77 Cambrian Consciousness
Their group ventured through a vast bamboo forest in the afternoon. The bamboo was thick, sturdy, and straight. Unlike ordinary bamboo that grows to a height of six to seven meters, these bamboo stalks were over twenty meters tall and thicker than a person’s waist. Looking around, it felt as if they had entered a maze of identical bamboo. Without the guidance of the gravel and roadbed beneath their feet, even with eight pairs of eyes, they would easily lose their way.
Tang Yanqiu stopped the car and walked over to a bamboo tree, feeling its firmness. He sighed, “These bamboo trees are excellent and perfect for making arrows. The arrows in our family were previously made from bamboo on Mount Emei, but these bamboo trees are even better.”
The others also got out of the car and looked at the bamboo trees.
Zhuang Yao glanced at the quiver on Tang Yanqiu’s back and asked, “How many arrows did you bring this time?”
“Over a hundred. We couldn’t fit more in the car.”
“We have plenty of space in the car now, especially on the roof. After we reach Chengdu, we’ll find someone to process more bamboo arrows. We’ll need at least two to three hundred more arrows. Once we leave Sichuan, we won’t have such good materials anymore.”
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Mydt Zydikw pxkzle yde dseele, “Fswdep tsse.”
Nkw Wldtuw vlyple, “Yypvla Mydt, es usw dlle vs xyjl y qlo xsal csop, fwpv kd nypl?”
Mydt Zydikw alrzkle plakswpzu, “Mbkp kp xu ydnlpvayz valypwal cso. Vlsrzl nyd cl alrzynle, cwv dsv vbl cso.”
“Xb, R eked’v lmrlnv vbyv. Usxl sd, zlv xl vau kv.”
Mydt Zydikw blpkvyvle, zssjkdt yv bkx.
Nkw Wldtuw nzknjle bkp vsdtwl yde pyke, “Kwpv zlv xl vau kv, dsvbkdt okzz ts oasdt.”
Slzwnvydvzu, Mydt Zydikw bydele bkx vbl cso. Nkw Wldtuw vssj kv okvb sdl byde, cwv wdlmrlnvlezu, vbl cso oyp ps blyhu vbyv bkp cseu zlydle qsaoyae wdnsdvaszzyczu.
Mydt Zydikw tayccle bkp nszzya yde pyke, “Qkhl kv cynj vs xl.”
Liu Fengyu struggled to free himself from Tang Yanqiu’s grip, stood up straight, and casually shook the bow. “How heavy is this thing exactly?”
“8.2 kilograms.”
Liu Fengyu was dumbfounded. Thinking about how Tang Yanqiu could effortlessly hold this bow with one hand, jumping and running around, it seemed so easy. Although he could lift 16 kilograms with one hand, it was impossible for it to feel as light as Tang Yanqiu made it seem. He imitated Tang Yanqiu and lifted the bow, attempting to pull the bowstring. However, even with all his strength, he could only pull the bowstring about one-third of the way. He wanted to pull it back harder, and sweat started to trickle down his forehead. In frustration, he considered letting go.
Cheng Tianbi suddenly shouted, “Don’t let go!”
Tang Yanqiu also grabbed his hand at the same time and said, “You can’t release it like that. Pulling this bow requires at least 70 kilograms of force. If you let go now, the force of the bowstring snapping back will send you flying and could fracture your hand. In severe cases, it could injure your chest cavity.”
Liu Fengyu was dripping with sweat. “Damn it, why didn’t you tell me earlier?” He could barely hold on, and his arm was almost numb.
“I didn’t expect you wouldn’t be able to even pull the bow. If you could pull it, you would have the strength to retract it,” Tang Yanqiu held his hand. “Slowly release your grip and give me the bow.”
With one hand gripping the bow, Tang Yanqiu replaced Liu Fengyu’s hand. With the other hand, he held Liu Fengyu’s sweaty hand and slowly loosened his fingers, grasping the bowstring. Only then did Liu Fengyu let go, and Tang Yanqiu slowly returned the bowstring to its original position.
He put down the bow and frowned as he glanced at Liu Fengyu.
Liu Fengyu felt somewhat embarrassed but still complained, “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”
Tang Yanqiu shook his head. “Even my sister could pull a 40-kilogram bow. I didn’t expect you to be like this…”
Zhuang Yao and Cong Xia couldn’t help but laugh on the side.
Liu Fengyu’s face couldn’t bear it. “What’s so impressive? If I had trained since childhood, I would be an excellent archer too.”
Tang Yanqiu stubbornly shook his head. “You can’t. You’re inherently restless, pursuing superficial things, and you’re lazy. You’re simply not suitable for martial arts.”
Liu Fengyu was so angry he wanted to punch him.
Tang Yanqiu slung the bow, which was over one meter long, behind his back. “Let’s go.”
Liu Fengyu climbed onto Abu with Cong Xia and Zhuang Yao, raising his arm and complaining to Cong Xia, “Xiao Xia, my arm hurts.”
Cheng Tianbi glared at him. “Don’t waste your energy on him.”
Cong Xia initially wanted to help him, but upon hearing Cheng Tianbi’s words, she could only smile awkwardly.
Zhuang Yao added, “Your energy is valuable and effective. Don’t waste it on such foolish things.”
Liu Fengyu snorted heavily, gave Cheng Tianbi a disdainful look, and slumped onto Abu’s back. Cong Xia blinked his eyes at him and planned to help him later when no one was around. It was just a muscle strain, and a little energy would be enough to repair it and make Liu Fengyu feel better.
Liu Fengyu said, “Xiao Xia, how about giving me a massage?”
Cong Xia was very accommodating and was about to nod, but Cheng Tianbi coldly interjected, “If you have that time, cultivate your skills. Don’t engage in useless activities.”
Zhuang Yao chimed in, “Exactly, are you familiar with the new cultivation method? You must remember the route of energy circulation firmly. If you make a mistake, who knows what will happen?”
Cong Xia replied, “I’ve been trying these days, and I should be familiar with it soon.”
Liu Fengyu lazily turned over, “Haven’t you made the plan yet?”
“Before I finish it, you can follow the most basic method and gradually stimulate your meridians. This way is faster than practicing through breathing regulation,” Zhuang Yao sat on Abu’s back, with a stack of papers in front of him, writing and drawing without looking up.
Liu Fengyu had no choice but to sit up and calm his mind for cultivation.
Cheng Tianbi had been practicing during his free time and hardly stopped. Among them, he exerted the most effort. Cong Xia felt that perhaps Cheng Tianbi’s talent wasn’t much higher than theirs, but he was the most diligent.
Except for Tang Yanqiu who was driving, the other four were busy with their own tasks.
It was a little past 3 p.m., the warmest and most pleasant time of the day. From a fallen road sign on the roadside, they could tell they were only about ten kilometers away from Chengdu, victory was within reach. Just then, Abu, who had been following Road Bully at a steady pace, suddenly stopped, and Road Bully stopped as well.
Tang Yanqiu called out, “There’s something ahead.”
Zhuang Yao turned his head, and the three who were cultivating opened their eyes and looked ahead together.
About a kilometer away on the road in front of them, there was a huge black and white furry ball lying down, slightly smaller than Abu in size, blocking their path.
Cong Xia blinked her eyes and asked, “What… is that?”
Abu cautiously took two steps back.
“Let’s go closer and take a look.”
They approached and discovered that it was a very large furball.
Cheng Tianbi furrowed his brows. “Honk the horn.”
Tang Yanqiu honked the horn, but the furball didn’t move.
“Is it dead?”
“Get off and take a look.” Cheng Tianbi said and slid down from Abu as well. Tang Yanqiu grabbed his bow and arrow, while Cheng Tianbi held his submachine gun, cautiously approaching the furry object.
As they got closer, they realized that the object was indeed very large, like a small hill. Cheng Tianbi raised his gun and fired a shot into the air. The ball suddenly bounced up from the ground, stretching out its limbs. The ground beneath their feet trembled for a moment.
It was then that they saw it clearly. It was a giant panda, at least five meters tall, slightly shorter than Abu but much plumper. It was round and fat, which explained why it looked like a ball when it slept. Its movements didn’t seem very agile either.
The two quickly stepped back, and Abu’s fur stood on end as it emitted a warning growl. The panda barely glanced at them, holding a thick bamboo shoot and stuffing a tender bamboo shoot into its mouth. It leaned against the bamboo and appeared drowsy.
Cong Xia sweated. “It seems like it didn’t see us.”
“That’s fortunate. Let’s go quickly,” Zhuang Yao patted Abu, signaling it to go around the panda.
Tang Yanqiu also got back into the car. As they cautiously passed by the panda, thinking everything was fine, the panda loosened its grip on the bamboo shoot and started to lean toward them as if it had fallen asleep.
“Damn it!” Liu Fengyu looked up and saw a black and white mountain-like figure leaning towards them, getting closer and closer, about to collide with them.
If Abu jumped forward, it could easily dodge the collision, but if it did, Road bully would be knocked over. In the critical moment, Zhuang Yao suppressed Abu’s instinctive reaction and forcefully controlled it with his brainwaves, making it jump forward. He shouted, “Abu, knock it away!”
Abu meowed and dashed towards the panda.
“Hold on tight!” Zhuang Yao wrapped his hands and feet around Abu’s ears.
The other three tightly grasped Abu’s fur. There was a loud thud, and they experienced a tremendous impact, as if they had crashed into something. Zhuang Yao held onto Abu’s ears and managed to stay on, while Cheng Tianbi’s strong arms also kept him from falling off. However, Liu Fengyu and Cong Xia weren’t so lucky. They were flung off Abu’s back and thrown into the air, falling towards the ground from a height of over nine meters.
Cheng Tianbi instantly formed a vortex of air beneath the two, slowing down their descent, and for a moment, their bodies almost stopped in mid-air.
At the same time, Abu collided with the panda, knocking it to the side. Abu himself was knocked down, and Zhuang Yao and Cheng Tianbi were thrown far away.
After Tang Yanqiu accelerated the car and drove away, he quickly jumped out and flew up to catch the two in mid-air.
Supporting the weight of nearly 300 kilograms, Cheng Tianbi’s wooden energy was depleted by almost half in just a few seconds. He panted heavily and climbed up from the ground, running over to check on Zhuang Yao.
Zhuang Yao weakly climbed up from the ground. His head was scratched and bleeding, but luckily he was wearing thick winter clothes; otherwise, he might have been knocked unconscious. Cheng Tianbi lifted Zhuang Yao up from the ground and walked towards Cong Xia. Abu also shook its head and climbed up from the ground. Each person looked disheveled and exhausted.
They turned to look at the panda, the culprit, which was lying on the ground, fast asleep.
Liu Fengyu angrily said, “What a piece of junk! It did that on purpose, right?”
Cong Xia shook his head in frustration. Falling from a height of nine meters made his legs still weak, and he almost wet his pants from the scare. He touched Zhuang Yao’s forehead and healed the wound.
After Cheng Tianbi put Zhuang Yao down, Zhuang Yao exclaimed angrily, “We almost had a disaster because of this damn panda. If Road bully had been damaged, we would only be able to eat wild vegetables and raw meat in the future.”
Cheng Tianbi frowned as he looked at the big furball. “Should we do something about it?”
Zhuang Yao shook his head. “Forget it. Pandas are very powerful when it comes to attacks. Since it didn’t attack us proactively, let’s not go looking for trouble.”
Liu Fengyu vented his frustration by picking up a stone and throwing it at the panda, but it still didn’t react, sleeping as if it were dead.
Tang Yanqiu said, “Let’s go. It’s not surprising to encounter pandas in this era. We might even come across them again. Be careful next time.”
The group reluctantly accepted their misfortune and accelerated towards Chengdu, aiming to reach the city before nightfall.
During the remaining ten-plus kilometers, they encountered two more pandas, both smaller in size than the previous one. However, they kept their distance and avoided them. From a distance, when they saw pandas, they detoured around them.
Before the sun set, they finally entered Chengdu.
They were disappointed after seeing the condition of Chengdu. Everywhere they looked, they saw foundations arching over with plants and collapsed buildings. The streets were desolate and devoid of people.
Throughout their journey, they had observed a pattern. In relatively safe places like Chongqing and Tangmen, they would encounter people on the streets. However, in places filled with danger, people would undoubtedly hide and only venture out as a last resort. Kunming and Guizhou were examples of such places. Chengdu fell into the latter category.
Perhaps witnessing the current situation in Chongqing and Tangmen had raised their expectations for every city they passed through. They hoped that the people in those cities would be leading self-sufficient lives. However, reality was far more cruel than they had imagined. This was likely the true state of the vast majority of regions across the country.
Cong Xia sighed, “We probably won’t find any gasoline in this place.”
Zhuang Yao said, “Our gasoline should last until we reach Hanzhong. I didn’t factor in the solar-powered engine, so in reality, reaching Xi’an should also be feasible. However, this is under the assumption that we don’t take detours or encounter treacherous terrain. If any accidents occur, we could face the risk of abandoning the vehicle. That’s our last resort, so we must find some gasoline here.”
Cong Xia said, “It shouldn’t be a problem. In such a big city, it’s impossible for there to be no gasoline left.”
Tang Yanqiu said, “People are hiding. It looks like a dead city. I’m afraid I won’t even find someone to make arrows for me.” He patted his chest. “And there’s this list I need to give to the right person.”
“Don’t worry. As long as there’s food, we’re bound to find people.”
Cheng Tianbi looked at the sky. “The sun is setting. Let’s find a place to rest.”
They continued walking while searching for a suitable place to rest, preferably indoors with a relatively decent environment. The temperature was too low during winter nights, and it would be difficult to sleep outdoors.
A large grey-headed eagle flew from afar, with a wingspan of over 1.5 meters. As it flew by, it skimmed past Abu’s head at low altitude. Abu instinctively reached out its paw to swat at it, while Tang Yanqiu raised his bow, aiming at the eagle, wary of its attack.
It was an era where no animal could be trusted.
The eagle agilely dodged their attacks and circled above them before landing on top of a building, hiding behind a water tank. Only its head was visible. It shook its wings and uttered a human voice, “Who are you?”
Everyone was surprised. It was the voice of a young man. The eagle twisted its neck to look at them. “Speak.”
Cong Xia shouted, “We’re just passing through.”
“I smell food in your vehicle. Either leave half of it behind or turn back the way you came from.”
Zhuang Yao sneered, “Neither leaving nor going back, what will you do?”
The eagle let out a cold laugh. “You’re seeking death.”
Cheng Tianbi said, “Xiao Tang.”
Tang Yanqiu shot an arrow.
The eagle was not foolish, especially as darkness fell. Its vision was a hundred times better than that of humans. It had been keeping an eye on Tang Yanqiu’s bow and quickly withdrew its head when Tang Yanqiu made a move.
The arrow forcefully struck the water tank, sinking into the cement pillar and dislodging large chunks of concrete. The power of that shot silenced the eagle, which had briefly shown itself.
Tang Yanqiu prepared to shoot a second arrow when the eagle shouted, “You’re all going to die!” With that, it flapped its wings and flew toward an area densely populated with buildings, disappearing from sight.
Tang Yanqiu said, “That must be a mutated eagle-human hybrid.” After following the group for the entire journey, he had finally grasped the various directions of animal mutations.
“Yeah, perhaps a reconnaissance unit or something similar. With its abilities, it’s quite suitable,” Zhuang Yao said. “Let’s leave this place as soon as possible, find a secluded spot to rest, and take turns keeping watch tonight. If anyone dares to come and steal our belongings, they’ll pay the price.”
They walked for another two streets and finally found a suitable residential area. There was a sales office where they could rest, and Abu could sleep in the courtyard.
They took out their sleeping bags from the car, started a fire, and settled down to sleep around the campfire. Tang Yanqiu kept watch for the first half of the night while the others rested.
Cong Xia watched the flickering flames and felt a sense of unease. It wasn’t until he was overcome by exhaustion in the latter half of the night that he fell asleep wearily.
In the middle of the night, they were awakened by eerie calls resonating throughout the area. Tang Yanqiu shouted, “Everyone, wake up!”
Cong Xia crawled out of his sleeping bag and listened carefully. It was the call of the eagles. Eagle calls were among the top three animal sounds he disliked the most. They sounded sinister and terrifying at night, especially when they echoed in a chorus, which was even more frightening.
They looked into the distance, towards the dark horizon. In the night, a swarm of eagles flew towards them, blotting out the sky. Dimly lit by the sparse moonlight, they could barely make out the varying sizes of the eagle flock, numbering at least three to four hundred. They were approaching rapidly!
Zhuang Yao shouted, “Cong Xia, come with me into the car!”
The two of them, lacking offensive capabilities, took the lead and sought refuge in the car. The bulletproof exterior of the Road bully should be able to withstand most attacks.
Cheng Tianbi jumped onto the roof of the car, adjusting the machine gun to the right angle, glaring fiercely at the approaching swarm of eagles, waiting for them to come closer so he could unleash a head-on assault.
Tang Yanqiu took flight alone, swiftly drawing his bow and shooting arrows. As a bird-human hybrid, his eyesight was the best among the group, but his night vision was still inferior to that of the eagles. When the eagles were still over two hundred meters away, his accuracy dropped to only forty percent.
Liu Fengyu clenched his fists, ready to strike.
Abu let out a sharp cry.
Author’s Note: One update~~ Tonight, I plan to do some yoga. It’s said to be good for the cervical spine, and lately, I’ve been sitting for long periods, and my neck is starting to feel uncomfortable.
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