Wilderness Survival with Druid System

At the same time, on the same night.

A distance away from Chen Wen’s valley.

A figure is struggling to push a bicycle forward.

The figure’s steps are somewhat unstable, and his left foot appears to be injured, limping and unable to exert force.

”Sigh, what bad luck!”

The figure couldn’t help but say.

Seeing the sky completely darken, he dared not continue forward.

The figure laid the bicycle down and began to set up a tent.

Once the tent was set up, he tiredly lay inside and checked his injuries.

Shortly after, he sighed again: ”Damn bad luck! Walking along, who would’ve thought I’d fall into a ditch, damn it!”

This whole journey has been unlucky; hopefully, things will turn around soon!

The figure thought, shaking his head.

...

The next day arrived.

After Chen Wen got up, he sat down at the entrance of the cave.

After waiting for a while, the Golden Eagle woke up.

Chen Wen divided the pika into strips of meat, allowing the Golden Eagle to feast.

Afterward, the Golden Eagle left the cave, intending to check out the situation outside.

The Snow Leopard entrusted its cubs to Chen Wen, letting him watch over them, while it also went outside, planning to use its excellent sense of smell to search for anything unusual.

Chen Wen watched the three Snow Leopard cubs, raising his vigilance to the highest level, guarding the camp.

About two hours or so passed.

The Snow Leopard was the first to return.

It carried back a package and placed it in front of Chen Wen.

Chen Wen asked in confusion: ”What’s this?”

The Snow Leopard put down the item and said: ”I found this thing up ahead, the scent is very unfamiliar, it should be something left by the stranger you mentioned, so I brought it back.”

Upon hearing this, Chen Wen opened the package.

The outside of the package was plastic, and inside were some bandages with traces of blood.

Out of caution, Chen Wen did not touch the blood but instead turned out the contents inside.

Besides blood, there were also some bones and garlic skins, and some spoiled garlic.

”Can you make anything of this?”

The Snow Leopard asked from the side.

Chen Wen slightly shook his head.

He couldn’t distinguish much from it, but he felt these items should have been left by a single person.

”These things... well, let’s wait until Golden Eagle returns, to see if it has any findings; all I can tell currently is that these items should have been left by a single person.”

Chen Wen said.

While he and the Snow Leopard were speaking, a figure swiftly swooped down from the sky and landed in the valley.

”I’m back!”

It was the Golden Eagle.

Chen Wen quickly asked: ”Did you find anything?”

”Yes!”

The Golden Eagle said spiritedly: ”I found something that resembles tire tracks, do you want to take a look?”

Tire marks!

Chen Wen urged the Snow Leopard to watch over the cubs, and then he left the valley, planning to check things out with the Golden Eagle.

The man and the eagle left the valley.

Chen Wen called for Xiong Ma and rode Xiong Ma, following after the Golden Eagle.

After heading west for more than half an hour.

Chen Wen and the Golden Eagle arrived at a riverbank.

There was a small river here, with large muddy areas on both sides.

Before entering, Chen Wen noticed there were tire tracks in the muddy area.

But unlike what he thought, these were not off-road vehicle tracks.

The tire tracks here were very thin, and just one line, sometimes splitting into two.

Beside the tire marks, there was only one set of footprints.

By discerning the patterns, Chen Wen confirmed they were the footprints that had appeared near his camp.

”Seems like that person had come here.”

Chen Wen said, examining the patterns on the tire tracks more closely.

After a while, he said: ”These should be bicycle tire marks, not off-road vehicle tracks. I can roughly imagine that person was pushing a bicycle here and then went to the river for water.”

Hearing this, the Golden Eagle thoughtfully shook its head.

It had seen bicycles before.

Bicycle tires are slender and similar to this mark.

”Can you identify the person?”

The Golden Eagle asked.

Upon hearing this, Chen Wen slightly shook his head: ”Not really, but I don’t think the person is bad.”

If it were a poacher or someone driven by greed, they wouldn’t have come with a bicycle.

They would opt for a more mobile vehicle like a car or horse.

A bicycle,

Rather resembles those who trek across Qiangtang.

In this world, more than one person has achieved the feat of trekking across Qiangtang, with records showing about ten people or so.

Moreover, personal treks across Qiangtang aren’t banned here, so encountering such adventurers isn’t uncommon.

Thinking of this, Chen Wen left the muddy area.

Yet, regardless of whether the person was a trekking adventurer, their act of passing by and entering the valley left Chen Wen feeling displeased.

Most importantly, Chen Wen worried the person had discovered traces of the Snow Leopard cubs.

As a national first-class protected animal, the value of three Snow Leopard cubs is immeasurable.

Even a wealthy trekker, Chen Wen couldn’t be sure if they might feel tempted.

If the person thought there was no one around and decided to seize the opportunity.

Who could Chen Wen turn to for justice?

Thus, Chen Wen decided to maintain his previous vigilance until he was sure the person had left.

....

Returning to the valley, Chen Wen shared his thoughts with the animals.

The animals naturally accepted Chen Wen’s guidance.

Therefore, Chen Wen decided that regardless of the situation, an animal or a person must remain in the valley.

He also imposed restrictions on his activity time.

Besides going out for water in the morning, Chen Wen planned to stay at the shelter all day.

Concerning the activity time for the Snow Leopard and Golden Eagle, while Chen Wen didn’t strictly limit them, he instructed them to act cautiously.

After all, if the person really had poaching intentions.

The Golden Eagle, also a national first-class protected animal, would be quite endangered.

Under heightened vigilance, Chen Wen and the animals spent the entire day.

Apart from necessary outings, they mostly stayed in the cave.

Another day passed.

Chen Wen felt mentally exhausted.

While eating dinner, Chen Wen silently pondered his next move.

He felt he couldn’t continue with such high alertness, for a day or two was acceptable, but if prolonged, excessive vigilance could become problematic.

After all, it’s like the saying—there’s no point in a continuous guard when thieves might only strike once.

Starting tomorrow, Chen Wen planned to dispatch the Golden Eagle for reconnaissance.

Continuing to monitor the surroundings for any traces or signs of human activity.

...

While Chen Wen pondered this.

Not far from him, the figure pushing the bicycle appeared again.

He proceeded directly toward the direction of the valley.

Compared to yesterday, today he moved even more strenuously, and the injury in his leg had worsened.

Unable to exert any force.

”I can’t go on any longer tonight.”

He stopped and began setting up camp.

And once the tent was up, he lay down inside exhausted.

”The injury on my foot is worse than I thought. Continuing forward would further worsen the injury, I’m reaching my limits.”

He murmured to himself, a hint of sadness in his eyes.

But soon, he found himself revitalized.

”That valley... seems like someone lives there, though I’m unsure about their identity, and they’ve stacked many animal bones in the valley, perhaps they’re friendly, but... well, go have a look. If they are friendly, maybe I can get some help from them.”

Having made up his mind, he drifted into sleep.