The Last 299 Days of Humanity

Chapter 28 Danger in the Forest
Meanwhile, Chang'e had already seized the opportunity when the tiger left the cave. She swung her light blade and launched a surprise attack on the eight tigresses, instantly cutting them into several pieces.

Hearing Yu Qing cough, she rushed out of the cave like an arrow, picked him up, put him in her backpack, and flew quickly into the air.

Yu Qing had no idea what had happened inside the cave. He simply asked, "I heard a lot of noise just now. Were those eight tigresses trying to stop you from leaving?"

Chang'e said triumphantly, "Those few creatures can't stop me? I chopped them all in two."

Yu Qing angrily tapped Chang'e on the head and said, "You're too reckless! They meant no harm. Aren't you just asking for trouble?"

"My lord, was I wrong? After much thought, I believe that killing them is the most beneficial thing for us, a clean and decisive way to avoid future troubles."

Yu Qing sighed, "I can't blame you. You are born to calculate the output of your actions based on gains and losses. Humans are different. In addition to interests, they also have to consider good and evil. To kill people without reason is against the principles of heaven and morality."

Chang'e replied unhappily, "I'm afraid you might accidentally offend them..."

"I told you, it's not your fault. But you've caused this trouble."

"What trouble?"

"Just look down there and you'll see."

It turns out that the tiger returned to its den and found its family had been killed. It was angrily chasing after them on the ground, following the path Chang'e had taken. It must have used all its strength to keep pace with them.

One can imagine that from then on, it would kill anyone it encountered, becoming a murderous monster in the forest. Of course, perhaps no one will ever come here again.

But this still caused them trouble. They had originally planned to go back to the charging station from yesterday to recharge, but now they dared not land on the ground unless they killed the tiger as well.

Yu Qing made a decision he would later regret. He told Chang'e to speed up her departure and go to the next charging station.

However, he underestimated the uncertainties of this road, which had been abandoned for many years. Chang'e flew for another hundred kilometers, but didn't see even a single charging station.

Chang'e said, "We can't fly anymore. We need to save some fuel to deal with emergencies. We'll have to go down and walk."

"I should have listened to you just now..."

Hearing his words, the shadow of reproach in Chang'e's heart vanished, and she smiled:
"It's alright, taking a walk is quite nice. You can enjoy the scenery along the way. More than two hundred years ago, some people praised a slow-paced life, believing that rushing around every day is not the true meaning of life."

"Huh? I've never heard of that. Humans have always loved speeding on the road."

"Not all of them are like that. More than two hundred years ago, there was a man named Man Jianglan who wrote a poem expressing his desire for a slower pace of life, called 'I Want to Travel on a Donkey.'"

"Read it, but don't make it as sour as vinegar..."

"I once pretended to be speeding along on the train."

They also once misappropriated the golden wings in the sky.
But right now all I want to do is travel by donkey.

I want to be on the mountains that are looked down upon from above.
Quietly watching the withering and flourishing of a single flower

I owe a hike along the winding mountain stream.

A slow-motion video of a cicada's metamorphosis was missed.
.
……

Let the donkey rest in the grass.

Just sit here on the edge of the earth and slowly wait for the sunset.
My youthful glow faded with time.
The ebb and flow of the tides all crash against the shores of my heart.
I will no longer be an insignificant passerby.
I want to settle down on the banks of this river.
Like a wild deer calling out.

Waiting for each of my saplings to grow up

Treat each and every one of my ants that tries to shake the tree with kindness.
The homemade wine is hung on branches within easy reach of people.

……

Tie the donkey in the woods tonight.
He lay lazily on the rock with his chest and arms exposed.

If the moonlight still remembers the look in my eyes

It will return to me the radiance accumulated over billions of years.

I am not a stranger in this world.
I swore brotherhood with the gray wolf.

Owls are also my kind.

Everywhere I go is my courtyard.

……

Yu Qing laughed and said, "I have fulfilled the wish that he couldn't achieve."

"You succeeded? But you're riding me, not a donkey!"

Yu Qing kissed Chang'e on the ear and said, "Sometimes you're like a silly donkey!"

"I understand, sir, you're comparing me to a donkey. You're so wicked."

"To be honest, riding a donkey might not be comfortable either. Your muscles are so flexible; even I get sore all over after lying on it for a while. If it were a real donkey's back, it would probably break me apart!"

"Are you feeling unwell, sir? How about you sit down and rest for a while on the road?"

"Do you dare? If that crazed tiger catches up with us, it'll eat us alive!"

"As for me, it can't eat that much, but my lord will be in trouble..."

Yu Qing pointed to a century-old maple tree on the mountaintop and laughed, "We can build a bed on the top of the tree and have a good sleep. I've been through a lot these past two days."

"That's a good idea."

Chang'e carried Yu Qing to the top of the tree, hung the zero-gravity backpack on a thick branch, and began to cut some branches to build a simple wooden bed between the branches.

After it was built, she lay down on it to test it out and, finding it sturdy enough, took off the zero-gravity backpack and let Yu Qing sleep inside. She said, "You're such a restless guy. This place is too high; if you fall, you're definitely going to die. It's safer in the backpack..."

"Then you should squeeze into the bag too," Yu Qing said, half-jokingly.

"If there's not enough room, I'll stay here and watch over you, lest a big bird comes and snatch you away."

"There aren't any birds this big on Earth, are there?"

"What doesn't exist in nature can be created by humankind."

Yu Qing quickly zipped up his backpack, as if afraid the large bird would spot him. He fell asleep almost immediately.

He slept for several hours, having not had a proper night's sleep for many days. If he hadn't been so hungry, he probably would have slept a little longer.

He ate two pieces of synthetic food, but since he had run out of drinking water, he had to swallow them dry. He grabbed Chang'e's hand and teased her:
"Designers are all square-headed. If you could produce milk to quench my thirst, that would be perfect..."

Chang'e smiled and said, "Wanting water is no problem. I see there's a lot of yellowish liquid in that ditch. I'll go and scoop you a bowl."

"Intentionally trying to annoy me..."

Chang'e stuffed Yu Qing's head back into her backpack and zipped it up.
.
She took a metal bowl and flew down the tree to find drinking water.

There was a stream halfway up the mountain, with crystal-clear water. She scooped up a bowlful, covered it with her hand, and soared into the air.

She flew up to the tree bed and cried out, "My lord, the water is here..."

Then she suddenly realized that her backpack was gone and the tree bed was empty.

She was startled and saw a dark figure running towards the depths of the woods not far away.

It swung from one branch to another as if walking on flat ground.

She hurriedly gave chase. However, the branches were too dense for her to spread her wings in the forest, so she had to fly to the top of the tree to catch up.

Fortunately, there was a location scanner in the backpack, which allowed her to follow closely by tracking the backpack.

She silently flew a short distance behind the backpack, until they reached a denser area of ​​woods. The backpack stopped moving, and she hid atop a tree to observe.

Through the gaps in the branches and leaves, she discovered that this was the settlement of a large gibbon.

The ape who stole the backpack is showing off his prey to his companions.

They circled around the backpack, pawing at it with great curiosity.

Because they could clearly smell the meat, but they couldn't see where the strange animal's hands and feet were.

A daring ape-man raised his backpack and took a big bite.

Although it didn't bite through the backpack and even chipped its teeth, Yu Qing inside the backpack still felt the heavy clamping force and couldn't help but cry out "Ouch!"

This startled the ape-men, who all took a few steps back.

The ape-man who bit the backpack casually tossed it several meters high before it fell back to the ground.

If that hadn't been a zero-gravity backpack, Yu Qing would have died from the fall.

He opened his backpack a crack and realized his predicament.

If these monsters, whom he had never seen before, were to stomp on him a few more times, he would be half-dead, if not killed.

Chang'e, watching from the treetop, grew even more anxious. Unable to spread her wings, she was also unable to fly into the forest.

Only small birds can fly in such a forest.

Now, all she can do is draw the ape-man's attention and give Yu Qing a chance to escape.

If he escapes to a slightly more open area, she can fly down and retrieve him.

So Chang'e made a big commotion at the top of the tree and cut off a huge branch.

The branch made a series of crackling sounds as it rolled down from above.

Sure enough, all the apes looked toward where Chang'e was.

When they discovered that there was only a small, colorful creature at the top of the tree, dozens of apes surrounded her, wanting to capture her.

Yu Qing naturally heard the sound as well. When he saw the ape-men running in that direction, he felt that this was his last chance to escape. Without hesitation, he crawled out of his backpack, picked it up, and ran away from the ape-men.

However, a few smaller apes still spotted him, and they gathered around him together.

That little ape-man was twice his size; if they caught him, he would surely die.

Then he heard a tremendous rushing sound. He ran towards it for his life.

Theoretically, he couldn't escape. Perhaps those little apes knew that there was a dead end ahead, so they followed behind at a leisurely pace.

Before long, he ran to a huge waterfall, with a cliff dozens of meters high above and a deep pool more than ten meters deep below.

He felt a surge of joy, quickly put down his backpack, crawled inside, sealed the opening, and rolled down into the deep pool.

Due to zero gravity, the backpack simply floated gently on the water's surface, hovering in the middle.

Seeing that their target had fallen into the deep pool, the little apes scattered and went back.

After Chang'e attracted the ape-men's attention, she led them around a few times before shaking off their pursuit and flying back to the location of the backpack via a different route.

Before long, she arrived above the waterfall, spotted the backpack floating on the pool, flew down, picked it up, and soared into the air.

At this moment, Yu Qing shouted from inside his backpack, "Get down, get down, get down first!"

Chang'e asked, puzzled, "My lord, what's wrong? Don't you want to escape quickly?"

Yu Qing opened his backpack and said, "Are you stupid? There's so much good water in the pool, why won't you let me drink my fill? I almost lost my life when I asked you to fetch a bowl of water."

Chang'e laughed and said, "Alright. But you have to hurry. Your husband is a troublemaker. If there's a dragon in the pool, I might not be able to save you."

"What a spoilsport! I was hoping to take a shower in there, but now that you've said that, I'm even afraid to drink water."

"So, after you go down, fill my backpack with water and leave immediately. I'll drink the water I use to make my own drinks."

"That's appropriate."

In the air, Yu Qing drank his own bathwater while trying to fool Chang'e:

"You know, the soup you soak in is a cure-all, and it can sell for a lot of money in crowded places."

Chang'e pondered for a long time and said, "My lord, there is no record of bathwater curing diseases. Are you sure you're not mistaken?"

Was there a saying in ancient times that brewing ginseng tea was a great tonic?

"This is indeed recorded."

"Does that mean my nutritional value isn't as high as ginseng's?"

"So...maybe...maybe there's some truth to it."

Their banter and jokes dispelled the tension and unease they had felt earlier.

Yu Qing even found this close call quite interesting. After all, he got to drink water and even unexpectedly took a bath.

However, as they continued flying, they overlooked a fatal problem: the flight suits were running out of power.

Just as they were arguing, Chang'e suddenly fell straight down from the sky. As she landed, she stumbled and almost fell to the ground.

"Oh no, oh no, the power's out..." Chang'e exclaimed.

"Can't you...charge it too?"

"Yes, it's possible, but my battery is starting to run low. If I charge it again and something happens, I'll be completely helpless."

Yu Qing comforted him, "It's alright, it's alright, let's go, maybe there's something charging up ahead."

"That's the only way. But what if..."

"Don't overthink it. There's always a way out."

Walking was indeed not Chang'e's forte; she could only walk slightly faster than people. Yu Qing complained that she walked too slowly while on her back, but he was too embarrassed to say so.

He didn't know how much time had passed, but Yu Qing was almost asleep when he suddenly heard footsteps behind him. He turned around sharply and shouted, "Wife, the tiger is catching up!"

At this point, Chang'e dared not fight the tiger again, so she had no choice but to recklessly reverse the power supply to her flight suit, and with a sudden leap, she soared into the sky.

Although the tiger couldn't outrun anything that flew in the sky, it still chased after it relentlessly on the road.

Chang'e had no choice but to ignore everything and keep flying.

At this point, she absolutely could not land. She had essentially lost her fighting ability; once on the ground, they would be like two lambs to the slaughter.

But Chang'e's consciousness began to blur, a sign that her battery was about to run out.

When she saw a large river ahead, with the bridge over it collapsed, she knew this was her husband's only chance to escape, so she used her last bit of strength to fly across it.

Just as she reached the other side of the river, Chang'e plunged into the water.

When Yu Qing climbed out of the backpack, Chang'e had already entered a deep hibernation.

(End of this chapter)