BXBX NOVEL Chapter 67: Warnings from the Voles
“You are right...those beasts don’t care what are you as long as you seem edible. We can’t do anything to defend against them if we don’t know where they are.” Chang turned around his ankle to check if he was still able to move. Luckily, it didn’t affect the ligament, it’s only pain.
His facial expression relaxed as he confirmed that the wound wouldn’t slow him down, he continued, “Ming Yi and I were the last weapons in defending the troop against the unknown species. It is such a big loss that the only person who can detect danger is now in coma...”
Chang carefully placed his toes on the ground, then his heels. He tested out the severity of the bite by walking back and forth, but the wound didn’t affect him much as he said, “Let’s go.”
“Alright.” Qing Shui put down his arm from Chang’s shoulder, “Did you see what just bit you?”
“I didn’t, it was too fast, I only saw it disappear into the tree hole.” Chang said bitterly. “ I hope it is not venomous.”
The troop continued on its long journey. In the next hour, the troop finally bypassed the brilliant flower bush and returned to Zheng Kai Avenue. Of course, they didn’t get out without any mishap, but the attacks were not as deadly as they were before. The plants and animals in the jungle didn’t just act on their thirst for food, instead, they evaluated the chance of success before they moved. Therefore, some smaller groups of animals avoided the troop when they noticed them from afar, otherwise, they’d be making suicidal attacks.
“There is a small group of voles behind us, I feel like they have been following us since we left.” Chang looked back in apprehension when the troop returned to the Zheng Kai Avenue. The scarlet eyes hidden in the jungle stressed him out.
“How many are they? Their size?” Qing Shui asked.
“Not sure, about 7 or 8. I can only see 4 or 5 of them, but there should be more” Chang stared at Qing Shui “Can’t tell their size either since they are lurking. My estimation... they should be the size of a wolfhound.”
“Well then, just leave them alone. We have 10 people and are equipped with rifles. I guess the smell of blood lured them, but, for now, they don’t have the guts to attack.” Qing Shui paced up, “As long as they are not calling additional ones, we are safe.”
“Are you sure? Should we just fire few warning shots?” Chang was deeply worried.
“We can. After all, there is nowhere to hide since the smell of blood on us is heavy, it might turn out fine.” Qing Shui commanded a soldier, “Fire your rifle to the bush behind us, something is stalking us.”
“Yes, sir.” The soldier placed the assault rifle against his shoulder and fired. The bullets shot out in the humid air along with the sound of rapid gunfire. A series of squeaks informed the troop that the voles were scared away.
“Good job! Let’s move now!” Qing Shui again marched with the troop steadily.
However, in less than a kilometer, Chang noticed that the familiar squeaking had come back.
“They came back again! What do we do?” Chang kept his ear open.
“Just ignore them, there is nothing we can do.” Qing Shui pursed his lips, “They are merely acting on their instincts. I understand that we as a group are a tempting lunch for them. No matter how many times we warn them, they will come back.”
“We should do something!” Chang hated the feeling of being stalked. The trip was already depressing without them, and now that these bloodthirsty yet timid animals tailed them made Chang almost freak out.
“What can we do? Are you thinking about fighting them?” Qing Shui consoled him, “Come on, even if you wanted to fight them back, they’d be long gone before you see their faces. Believe it or not, when we set off again, by that time, they will be back.”
“Ahhh! This is so annoying!” Chang clenched his fists and stopped complaining.
The troop kept trotting forward as fast as they could. For another half an hour walking with the uncomfortable squeaking, Chang felt relieved suddenly.
“They left!” Chang smiled as he noticed the squeaking faded in the air “Literally like they fled! Perhaps we just left their territory.”
“Maybe, after all, voles are territorial.” Qing Shui heaved a sigh of relief as well, but he choked in halfway “Did they leave one by one slowly or spread out all of a sudden?”
“It was all of a sudden.” Chang noticed that Qing Shui walked like he was on pins and needles, “Any problem with that?”
“It just doesn’t feel right...their response didn’t show the unwillingness of giving up food, it sounded like they were escaping in a flurry to me.” Qing Shui waved his hand in the air to stop the troop. “Do you remember the time I told you rodents have better sense of smell than dogs?”
“I do. Do you mean...” Chang held the crossbow against his shoulder and pulled the string.
“Something is coming to us!” Qing Shui shouted to the troop franticly, “Take your weapons and protect each other! Spread out in a half circle!”
The troop reacted immediately, this well-trained squad stood close to each other side by side in semi-circle. The soldiers always took orders without hesitation.
“Mr. Li, what is in front of us?” One of the soldier shouted in the formation.
“I don’t know either, but the voles that have been stalking us just fled. This is a warning to us that there must be something unusual.” Qing Shui took the wounded person from Ming Yi’s back as he said, “I need you to be prepared. I will take care of this person, so just focus.”
“Yes, sir.” Ming Yi nodded.
“Where did they run off?” asked Qing Shui.
“Right behind us.” answered Chang
“Alright, can you look out what happened ahead of us?” Qing Shui freed one hand and patted it on Ming Yi’s shoulder, “Can you go with him?”
“Not a problem!”
“Come!” Chang delayed no more.
The crossbow was fully loaded. Chang and Ming Yi were the strongest combination of physical strength, and bolted out to the invisible road ahead. After only 50 meters, Chang heard the breeze that came with a disquieting rustle.
“Here it comes!” Chang got out of the way with Ming Yi as soon as he heard the noise. They quietly hid behind a tree, but their heartbeats raced like rapid drumbeats. The rustling got closer and closer, Chang nerved himself to look out from the behind the tree. The noise gradually became crisp and clear, a gigantic yet colorful creature made his bold entry to Chang’s world.
“Holy sh*t! What is this?! This is so disgusting!” As soon as Chang saw it, his stomach reacted, reflecting his thoughts.