Chapter 42 Poaching

☆

Although she was frustrated by She Hongmei's distrust, She Ning obediently agreed to her request in order to put her mind at ease.

After returning home, She Ning went to the room to check on the little squirrel. The spiritual energy of the rice was indeed amazing. She fed it two more rice grains before leaving. Now its condition is obviously much better than before. The wound on its leg has healed a lot. After a while, it should be able to take it to school and return it to Wang Weiwei and the others.

After watching the squirrel, She Ning went to the yard and stood under the lychee tree, looking up at the top of the tree.

At the very top of the tree, a crow with half-closed eyes opened its round black eyes, spread its wings, and flew down from the treetop. It circled once above She Ning's head, then folded its wings, took small, quick steps, and obediently perched on her right shoulder.

She Ning looked at it sideways, and they understood each other perfectly. She could sense its joy, a very subtle feeling, like a gentle breeze rippling across a lake, making one's lips unconsciously curl into a smile.

She Ning took out a small handful of spirit rice from the system's storage compartment and spread it out in her palm. The rice, which glowed slightly, was not conspicuous in the afterglow of the setting sun. The little squirrel treasured this spirit rice so much, and although the crow was an auspicious creature produced by the system, it was still an animal and should like it too.

Sure enough, upon learning that the spirit rice was for it, the little crow happily performed an upside-down bell for She Ning on the spot, and also used its beak to hold a branch and hang in mid-air.

Seeing its small body swaying in the wind, She Ning quickly reached out and helped it down.

The system description said that she could share the crow's vision. Watching the crow happily eating in her palm, She Ning decided to try it out first. She quietly waited for it to finish eating the spirit rice. She Ning told it her idea, and the crow happily hopped around in her hand a few times after hearing it.

Sharing a view with its owner is one way to foster a bond between them. It not only helps the owner but also promotes the owner's own evolution, so it's impossible for the owner to refuse, especially since the owner gives it such delicious food.

The crow rubbed its forehead against She Ning's wrist with all its might, expressing its joy.

She Ning gently stroked its feathers with her fingertips, responding to its affection.

Following the system's instructions, She Ning tried sharing once, and her field of vision instantly became wider.

The distant mountains became incredibly clear in her eyes, as if they were right next to her; in the nearby river, she could even see fish and shrimp playing in the water, and water plants swaying. She could hear insects on the lychee trees eating the leaves, and dogs barking from some distant place. She seemed to feel the breath and pulse of nature.

It was a magical and addictive experience. Even when the sharing session was interrupted by She Hongmei calling for dinner, She Ning was still immersed in that feeling and it took her a while to calm down.

After dinner, She Hongmei brought up the matter of becoming a distributor for braised food. She ignored those who wanted to buy out the recipes. The braised food recipe is the core of the business. She can tell whether to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs or keep the goose that continues to lay eggs.

Regarding this matter, She Ning stated that she respects She Hongmei's idea, and at the same time suggested that she talk to Guan Xiuhua, since Guan Xiuhua still holds 40% of the shares.

"You silly girl, of course I'll talk to your Aunt Guan. Since you all receive dividends, I need to ask for your opinions." She Hongmei raised her hand and tapped She Ning's nose, smiling affectionately.

“Mom, you know we trust you, and we will fully support any decision you make,” She Ning said earnestly. She ran behind She Hongmei, placed her hands on her shoulders, and massaged them firmly.

“Yes, sister is right!” She Ni, who was playing with the tin frog that She Ning had brought her after finishing her meal, immediately put down her toy, turned around, hugged She Hongmei’s leg, and responded loudly.

Looking up at She Hongmei with her little face, She Ni's face was full of affirmation and support. "Mom, just do it. We are your strong, um, strong support."

Having just learned this word from her sister, She Ni put it to use. After saying it, she looked at She Ning's face, clearly seeking praise.

"Great." She Ning said silently to her, then stopped massaging, turned to She Hongmei, sat down in the chair, and looked at her seriously. "Mom, Aunt Guan has always taken good care of our family. She is also a very thoughtful person. If you discuss it with her, she will definitely come up with the best solution."

She Hongmei nodded. "Your Aunt Guan is indeed capable. I understand. I'll go talk to her about it later."

“If the agency deal is finalized, the family income will increase, and life will get better and better.” She said with satisfaction, then looked at She Ning. She Hongmei stared at her for a while and said, “Go to bed early tonight, and come out with me tomorrow.”

She Ning was taken aback, then burst into laughter. "Oh, is She Hongmei worried that I won't keep my promise and will run away tomorrow?"

There's no need for that. She'll definitely behave and go to bed early.

As night falls, the moonlight, as clear as water, spills over the dense forests of Ludong Mountain, draping this tranquil forest in a thin silver veil. Occasionally, the croaking of frogs or the chirping of crickets can be heard in the deserted forest.

Suddenly a bright light appeared in the mountains and forests.

Immediately afterwards, a crisp gunshot rang out in the night sky.

"Hurry up, catch all those animals, the boss is waiting for the goods." A deep voice came from the silent forest, tinged with urgency.

"Don't worry, we've already caught quite a few. A few more and we'll be done," another voice replied with a hint of smugness.

In the night sky, a black shadow flew across the mountains and forests, heading straight for the source of the sound. Sharing the crows' view, She Ning had been in the mountains for quite some time.

Forgot that crows are diurnal birds with poor night vision. When night fell, she found that she couldn't see the objects around her. Later, when the moonlight came out, she could see objects with the help of the moonlight, but her vision was still not as good as during the day.

Fortunately, hearing and touch can help compensate for the lack of vision.

After locating their position, She Ning instructed Ya Ya to control her body and find a hiding place.

Just then, a faint cry came from not far away. She Ning's heart sank. She knew that it was another animal crying for help. Without hesitation, she ran towards the direction from which the sound came.

Those people had hunting dogs. In the moonlight and the light of flashlights, she saw a little rabbit being chased by a hunting dog. It was running around in terror, but couldn't find a way to escape.

The hunting dog, drooling and with a fierce glint in its eyes, relentlessly pursued the little rabbit. It then snapped the rabbit in its jaws and carried its prey back to the group, wagging its tail for a reward.

Behind them were several large burlap sacks, which were kicked every now and then, clearly filled with the prey they had hunted that day.

She Ning's eyes stung with anger. Sensing Ya Ya's fury, she realized that Ya Ya's claws had scratched a hole in the tree trunk beneath her feet. She regretted not coming over directly.

Now we can only watch them break the law and harm small animals, and we are powerless to help them.

"System, in my current state, can I still use system items?" Forcing herself to calm down, She Ning asked.

"Okay." For the first time, the system's cold voice felt like heavenly music, and She Ning was overjoyed.

"Crow, let's go." She Ning told Crow to flap its wings and leave. The soft sound was somewhat noticeable in the quiet forest. One of the poachers, a tall one, looked at the spot where She Ning had been standing for a while, and only looked away when he found nothing.

"Hurry up and pack up, get ready to leave," the tall man said coldly.

The surrounding environment was unusually quiet, and for some reason he felt a sense of unease. His years of poaching experience told him that he needed to leave quickly.

The man was clearly the one in charge among them. Hearing his words, the short man, who had originally wanted to hunt a few more animals, could only obediently lead his hunting dog back and help pack the things.

While they were still busy.

"Roar..." A high-pitched roar rang out in the night sky, the sound sharp and high-pitched, followed by heavy but fast-moving footsteps, thump, thump, thump, clearly the footsteps of a large animal.

"Awang, Xiao Si, you two take charge of cleaning up. A San, A Cai, you two come with me and get your guns." The tall man calmly directed the group.

Leading their hunting dogs, they spread out in a triangular formation, surrounding their prey in the center. The two men quickly packed up their gear, gripping their guns tightly. The taller man warily observed his surroundings. Despite his years of hunting experience, including killing tigers, this was the first time he had ever felt so panicked.

The footsteps approached quickly, and soon they saw the appearance of the newcomer: a huge black bear, over two meters tall, with something else, also black, standing on its head.

Upon seeing the light and people, the large black bear seemed to go mad, rushing over at lightning speed, and at the same time, its enormous paws swung out.

"Fire!!!" Upon seeing this, the tall man quickly took a few steps back and gave the order.

The sound of gunfire rang out densely in the deep forest. The tall man thought that after these bullets, the big black bear would be either dead or crippled. However, reality disappointed him. The big black bear in front of him seemed to be protected by something. It charged forward unharmed, withstanding the bullets.

He slapped him hard across the face, the slap was strong and powerful, and sent him flying. The man crashed straight into a tree and passed out before he could even say a word.

The remaining few also met the same fate, all being knocked unconscious by the bear's paws. Seeing that no one had escaped, She Ning let Ya Ya fly down from the top of the black bear's head. If it weren't for the need to capture them alive and catch a big fish, she would have wanted the black bear to kill them directly.

She Ning retrieved the magic cloak she had given to the big black bear and handed it the spirit rice she had promised.