The Last 299 Days of Humanity

Chapter 29 A prairie fire
Yu Qing now had to rely on himself to escape. He sat there, momentarily lost, but immediately began to think about his next move.

He looked back and was surprised to find that the tiger had chased him all the way to the bridge on the other side of the river. It was standing there, panting.

Although he didn't believe the tiger could fly over the gap of nearly seventy or eighty meters to get to him, he still felt uneasy.

We should leave here as soon as possible.

The river serves as a boundary; on the other side are towering mountains, while on this side stretches an endless plain. However, this does not mean the danger has diminished.

With the demise of agriculture over a century ago, these abandoned lands are now overgrown with weeds and thorns, providing a natural habitat for various animals. Anyone who dares to venture into them rarely escapes unscathed.

Although there is still a road that has been abandoned for many years running through it, Yu Qing still hesitated to move forward, worried that some strange creatures might emerge from the grass or thorns at any time.

He knew that any small, reckless move he made could cost him his life. He had to come up with a foolproof plan.

He considered putting himself in a zero-gravity backpack, but that would trap him here. To cross this plain, he would have to take the initiative to attack, rather than passively defend himself.

Now the only weapon he has left is that dagger, which can only be used for simple single-point attacks. In such a complex environment, it's better than nothing.

He didn't dare to think about what would happen if a hundred wolves or a dozen hyenas suddenly appeared...

"Looks like I'll have to take something drastic!" he thought.

He was glad he hadn't lost that most primitive thing: the harpoon lighter. He walked to the triangular area where the river and road intersected and set fire to the dry branches and leaves there.

Then he broke off some dry branches and used them to light the fire on the other side of the road.

At first, the fire wasn't particularly large, but it quickly spread like wildfire. The flames shot several meters high and continued to spread forward.

If I'm not mistaken, within a few hours, there will likely be no more animals left to survive within a radius of dozens of miles on both sides of the road.

Then he could cross this area at his leisure.

He put Chang'e into the zero-gravity backpack, preparing to set off later.

However, he suddenly realized that he had made a fatal mistake that could cost him his life.

So he immediately took Chang'e out again, tied his backpack tightly to the remaining bridge pier, and then crawled inside and closed the lid.

The tiger on the opposite bank watched his every move, roaring angrily. Clearly, it wished it could rush over and tear him to pieces.

But he no longer has time to contend with the tiger.

This river is likely a water source for animals within a radius of tens or even hundreds of miles. Even without a fire, they would come to the riverbank to drink at different times. And the animals that come from the abandoned road must be ferocious beasts at the top of the food chain.

His fire might kill some slow-moving animals, but the most dangerous ones would likely flee and seek refuge by the river. The abandoned road where he was located, where it intersected with the riverbank, was right at the eye of the storm.

This is why he suddenly stuffed himself into his backpack and hid under the bridge pier. His fire was like digging a huge hole for himself.

Before long, his deduction was confirmed. The first to run along the road were several leopards. When they arrived at the riverbank, they first discovered Chang'e lying on the ground. However, after sniffing around and not smelling any food, they swaggered towards the riverbank to drink water.

Just then, they spotted the tiger lying on the opposite bank, immediately stopped, and roared fiercely, though their voices betrayed their fear. Of course, the tiger also noticed them, stood up, and roared furiously.

A pack of hyenas was heading this way, but upon seeing this scene, they stopped a short distance away. They whispered among themselves, seemingly plotting some sinister action.

A few small animals that accidentally wandered in were pounced on and torn to pieces in the blink of an eye.

Several other four-legged animals also made a mistake. They mistook the hyenas for their own kind and blindly followed them. By the time they realized their mistake, it was too late to escape.

A pack of donkey-headed wolves suddenly appeared, quickly plunging the area into a chaotic battle.

After the fire, this chaotic battle was bound to happen sooner or later.

Due to the devastation of the fire, many herbivores, even if they survive, will lose their food source for a considerable period, leading to a sharp decline in their numbers. This means that these carnivores will have to fight each other for their relatively reduced food supply.

Yu Qing hid in his backpack, barely daring to breathe. He could only hope that the animals outside would fight each other more fiercely, ultimately resulting in a lose-lose situation.

The fighting didn't seem to be ending anytime soon, and the area would be extremely dangerous for the next few days. He felt his rash act of setting the fire was unwise.

But this also proves once again that he has lost the ability to survive independently in the current natural state. It also indirectly proves that they, as primitive humans, no longer have any freedom, which makes him somewhat frustrated.

He couldn't find a way out of his predicament. Even more terrifying, he saw a crocodile crawling towards him through the crack. Perhaps it had smelled his scent and was about to swallow him and his backpack whole.

He was planning how to use a dagger to cut open the crocodile's abdomen and escape if he were to fall into its belly. The thought of the foul stench and disgusting slime made him almost want to vomit.

Fortunately, the crocodile was drawn to the blood on the shore. It quickly crawled past his backpack, grabbed a hyena, and dragged it into the river.

The hyena was already injured and thought that it could catch its breath safely by retreating to the riverbank, but it didn't expect that it would hasten its death.

Having temporarily averted the danger, Yu Qing became even more uneasy.

He felt he was just like the hyena, having ignored the threat from the water. Now he was completely unsafe in any of four directions.

His mouth was parched, but he dared not reach into the river to scoop up a handful of water to quench his thirst.

"I may be the first person in the world to die of thirst while surrounded by water," he thought to himself with a touch of self-deprecation, "but I can't just starve to death while surrounded by food, can I?"

So he quietly pulled two pieces of synthetic food from his backpack, tore off the outer membrane, and began to chew them gently. However, this action brought unexpected trouble.

The strange aroma of this food quickly attracted the attention of countless animals. Most dangerous of all were the ants, the size of locusts, swarming out of their nests and rushing towards Yu Qing's backpack. Soon, the backpack was surrounded by layers upon layers of ants.

Yu Qing gripped the lid tightly, afraid that even the slightest gap would allow them to sneak into the bag.

But now he was completely enveloped by these damned ants, and not even a ray of sunlight could get in. He felt like he was about to suffocate inside.

Now he's somewhat trapped by his own actions. Since he's secured his backpacks to the bridge pier, he no longer has the option of rolling into the water to get rid of them.

He writhed in agony inside his backpack, feeling that dying like this was too pathetic. He lost control of his emotions and let out a hoarse roar.

To his surprise, those roars instantly changed the situation. Animals fighting nearby scattered involuntarily upon hearing the sharp, unfamiliar sound. The ants also inexplicably fled. Suddenly, a large swarm of frogs sprang from the water and began their feast on the ants.

Yu Qing was thus dramatically saved once again, and could finally catch his breath in the backpack.

He began to think about what he should do next.

He thought he might have overestimated the danger posed by animals. In fact, all animals are in a state of vulnerable security, and they might not rashly attack an unfamiliar object without feeling threatened.

Now, here, he is the unfamiliar species that other animals have never seen before. As long as he exudes domineering power, they will be timid and even retreat.

In addition, there is a favorable objective environment here.

The stronger prey, having already feasted in the battle, now only need to find a safe place to sleep and need no further foraging. The weaker prey, however, have fled in disarray and will likely remain away from this area for some time.

Therefore, Yu Qing believes that he can now walk freely on the road. There is never absolute safety in this world, but relative safety does exist.

So he quickly crawled out of the backpack, untied the rope, put Chang'e back into the backpack, and carried it on his shoulder.

He gripped the dagger tightly in his right hand, while his left hand continuously shook the harpoon lighter, producing a piercing metallic sound and occasionally scattering a few sparks.

"Ah...ho...hi..." He shouted loudly as he walked, as if he were paving the way for himself.

If I keep going like this, I estimate I can reach Maluo in two to three days and meet up with Yaodan and the others.

He was no longer anxious about his own safety.

Now, let's talk about Yao Dan and the others. At this moment, they were also searching for Yu Qing's whereabouts. At that time, after she, Daji, and Yan'er escaped Qin Yuan, they were flying towards Maluo when they spotted the lone Furong.

When they heard that Chang'e was trying to fly over the gray rocky area ahead with only a flight suit, they immediately took Furong with them and chased after her.

During this time, they changed into their flight suits once but still couldn't find any trace of Yu Qing.

Yao Dan said, "My husband and the others only have one flight suit, so they couldn't have flown any further. We haven't seen any trace of them on the ground along the way, so I think they must have taken another route."

Daji agreed.

Yao Dan pointed to the holographic map and said, "My husband must have gone in this direction. It seems he's trying to find a place to recharge."

Everyone agreed on this idea and decided to split into two groups. Furong and Yan'er continued to the meeting point in Maluo by the original route, while Yaodan and Daji, carrying two extra sets of flying suits, took another route to catch up with Yuqing and the others.

Yao Dan and her companions also encountered the same charging equipment along the way. Based on the fresh scratches on the charging poles, they arbitrarily concluded that Chang'e had already fully charged and flown away.

If that's the case, since they're flying at the same speed, it's impossible for them to catch up with Chang'e. So they simply took their time replenishing their power and headed straight to Maluo to reunite.

By this time, the hostility between Yaodan and Daji had gradually dissipated, but apart from Yuqing, they had nothing in common to talk about, so they leaned against each other like two winter melons, neither of them speaking.

After an unknown amount of time, Yao Dan noticed flames shooting into the sky ahead and thick smoke billowing out. She suddenly stood up and exclaimed to herself, "Could it be that my husband started this fire?"

Daji stood up and said, "It must have been done by my darling, let's go quickly!"

After saying that, she flew into the air. Yao Dan followed closely behind.

When they flew over the broken bridge by the river, they saw a tiger still roaring at the sky from the bridgehead. Out of curiosity, they moved closer to see what was going on.

To everyone's surprise, the tiger flew into a rage and even tried to leap out of the air and grab them. Yao Dan was also enraged and swung her light blade, cleaving the tiger in two.

"It must have chased my husband here..."

"Then my darling must be not far ahead, let's hurry."

"They might be in trouble, otherwise they wouldn't have set the fire."

Before long, they finally spotted Yu Qing walking alone underground and quickly flew towards him.

At this moment, Yu Qing was on high alert. Hearing the noise behind him, he roared and swung his dagger at them.

"It's me, my husband!"

"Honey, are you okay?"

Upon seeing that it was Yao Dan and the others, Yu Qing immediately dropped the dagger on the ground, involuntarily sat down, and exclaimed, "How could I be alright! I've escaped death again..."

Yao Dan and Da Ji ran over, each hugging him from either side, and lifted his helmet, wiping his sweat continuously.

Without a word, Yu Qing took a bite from the left side, then a bite from the right, and yelled, "Let's find a cool place. I want to get a good night's sleep, damn it..."

Yao Dan laughed and said, "The only cool place is in Maluo. You've probably burned the ground red all over here, so there's nowhere cool anymore."

Daji said, "It should be cooler in that river over there..."

Yu Qing quickly said, "Stop! There are crocodiles in that river. I don't want to mess with that ugly guy. Ugh! Just thinking about it makes me sick."

Daji opened her mouth, making a gesture as if to devour him, and laughed, "There are two more female crocodiles here, are you afraid?"

Yu Qing laughed and said, "If all crocodiles looked like this, I would stay in the crocodile pool every day and never go anywhere else."

Yao Dan touched Chang'e's forehead and said, "She's really pushing herself to the limit. She's almost out of battery. If this goes on for too long, she might lose even her memories."

"What should we do then? We don't want to wake up as an idiot."

"That won't happen. At most, it will just be restored to factory settings, and they won't remember who's who."

"You don't even recognize me anymore?"

“Never. Her husband’s signature is already etched into her consciousness, solidified there.”

(End of this chapter)