manynovel Chapter 100 Golden Beast Eyes
Chapter 100 Golden Beast Eyes
"Morris, nine out of those eleven instances of overlapping equipment and audio occurred before our operation even began. They weren't simultaneous; they were advance warnings."
After saying this, he stepped out of the tent and disappeared into the sweltering heat of the grassland.
The huge tent was instantly empty, leaving only Maurice all alone.
He repeatedly picked up and put down the cold coffee cup, hesitating for a long time, before finally tilting his head back and taking a big gulp. Even though the coffee was completely cold and bitter, he could only force it down, a lingering unease rising in his heart.
At midday, the sun at our lodging in the wilderness was incredibly scorching.
The wild grass on the entire grassland was scorching hot under the blazing sun, and waves of scorching heat surged continuously from the ground. Anyone exposed to the sun would be enveloped in heat and sweating profusely within minutes.
Chen Fei lay lazily under the dense shade of the acacia tree.
Its massive chin rested on its thick, sturdy front paws, its golden beastly eyes half-closed, its gaze fixed intently on the southern side of the entire grassland.
A strong, pungent, putrid stench was slowly drifting in from the south.
From late last night to this morning, the concentration of this smell has increased dramatically, becoming much stronger than the previous tentative scent.
This wasn't just a faint scent detected by a small group of hyenas sneaking around; it was a unique characteristic of the shifting scent across the entire territory of a large hyena colony during its migration.
Its aura was deep and expansive, its underlying layer shrouded in the stench of rotting flesh, like the vanguard of a tide, slowly approaching its territory step by step.
The main force of the split-mouthed hyenas is currently stationed south of the highland uplift line in the distance.
But everyone can clearly see that they are steadily moving north, with a clear goal: this riverside territory with relatively abundant water and grass.
[Host Chen Fei]
[Identity: Sub-adult male lion]
Current Energy Points: 1026
A light blue system panel silently appeared in the corner of Chen Fei's field of vision, briefly refreshing the real-time data.
Chen Fei impatiently flicked his thick tail, accurately swatting several flies that were clinging to the tip of his tail and sucking blood.
On this wild grassland, mosquitoes are always the most annoying little troubles, impossible to get rid of, and they harass all the wild animals every day.
Chen Fei had long since figured out the hyena pack's movements.
They will absolutely not launch an attack tonight; they will be pressing in the day after tomorrow at the earliest, and the day after that at the latest.
This is the beginning of the dry season, and natural water sources across the grasslands are rapidly dwindling. Limited water resources will force all wild animals to adjust their activity ranges.
The large-scale migration of herbivores triggers territorial battles among carnivorous predators.
The encroachment of hyena packs is never simply for hunting and filling their stomachs; it is essentially an inevitable result of a reshuffling of the entire grassland ecological niche.
These are all human reserves that Chen Fei accumulated in his previous life by watching documentaries and studying animal science.
With a mindset and vision far exceeding that of ordinary wild animals, he can always anticipate all crises half a step ahead, making him far more reliable than wild animals that rely solely on their sense of smell to perceive danger.
The most urgent task right now is to quickly patch up all the weaknesses and loopholes in the territory's defenses and eliminate the risk of being ambushed by hyenas in a group.
The low-lying area on the east side of the territory, which is adjacent to the bend of the river, is the biggest safety hazard.
During the day, it looks ordinary, just an inconspicuous depression and dead corner. But once night falls, this low-lying terrain becomes a natural green passage for hyena packs to quickly infiltrate and launch surprise attacks, making it easy to attack but difficult to defend.
This morning, Chen Fei personally inspected the entire dangerous area.
Instead of choosing to fight to the death, he played a psychological game.
By taking advantage of lions' instinct to mark their territory and intimidate enemies by scent, a dense atmosphere of lion pride activity was created at three key points along the route.
He arranged for several adult male lions in the alliance to take turns wandering around the low-lying areas, urinating to mark their territory, and rubbing their manes against tree trunks and rocks to leave their unique scent.
The layers upon layers of odors pressed together, creating the illusion that the area was heavily guarded.
Hyenas are cunning and cowardly by nature. Before launching a large-scale attack, they will definitely send out scouts to explore and investigate.
As soon as the scouting hyenas smell the strong, heavy scent of the male lion pride, they immediately become wary and instinctively abandon the shortcut, forced to take a longer route.
The whole operation was easy and effortless, without having to personally guard dangerous areas, perfectly matching his core principle of survival and development after transmigrating.
Just then, the simple and clumsy Big Head slowly swayed over from Chen Fei's left rear.
This guy walks clumsily, and with one step he snapped a dry branch on the ground, the crisp snapping sound particularly jarring in the quiet grassland.
Chen Fei's ears twitched slightly, keenly catching the sound, but he was too lazy to turn around and pay attention.
Big Head, clumsy and silly, took a long detour and got close to Chen Fei's side.
First, he cautiously looked up at Chen Fei's expression, repeatedly confirming that he hadn't angered the boss and wouldn't get beaten up on the spot, before he was completely relieved.
Its massive body pressed its belly directly against the scorching ground, lying obediently next to Chen Fei.
The two lions lay side by side, their eyes fixed on the perilous south.
To be honest, Big Head, that simpleton, can't smell anything at all.
He was completely unaware of the pungent, putrid stench of hyenas from the south.
He was simply blindly following the crowd. He looked wherever Chen Fei looked, his expression extremely serious, his brows furrowed and his eyes tense, pretending as if he were seriously analyzing the enemy situation and contemplating the survival of his tribe.
He forced himself to think seriously for less than a minute and a half.
Big Head could no longer resist the overwhelming drowsiness. He tilted his head to the side and opened his mouth wide to let out a huge yawn.
The next second, he placed his heavy head firmly on Chen Fei's broad back, closed his eyes, and fell fast asleep within two seconds, sleeping soundly.
Chen Fei glanced down at the big, furry head pressing against his back, feeling nothing, and simply stayed still, letting the man lean against him.
The afternoon on the grassland has a unique, dull weight to it; the air is eerily quiet, without a breath of wind.
The sweltering heat flowed slowly close to the ground, and the outlines of distant bushes, hills, and forests were distorted and blurred by the high-temperature air, appearing hazy and swaying.
Chen Fei kept his eyes fixed on the south, not daring to relax for a moment.
A single scare is far from enough to completely break down the guard of these outsiders.
Like boiling a frog in lukewarm water, applying pressure slowly is the safest approach.
Tonight, he will have another excellent opportunity to make a move and continue to put psychological pressure on Marcus, who is stationed in isolation.
Meanwhile, Marcus, who was left alone at the field monitoring point, fell into a deep sleep at 2 p.m., unable to resist his drowsiness.
At 4:47 PM, I was suddenly awakened by an incredibly vivid nightmare.
The eerie sound that tormented him day and night, haunting his dreams, kept recurring in his mind.
He sat up abruptly, his head slamming hard against the metal frame at the top of the tent.
The makeshift tent shook violently in an instant. Marcus hurriedly reached out to hold onto the swaying frame, his body covered in cold sweat. He sat frozen in place for a long time before he could barely calm his wildly beating heart.
The tent's blackout curtains were pulled tight, allowing only sparse light to seep through the fabric gaps, casting a thin, long line of light on the dim floor, creating a depressing and eerie atmosphere.
He reached for the satellite phone next to him and glanced down at the signal status bar.
The signal strength was a paltry two bars, so weak it could drop at any moment. The chat interface was completely blank, with no new messages.
In an instant, loneliness and panic swept over me.
He desperately wanted to send a message to Maurice, to state his thoughts frankly. He didn't want to stay alone on this remote and desolate grassland any longer, not even for a second longer.
He typed half of the text, then deleted it all, and finally gave up on asking for help.
Morris had given him clear instructions to grit his teeth and hold out for three more days.
Marcus understood better than anyone else that Morris's three-day deadline was not because he would investigate the anomaly and resolve the problem within three days.
Simply because three days is a reasonable and respectable duration to include in a work report.
The report stated that there were no new anomalies after three days of monitoring, and the monitoring mission was successfully completed. This is much better than having to evacuate on the second day due to the mental breakdown of the staff, and it will not delay the overall progress of the project.
He sees through the intricacies of the workplace with perfect clarity.
He understood all the reasons, but he couldn't suppress the fear and resistance in his heart at all.
After dark, the temperature in the wilderness dropped rapidly, and a biting chill slowly enveloped the entire area.
Marcus, barely managing to stay afloat, turned on the recording function of all the outdoor monitoring equipment, recording the surrounding sounds 24/7.
They also lowered the brightness of the monitoring screen to the lowest setting to avoid attracting the attention of wild predators.
After making all the preparations, he curled up in the most secluded corner of the tent, wrapped himself tightly in his thick winter coat, and sat in the darkness, anxiously waiting.
Time passed slowly, and I endured until 11 p.m. The outside was quiet, with no unusual noises.
The eerie sound that was expected did not appear for a long time.
Marcus's nerves, which had been tense all day, finally began to relax.
He kept reassuring himself and brainwashing himself.
Perhaps the strange noise last night was just an accident from beginning to end.
Kenneth's initial assessment was entirely correct: the microphone's moisture barrier had aged and become damaged, and the grassland's humidity was causing noise in the equipment.
All anomalies can be perfectly explained by cold, hard hardware malfunctions; there is no such thing as an inexplicable mystery in the world.
It's all because I've been alone in the wilderness for too long. The loneliness, depression, and high tension have caused me to overthink and overreact. I'm just scaring myself.
Just as he completely let down his guard and breathed a long sigh of relief.
A clear and piercing roar of a leopard suddenly came from the monitoring equipment that was running continuously nearby.
The sound wasn't loud, but it was incredibly real, spreading through the small tent along with the machine, striking straight to the heart.
Marcus froze instantly, every hair on his body stood on end, and his heart, which had just settled, suddenly jumped to its highest point.
He clearly remembered that the team had conducted a comprehensive survey of the distribution of wild animals in the entire area in the early stages.
There is absolutely no record of adult leopards inhabiting or roaming this riverside area for extended periods.
Non-existent animal cries suddenly emerged from the monitoring equipment.
At this moment, he could no longer deceive himself; all his wishful thinking and self-comfort shattered completely.
In the distant night sky over the grasslands, Chen Fei gently twitched his ears.
He stretched leisurely, silently complaining to himself.
Humans really have poor mental fortitude; they get so scared by such a small disturbance. It seems the pace of applying pressure can be accelerated even further.