062 Shock

Lin Yan was full of anticipation, hoping to find food seeds.

Once hematite was found, farm tools could be forged, which was essential for clearing wasteland and farming.

With so many people, the lifestyle of relying solely on hunting had to change. Clearing land and farming were safer than hunting; as long as they could find food seeds, they wouldn't have to worry about going hungry.

Pang Bao told her with regret that no grain varieties had been found among the plants discovered so far, but she would continue trying her best to look.

Lin Yan reminded Pang Bao: "As soon as you find any, let me know immediately."

She wanted to start collecting all kinds of seeds, as long as they were edible, whether vegetables or grains, she wanted them all.

The current diet was too monotonous. Without seasonings, they could only boil food in water or roast it over fire. Retaining the original flavor like this was truly a form of torture.

Recalling the rich and diverse cuisines in human history, Lin Yan suddenly felt that it was truly not easy for her to have survived these past few years.

Just as she finally fell asleep, she was abruptly woken up. With a swift roll, Lin Yan immediately looked in the direction of the sound.

It felt as though something was approaching, and the noise was quite loud. It wasn't far away now, which explained why it was so noisy.

The night watch team had also noticed and hurriedly sounded the alert. The others woke up one after another and entered a state of battle readiness.

Seeing that everyone was performing reasonably well, Heitu immediately came over to find Lin Yan. "Do you know what kind of creature it is?"

With her sharp hearing and clear sight, she could detect things a step earlier, allowing them to prepare in advance.

Lin Yan listened carefully for a moment. "The sound is deep, but the numbers are small. It sounds like a large animal approaching. It's not far now; let's hide in the trees first."

Before resting, they had already scouted the large trees in this area, and the tops were safe.

Heitu immediately gave the order for everyone to pack up their things, erase their traces, and climb the trees.

There were several fine-leaf banyan trees where they had been resting. They grew with lush foliage and trunks several feet thick, blocking out the sky, making them just right for hiding up above.

Everyone moved quickly, and in less than ten minutes, they had all climbed up into the trees, holding their breath and not daring to make a sound.

The low rumbling grew closer and closer, each beat feeling as though it were trampling upon their hearts.

It was close, getting closer and closer, feeling as if a behemoth was treading on the ground; wherever it passed, the earth trembled.

Lin Yan's heart leaped into her throat. Judging by the sound, if they were discovered, this massive tree wouldn't withstand a collision.

After waiting for a few minutes, it finally came into view. The tall, dense jungle could not conceal that massive body, pitch-black with a pair of sharp horns on its head.

Once she saw it clearly, Lin Yan doubted reality itself. This thing had to be an ox.

She had thought that the herd of cattle she saw back then was already the largest, but she hadn't expected today's beast to be a full circle larger, even more formidable and towering.

It stood over three meters tall and was seven or eight meters long. With its sturdy limbs, bulky physique, and the bowl-sized eyes on its huge head, it looked all the more terrifying. It looked fierce and decidedly not one to be messed with.

No one dared to make a sound, quietly waiting for the giant black ox below to pass by and hoping against hope that it wouldn't discover them.

However, their hopes were dashed. When the giant black ox walked beneath them, it actually stopped.

Everyone was startled, thinking they had been discovered. Their entire bodies tensed up, ready to flee for their lives at any moment.

At that very moment, the giant black ox turned its head back and let out a low roar toward the way it had come: "Moo!"

Just as Lin Yan was fully concentrated and bracing for a desperate fight, the roar exploded right beside her ears. Her head rang with a buzzing sound, as if it were about to split open.

It wasn't just her; the others felt the same way. The giant black ox's backward roar almost blasted them right out of the tree.

The few of them barely managed to grab hold of the branches and steady their posture to avoid falling.

Even so, the giant black ox keenly sensed something was amiss. Its head turned this way and that, its ears perked up, and finally, it tilted its head back to stare up into the tree.

At that instant, the blood in everyone's veins seemed to freeze. Had they been discovered?

Heitu's whole body was taut and battle-ready, staring fixedly at the giant black ox below without issuing any commands. He was gambling that the giant black ox wouldn't ram the tree.

Lin Yan didn't dare to draw a full breath, her body trembling slightly. At that moment, she felt she had indeed been reckless; stepping out into the wild certainly came with a price.

Suddenly, a rustling sound arose. The vegetation shook in the direction from which the giant black ox had come, and something else was approaching.

The giant black ox turned its tilted head back toward the rear. A moment later, a small black ox appeared.

Compared to the massive size of the giant black ox, it was entirely diminutive, looking like a newly born calf.

The calf came under the giant black ox and let out a few "moos," sounding as though it were acting spoiled.

The giant black ox lowered its head, nuzzled the calf, extended its tongue to lick it, and led the little one toward the water pool to drink.

Dawn was approaching, and the dim visibility was gradually fading, but the giant black ox remained by the pool, pushing the calf into the water to play—quite cheerfully.

The people up in the tree had long since grown numb. They endured for over an hour without daring to move an inch, scared half to death. In their hearts, they only wanted the giant black ox to hurry up and leave with its calf.

This wait lasted another half an hour. The giant black ox and the calf finally tired of playing; they emerged from the water and retraced their steps along the path they had come.

When they reached the large tree where Lin Yan and the others were hiding, the giant black ox stopped, tilted its head up to look for a moment, and only then moved on at a leisurely pace, urged along by the calf's persistent "moos."

Until the sound could no longer be heard at all, Lin Yan's tense body slowly relaxed, and she took a few deep gulps of air, nearly suffocating.

No one spoke, nor did they dare to move. They were all taking deep breaths to dispel the stifling sensation in their bodies.

After another few minutes, someone softly began to stretch their stiff limbs.

Making sure that the giant black ox had truly gone—leaving behind a cleared path where the brush and trees had been flattened—Lin Yan whispered to Heitu, "It's safe now."

Heitu gathered his composure before telling everyone, "It's safe. Let's go down."

The group, originally full of soaring ambition, had been shaken to a loss of confidence by a single ox.

Dashi hesitated for a long while before saying, "Are we still going to look? We've only just started and already ran into such a huge ox. Who knows what we'll encounter next?"

"We go. No matter what we encounter, we cannot give up." Heitu was extremely firm, as if completely unaffected by the giant black ox.

As the leader of the team, he had to give everyone confidence. Seeing them frightened out of their wits and weighed down by fatigue that sapped their courage, Heitu resolutely refused to let them continue in such a state.

Lin Yan glanced at Heitu. He was a true warrior, remaining fiercely steadfast even at a time like this, rebuilding confidence for the others.

Seeing that everyone's spirits were low, Lan Xing immediately spoke up, "Heitu is right. We only ran into an ox. We prepared ourselves mentally before coming out; the ox just looks scary, so don't scare yourselves. Listen to Heitu: as long as we cooperate well and fear nothing, we will succeed."

Heitu looked at Lan Xing approvingly. "Well said, that's exactly it. Don't frighten yourselves, aren't we all fine? Everyone did a good job this time—taking orders and holding still without random movements. We must keep doing this in the future."

Lin Yan also smiled and said, "That's right, that's right. When the giant black ox arrived, everyone reacted quickly and without any hesitation or drag. It's truly commendable."

The atmosphere eased somewhat. Heitu called Dashi aside for a private chat, and the others gradually returned to normal.