Chapter 396: Bound to the Birth System, Becoming a Winner in Life Chapter 397: Wasteland Gathering Daily Life (25)

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Protagonist:

Shen Yao

Shen Yao felt Cheng Qi's words were too absolute; this world had far too many dangers.

Not to mention far-off places, this very forest wasn't exactly peaceful.

The system lurked in Shen Yao's mind like a loudspeaker, beeping nonstop, reporting wild boars to the west one moment and marveling at monkey troops to the north the next, as if it had suddenly burst into a primeval forest teeming with a rich diversity of species.

"Careful!"

The horizontal blade held in Cheng Qi's hand was flung out, a flash of silver light, and a small snake the length of an arm, instantly split in two, fell soundlessly to the ground.

It was a non-venomous green snake, its markings closely resembling the surrounding environment, and one could be suddenly attacked if not careful.

Cheng Qi casually tested the snake's mutation level; highly mutated, not edible.

"Walk behind me, call me if anything happens," Cheng Qi, who had been inexplicably slapped in the face, showed not a shred of embarrassment, his expression instead growing more serious.

Shen Yao pressed her lips and nodded; what she disliked most were these soft-bodied creatures, and Song Ling had the same problem.

Secretly grabbing Cheng Qi's robe hem, Shen Yao gripped the long blade in her hand, her eyes fixed tightly on the surroundings.

As she walked slowly, dry branches and fallen leaves on the ground made noise when stepped on, and faint bird calls could be heard near her ears.

Walking slowly, Shen Yao suddenly spotted an oval-shaped heavy object plummeting at high speed from a tree not far away, and instinctively clutched Cheng Qi's robe hem, "Don't go over there."

Cheng Qi stopped his steps until the heavy object on the tree smashed into the ground.

"It's a bird's nest," patting Shen Yao's arm, Cheng Qi gestured for her to relax, "This counts as the edge of the woods; large wild beasts rarely appear here."

Shen Yao's expression was vigilant; she looked up in the direction of the bird's nest, but unfortunately the lush, abundant leaves around blocked her view, and she couldn't discern the situation.

The two finally came to the side of the bird's nest, looking at the nest that could span one person's length and width and the unbroken bird eggs inside, both feeling it was wondrous.

Confirming the bird's nest held no danger, and that the bird eggs inside could be tested afterward, Shen Yao took out the detection needle, which beeped twice; all were low-level mutations.

"Magpie eggs."

A dove occupying a magpie's nest? Or normal avian grudges, resulting in the bird's nest being thrown down from the tree.

"Let's go, we're going to catch wild mountain goats," Regardless of what was going on with the magpie eggs, it didn't affect their next arrangement.

Shen Yao hummed in acknowledgment, put several magpie eggs into the back basket behind her to prevent them from breaking, and also plucked thick leaves to cushion them.

The two walked forward for about half an hour and found a small water pool.

Cheng Qi used his wristwatch to contact Cheng Dage and Shen Yu to ask about the situation.

After confirming all three were around the water pool, they simply decided to meet at the central location.

"There are traces on the ground ahead; are they footprints left by wild mountain goats?"

There must be animals living around the water pool, because water is an essential resource; if wild mountain goats and other animals appeared, this was their favorite place to come.

Cheng Qi looked in the direction Shen Yao pointed, comparing the hoofprints left behind, "It's wild deer."

That counts as good news too; whether wild mountain goats or wild deer, both were prey they were looking for on this trip.

Now that activity traces were found on this side of the water pool, it showed these animals probably lived nearby; whether waiting by a stump for a rabbit or splitting up to search, the success rate would inevitably increase.

The three groups came to the central location to meet, and Cheng Qi reported their findings by the water pool.

After several people discussed it, they finally decided the Shen family would stay behind, while the three members of the Cheng family, Cheng Qi, and Shen Yao would split up to search.

"Search around the traces; one hour, send word if found, if not found, come back first and wait slowly; if there's a harvest at the water pool, notify in time."

Hunting was generally work only gene awakeners could do.

After mutation, animals' bodies grew several sizes larger; even if they were timid, a charge was something ordinary people couldn't withstand.

Shen Yao had once seen a close-up photo of a wild mountain goat on the forum. Hmm, as tall as a horse in modern society, especially the horns that had grown out; being poked once would definitely split your head open and cause blood to flow, straight to gg.

Cheng Dage allocated it this way to ensure both teams had two gene awakeners capable of hunting—warriors who could both take a hit and run—to guarantee the safety of both sides to the greatest extent.

Shen Yu had no objection; he chose a tree behind a spot ten-plus meters from the water pool, and pulled out several branches for camouflage.

Song Ling warned Shen Yao to be careful, and handed her self-defense tool to her.

Shen Yao laughed and cried at the same time, showed off the treasures on her person, had Song Ling hold several bird eggs for her, then turned around and left with Cheng Qi.

Five people split into three directions; the two men placed the three women in the middle, adopting a triangular formation throughout, searching for wild deer tracks while doing their best to ensure the safety of Shen Yao and the other two.

"Look, there's movement ahead."

Zhao Xue suddenly pointed to a patch of bushes; the bushes had just moved.

"Be careful, we'll sneak over," Cheng Ma grabbed Zhao Xue's wrist, and called out to Shen Yao walking ahead to go slow.

"It's fine, there's no danger around," Shen Yao shook her head, which was being driven crazy by the system, and did her best to suppress her dazed expression.

She pushed the bushes apart with her bare hands, carefully walking forward from the edge.

The three saw a small herd of wild deer, with adult deer and fawns, leisurely chewing on wild grass and wild fruit around them.

The three were greatly shocked, covering their mouths to keep from making a sound; Shen Yao set her wristwatch to silent mode, secretly took a photo, and sent it along with the location to Cheng Qi.

"Go back, wait for Cheng Qi and them to come over."

None of the three of them were a match for this herd of wild deer; those fawns were already about as tall as them, and the adult deer were even more exaggeratedly terrifying, and deer have antlers—being poked once, just thinking about it made one feel sore and refreshing.

Zhao Xue and Cheng Ma nodded; the three came quietly and left quietly, soon returning behind the bushes.

They exchanged a glance, and Zhao Xue couldn't help but feel excited, "So many deer; catching just one would be enough to eat."

"Wild deer aren't easy to catch; see what Eldest Brother arranges," But the base had always been buying live fawns at high prices from outsiders; she saw several newborn fawns in the herd. Cheng Ma and Zhao Xue chatted excitedly, already making plans before even acting, making Shen Yao break into a sweat—was she thinking too much?

Wiping away the sweat that had broken out, Cheng Qi and Cheng Dage soon arrived. The two secretly went around the bushes to observe the deer herd, determined they couldn't wait for Shen Yu and them to come over, and had to act first to prevent the wild deer from escaping.

"What can we do?"

Cheng Ma and Zhao Xue looked expectantly at Cheng Dage; Shen Yao remained expressionless, waiting for Cheng Qi to make arrangements.

"You wait here. Second Brother and I will set a few traps. If the deer fall for them, you're responsible for catching them. If the deer escape smoothly, then forget it."

Not letting the three follow them hunting, nor emphasizing they must catch wild deer, Eldest Young Master took out the rope he brought and wound it around several sturdy trees nearby.

Cheng Qi took a shovel from his back basket, dug a shallow ditch, buried some crushed stones inside it, and only then did the two brothers enter the bushes, preparing to hunt.

Shen Yao and the other two chose to hide behind trees, waiting for the deer Cheng Qi and Eldest Young Master were driving over.

Shen Yu was contacting Shen Yao via his wristwatch; they had received news of the deer and were hurrying over.

However, since both sides were some distance apart, it would probably take more than ten minutes to arrive.

Shen Yao briefly explained the deer situation, saying they were fully prepared and telling Shen Yu not to worry, just to come slowly.

Shen Yu:... He's anxious.

A piece of prime fresh meat right before their eyes—no one could remain unmoved.

Eldest Young Master and Cheng Qi moved swiftly, hurling their horizontal blades directly, and themselves shot forth like arrows leaving the bow, rushing fiercely toward the female deer.

The male deer's antlers were too fearsome, the fawn too small with barely any meat; after picking and choosing, only the female deer was worth it.

The calm deer herd became noisy because of the two uninvited guests.

Deer are herbivorous and fear humans; even with antlers, they still dare not oppose humans.

So the very next moment danger appeared, the male deer led the remaining herd, bolting away.

Seeing this wouldn't do, Eldest Young Master quickly picked up a stone from the ground and threw it, trying to drive the fleeing deer back in the direction they had come from.

The surroundings were a mess, and the already damaged wild grass and wild fruit were even more wretched.

Cheng Qi focused on the female deer in his hand, viciously stabbed her neck once, then wiped his face and surveyed the surroundings.

"They still got away!"

Wild deer have long legs and run fast; if not for their ambush, they couldn't have caught them at all.

"Eldest Young Master, let's head back first," one person said, holding a plump female deer.

Cheng Qi simply checked them over; luck was decent, both were edible.

Eldest Young Master grinned, his originally serious expression breaking into a brilliant smile, "We won't lack meat for this period."

After removing the inedible parts from the two female deer, the three families would each get several hundred jin no matter how they divided them; even Gene Awakeners, who could always eat a lot, could last for a while.

The two brothers carried the female deer back; because of the blood from the deer's wounds, the smell of blood around them was somewhat strong.

Shen Yao and the other two waited and waited, but no deer came; instead, Shen Yu and the other two arrived.

Helping Song Ling sit down to rest, Shen Yao explained that fighting was still going on ahead.

"My brother and I will go take a look; you wait here first," Shen Jiancheng said after listening, pulling Shen Yu around the poorly made traps that had been set, and soon came face to face with Cheng Qi and his brother behind the bushes.

"Did you catch deer?" Shen Jiancheng's eyes lit up, his gaze falling on the two behind them.

Cheng Qi smiled, raised his hand, and handed the female deer to Shen Yu, "The deer herd ran off; we couldn't catch up. Let's head back first."

Deer are smarter than ordinary animals; they only managed to catch the first female deer they attacked, and as for the others, not even a fawn.

"Not bad, not bad; meat from these two deer can be eaten. Our trip today was worth it."

Shen Jiancheng helped Eldest Young Master share the burden; the four discussed that they couldn't carry them back like this and should first return to the water pool to simply clean the deer corpses.

The two female deer were carried back by the four in a carefree manner, triggering rising and falling cheers.

Cheng Ma and Song Ling couldn't bear to move their eyes away, staring with faces full of wonder.

"Leave now or rest a bit more?" Cheng Ma ached for her two sons at home.

"Let's go. The smell of blood here won't dissipate and will easily attract some hard-to-deal-with animals. They've just expended their strength; acting again would put them at a disadvantage."

Eldest Young Master put his hands on his waist, finished speaking while panting heavily, then leaned against a tree and closed his eyes.

Compared to Eldest Young Master, Cheng Qi was no less; the two had expended much strength killing the deer, and even with Shen Jiancheng and Shen Yu helping, there was little relief.

Seeing this, Shen Yu suggested they walk slowly, and he and the others would go first to clean the female deer corpses.

"That works. You brothers take your time; we have enough time and aren't in a hurry to return."

Cheng Ma pushed Cheng Qi, also wanting her youngest son to rest together.

Cheng Qi helplessly shook his head; Shen Yao walked over and supported his arm.

"I reek of blood," knowing Shen Yao disliked this smell, Cheng Qi wanted to keep his distance, but Shen Yao grabbed him with one hand, "It's fine, I'll support you as we walk."

Zhao Xue also supported Eldest Young Master; the four of them fell behind.

"By the way, the rope."

The set traps weren't used, and the rope was still lying there, not yet collected.

Shen Yao took out a machete, cut the rope, put it away, and placed it in her back basket.

Once everything was done, Shen Yao supported Cheng Qi's arm and walked forward without stopping, "Back to the water pool."

Cheng Qi:...

Zhao Xue and Eldest Young Master, a married couple, walked together; seeing Shen Yao and Cheng Qi's interaction, they both felt gratified.

Interpersonal relationships in the Mutated World are somewhat hard to explain, but true feelings still exist between relatives.

Eldest Young Master and Cheng Qi, the two brothers, rarely had qualms; both tried their best to maintain their feelings, fearing some misunderstanding would cause their affection to fade.

Like going out hunting now—if not for the brothers trusting each other, how could they have smoothly harvested two female deer?

After walking for about half an hour, the four returned to the vicinity of the original water pool.

Cheng Ma stood not far away, waving at them, the corners of her mouth curved as if something good had happened.

"Just now when we returned, we ran into two wild mountain goats and caught one alive."

Cheng Ma was like someone who had stolen a treasure; while speaking, she observed everything around and listened to all directions, afraid others would hear and expose something.

"Caught one alive?" Zhao Xue played along, letting go of Eldest Young Master's arm to come to Cheng Ma's side and flatter her, "Mom, you're really impressive."

Cheng Ma felt proud, "Of course, but the one who put in the most effort was this child Xiao Yu. Young people really have quick reactions; by the time we got there, both wild mountain goats had already fallen to the ground, unable to get up."

How strong is a Gene Awakener's jumping ability? One leap can cover several meters.

Cheng Ma had seen Gene Awakeners in action before, but someone like Shen Yu who acted the moment he spoke, without a shred of hesitation, was still a first for her.

The more she looked, the more she liked him, and Cheng Ma made up her mind to introduce Shen Yu to a nice girl.

Pity her own family had no suitable child, otherwise he would truly be a fine match.

The five of them walked toward the Water Pool together, and saw Wild Deer and Wild Goat corpses neatly arranged by the poolside, while the captured Wild Goats bleated, sounding rather pitiful.

The captured Wild Goat was not small in size, but judging by its horns, it was still a Wild Goat Kid.

"Take it back to sell to the Base?" Shen Yao stroked the thick wool of the Wild Goat—soft, smooth, and elastic, excellent material for keeping out the cold.

"The Base doesn't allow keeping living things; selling it is worth more than killing it."

Cheng Qi roughly estimated the weight of this Wild Goat; by the Points Exchange Ratio, selling it alive to the Base would earn more points.

"Mm, sell it to the Base; the other two Wild Deer and one Wild Goat we keep for ourselves," or make them into Jerky for simple storage, while the older Jerky could be sold off.