Eaten Ch.137

Chapter 137: Spoiled by Wu Heng

This was the first time Wu Heng truly felt the gap between his own people and Wen Yuan’s.

When Lin Mengzhi jumped up to join him in looking out over the distance, Yang Xiaoyun had already noticed the movement. He turned his head. “Holy—”

Before the words even finished, he had already vanished into the ground.

“The whole mountaintop’s been washed away, damn it!” Lin Mengzhi’s face darkened. “My Bear Bro’s life is hanging by a thread.”

At that moment, Yang Xiaoyun had arrived in front of the wooden cabin. He brought his palms together, and the forested mountains behind the cabin began to shift, splitting apart with a thunderous roar. After collapsing and crumbling, they reassembled into a towering platform.

The mountain flood slammed into the platform with tremendous force. Several nearby peaks shook, rocks raining down without end, while the water level rose at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Zhou Shan staggered out of the cabin with bags slung over his back and shoulders. His bear eyes were brimming with tears as he looked at Yang Xiaoyun as if a god had descended from the heavens.

‘I’ll repay him with my body. I’ll repay him with my body. I’ll repay him with my body. I’ll repay him with my body. I’ll repay him with my body,’ he thought resolutely.

Yang Xiaoyun grabbed Zhou Shan in one swift motion and carried him into the middle of the group.

Down at the foot of the mountain, the earthen dam formed by the mountainside collapsed. The flood let out a long howl, and in an instant, it obliterated Zhou Shan’s home. The remains of several small wooden cabins were swallowed like scraps down a giant’s throat, spinning away and vanishing within seconds.

Zhou Shan stared at the torrent and began to cry.

“My home is gone.”

Some people understood him; some did not. But everyone tacitly chose silence and sympathy. There was no time to linger—similar tragedies were happening by the hundreds, every single day.

“We need to leave, Zhou Shan,” Ruan Silian said. “Do you still choose to stay?”

Zhou Shan cried until he could barely catch his breath. When he finally came back to himself, he saw pairs of eyes around him, all fixed on him. In one breath, he took in one face, two, three, four, five. He drew in a deep breath and shifted his gaze away from them.

He saw the former prosperity and glory at the foot of the mountain. He saw tourists moving between different landscapes, dressed in the clothes of all four seasons. He felt the pulse deep beneath the ground of this sacred place—it had never changed, always nurturing new life.

And he could not change either.

He could not leave her behind.

“Everything that comes from the land will return to the land.” Zhou Shan found Wu Heng’s figure at the very top. “I wish you a smooth journey.”

Zhou Shan shifted into the form of a black bear. He straightened up, used his forepaws to part a thicket of shrubs, slipped inside—and vanished from sight.

Less than two minutes later, a bear’s roar rose from the distant forest. It came in broken bursts, yet was full of vigor and strength, interweaving with the startled chirping of birds—a perfectly natural symphony.

“I think I finally understand why he was so determined to stay,” Xue Qi said, lying sprawled across a teammate’s back.

Lin Mengzhi couldn’t accept that Xue Qi understood something he didn’t—especially since he’d known Bear Bro longer than Xue Qi had.

“Why?”

“Some people are like iron,” Xue Qi said, listening to the sounds from afar. “And to them, their homeland is a magnet. The soil of home gives birth to them, lifts them up, and bears their weight. Once they leave it, they’ll come crashing down.” He paused. “Don’t you think he belongs here?”

“Indeed.” Lin Mengzhi nodded solemnly. “Let’s keep moving, A’Heng.”

He missed Wu Zhi—more than ever. ‘Please, he prayed to heaven, send me another fool to use as a stepping stone.’

The visitor center had been swept into the river, and not a single tour bus remained. The group could only proceed on foot into the mountains. It rained the whole way. Wu Heng pulled on his raincoat and, as he walked, quietly tossed things he fancied along the road into his storage space.

Behind them, Wen Yuan and his teammates simply assumed the ones up front were younger and playful, fond of touching this and that. They only reminded them not to touch anything poisonous.

The team had many ability users. Though the mountain paths were difficult, their pace was remarkably fast. Anyone who couldn’t keep up was picked up—one per helper—from behind and carried along at speed.

Ruan Silian refused assistance. She could keep up more easily than before on her own and never once slowed the group down.

Lin Mengzhi walked behind her. After sneaking a glance back at Xue Shen and the others, he poked her lightly. “If you can’t hold on, tell me, I’ll carry you.”

“I’m doing fine, thank you.” Ruan Silian swept all her hair back and tied it with a scarf, gentle as flowing water, utterly out of place amid the brutal struggle for survival at this stage.

“Don’t push yourself,” Lin Mengzhi said. “What if those little things get unhappy and spray you with poison—waaah!” He frightened himself into flailing wildly and nearly slipped.

Ruan Silian reached out to steady him. “If I felt unwell, I’d definitely tell you. But they’re very well-behaved and haven’t made me uncomfortable. I even feel like they’re transmitting energy into my body, supporting me as I walk. That’s why today feels especially easy.”

“That’s even creepier,” Lin Mengzhi said, grabbing her arm and walking alongside her. “They’re still so young, and they already know how to sweeten the deal. Once they’re fully grown, they’ll probably be even smarter than that mother snake.”

Then, curiosity getting the better of him, he asked, “So how many months old are they now?”

Wu Heng heard every word of the conversation behind him, but he didn’t speak. He wasn’t much for talking, and speaking wasted energy.

Along the way, he picked up things to eat—like longhorn beetles. After mutating, they were bigger than a fist. He’d grab one and snap off the head, tossing it to Shukui, then tear away the shell and legs on the back, eating only the soft, glutinous belly, plump with juice.

Wu Heng foraged quite a bit as he walked, and also found several medicinal herbs for Doctor Chen. No matter whose perspective one looked from, his expression and bearing were cool and proper, making it impossible not to persuade oneself to accept all of his strange behavior.

By afternoon, the team reached a meadow zone. The lush green grassland spread like a densely woven carpet across the rolling mountain crests. Tall, bare rock faces stood like soldiers. Beneath drifting clouds and mist, wildflowers of every color bloomed, and from within the fog came a few soft calls of deer.

“So beautiful,” someone sighed at the sight.

They had emerged from a forest so dense it was like a black hole, and the world before them suddenly opened up. Looking to the right, the slope fell away all the way down, mountains linking to mountains—the entire range lay beneath their feet.

“Is that a tent over there?! Could there be people?”

Several zombies came into view, croaking hoarsely.

…

Wen Yuan’s people were highly trained. After killing the zombies, they moved seamlessly through patrol and sweep, unloading gear, clearing grass, setting up a temporary camp, lighting fires, and cooking.

Which made the few people standing around gawking look especially comical.

Wu Heng held X, whose fur was completely soaked, and blankly looked at Lin Mengzhi. “Why aren’t you working?”

“Wow, why aren’t you working?”

The two of them turned together to look at Shukui and said in unison, “Why aren’t you working?”

Shukui lifted its head and let out a soft “woo.”

Wang Meixia set down her backpack and pulled on her gloves. “I’ll go see if there’s anything I can help with.” Liu Dongfan and Luo Lei immediately followed her.

Ruan Silian said she would go too, but Lin Mengzhi grabbed her. “You’re a woman, don’t go. We’re not familiar with these people yet. What if they’re some villain organization’s small squad sent to steal our secrets? If you got captured, wouldn’t that be terrible?”

Xue Qi, sitting in a brand-new wheelchair, looked up at Lin Mengzhi. “What secrets does your side have?”

“…” Lin Mengzhi wanted to say they didn’t have secrets—but they did have a secret. After thinking about it, he decided that when and how that secret should be revealed was something Wu Heng and Ruan Silian had to decide themselves. After all, he neither had dual-type abilities nor was he pregnant.

Xue Qi was already used to Lin Mengzhi’s habit of digging himself holes he couldn’t fill. He took a bag of lollipops out of his jacket pocket. “Want one?”

“I won’t eat it, give them to the others,” Wu Heng refused. He didn’t eat ordinary human food. After speaking, he turned and headed into the mountains.

“They’re made by a Butterfly Sister from Jingzhou. Really sweet, are you sure you don’t want to try one?”

Wu Heng turned around a full 180 degrees with a calm expression and took a lollipop from Xue Qi’s hand.

He went into the mountains and let Doctor Chen out, telling him to look for what he needed on his own.

But Doctor Chen first noticed the strangers moving about down the mountain.

Strangers were good.

Strangers were fresh.

He growled hoarsely, insisting on going over.

Wu Heng pulled him back. “Those can’t be eaten.”

“This can’t be eaten, that can’t be eaten.”

“They’re going to help me work.”

Wu Heng walked in front while Doctor Chen followed behind, slinging a large bag over his shoulder. He precisely identified what he needed—Dysosma, Baiheche, Angelica, Aconite, Ophiopogon… Each plant was plump and robust. He hadn’t put in much before the bag was already stuffed full.

A heavy breath sounded overhead. Just as Doctor Chen caught the scent of fresh meat, a muffled grunt followed. With a loud thud, a massive light-brown creature collapsed to the ground.

Wu Heng bound the stag’s limbs with vines, looped the neck, leaving one end loose for dragging.

He scooped out the viscera and tossed them to Doctor Chen, then stowed Doctor Chen away and dragged the deer down the mountain.

Before leaving the forest, he glanced back several times at the silent woods. Only this one deer had appeared nearby. If there were more, that would be even better—he could put them into his space to raise, and then he’d be able to eat venison regularly in the future.

At this moment, Wen Yuan was taking vacuum-sealed dried meat strips from his pack. After soaking them in water for a while, he softened them, sliced them up, and mixed them with dried vegetables that had also been rehydrated. One big pot. The texture wasn’t as good as fresh meat, but it was easy to carry and filled the stomach just the same.

His style was still textbook military—clean, efficient. Whether it was vegetables, meat, or seasonings, not a single bit spilled. Lift, place; lift, place. The motions were neat and pleasing to watch, but the food itself inspired zero appetite: dark and murky, like leftover hotpot water.

Everyone else was already used to this kind of quick meal. Out on missions, you couldn’t ask for much.

But last night they had just eaten that unforgettable fresh wild boar—slaughtered and cooked on the spot—a delicacy they were lucky to have once a month at best. The taste still lingered on their tongues.

Now, looking at the pot of soup-and-slurry Wen Yuan had put together, for once no one surged forward with bowls like they usually did.

Wen Yuan naturally knew what they were thinking. He took off his cap. His fairly handsome features carried a stern air that said he was not someone easy to mess with—or easy to talk to.

“Two bowls per person.”

“…”

“I’ll pass. I’ll wait for A’Heng to come back,” Lin Mengzhi said, tearing at a strip of jerky.

Xue Qi thought for a moment, then leaned toward Lin Mengzhi. “For now, it’s better not to reveal in front of them that Wu Heng has a storage space.”

“His pack’s so big—he definitely has food,” Lin Mengzhi said. “This looks like slop. I’m not eating it, not eating it. Stinky bird, are you eating?”

“No.” X flapped a wing.

“Wu Heng has really spoiled you all,” Xue Qi said, pulling the lollipop from his mouth. “After I went to Jingzhou, I found out that a lot of people weren’t eaten by mutated animals or zombies—they starved to death.”

“Survival of the fittest,” Lin Mengzhi said, a bit heavy-hearted. “If I ran into them, I’d definitely give them something to eat.”

“Better not. Human hearts are dangerous.”

Under Wen Yuan’s urging gaze, the dozen or so people took out their mess tins and went over to ladle out their portions.

Wang Meixia and the other two glanced at Lin Mengzhi’s group, then at Wen Yuan’s side, and fell into hesitation. They couldn’t be as shamelessly confident as Lin Mengzhi, waiting for that young man to feed them. They had no right to be picky. So after saying something to Ruan Silian, they took their bowls and jogged over as well.

A rustling sound came from below a slope. Wen Yuan immediately stood up, eyes sharp and alert as he looked toward the source.

The youth’s half-tied hair had come loose, a sheen of clear sweat hanging on his nose. A vine lay across his shoulder, digging into the fabric. After he climbed the slope and walked a bit farther, the creature bound by that vine finally came fully into view.

It was a deer—a deer like a small mountain. It had to weigh over a ton. Its antlers branched like those of an ancient tree, its limbs powerfully built; one stomp would be enough to kill a human.

Wu Heng dragged the entire deer to a spot near them, retracted the vine, lowered his sleeves, and glanced at the crowd. Without any fuss, in a tone as casual as if this were the most ordinary thing in the world, he said:

“Tonight’s dinner.”

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