Aoki sent word that while he had located the bounty hunters, requisitioning them wouldn’t be so quick—they would arrive by the following afternoon at the earliest.

That suited Yi Wansan just fine, as he needed time to prepare those strange scorpions and centipedes anyway.

Early the next morning, he set off with Cao Yanhua in high spirits, leaving Yan Hongsha at the hotel to relay any messages. Yan Hongsha was quite displeased.

“Why can’t we tell Luo Ren and Mu Dai?”

Cao Yanhua said, “Sister Hongsha, don’t leak anything. We want to give Brother Luo and Little Master a big surprise!”

In his words, Brother Luo was too “worshipful of foreign things.” Bounty hunters—American products improved by a Frenchman. But their method was homegrown, passed down from ancestors—a showdown between national heritage and imported products.

“Sister Hongsha, don’t you have any national pride? Don’t you want to see our Brother Luo taken down a peg? Don’t you want to promote our national pride?”

“National pride,” indeed—Yan Hongsha was genuinely annoyed.

However, watching others falter and kicking them when they’re down were activities the masses generally enjoyed, and Yan Hongsha was no exception.

In the afternoon, she messaged Yi Wansan’s side, saying Luo Ren had announced they would depart at three o’clock, and that the bounty hunters had already been delivered.

The modified version was truly different, more high-tech than what could be found online and conveniently portable. The LCD screen could supposedly display rough outlines of underground objects, comparable to X-ray vision, and it wasn’t cheap—the original product price was five figures, and the modified version probably cost twice as much.

Out of national pride, she anxiously asked Yi Wansan: “What about your side? Have you caught everything you need?”

At that moment, Yi Wansan was making final trades with elementary school students playing hooky.

—”Five yuan for a centipede, five at most. I don’t want half-dead ones.”

—”Ten yuan for a scorpion. That’s enough for you to buy an ice cream, kid.”

—”One yuan for an earthworm, just one…”

Earlier, he had analyzed with Cao Yanhua that for any task, strength comes in numbers—they needed to mobilize the “masses” and target the right market segment. Elementary school students needed money, enjoyed handling these creatures, and were quite innocent, making them ideal business partners.

But watching these flowers of the motherland happily skipping class, Cao Yanhua felt somewhat guilty. When paying them, he couldn’t help lecturing: “Children, you must study hard! If you don’t work hard in your youth, you’ll regret it when you’re old,” and so on.

Few appreciated his advice. As one small boy left, he muttered, “Fat guys are so annoying.”

Taking his kindness for granted, Cao Yanhua’s nose was nearly crooked with anger.

Fortunately, everything else went smoothly, and they hurried back just in time to board the car at the hotel entrance at 3 PM.

Luo Ren was quite curious and asked as the car started: “Where were you all morning?”

Cao Yanhua smiled brilliantly, his heart swelling with the excitement of the upcoming showdown, and said: “Just some personal business.”

Mu Dai gave him a strange look. Afraid she might see through him, Cao Yanhua quickly averted his gaze.

In the back of the car, Cao Liberation lay about bored. Perhaps it also found it strange that the three people in the back seat kept looking at it every so often. What did they want? Did they think it was pretty?

It impatiently turned around, pointing its chicken backside toward them.

The journey was familiar now. They arrived at Feng Mountain Ridge around five o’clock. Everyone carried backpacks. As they passed through the village, many villagers watched curiously. Old Nine Ding also came out, looking worried, and jogged up to Luo Ren, saying: “I can see from what you’re carrying that you plan to stay in the mountains. It’s not good for staying overnight—there might be wild beasts, I’m not exaggerating.”

Luo Ren just smiled and handed him two bills: “Uncle, please look after my car.”

The denomination wasn’t small. Old Nine Ding was delighted and rubbed the bills to check if they were genuine, forgetting to continue his warnings. By the time he looked up again, the group, plus one chicken, had already gone far.

After entering the pass, Luo Ren organized their equipment. The heaviest supplies were packed in the men’s bags, while Hongsha and Mu Dai’s bags were relatively lighter. They planned to start searching from the first peak. Tonight’s search was scheduled for four hours. Everyone wore headlamps, and the two bounty hunters would operate simultaneously. Someone would stand at a high point with an infrared night vision device and a gun, serving as a sentry to guard against possible wild animals.

Mu Dai took the first sentry shift. Luo Ren assembled a weapon and explained its use to her: “This fires electrified barbs with guide wires. The range is about 7 meters. If a person or animal is hit, they’ll temporarily lose their ability to move. It’s just a precaution—we’re not deep in the mountains yet, so I don’t think there’s much chance of wild animals.”

Mu Dai had never seen a handgun before and found it fascinating: “Where did you buy it? How much did it cost?”

Luo Ren looked at her: “These are prohibited in China.”

Mu Dai made an “oh” sound, as if understanding completely, and lowered her voice: “Don’t worry, I won’t report you.”

Luo Ren also lowered his voice, quite appreciative: “You’re something…”

Before he could finish, he suddenly frowned and turned to ask: “What’s burning? Why is there a smell of alcohol?”

Not far away, Yi Wansan was pressing Cao Liberation’s head down to make it eat, acting furtively and anxiously, coaxing and tricking: “Liberation, it’s something delicious, something you don’t usually get to eat. Quick, hurry up…”

Cao Yanhua, shielded by Yan Hongsha, had finished burning the paper and was tremblingly about to pour the paper ashes into the alcohol bottle when he was startled by Luo Ren’s question and nearly spilled the alcohol.

Quick-witted under pressure, he blurted out: “I brought some alcohol, Brother Luo. It’ll be cold in the mountains tonight—drinking some strong liquor warms the body. Would you… Like some?”

Fortunately, Luo Ren had little interest in tobacco or alcohol, those consumables that dulled the nerves and immediate response capabilities. If he had wanted to drink, Cao Yanhua wouldn’t have known how to handle the situation—after all, that was alcohol mixed with talisman ashes.

Cao Liberation had happily eaten the ants, earthworms, centipedes, even scorpions, and rice with husks, but it wouldn’t drink the alcohol.

It wasn’t stupid—one sniff and it knew it wasn’t water.

Luo Ren finished his preparations and led Mu Dai further in, urging the others to follow. Yi Wansan verbally agreed but told Yan Hongsha to go ahead with them first.

Cao Yanhua was desperate: “It won’t drink!”

Yi Wansan was also anxious and made a bold decision: “Pinch its beak, lift its neck, and pour it down!”

What?

Yi Wansan shook the bottle, trying to mix the contents evenly. Seeing Cao Yanhua not moving, he impatiently urged, “Haven’t you seen chickens drink water? After drinking, they tilt their heads upward. Why?”

Cao Yanhua had never observed this: “Why?”

“A chicken’s neck is different from a human’s—it can’t swallow, so it has to tilt its head back to let water flow in naturally. Why do people use drunk rice to steal chickens? It’s convenient, no need to force alcohol down.”

Brother Sansan spoke so expertly that he must have victimized many chickens during his vagabond days.

Cao Yanhua thought: We’ve come this far, we can’t fail now. Let’s do it!

With one hand, he grabbed both of Cao Liberation’s wings, and with the other, he pinched its beak and tilted its neck back. At first, Cao Liberation strangely cooperated, but as soon as the alcohol entered its throat, it knew something was wrong. Its body twisted and struggled, its little chicken claws scratching at the ground.

Cao Yanhua spoke incoherently: “Liberation, it’s cold in the mountains, drink some alcohol, it’ll keep you warm…”

He watched as Cao Liberation’s belly gradually swelled, and couldn’t help feeling terrified: “That’s enough, Brother Sansan, don’t make Liberation burst.”

They finished quickly. Yi Wansan’s hands were shaking. Less than a fifth of the bottle was poured in; the rest was spilled.

Cao Yanhua didn’t dare breathe and slowly released his grip.

Cao Liberation showed no reaction.

Cao Yanhua’s heart was in turmoil as he stood together with Yi Wansan. At this point, waves of belated fear surged through them.

He asked Yi Wansan, “Will Liberation die from being drunk? I’ve heard excessive drinking can kill people.”

Yi Wansan wasn’t confident either: “Liberation is… a wild chicken, so its resistance should be stronger.”

“Why isn’t it moving? Is it drunk? It got drunk so quickly?”

“Maybe the talisman is working.”

Really? Cao Yanhua was a bit flustered and cautiously reached out his hand to touch Cao Liberation’s head.

Cao Liberation suddenly raised its head with a jerk. Caught off guard, Cao Yanhua stepped back twice, nearly falling to the ground.

Mu Dai’s voice came from afar: “You two, aren’t you coming? Planning to build a house there?”

Strangely, as soon as she finished speaking, Cao Liberation turned around, flapped its wings, and hurried after her.

Huh…

It was acting completely normal, so calm?

Yi Wansan thought: Our Liberation can hold its liquor.

The two men, harboring guilty thoughts yet hopeful, still not abandoning their competitive spirit, looked at each other anxiously and followed.

The sun had already sunk behind the mountain peak, with the last bit of light about to disperse into the dusk. Cao Liberation walked ahead, the feathers on its tail puffing up and down.

Cao Yanhua watched it intently.

—”Brother Sansan, why do I feel Liberation isn’t walking in a straight line?”

—”Brother Sansan, have you noticed Liberation’s walk is becoming wobbly?”

—”Brother Sansan…”

Before his third “Brother Sansan” was complete, Cao Liberation, walking ahead, suddenly tilted its head and collapsed to the ground with a thud.

Cao Yanhua’s mind exploded with the thought: It’s over, Liberation is dead.

With positions selected, Mu Dai had already climbed the tallest tree to stand guard. Wearing the infrared night vision device, she could see various life signs near and far, small and large.

It was truly a desolate place—only their group appeared massive and conspicuous, with powerful life forces.

Turning to another direction, she saw the two people approaching. Why was Yi Wansan constantly holding Cao Liberation?

Mu Dai removed her night vision device and shouted, “What’s wrong with Cao Liberation?”

Yi Wansan, dejected, answered: “I drank too much.”