A hunched figure suddenly rushed out from inside the door.
He was an old man with a wrinkled face, wearing a faded coarse cloth coat, and tightly gripping an old hunting rifle in his hand.
The gun barrels were dark and pointed directly at the chests of several people without hesitation, and the bolts were pulled back with a "click".
"Who is it? What do they want?"
"Who are you? What are you doing here?"
They were speaking the local dialect of Yunnan Province, with a slightly drawn-out intonation.
Fortunately, everyone could understand, since there were members in the team who understood the local dialects, and they had become somewhat accustomed to the accents of different regions due to their long-term field research.
Upon hearing that familiar local accent, Xiao Heizi's ears perked up immediately, his heart warmed, and he instantly became energetic.
"Hey! Fellow villagers! We've finally run into someone alive! This godforsaken place is in the middle of nowhere, we almost thought we'd be lost in this forest forever!"
Upon hearing this, the old man's tense brows relaxed slightly, but the wariness in his eyes had not completely faded. He frowned again and looked around at the group of people.
"Are you Chinese? Or from out of town?"
Xiao Heizi nodded quickly, a smile plastered on his face, and he even patted his chest to show his sincerity.
"Of course! We're one of them! Genuine Chinese citizens, our ancestors have been rooted in the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau for generations! Don't worry, sir, we're definitely not people with any ill intentions!"
The old man then slowly put down the rusty old-fashioned hunting rifle in his hand.
"These days, it's always better to be careful."
He then looked up, his gaze falling on the equipment bags the men were carrying and the hiking boots they were wearing.
"Where did you come from? How did you end up in these deep mountains? Even wild boars avoid this place. You young people are quite bold."
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