Chapter 131 – Zhe’s Territory
These nests were found during its previous wanderings, some even dug out by itself.
Traveling with Pangpang turned out to be a very wise decision on Tu Ran’s part.
On the first day they entered the inner forest, at ten o’clock Federation time, Tu Ran decided to rest.
She wasn’t very tired, and the sky in the forest hadn’t darkened.
But sleeping at ten and waking up at six was a strict rule she set for herself.
This schedule allowed her to quickly recover her energy, stay vigorous throughout the day, and avoid collapsing from lack of rest.
Pangpang took her to a small nest it used to live in.
It wasn’t large, just enough for both of them to sleep comfortably.
Pangpang, tired, fell asleep immediately.
Tu Ran first patrolled the area to ensure it was safe, placed her machine gun on one side and her dagger on the other, then closed her eyes.
She set an alarm, and at seven the next morning, it rang.
Tu Ran woke up first.
The sky was still bright.
It had been bright since yesterday.
Tu Ran was used to it.
The day and night cycles in the forest were always irregular, just like the gates of the forest, which opened and closed on a whim.
Tu Ran packed her things without waking Pangpang.
She needed to find some food nearby for their breakfast.
If she had been alone, she could have managed with some compressed protein biscuits, but with the big eater Pangpang around, she couldn’t be that casual.
Passing by a kind of low shrub, Tu Ran saw clusters of small red berries.
Each berry was as big as her fist, with a black protrusion at the top, resembling a monster’s eye.
There were many such berries in this thicket.
Pangpang said these berries were magical; although they looked small, eating one could keep you from feeling hungry all day.
However, they didn’t taste very good.
For the slightly picky Pangpang, it would only eat these berries if it was extremely hungry and couldn’t find any other food.
Tu Ran casually picked two berries, put one in her bag, and started gnawing on the other as she walked.
Pangpang didn’t eat them, but she did.
Anyway, any food she ate tasted exactly like she imagined it would.
As long as she imagined this berry tasted like an apple, it would be crispy and delicious when she ate it.
Tu Ran continued searching for food suitable for Pangpang.
Yesterday, while walking, Pangpang had introduced her to various edible foods along the way.
Tu Ran remembered them all carefully.
At this moment, she saw a small flower with three purple petals and one red petal and immediately stopped.
Pangpang said that under such half-purple, half-red flowers, there were sweet buried fruits.
Pangpang liked sweet fruits.
Tu Ran quickly finished the “apple” in her hand in a few bites.
Then she took out a dagger and squatted at the flower’s base to dig.
After a few digs, the fruit was halfway exposed.
Tu Ran used her hand to dig it out, brushed off the soil, and indeed saw a white, tender fruit resembling a round white radish.
Tu Ran continued to squat and dig under the next flower.
Judging by the size of these fruits, Pangpang would need to eat seven or eight at a time.
To be safe, Tu Ran dug up fifteen.
She then went to a nearby stream and washed each one clean.
With the dirt washed away, the white flesh looked very appetizing.
Tu Ran picked up a huge fallen leaf and wrapped ten fruits in it before heading back.
As she expected, Pangpang was still asleep.
Lying on its back, its sleeping posture was bizarre, and she could even hear faint snores.
A chicken, snoring—Tu Ran was speechless.
“Get up and eat,” Tu Ran called out.
Pangpang turned over but ignored her.
Tu Ran shouted again, “If you don’t get up, I’ll eat all the food myself.”
Still no response.
Tu Ran gave up calling it and sat down nearby, picking the cleanest fruit to munch on.
It was sweet, fragrant, and very juicy.
After finishing one, Tu Ran reached for a second.
The fragrance of the fruit finally drifted to Pangpang’s nose.
Still in its sleep, it was woken by hunger.
It sat up with a start, eyed the white, tender fruits, and licked its beak.
“Eat quickly, we’re about to set off,” Tu Ran urged, pushing the fruits towards it.
Pangpang eagerly pulled the leaf towards itself and began devouring the fruits.
It ate quickly.
Tu Ran had just finished converting her medicine pouch into a small crossbody bag when Pangpang finished eating.
Wiping the juice off its beak with a feather, it curiously looked at the small bag in Tu Ran’s hands.
“Boss, what’s that?”
Tu Ran tossed the bag to it. “Wear it. From now on, you can put the food you want to eat on the road in here.”
Pangpang was delighted. Seeing the simple crossbody bag made from a medicine pouch and two strings, its tail puffed up with excitement.
It quickly jumped up, mimicking Tu Ran by slipping the bag over its head and across its waist.
The bag was just the right size, enough to hold an oversized red-skinned melon.
It happily spun in circles, flapping its wings. It finally had its own little bag and could carry its favorite food.
Tu Ran slung her backpack over her shoulder, glanced at it, and headed towards the cave entrance.
“Stop showing off. Let’s go.”
“Okay, boss,” Pangpang cheerfully followed her out.
Walking all the way into the depths of the dense forest, whenever it came across a fruit it wanted to eat, Pangpang would always stop to pick a few more, put them in its bag, eat them while walking, and keep introducing them.
“This place is the territory of the Zhe.”
“They had five tails and a single horn. Their bodies were agile, with four legs, and they ran very fast. Their cries sounded like the clinking of stones,” Pangpang described confidently.
“Despite their fierce appearance, they didn’t like eating meat and were quite tolerant of species weaker than themselves,” Pangpang continued.
Tu Ran looked around, noticing no obvious difference from other places, and wondered how Pangpang could tell them apart. She even suspected Pangpang was making it up.
As she thought this, the sound of clinking stones began to echo.
It got closer and closer.
Tu Ran thought, ‘It didn’t have to be so timely.’
From behind a thick tree, seven creatures emerged, resembling cheetahs but five times larger.
The most significant difference from cheetahs was the slender horns on their heads.
They looked exactly as Pangpang had described.
Pangpang nudged her with a wing and whispered, “Boss, don’t stare at them. They’ll think you’re challenging them. Lower your head, and they’ll ignore us.”
Tu Ran obediently lowered her head.
She still wanted to see their five tails.
As Pangpang had said, the creatures completely ignored them, striding past them with an air of arrogance.
Once they were at a safe distance, Tu Ran lifted her head to watch them walk away. Each one had five tails sprouting from their rear.
It was the first time she’d seen an animal with so many tails. It was indescribably strange.
“They’re patrolling their territory. Any species that dares to meet their gaze is seen as a challenger and will be torn to shreds,” Pangpang narrated vividly. As it spoke, it pulled a purple fruit from its bag and started munching on it.
