All work continued as usual, everyone busied themselves with practiced efficiency. Qingsong, Daye, and Xu Mingxuan were still responsible for finding places to camp and digging snow dens, while Chen Lan handled hunting and gathering firewood.
With the system as her cheat, hunting was incredibly easy for Chen Lan. She didn't stray far and in a short while, she had hunted six roe deers and several pheasants.
Chen Lan stored three roe deers and several pheasants in the system's warehouse, then carried three roe deers and a large bundle of branches back.
Chen Lan truly hadn't expected that nearing 1967, there would still be so many roe deers and pheasants in the Great Northern Wilderness. It truly lived up to the saying: "Roe deer are struck with sticks, fish are scooped with ladles, and pheasants fly into the cooking pot."
A grand feast was naturally unavoidable that evening. After everyone ate with gusto, Xu Mingxuan, Qingsong, and Daye solemnly cautioned them, "Everyone, quiet down. We have something very important to tell you. Try to avoid getting up in the night, and absolutely do not go out alone. If you have any needs, take care of them before sleeping while there are still people around. This mountain area has wolves, and not just one, but a pack. Everyone must be extremely careful, don't lose your lives accidentally. Do you all understand?"
The crowd responded in a chorus, "We understand. We won't go out."
Though these children had never seen a real wolf, they had heard their elders talk about their ferocity. Furthermore, on quiet nights in the valley, they could sometimes faintly hear wolf howls from the distant mountains, sounds that were chilling and made their scalps tingle.
After everyone had gone out in groups to take care of their needs, Chen Lan also planned to attend to a personal matter before resting early, as a tough battle awaited tomorrow.
So, she walked out of the snow den with Xu Mingxuan. A sharp, biting cold wind hit her face, and Chen Lan couldn't help but shiver. She pulled her body tighter, wrapping her thick cotton coat and hat even more securely. Holding Xu Mingxuan's hand, the couple walked into the mountain forest, as dark as ink on a snowy night.
About sixty to seventy meters away from the snow den where they were camped, Xu Mingxuan found a spot for Chen Lan to take care of her business, while he attended to his own nearby.
At this moment, within the woods about sixty to seventy meters from Chen Lan, two pairs of eerie green eyes appeared, slowly and stealthily approaching Chen Lan and Xu Mingxuan.
Chen Lan had only just squatted down when she suddenly heard birds startled into flight from the bushes not far from her. She immediately became alert, holding her breath, straining her ears to listen intently to all the surrounding sounds, while quickly activating the system's search function.
On the system's screen, Chen Lan indeed saw several small red dots. Two of these red dots were slowly moving towards the couple's direction. This observation made Chen Lan even more vigilant. She quickly finished her business, then, without arousing suspicion, hurried to Xu Mingxuan, who was not far away. She lowered her voice and whispered to him, "Brother Mingxuan, there might be two wolves coming towards us. It's too dark, I can't see very clearly. I estimate they're wolves, and I'm likely not mistaken."
As she spoke, Chen Lan took out two loaded crossbows from the system's warehouse and quickly handed one to Xu Mingxuan.
Xu Mingxuan took the crossbow from Chen Lan, and while quickly inspecting the six carbon steel arrows, he whispered an instruction, "Lan'er, if they are indeed wolves, we must kill them in one blow. Wolves are particularly vengeful animals. If you don't kill them on the first attempt, they will hound you. There are many wolves in this Great Northern Wilderness, they are the most fearsome and the most troublesome. If even one escapes, everyone will be in mortal danger. Lan'er, let's each deal with one. We cannot let their howling attract the wolf pack in this mountain."
Chen Lan softly hummed in agreement. The couple stopped talking and quickly hid behind large trees, adjusting their red dot sights. Chen Lan stared intently at the system's screen, waiting for the two animals to approach.
As the two animals gradually came closer, Chen Lan finally saw clearly that they were indeed two hungry wolves. Hungry wolves were even more ferocious. Chen Lan couldn't help but inwardly curse her misfortune. On their very first day here, they encountered ferocious hungry wolves. She estimated that this hunt wouldn't be a peaceful one.
The two hungry wolves cooperated with remarkable默契. They both stopped in front of the large trees where Chen Lan and Xu Mingxuan were hiding, squatting about five to six meters away from the couple.
In the darkness, the wolves' eyes glowed green, making one's scalp tingle. They remained there, squatting and confronting the couple. Chen Lan and Xu Mingxuan could now see much more clearly. These two wild wolves were extremely large, about the size of calves, but their stomachs were shriveled, likely having gone hungry for a day. Seeing the couple looking at them, they bared their teeth, their eyes glowing green, probably intending to intimidate them and gain a psychological advantage. However, this tactic had no effect on the couple.
With only two wolves, and within crossbow range, coupled with advanced weaponry, the couple was not panicked at all. Dealing with these two hungry wolves would be easy. The key challenge was preventing the two wolves from making a sound. However, they couldn't hesitate for too long, fearing that the wolves might lose patience and suddenly howl, which would be a huge problem.
Therefore, the couple, without a word, simultaneously pressed the firing buttons. It was swift and accurate, and there was hardly any sound. They heard a few *poof* sounds, and before the two wolves could react, let alone give a warning signal, they collapsed.
It was too dark to clearly see if the two wolves were dead. The couple dared not act rashly and go to check.
Chen Lan took out a miner's lamp from the system's warehouse, turned it on, and put it on her head. After observing for a while, Chen Lan was almost frozen. The two wolves still hadn't moved. Chen Lan decided she couldn't wait any longer.
So, she took out a high-power electric baton from the system's warehouse and stepped out from behind the large tree. Xu Mingxuan also emerged from behind the tree, following Chen Lan to check.
The two wolves were indeed completely dead. Xu Mingxuan stepped forward, pulled out the twelve carbon steel arrows, wiped the blood off on the snow, and handed six carbon steel arrows to Chen Lan.