Exhausted from a whole night, and after fighting the Golden-Crested Python for so long, this short meditation session couldn't fully restore him, but at least his spirit was much better than before.

Seeing Zhang Yang meditating, Su Zhantao wasn't surprised; he already knew Zhang Yang possessed formidable martial prowess.

He could only feel envy, thinking about finding an opportunity to learn from Zhang Yang if possible; the events of that day were enough to stick with him for a lifetime.

"Zhang Yang, why are you up so late today!"

Everyone outside had already gathered and were eating the meat congee prepared by Wu Zhiguo. Li Ya looked up and asked with a smile.

Wu Zhiguo couldn't eat without meat, so everyone else had to settle for meat congee too, though the flavor he achieved was truly excellent; even Yang Ling drank quite a bit more than usual.

"The wolf howls last night were quite frightening; I didn't sleep well!"

Zhang Yang replied casually, and Li Ya nodded in strong agreement. There had indeed been many wolf howls, preventing him from sleeping comfortably, and he had kept his hunting rifle close by all night.

Zhang Yang's words made Long Cheng, who was filling his bowl, tremble involuntarily.

Long Cheng thought to himself that with his level of strength, even more wolves wouldn't scare him; how could a few howls possibly startle him?

He knew clearly that Zhang Yang must have had something else going on and simply didn't want to say (Shu Shu Wu).

Long Feng was also there, his spirit having recovered significantly, and the swelling on his face had faded considerably. If you didn't look closely, you could hardly tell; that was the advantage of having Nei Jin—injuries could be self-treated.

Long Cheng wanted to help Long Feng with his breakfast, but Long Feng declined. However, this time Long Feng spoke a few more words to him, which greatly excited Long Cheng.

Before this, no matter how many times they met, Long Feng had only ever nodded at him, never like this.

What excited him most was that Long Feng had hinted there might be an opportunity for him to offer some guidance.

At this point, Long Feng's perspective had also shifted considerably.

Initially, he had followed Zhang Yang only as a bodyguard due to a wager; he hadn't understood or accepted Zhang Yang.

After experiencing so much together and sharing both hardship and joy, he had come to fully acknowledge Zhang Yang. Accepting Zhang Yang meant accepting those around him, and Long Cheng was a disciple of their Long family, so offering a few pointers was no issue.

This was his natural assumption, unaware that Long Cheng was so thrilled he was nearly in tears.

To receive guidance from an inner-sect senior would cause his strength to advance by leaps and bounds. Even if he couldn't compare to people like Zhang Yang or Long Feng, he would certainly be much stronger than others. Returning to headquarters for his report, he could hold his head high and face his family members with pride.

After eating their fill, Mayor Wang came rushing over again.

He planned to take the Joint Defense Team into the mountains today. The influx of so many ferocious beasts into the outer mountains was not a good sign, and he needed to investigate thoroughly.

He came here hoping to persuade Long Cheng and the others not to venture into the mountains today.

Unfortunately, no one paid any heed to his suggestion. Having finally managed to get out here, they wanted to enjoy themselves properly; there was no way they would stay cooped up here—that would be incredibly boring.

Since the Joint Defense Team was also going, it might as well be together. With so many people, they wouldn't be afraid of encountering any fierce beasts; even if a few more wild boars showed up, this many people could handle them.

When Long Cheng and his group objected, Mayor Wang could only agree for now.

It was fine with them if they stayed with the Joint Defense Team. The team had over twenty people this time, most armed with rudimentary muskets. Coupled with the hunting rifles of Long Cheng's group, very few wild beasts could pose a real threat to them.

Having agreed, the group immediately headed into the mountains. Er Hu and the others could only watch with envy; they had to stay behind to guard the camp. That was their primary duty.

"Why is it getting weirder day by day? Yesterday there were plenty of pheasants and rabbits here. Today, not a single one to be seen?"

An hour after entering the mountains, Huang Hai couldn't help but complain. Even with so many Joint Defense Team members, they hadn't seen a single game animal, let alone shot one.

"This area is close to the town. Should we venture further in and look around?"

Chang Feng added in agreement. They were still in the outer mountains, and he too sensed something strange, but he tried to find a rational explanation.

Huang Hai nodded, while Mayor Wang’s brow was tightly furrowed as he observed their surroundings closely.

There were usually small animals here, and he had seen tracks of their recent activity. It was definitely odd that not one was visible now.

Coupled with the large-scale movement of beasts from the deep mountains yesterday, this made him even more worried.

However, he hadn't made any concrete findings yet, so it wasn't the right time to say anything definitive.

After walking for most of the morning, they reached the edge of the deep mountains. This time, they did encounter something—only a roe deer—but they missed the shot and it escaped.

In other words, after walking for half a morning, they hadn't bagged a single piece of game, making it worse than yesterday.

"Should we head into the deep mountains then?"

Wu Zhiguo made a suggestion. He was the most anxious about not finding game; there were many delicious things he wanted to try, and returning empty-handed meant he wouldn't get his satisfaction.

"Fine, into the deep mountains!"

Huang Hai immediately agreed. Li Ya and Chang Feng also consented. Yesterday, after being intimidated by Zhang Yang, they had fled back without satisfying their hunting urge, so now was the perfect time to try again.

Long Cheng and Su Zhantao both glanced at Zhang Yang. Zhang Yang’s brow twitched slightly, but he finally nodded gently.

It was fine to enter the deep mountains; after all, the danger had been eliminated. Without the Golden-Crested Python, the threat was gone. The regular beasts or other things in the deep mountains wouldn't pose a fatal danger to them.

Since everyone was here to hunt, Zhang Yang didn't want to dampen their spirits.

After consulting with Mayor Wang and his team for a while, they decided to split into two groups.

Half of the Joint Defense Team members would remain in the outer mountains to continue surveying for any lurking beasts, while the other half, led by Mayor Wang, would accompany Long Cheng’s group into the deep mountains.

Mayor Wang also needed to go into the deep mountains to see for himself and investigate why those fierce beasts from the depths had moved to the periphery.

Once the arrangements were settled, the main contingent entered the deep mountains.

Zhang Yang deliberately led them down a different path. The deep mountains were vast; since they were all hunting, any route would do.

"Bang! Bang!"

The hunting rifles finally began to sound. Huang Hai scored the first hit on a Red Deer, making him grin so wide his mouth nearly split.

The Red Deer is an animal widely distributed across grasslands and forests. They are large, named for their resemblance to horses, and the buck Huang Hai shot was nearly 200 kilograms—a male.

The Wild Man Mountain didn't have many Red Deer, and they hadn't managed to bag one on previous trips. For Huang Hai to get the first kill, and such a large specimen, it was no wonder he was so happy.

Having secured game immediately upon entering the deep woods lifted everyone’s spirits. With several Joint Defense members helping to carry the Red Deer, they continued forward with their rifles ready.

Mayor Wang took the remaining team members to guard their flanks while continuously observing the situation in the deep mountains.

The abnormality over the last two days left him with a strange feeling; if he didn't figure it out, he feared a major incident was brewing.

"Monkey?"

Li Ya suddenly shouted, raising his rifle to shoot. A monkey was perched on a tree ahead, but as soon as the shot rang out, it vanished.

He missed, and the monkey was gone, leaving him deeply annoyed.

"Li Ya, don't bother with the monkeys; there isn't much meat on them anyway. Why be so cruel!"

Yang Ling couldn't help but interject. Shooting deer, pheasants, or rabbits was one thing, but seeing Li Ya aim at a monkey made Yang Ling's compassion overflow.

Li Ya pouted, nodding in agreement, but his thoughts didn't align. Monkey meat might be unappetizing, but monkey brains were a great tonic! This was the first time they had encountered monkeys since entering the deep mountains.

"Wild boar! There's a wild boar!"

A Joint Defense member in front suddenly yelled, causing Su Zhantao to flinch violently, instinctively looking toward Zhang Yang.

He had been so terrified by the wild boars the other day that it left a psychological scar, and Yang Ling felt the same.

While they were fearful, the others became energized and rushed forward quickly. Indeed, they saw a large boar, easily over 200 kilograms. Upon seeing so many people, the boar turned and fled.

How could they let such a large quarry escape after finally finding one? Long Cheng ran the fastest, already reloading his rifle as he gave chase.

The others followed. It was just one boar; with so many of them and so many guns, they had nothing to fear.

Li Ya was excitedly shouting, yelling that this time he was determined to shoot down a wild boar too.

Zhang Yang also followed. He couldn't hang back when everyone was moving together. With both him and Long Feng present, as long as it wasn't a spirit beast like the Golden-Crested Python, no beast here could pose them any real danger.

Following along and letting everyone have their fun was fine by him.

"Bang!"

Long Cheng fired first. In previous hunts, he always had the biggest haul. This time, not only had he been surpassed by Zhang Yang's three large boars, but even Huang Hai had beaten him.

Zhang Yang was one thing—he knew who Zhang Yang was—but losing to Huang Hai irked him. Long Cheng was usually the leader, the 'big brother' figure; he ought to perform better than the others.

Unfortunately, his shot missed. The wild boar ducked past a large tree trunk and soon disappeared from sight.

"Chase! Keep chasing!"

Long Cheng called out, his competitive spirit fully ignited. He swore he wouldn't give up until he took down this boar. He reloaded while pursuing, but soon even he vanished into the distance.

The others also ran after him, disappearing moments later.

Zhang Yang exchanged a look with Long Feng, signaling him to follow ahead, while he stayed back with Su Zhantao and the others.

Yang Ling couldn't run fast, and Mayor Wang was even slower, not to mention the Joint Defense members carrying the heavy Red Deer. They could manage the 200 kilograms while walking, but running after prey would be too much.

He could only stay behind to accompany the slower group for now. With Long Feng present, even if several wild boars appeared, it wouldn't be an issue.

Soon, the forward group was completely out of sight. Su Zhantao actually wanted to chase after them, but with Yang Ling unable to keep up, he was helpless, gripping his rifle anxiously. However, he had good luck: after walking a short distance, he encountered a lone wolf and managed to hit it squarely in the head, killing it.

He felt he had caught a stroke of sheer luck and spent time bragging to Yang Ling that he was a master marksman.

"What is that?"

"What's happening!"

Noisy voices suddenly came through the walkie-talkies. Although the others had run ahead, they hadn't gone beyond the range of the communicators; everyone's radios were currently switched on.

…………

Fifth update, 13 votes! Can we get 7 more monthly tickets before 8 o’clock?

Book Net