 looked at him sulking on the side, his smile deepening. He slowly straightened up. The cave was about two to three meters high, and the beard-like roots were about twenty to thirty centimeters away from his hair.
"This creature is called the Helmet Snake. Its blood is both a poison and a tonic. A small amount can promote blood circulation, accelerate metabolism, and improve the body's recovery ability. Only a large amount can be fatal. Haven't you noticed any changes in your body?"
Wu Fan touched his back. The wound was still inflamed, but the pain had indeed eased a bit. He could feel it scabbing over. He also scooped up a handful of murky liquid. It might knot his stomach and make his lips numb, but at least it wasn't as bad as the pain on his back.
22 looked at the broken flesh in front of the great serpent, the varying lengths of meat, the purple poison sacs, the green heart, liver, spleen, stomach, and excrement all mixed together. He gave Wu Fan a suspicious look, his sharp gaze almost causing the boy, who had just stood up, to stumble. "I don't know, I really don't know what happened. I swear," Wu Fan shook his hands repeatedly.
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22 surveyed the surroundings. It was a circular space, about five to six meters in diameter. Next to the great serpent was a large dry area covered with the wine-red soil from the front of the cave. A large pile of white bones lay deep in the cave. 22 walked up to the bone pile and picked up a smooth leg bone, feeling and sniffing it. It was a bison bone. A brown hide that hadn't been gnawed clean was pressed under a skull.
A half-buried ceramic teacup caught his attention. He brushed off the dirt on top and carefully examined the cup.
"I need your help, Wu Fan."
"What's the matter, sir?" The boy, who had been observing the great serpent's "helmet," suddenly looked up.
Seeing 22's ambiguous smile, Wu Fan was surprised. He hadn't spoken just now.
The sun kissed the scalp warmly, Le drooped his eyes, his face full of gloom.
"What a shameful and humiliating thing," Me shouted beside him.
"Enough, Me. u've said enough. If complaining could make a difference, you shouldn't have been part of this mission," Je glanced at the chief in the middle. He knew Le was feeling just as bad, after all, suffering such humiliation, no one could act as if nothing had happened.
The Revolutionary army took away their Quetzalcoatlus, stripped them of their clothes, and exposed them to another team that had always been hostile to them. What was most infuriating was that, in order to complete the mission, they had to forcibly suppress their anger and endure the mocking gazes of those idiots, seeking help from them.
The Revolutionary army had left long ago. When the pink tiger took away the target, the white-faced fox killed their mounts. The cunning fox then ordered his soldiers to strip them of their clothes as spoils of war.
The arrival of the other Imperial soldiers came a minute or two after the white-faced fox left, as if it had been rehearsed like a well-planned play. If it weren't for Le's restraint, Me would have wanted to make the long-faced, triangular-eyed soldier get off his mount so that he could shut that smiling mouth with his own fist.
As a gesture of humanitarianism, the soldiers gave them the necessary help. Me couldn't help but mutter to himself that after this mission, the elite team codenamed "Le" would be the talk of the army for at least two months, just like the last time a bunch of idiots made the same mistake, he had mocked them for several months.
But who made them lose? A sickly guy took away the target, and he single-handedly defeated the three of them. Although they hadn't tried their best, a loss was a loss, and the losers had to abide by the rules set by the winners.
The pursuit team left them with an ample supply of equipment, food, and three Quetzalcoatli.
They had come to pursue the gang led by the white-faced fox, and now that the people had fled, they naturally wouldn't stay.
The three of them watched the soldiers leave, staring blankly on the grass, waiting for the agreed time to pass quickly (the loser needed a 10-hour interval to chase the winner, this was the default rule). Several hours later, Le finally put on the equipment left by their allies and mounted the Quetzalcoatlus
, and the elite team set off again.
They searched along the possible escape route of the two, Je wearing a strange pair of goggles, the detector able to receive information emitted from the target. The chip recently made by Orichalcum
would send regular pulses, and of course, he knew the other side was not simple. The trade between the white-faced fox and the pink tiger was not only witnessed by Wufan, the modified chip also had strong interference, but they still had eyes, reliable tools with vision as keen as an eagle's.
The three of them hadn't had a sip of water for hours, and the scorching heat overhead was suffocating.
They were recognized as an elite team, and the right amount of pain would keep them alert.
Suddenly, the detector on Je's device lit up with a bunch of red dots, and then they heard the high-pitched call of theQuetzalcoatlus
, their mounts flapping their wings as they burst out of the distant woods. "They're over there," Me pointed at the blurry figure on the dinosaur's back, shouting at the frowning chief, "Le, give the order and let us redeem ourselves."
Le ignored him. Me might be a good teammate, but he had a lot of flaws, recklessness being one of them. Instead, he paid more attention to Je's opinion. Je might be overly cautious at times, but he rarely made mistakes in carrying out major tasks.
"What do you think, Je?"
"The current situation calls for splitting up, but we can't be sure of the pink tiger's condition."
Le understood his meaning. No one here was a match for the pink tiger in a one-on-one fight, and he didn't know the extent of the other's injuries.
"Save the time for later consideration, they're about to escape," Me said anxiously.
"Chase!" After a moment of thought, Le gave the order, and the three of them rushed towards the dinosaur.
They chased in the sky, both sides moving at high speed, the wind blowing on their faces as they broke through the air. Me wanted to use the laser gun to bring down the dinosaur several times, but Le always blocked his gun, "We can't harm the target." When he accepted this mission, the Commander had emphasized the importance of the target, making sure the boy suffered no harm.
The closest they got was probably only three kilometers away. "Le, something's not right," Je said, looking at the two red dots on his glasses, one deep red and the other light red. The deep red was the normal color, but the light red was clearly a problem.
"We don't have time to dwell on it, they're getting farther and farther away from us," Me couldn't stand Je's slow-paced nature. He tightened the reins, and his Quetzalcoatlus
seemed to receive some kind of command, flying faster. The distance between the two dinosaurs continued to shrink, and when it was probably only a kilometer away, the Quetzalcoatlus
in the front suddenly accelerated, like a fugitive, once again pulling the distance further. Le hated Me's recklessness, but at the moment, he had to follow suit and chase with all his might.
The trees, mountains, and clouds on the horizon flew past them on the ground, as if time was carrying them forward, until the sun descended from the sky to the mountains, the hot air carried away by the evening breeze, and night was about to fall.
Their target, the Quetzalcoatlus
, suddenly stopped moving, raising its long neck. "It should be like this, give up the resistance, you have my guarantee, we won't harm you," Me urged his mount to approach it. However, the Quetzalcoatlus
in the front suddenly let out a painful cry and crashed to the ground.
"No," Me roared like a mad dog, driving his Quetzalcoatlus
like a shooting star, but he clearly didn't realize one thing. After a long chase, their mounts were also at the end of their strength.
The four Quetzalcoatlus
crashed to the ground one after another.
When the dust settled, Me stumbled to the blood-soaked Quetzalcoatlus
, and Le followed closely. The two figures were torn in half at the waist, two broken pieces of wood, four clumps of grass, and two scarecrows wearing the target's clothes.
"We've been played," Le said, gripping the half of the wooden stick, a wolf tail grass head tied to the top of the stick, its fiery red color reflecting in his eyes, as if they were filled with two fierce flames ready to burst out.
"A man stood in a field of fiery red wolf-tail grass, his skin as pale as a corpse. He was dressed in a thick, ink-black robe, and the combination of red, black, and white created an eerie composition.
He stared at a distant oak tree, or more precisely, a cave beneath the oak tree. His trembling, pallid right hand gently caressed the soft feathers of a swallow perched on his left shoulder. "His workmanship is really rough. If it weren't for my help, how could this good show go on smoothly?" The swallow blinked its small black eyes and tilted its head, not understanding its master's words.
"Now, let's prepare for the second act," he said, and with that, the man and the bird slowly moved away from the oak tree, soon disappearing into the wild sage.
Flames licked at flesh, and in a stone bowl at his feet, snake soup still steamed. 22 tore off a piece of crispy and tender snake meat from a skewer, and Wu Fan ate with oil dripping from his mouth. He lifted the stone bowl, and a sweet and tender aroma flowed back and forth in his stomach. After more than a day without eating, constantly running around, since coming to this world, he had been drinking that damn nutritional supplement every day. Finally being able to taste meat, and the feeling of a full stomach, Wu Fan was too lazy to guess 22's intentions.
The flames burned brighter, and there was still plenty of oxygen in the cave. Bundles of dry firewood and wolf-tail grass were placed near the bonfire. At least tonight would not be a sleepless night.
The orange flames danced in the brown eyes of 22 as he held the stone bowl, but he did not drink the soup inside. A cowhide with pockmarks was draped over him, making him look like a wild man, lost in thought like an ancient man.
Wu Fan put down the stone bowl. Although the craftsmanship was very rough, it was the best tool 22 could make at the moment. Of course, he had no reason to despise him. Not long ago, the scarecrow he made was not much worse.
22 could resonate with him in thought and produce telepathy. He didn't need to speak to convey his thoughts to his mind.
Was it a unique ability of the dinosaur people or the effect of that damn memory chip? Wu Fan dared not be sure. He was startled at the time, even though 22 repeatedly said, "We can maintain conscious communication, but we cannot pry into each other's secrets, just like two communication devices that can receive and send information, but will not know what is stored inside." He thought of smartphones and was half skeptical of the man's words.
22 handed him a dozen chips. When faced with the familiar cold touch, Wu Fan almost couldn't restrain himself. He almost threw them all away. 22's large hand firmly covered his small hand, and the other hand tore off a piece of skin from the back of his neck, taking out a chip moistened with blood and covering it again on his trembling palm. Wu Fan's other idle hand involuntarily touched the back of his neck. "So it's here, the bad thing that can control my emotions."
"Listen, my dear child, can we escape this? Success or failure hinges on this one move." 22's expression was unusually serious. "You know they won't let us go. I have a plan, and I need you to execute it well. Can you do it?"
What plan could it be? Wu Fan couldn't guess what the man in front of him was up to.
"Place these chips in a relatively hidden place on the ground. Anywhere will do, but remember not to put them all together. Keep at least a distance of one or two kilometers between them. The farther apart they are, the safer we will be."
He had another request. His chip (the one taken from him) should be placed in the mouth of the wind god pterosaur they had ridden before. He also needed Wu Fan to take away his clothes, tie two straw men with wild grass, and dress the larger straw man in his clothes. The smaller one did not need to be dressed. Place him in front of the larger straw man, making it look like two figures from a distance.
A chip was also placed on the smaller straw man. On the way back, bring back some firewood and weeds, preferably straight wolf-tail grass. Bury the last chip above the cave under the oak tree with mud.
"It's been a long time since I've had fresh food." 22 glanced at the motionless big snake beside him and licked his lips. "When you come back, I promise to let you eat your fill." He pressed the boy's shoulder hard again. "Wu Fan, listen, this is a matter of great importance. My injuries are too severe now, and I can only rely on you. You won't let me down, will you?"
Why did this sound so familiar, Wu Fan thought. It seems like I promised someone before, who was it? He looked at 22's tightly closed mouth and realized that his thoughts might be being stolen. He quickly dispelled the unnecessary thoughts and repeated to himself, "I am now an emotionless robot."
He did everything 22 asked for. Most of it was quite simple, except for making those two straw men. He was never a handy person, so when the work was done, looking at the loose and failed products, it was as if he had created two stunted monsters, not to mention following 22's orders to place the two creatures he made on the back of the big guy and ensure they wouldn't easily fall off.
Wu Fan was busy for a long time, until he was sure that his work didn't look too bad (in fact, it didn't change much, the wolf-tail grass was haphazardly tied to the branches, and the two crooked dolls didn't fall off from the wind god pterosaur). He patted the big guy's cheek, and the green giant licked his face with its warm tongue.
"It's itchy. Okay, I'm leaving. I'll come back to see you soon," he untied the reins tied to the tree, as per 22's request. "Goodbye, big guy." When he left, he waved to it with a smile, not realizing that this would be their last meeting.
If he had known 22's plan from the beginning, and that 22 could control the chip in the mouth of the wind god pterosaur to make it go die, Wu Fan would definitely not have untied the reins of the wind god pterosaur. It was his friend, just like the little dog he had raised when he was a child.
The stems crackled in the flames, and a piece of wood had already oozed white sap, emitting a strong fragrance. It was the smell of pine resin. Wu Fan stared at the bonfire, and it seemed like there were two red little people embracing and dancing in the flames.
"Wu Fan, you have to go now." The brown-haired man suddenly came to his senses, looked at the boy, and then at his own shoes."
"They returned to this place, where the golden sun had been replaced by the silvery moon, and the stars in the sky seemed to mock their failed attempts.
Several hours ago, they had let their hungry mounts feed on the carcass of a dead comrade. Its frenzied escape was not something they could control. Someone had issued an irresistible command in its mind. Je took a blood-stained chip from its mouth, showing a deep red colour on the detector. Another chip was found on the straw man, with a lighter red colour, indicating that it didn't contain much memory information.
Me and Quetzalcoatlus were exposed to the scorching sun all day, their blood still warm. He was really thirsty. Je and Le, on the other hand, clearly had no appetite.
The three dinosaur men lay on the ground together to rest and recuperate until their mounts regained some strength, then they rode the exhausted Quetzalcoatlus back the way they came.
Another disgrace. Me was dejected, Je was sullen, and Le remained silent.
They flew over a grove of oak trees, and an unfresh blood trail caught Je's attention. Le ordered the dinosaurs to stop, and Je picked up a piece of mud, tasting it in his mouth. "Yes, it's them."
"They were hiding here before, right?" Me pushed aside the branches hanging at the entrance, revealing a dark cave. "There was indeed a signal coming from here before." Je adjusted the tester on his eyes, and all the red dots on it had disappeared.
"Le, let's continue the pursuit." The night made the mind clear, but repeated failures easily dampened spirits, not only for the dinosaurs but also for their masters. Me's voice was not as excited as before.
"No, we go in," Je pointed to the cave in front of them.
"Do you know what I just remembered?" A lewd smile unconsciously appeared on Je's lips. "You mean vagina?" Me naturally understood what he meant. A dark cave, tangled vines, and a damp night inevitably led to such thoughts.
"If the earth is a mother, we are sliding into her vagina and slipping into her womb." Le's face was very serious. He had no intention of joking, holding a handful of mud close to his nose. "I smell the scent of the snake people. A snake person has been here."
Seeing the captain's expression, Je quickly put away his previous casual attitude, also sniffed forward with his nose, and carefully examined the traces below. Even though the outlines were blurry, the slightest clues could not escape his sharp eyes. "It's the Helmet Snake. A snake person assassin has been here on a mission."
"So the snake people took them away?" Me realized belatedly.
The notorious snake person assassins were among the most despised types of operatives in this world. Most of them served the Blackwater Snake Royal Family, while some had escaped government control and were bought by lawless territories. They were a group of opportunistic scoundrels, lacking basic loyalty. For them, as long as the benefits were sufficient, even family could be betrayed.
Me couldn't help but worry about the two of them. He had a special feeling for Pink Tigers, despite their opposing positions. He had always admired their actions. He was a real man, a tough guy. It was better for him to die at my hands than to fall into the hands of the despicable snake people.
The "womb" of the earth was even more spacious than the three had imagined. They climbed out of the sewage, and Le looked up at the cave ceiling, where milky white roots crisscrossed the stones. Then he glanced to the side."
Dry heat rose from the ground as he passed by the conspicuous large snake, picking up a handful of coal ash and sniffing it. There was no mistaking it - the scent of burnt wolf-tail grass and pine resin. His experience told him that these burning materials would last no more than three or four hours. Je half-knelt beside the large snake, carefully examining it. This type of Helmet Snake was a pet of the snake people.
He touched the rough scales of the large snake, closing his eyes to sense signs of life, but the snake clearly had no breath. He couldn't feel anything. "Le, take a look at this." Me's scream successfully drew the attention of the other two. There were traces of dragging in front of a pile of cow bones, as well as a pool of blood.
"Someone was injured," Je dipped his middle finger into the blood and licked it. "It's our people's blood, not the snake people's." Even if hybrids didn't have the pure bloodline of purebreds, the taste wouldn't be too different.
"Le," Je handed a piece of milky white tree root to his teammate. In Le's mind, an image involuntarily emerged - the wounded Pink Tiger fighting a snake person assassin, and the snake person's pet suddenly launching an attack. The Pink Tiger and the boy killed the snake person's pet, but paid a price, and they were captured by the snake people.
But what about the snake meat? Je picked up a smooth straw, and the pointed end had some roasted snake meat residue. In three stone bowls, there was a thin layer of grease.
"Perhaps they weren't fighting, or their struggle was only temporary," Je voiced his thoughts.
"Do you suspect that this snake person assassin was bought by the lawless territories and came to meet them?" In Me's understanding, the snake person assassin's eyes were only filled with interests.
"It's also possible that they came to capture them," Je observed the traces of the fight on the ground. As an excellent observer, his observations were meticulous. There were marks of restraint, imprinted by the kind of tree root in his hand. The bound person was facing downwards, lying on the ground, so the imprints weren't as deep on the back as they were on the front.
"Treat the distinguished guests who haven't had meat for a long time by slaughtering your own pet as a treat. It seems to be a good way to entertain guests," Le added, "Well, let's continue the search. There are no clues we want here." He was the first to leave the cave, his chest covered in mud. As he left, he glanced back at the large snake lying alone on the ground, lifeless, just a corpse.
Je saw the traces of escape from the sky, in the opposite direction from the oak forest. If it weren't for Quetzalcoatlus being exhausted, the three of them would have had to walk, making it difficult to find these faint traces.
They led their mounts step by step along the blood trail. It was midnight, and there were insects and birds chirping in their ears. Le let go of the reins, recalling the words of the superior when they left: "If you can bring them back, that's fine. If you really can't find them, then let them go. It's also part of the plan."
"Plan," Le hummed, his mouth twitching into a slight smile.
The bloodstains and disarrayed tracks stopped in front of two rows of silver pines. Before dawn, the moonlight was like a sheer white veil gently covering the beautiful body of the earth. At the end of the pine trees, a pile of ghostly large three-toed footprints appeared.
"Le, things are getting magical," Je pointed to the footprints.
"It's indeed strange. No one dares to violate the law, even the revolutionary army." Le was a bit uncertain. In his impression, such footprints could only belong to one type of creature. Except for the dinosaur people, no other higher beings were allowed to privately raise dinosaurs. This was a universally accepted rule in this world, established since the birth of the dinosaur people. The snake people couldn't have done this. If they did, it would undoubtedly be the greatest provocation to all the dinosaur people.
Regardless, now that things had come to this, they could only continue tracking. After a few hours with the lazy moon as their companion, the golden sun took over to accompany the world. The footprints disappeared at the edge of a small lake. They circled the lake for inspection. This time, to not miss any traces, Le jumped into the water, Je flew into the sky on his mount, and Me meticulously cleared away the weeds, one by one.
After confirming that their search had not been in vain, Je said to Le, "I think we've completed the mission, Le."
"Then let's report back," Le said.
"Can we assign this kind of task to other teams in the future?" Me complained. Thinking about the frustrating days ahead, he couldn't help but feel a bit sad. Even when they left, their superior had said that if they could find the target and bring them back, that was fine. If they couldn't find them, that was also acceptable. It was part of the plan.
Je turned a dial on the detector, and a fragmented electronic frequency sounded. A blurry image appeared on his lens. "Commander, Team Le has completed the mission. Please advise."
"Return," a deep voice said.
"Return," Le repeated the commander's order loudly to his teammates. He held onto the wings of Quetzalcoatlus, as if mounting a horse, and rolled onto the dinosaur's back. He shook the reins, and Quetzalcoatlus shifted its feet slightly, changed direction, spread its wings, and leaped into the azure sky, heading towards the white clouds, followed by the three Quetzalcoatlus.
On a cliff, a man with a sorrowful expression watched the three figures disappear into the sky. He pulled a pale right hand from his robe. "My bird, there's a saying, 'The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.' " A swallow landed cheerfully on his shoulder, and the man reached out to the side. A Sinovenator lowered its head to receive his touch. This dinosaur only had three toes. "Look, the next act will be even more exciting." The man's face trembled, whether from fear, excitement, or both.
The dark cave was always quiet until a long-dead body suddenly moved. A dinosaur person suddenly opened their eyes in shock, the green pupils reflecting a vast expanse of white.