Just like last time, Li Xiang, Jiang Jianguo, and Li Yucheng were fully armed. They headed into the mountains again, bringing with them three Chinese Hunting Dogs, a drone, two large sleds, and an empty iron cage for wild boars.
They arrived at the spot where they had previously buried their supplies, dug everything up, and piled it onto one of the sleds. Deep in the old mountain forests, with the paths sealed by heavy snow, this area was essentially the territory of Li Family Village, so their supplies were safe and untouched.
Besides, even if someone wanted to steal them, they would have had to find them first.
This time, they ventured deeper.
Along the way, Li Xiang activated his Mutant Creature Identification Function and found several nests of snakes, insects, and rodents. However, with his teammates present, it wasnât convenient to act.
âThe mountain is sealed by heavy snow,â he thought. âIf I insist on digging right here through all this snow just to unearth a nest of centipedes or mountain rats, wouldnât that be ridiculous? Thereâs no way I could explain that.â
So, Li Xiang just used his High-Density Blade to leave marks on the large trees they passed.
âThese vermin canât have gone far. Iâll come back to harvest them later when Iâm alone.â
Li Yucheng secretly nodded, thinking to himself, âLi Xiang is starting to look like a real Hunter. Heâs making trail markers so he wonât get lost and can find his way back.â
In fact, things were different now that they had a drone.
Besides, Li Xiangâs Divine Movement Technique allowed him to travel two hundred kilometers a day. If he just picked a direction and ran flat out, he would eventually find his way out.
There was indeed a Primeval Forest near Li Xiangâs home, but it was a good forty to fifty kilometers away. Jiang Jianguo and Li Yucheng were too old for such a place, so for now, they were mainly searching for wild boars within a five- to six-kilometer radius of Li Family Village.
That kind of Primeval Forest was exceptionally dangerous. Li Xiang decided he would find an opportunity to go there alone. With his Divine Movement Technique, a round trip would be quite convenient anyway.
Sichuan Province had many well-known Primeval Forests, as did several neighboring provinces. The most famous of these was the Shennongjia Mountain Area, which covered over three thousand square kilometers and had a main peak at an altitude of 3,300 meters. When he had time, he could explore them all.
In his past life, several powerful native Demon Beast factions had emerged from some of these Primeval Forests. âIf I can kill them off ahead of time,â he thought, âthe rewards will be immense.â
"Spotted a wild boar!" Jiang Jianguo said excitedly.
Everyone gathered around. Sure enough, the screen showed a wild boar trudging through the snow, perfectly visible on the infrared camera.
Suddenly, the wild boar disappeared from sight.
The three of them exchanged puzzled glances.
After a moment of thought, Li Yucheng said, "It must have gone into a cave. The thick rock walls are blocking the view, so the drone canât spot it."
Li Xiang nodded. "That must be it. This is our chance to trap it like a fish in a barrel."
Everyone grew excited at his words.
Worried about tipping off their prey, Jiang Jianguo recalled the drone. The sound of it hovering was a bit loud, and in the profound silence of the Great Snow Mountain, the noise was particularly conspicuous.
The three men left their heavy gear behind, with Li Yucheng instructing the three dogs to stand guard. Then, traveling light, they stealthily approached the spot where the boar had vanished.
They left the dogs behind because they feared a sudden bark would alert the boars, ruining their chance to launch a surprise attack and block the cave entrance.
Soon enough, they found a cave. Its entrance was only about as tall as a man and a little over half a meter wide. A pungent, foul odor drifted out from it, noticeable even from a distance.
After thinking for a moment, Li Xiang said, "You two wait here. Iâm going to find a large stone to block the cave entrance."
He was strong and agile, so a task like this naturally fell to him.
The three had originally planned to use a large net, but it was too light, and there was nothing near the cave entrance to secure it. If the boars charged and sent the net flying, it would be a disaster. Using a large stone was a much better idea.
Jiang Jianguo and Li Yucheng hid themselves and kept watch while Li Xiang went to search the vicinity.
Unfortunately, the area was covered in deep snow, and a suitably large, solitary stone was not easy to find. Li Xiang had no choice but to venture farther out.
About ten minutes later, Jiang Jianguo cursed to himself. âThis is bad.â Two adult wild boars had emergedâa male and a female. The boar was massive, weighing around 500 to 550 pounds, while the sow was about 220 pounds.
And Li Xiang still hadnât returned.
Fortunately, after that male and female pair, no other boars came out of the cave.
Jiang Jianguo couldnât help but worry. He whispered to Li Yucheng, "You donât think those were the only two boars in the cave, do you?"
Li Yucheng shook his head. "Unlikely. There should be a whole sounder in there, at least. A boar usually keeps two or three sows. For now, all we can do is hope Li Xiang gets back quickly."
Just as he spoke, they saw Li Xiang heading their way, seemingly struggling to carry an enormous stone that had to weigh between eight and nine hundred pounds.
The immense weight caused his legs to sink deep into the snow, at times burying him up to his thighs.
The two men were stunned. They knew Li Xiang was strong, but they had no idea he was *this* strong. âWith strength like that, he could go to the Olympics and challenge a world champion!â
To put it into perspective, at the Paris Olympics, the Bulgarian athlete Nasir had broken the world record and won the gold medal in the menâs 89 kg weightlifting competition with a total of 404 kilograms.
And Li Xiang weighed even a little less than the athlete.
The Olympian had merely lifted the weight, but Li Xiang was carrying his load on his back, and for who knew how great a distance.
The two were about to go help, but Li Xiang shook his head, signaling them to stay quiet so as not to spook the boars.
In reality, Li Xiangâs apparent struggle was just an act. After becoming a Tier Two Extraordinary, his arms possessed the strength of roughly 1,650 pounds. Carrying a stone weighing eight or nine hundred pounds was a piece of cake.
âBut this stone is so heavy,â he thought. âIf I donât pretend itâs a struggle, how could I possibly explain it?â
Having teammates had its pros and cons. The upside was sharing their hunting experience and getting help with miscellaneous tasks. The downside was the inconvenience; he couldnât fully unleash some of his abilities.
Li Xiang reached the entrance of the cave and glanced inside. There were more than a dozen wild boars of all sizes, fast asleep.
With the heavy snow, bitter cold, and scarcity of food outside, their only recourse was to sleep to pass the time. If youâre asleep, you donât feel hungry.
Some of the boars were snoring, their grunts thunderously loud.
With a THUD, Li Xiang dropped the massive stone, blocking the entrance. The boars inside were instantly startled awake and descended into chaos. They charged forward, trying to shove the stone aside with their snouts, but Li Xiang held it firm. The boars were powerless.
Jiang Jianguo and Li Yucheng quickly came over to help.
Jiang Jianguo said, "An adult boar and a sow got out earlier."
Li Xiang frowned slightly. âHow did some slip through the net? I was careless!â
"Itâs all right," Li Xiang said. "You two stay here and hold this stone. Donât let any more escape. Iâll go catch the two that ran off."