Chapter 30.2 The Promised Land
“Run!!!” Maybe because he was afraid that the Russians wouldn’t understand, Li Ye yelled in English, and everyone ran away.
Lin Banxia turned around and ran wildly, without even daring to look back. He felt a gust of wind blowing over the top of his head, and from the corner of his eye, he saw the strange bear slap in his direction. Anyone who has hunted in the mountains knows the meaning of one bear, two pigs and three tigers, which means that the bear is the greatest threat to humans among wild animals. It is not only powerful, but also runs extremely fast and can climb trees. Once it is angered, there is almost no chance of escaping death, not to mention the monster in front of them which had unknown origins.
Running in the jungle is not easy. Lin Banxia didn’t dare to look back at all, but although he didn’t look back, the sound of trees being crushed behind him got closer and closer, and the bad feeling in his heart became more and more intense.
However, just when the terrifying shadow appeared above Lin Banxia’s head, two harsh gunshots rang out behind him again. “Bang! Bang!” The next moment, the shadow above Lin Banxia’s head quickly disappeared. The monster disappeared, apparently attracted by the person shooting behind him. Lin Banxia staggered two steps, breathing heavily, and turned his head, only to see the strange bear heading in the opposite direction.
There was no doubt that someone fired a gun, which abruptly drew the strange bear’s attention and saved Lin Banxia’s life. Lin Banxia did not dare to stop and continued to run forward. After running for who knows how long, he heard the terrifying sound gradually fade away, and the forest became silent again.
He stopped, staggered a few steps, and sat awkwardly on the ground. The surroundings were silent, with no insects or birds chirping, and it was so quiet that it made people uncomfortable.
After resting for a few minutes, Lin Banxia got up from the ground, took out his mobile phone and looked at it. Not surprisingly, there was no signal on it. He took out the walkie-talkie provided for them, tuned to a specific channel, and tried to contact the others, but still found nothing.
Lin Banxia stood there and thought for a while. He originally wanted to go back to where he had been to see if he could meet up with Song Qingluo and the others, but he was afraid of bumping into the bear again. After thinking about it, he took a compass and map out of his bag. Fortunately, the compass could still be used. He simply determined his location and started heading south. Judging from the map, there was a river to the south of the town. At least he could go to the river first and get some supplies that could sustain him. It would be great if he could find other people on the way there.
What was that black mucus on the strange bear?
Along the way, Lin Banxia was thinking about the scene he saw. Could it have some strange impact on the body of a living thing? However, this didn’t make sense. If so, how come the slime appeared on the TV? As he was thinking about it, the sky got dark.
It was obviously unwise to rush about in an unfamiliar forest at night. After thinking about it, Lin Banxia decided to rest nearby. He used flint and steel to build a fire and simply ate some dry food to satisfy his hunger.
As night fell, the forest was silent. Lin Banxia sat by the fire, not daring to sleep. He was not only worried about his own situation, but also worried about Song Qingluo. The person who helped him lure away the strange bear must be Song Qingluo. He didn’t know what his current situation was, whether he had successfully escaped, or whether he was injured.
Lin Banxia was a little tired, but still refused to close his eyes. He didn’t know what would happen at night and was afraid that he would never have the chance to open his eyes after closing them.
At some point, a full moon hung in the sky. Lin Banxia looked up and saw the starry sky that appeared in Li Su’s video.
The Milky Way was vivid, leaving a bright trace in the dark night sky. The moonlight was like water, and the pale light slanted down, covering the world with a soft veil. Under this layer of tulle, the ferocious forest seemed much gentler, but in Lin Banxia’s eyes, this layer of false gentleness hid a terrifying murderous intention.
In the second half of the night, Lin Banxia became more and more sleepy. He yawned, reached out and patted his face a few times, trying to wake himself up. The campfire in front of him crackled softly, and in the dark night, Lin Banxia, who was sleepy, heard someone calling his name.
At first, he thought he heard wrongly, but he soon discovered that someone was indeed calling him deep in the forest. “Lin Banxia, Lin Banxia, Lin Banxia…” The voice was a little muffled, but it sounded familiar.
Lin Banxia stood up from the ground and moved closer to the source of the sound. Finally, he saw a person walking slowly towards him through the lush jungle. It was Alexei who was lost because of the strange bear and the team splitting up during the day.
“Lin Banxia, is it really you?!” Alexei appeared in front of Lin Banxia.
Through the bonfire, Lin Banxia saw clearly that he was in a mess. He seemed to be injured, limping on his feet, and was covered in dirt. His face was full of surprise, and he was obviously very happy to finally find a teammate.
“Are you injured?” Lin Banxia asked.
“Yeah.” Alexei said, “My ankle is sprained.”
“Sit down and let me take a look for you.” Lin Banxia said.
Alexei sat next to the bonfire. Lin Banxia squatted down and helped him check the wound on his foot. At the same time, he used his peripheral vision to carefully look at the appearance of his teammate. Alexei’s backpack was gone, which was normal. After all, the probability of escaping would increase if he got rid of weight. His shirt had a few cuts, but they were not serious. His wound was just a scratch, but it was on his ankle. It was extremely swollen and bruised. Lin Banxia couldn’t tell if any bones had been injured.
Lin Banxia checked him, took out the wound medicine from his backpack and gave him a simple bandage.
Alexei said: “Didn’t you see them? Are you alone?”
Lin Banxia glanced at him and said nothing.
“Why are you ignoring me?” Alexei muttered.
Lin Banxia then spoke. He said, “Yes, I am alone. Where did you run to before? Why did you appear suddenly.”
Alexei said: “You and I were running in the same direction, and we were almost overtaken by that thing. Fortunately, someone shot and lured the thing over. But you ran so fast, I, I couldn’t catch up from behind, I just watched you run away.”
Lin Banxia said helplessly: “If you don’t run faster at this time, you are waiting to die.”
Alexei smiled and agreed.
“You should rest for a while.” Lin Banxia helped him take care of the wound and said, “I will keep watch.”
Alexei said: “Okay.” Although he said yes, he didn’t feel sleepy and couldn’t help but speak again, “What was that thing? Is it a bear? And the slime on his body…”
Lin Banxia shook his head, indicating that he didn’t know either.
“Do you have a good relationship with that guy named Song Qingluo?” Alexei was very envious, “I saw it was him who fired the shot. After the shot, the bear went towards him.”
Lin Banxia thought that this was indeed the case, and his worries about Song Qingluo became even stronger.
Alexei said: “Why do you do this?”
Lin Banxia said honestly: “Money.”
Alexei smiled and said: “So that’s it, then we are about the same. I also need a lot of money…” When he talked about money, he immediately became energetic and said with a bright face, “With money, I can marry the girl I like, and I want to buy the most expensive motorcycle to drive her around.” His young face shone with joy, but the light quickly dimmed and turned into a trace of bitterness, “If I can go back alive…”
“It must be possible.” Lin Banxia patted him on the shoulder.
Alexei smiled bitterly: “It’s okay. Even if it doesn’t work, There will still be a large amount of insurance money after I die.”
Lin Banxia didn’t know how to comfort him. He always took things like life and death very lightly, otherwise he wouldn’t do this.
The two chatted, and soon it was dawn. Fortunately, there were no other incidents that night.
After dawn, Lin Banxia hit the road again, with Alexei, who had difficulty moving around, Lin Banxia found him a tree branch as a crutch, and he limped behind Lin Banxia.
He didn’t know if there were any other living creatures in the forest. Lin Banxia didn’t dare to carry him for fear of stepping on reptiles such as snakes, so he knocked on the ground with a stick while walking forward. He didn’t know how long he had walked forward, but the surrounding scenery had not changed. It was still the woods and the grass. Alexei began to get anxious, wondering if they were going in circles.
Lin Banxia thought about it and felt that what he said made sense, so he tore off some bandages and tied the strips of cloth to the tree trunk as a marker.
It was okay not to mark them. After marking them, they couldn’t deceive themselves. When they saw those bandage strips again, Lin Banxia was sure that they were lost.
“What can we do?” Alexei’s anxiety began to escalate. “We are going in circles.”
Lin Banxia frowned: “Even so, we have to try to move forward. We can’t wait to die where we are.”
Alexei said: “How about I lead the way?”
Lin Banxia glanced at him: “Is your foot okay?”
Alexei said: “It’s okay. Anyway, I grew up in the forest, so I must be more experienced than you.”
“Okay.” Lin Banxia thought for a while and felt that what he said did make sense.
So, Alexei walked in front. It was unknown if he was really experienced or just lucky, but he really didn’t circle again. At least Lin Banxia didn’t see the mark he made again.
However, because Alexei’s foot was injured, their trip was forced to slow down a lot. He couldn’t keep his mouth closed and kept chatting with Lin Banxia. His words were full of a desire for money. Lin Banxia was okay. Although he also liked money, he was not as obsessed with it like Alexei. He would make money whenever he could, but he didn’t think about it much either.
After walking slowly for a day, when night was about to come, Lin Banxia discovered a dilapidated cabin deep in the forest.
“There is a house there!!” Alexei said in surprise, “Is there someone there??”
Lin Banxia said: “…it doesn’t look like someone is there.”
Alexei said: “Whether there is anyone or not, why don’t we go over and take a look?”
Lin Banxia agreed.
The cabin was located among dense woods. You could tell at a glance that no one had been here for a long time. Both the corridor and the windows were covered with traces of dust. Lin Banxia was still looking through the window, but Alexei had already used a tool to break the lock of the hut and opened the door of the hut.
Before Lin Banxia had time to stop him, he pushed open the door and entered the house. Fortunately, nothing unexpected happened, he just choked a few times on the dust inside.
“There’s no one inside.” Alexei said carelessly, “Let’s just stay here at night.”
Lin Banxia didn’t answer. He followed Alexei into the house and saw the furnishings in the house. This place looked like a hunter’s residence, with some old specimens hanging on the walls. At first glance, it seemed that no one had been there for a long time, but after Lin Banxia entered the house, he felt something was wrong. He observed it carefully, immediately took out his weapon, and warned: “Be careful, someone has been here.”
“Ah? Has anyone been here?” Alexei was stunned.
“The fireplace has been used.” Lin Banxia said, “The burnt wood inside is fresh.”
“Could it be Li Ye and the others?” Alexei asked, “How could anyone else come into this forest…?”
“It’s uncertain.” Lin Banxia said, “It’s better to be careful.”
Alexei responded, but his expression was very nonchalant. Lin Banxia glanced at him and said nothing more. He searched around the house and found no useful information. The only thing that was certain was that someone had indeed been here, because not only had the fireplace been used, but the things in the house showed signs of being moved, even though they had been returned, the disturbed dust could still be seen.
It was getting late. After considering the pros and cons, Lin Banxia decided to camp there.
He went to find some wood outside the house, lit the fire in the fireplace, and checked every corner of the house to make sure there was no one else in the house.
Alexei acted very relaxed throughout the whole process, happily sitting on the chair, and eating dry food.
After Lin Banxia did all this, he started to rest. He took out the food, took a few bites, and said, “Are you not afraid now?”
Alexei said: “What are you afraid of? It’s better to have a house to live in than to sleep outside.”
Lin Banxia said: “Yes.”
“You go to bed tonight.” Alexei said with a smile, “I will keep watch and call you if anything happens.”
Lin Banxia had not rested for almost two days, and his body was already a little tired. If he stayed up any longer, it might affect his schedule for the next day, so he did not refute, but silently agreed to Alexei’s proposal.
When night fell again, Lin Banxia lay on the bed which had only one wooden board left, and soon fell into a deep sleep. In the haze, there were some slight noises in the room, as if Alexei was moving something.
Lin Banxia was awakened by the sound, opened his eyes in a daze, and saw Alexei sitting in the living room with an exaggerated smile on his face, staring at a wooden box in his hand.
Lin Banxia woke up immediately. He sat up, held the dagger at his side, and said, “Alexei, what is that?”
Alexei’s smile paused slightly, and he looked up at Lin Banxia. His eyes seemed to be considering something. After a moment, he came up with a thoughtful answer. He walked to Lin Banxia with a smile, his voice trembling with excitement, He said: “Lin Banxia, come and see, what good things have I discovered?”
Lin Banxia raised his eyes and saw the items in the box. It was a golden and attractive yellow color, neatly placed in the box. With just one glance, Lin Banxia knew its identity. Gold.
Lin Banxia said: “Where… did you get it?”
“Right next to the fireplace!” Alexei said, “I peeled off the bricks in the wall and saw this box…”
Lin Banxia hesitated and said: “Don’t you think it’s strange that this thing appeared here?”
Alexei said: “Strange? What’s strange? No, to be precise, nothing here is strange. I tried it. This is solid gold.” He picked up one and bit it with his teeth. Suddenly, obvious teeth marks appeared on it, “You saw it too, right? This thing is not an illusion.”
This was indeed not an illusion; no illusion could be this real.
The gold held by Alexei exudes an alluring light. Lin Banxia has never seen so much gold. There was no doubt that this is indeed an irresistible temptation for him, so his face can’t help smiling.
His smile probably gave Alexei some kind of signal. Alexei looked at Lin Banxia excitedly and said: “Anyway, we are all here for the money. This much money is enough for us to share, so, this thing is half for you and half for me, let’s divide it and leave here…”
Lin Banxia refused without thinking: “No.”
“Why? Do you still want to keep it all to yourself?” Alexei looked at Lin Banxia warily.
“No, you found this gold. You can do with it whatever you want. Even if you want to go back, I won’t stop you, but I still have to move forward. My friend is still inside, and I can’t leave him behind. Just go back like this.” Lin Banxia expressed his point of view very calmly – though it might have been more convincing if his eyes had not been fixed on the gold.
Sure enough, Alexei didn’t believe Lin Banxia’s words at all. He said coldly: “You really don’t want gold; you just want to go in and find your friends?”
Lin Banxia: “Really.”
Alexei: “Then why are you staring at my gold?”
Lin Banxia laughed angrily, wondering why people are like this nowadays. Liu Xi was like this, Alexei was like this… Who can resist staring at so much gold in front of them? He had tried hard to suppress his smile, yet he wouldn’t even let him look at it a few more times?!
“Because it looks good.” Lin Banxia answered this infuriating question angrily.
The author has something to say:
Lin Banxia:Song Qingluo! I’m really angry!!
Song Qingluo: But you are laughing.
Lin Banxia: I told you I was angry!!!
Song Qingluo: You are obviously smiling.
Lin Banxia: Can you please take your fucking money? I’m really angry!!
Song Qingluo: I don’t.
Lin Banxia: …Oh, oh, oh, please, I can’t get angry when I see the money!
Translator’s comments:
Hey guys. So due to life being a bit crazy lately due to my new job, I have to make a decision and I would like the reader’s input. So the two options I am faced with is to either only publish chapters every second day for this novel and I’m Really a Dragon (due to their extremely long chapters), or I will have to start splitting all of the long chapter in two as I have been doing for the last few day. If I split the chapters I would keep posting everyday.
Anyway, I wanted to leave the choice up to the readers. I don’t want to become unreliable in my updates, yet I can’t currently cope with work and translating two of these extremely long chapters everyday. If I haven’t received any feedback by Monday, I will have to make the decision myself. So, if you have anything to say, please drop a comment.
