After the early night, the tranquility was broken, and every household was busy going to the fire spring to get the sun stone.

Qin Ming was ready to go at any time, carrying a hunting fork, a short knife, a bow and arrow, etc., fully armed.

He had eaten the bread sent by Lu Ze, but did not tell him that he was going out, fearing that he would be dissuaded.

Qin Ming did not want to take risks, and planned to try his luck in a relatively safe area.

He thought for a long time, and remembered a trace he saw in the mountains and forests in autumn. According to the habits of that creature, it should live nearby.

"I hope it is still there and can give me a surprise."

It gradually became quiet outside, and no one went to get the sun stone anymore.

Qin Ming set off, and met two villagers on the way. He smiled and greeted them, and he had gone away quickly before the other party could react.

He passed the fire spring and entered the dark world.

The environment in the wild was very harsh. Qin Ming walked through the snow, with only the upper part of his chest exposed outside, and most of his body could not be seen.

The weather was extremely cold, and the white mist he exhaled condensed into frost on his eyebrows and hair.

Even in the early night, the sky and the earth were relatively dim, and the scenery in the distance could not be seen.

Holding a hunting fork, Qin Ming trudged along with difficulty. It was not easy to move forward.

Finally, after walking about four miles, he was close to his destination.

There was a dark mass in front of him, which was a dense forest. Although there was still some distance away, the outline could be seen.

Qin Ming's goal was the edge of the forest and he would not go too deep.

He walked into the dense forest with one foot deep and one foot shallow. Except for a few tree species, most of the trees were bare and the branches were covered with snow.

Qin Ming stopped and carefully recalled the activity trajectory of the creature he had seen at the beginning.

He had found a tree hole in that area, perhaps one of its nests.

"Its body is larger than its peers, and it is likely to have mutated. If we can find the main nest, we should get a lot."

After a short pause, Qin Ming continued to move forward. The forest was pitch black, with the occasional strange bird chirping, making this uninhabited area particularly eerie.

Suddenly, Qin Ming's body tensed up, and he smelled a faint stench of decay, which was very abnormal.

He held the hunting fork in both hands, looking around, ready to fight.

Suddenly, he stabbed the sharp steel fork in his hand above his head!

He heard an abnormal sound of wind and determined the source of the smell. At the same time, he looked up and saw what it was.

A black shadow hung upside down on a tree branch more than ten meters high, with a pale old man's face, swooping down and attacking Qin Ming's head fiercely.

In this lifeless dense forest, such a scene suddenly appeared, which was really terrifying.

Fortunately, Qin Ming reacted quickly and found that the sign was wrong in advance. The steel fork in his hand quickly attacked the creature in the air.

A sharp cry resounded through the forest, making people shudder. The creature did not rush down, but slid to the side when it was still several meters away.

The cold wind blew, and it spread its strong wings and rushed into the night sky from the gap in the forest. After circling for a while, it flew away and disappeared.

Although it was not very clear, Qin Ming still determined its origin.

The human-faced vulture is a scavenger bird of prey. It has a gray-black eagle body. Except for the beak, its face is no different from the pale face of an old man with wrinkles. Its weight generally does not exceed 40 kilograms.

Under normal circumstances, it will not actively attack living adults, but only eat corpses. Is it so abnormal because prey is hard to find at this stage?

Qin Ming was cautious and alert. After waiting for a long time, it did not reappear.

It was not far from the destination. He could not give up. After a short rest, he set off again.

"It should be here."

This area is dominated by larch, broad-leaved trees, and birch trees. Qin Ming was sure that he had found the right place. He found the tree hole he had seen before.

Although it was dark in the forest, he could still clearly see that the edge of the tree hole was very clean from a distance of several meters. This was not a good sign.

If the creature was dormant in the tree hole, in such severe cold, the exhaled water vapor would definitely form some frost at the entrance of the hole.

It was impossible not to be disappointed. Qin Ming frowned slightly. Could it be that the creature did not live in this area at all?

He took a deep breath and prepared to look carefully nearby.

He held the hunting fork firmly in his right hand and the short knife in his left hand, always maintaining a defensive state. After all, no one could predict the danger in the wild.

Qin Ming explored and searched slowly without making any noise.

Half a minute later, he saw traces left by some animal on the snow, and immediately felt that there was a way!

Suddenly, a large piece of rosy clouds rushed up from the mountains in front of him, instantly illuminating the dense forest.

Qin Ming was startled, and then he became very alert. He took this opportunity to carefully observe the surroundings to see if there were any large beasts lurking.

At the same time, he also quickly scanned the vicinity to see if there were any suspicious tree holes.

Soon, the bright glow disappeared, and the sky and the earth returned to black.

That was the "ground light" that was evaporated from the fire spring deep in the earth, which occasionally appeared.

Generally, it is more common after the weather warms up, especially in summer. Sometimes the evaporation of ground light can last for one or two days, triggering celestial phenomena, or bringing large rain clouds.

At that time, dense raindrops accompanied by smoke and haze, and the sky and the earth were particularly gorgeous and beautiful.

For people who live without daylight, that is the most beautiful landscape.

The dense forest returned to darkness, and Qin Ming showed a bright smile from the heart, because he just found another tree hole with ice flowers.

He moved slowly in the snow, and the slight sound was covered by the rising cold wind.

He tiptoed to a big tree as thick as a bucket. Looking at the tree hole that was a little high from the ground, he raised his hunting fork and barely approached it.

Qin Ming put down the hunting fork, then suddenly jumped out of the snow. He hugged the tree trunk and climbed hard. His body was agile and swift, and he came directly to the tree hole.

He swung the short knife in his right hand and chopped it at the hole area, making a muffled sound.

At the same time, a creature that was about to rush out quickly shrank back and was almost hit by the sharp blade.

Qin Ming didn't expect that it would be a pleasant surprise to really block this creature in the tree hole.

In his expectation, if he could find its main nest and take out all its stored food, it would be considered a success and there would be a lot of gains.

There was constant movement in the tree hole, accompanied by urgent calls.

The hole was not very big, and Qin Ming had a hard time reaching his hand in. He swung the knife continuously, and this section of the tree had long been dry. After a few swings, the tree hole became larger.

He quickly took out a leather bag, put it on his hand, and started to hunt animals.

In the dark tree hole, panicked cries came out.

Qin Ming put his whole arm in and felt that he was hit. Fortunately, the leather bag was thick enough, otherwise he would definitely be bitten.

He grabbed the prey and pulled it out quickly.

He took out a sun stone from his arms and shone it deep into the tree hole. He was immediately delighted. There were wild walnuts, chestnuts, red dates, etc., full of dry goods.

These were his main goals.

It was not pleasant to be hungry. These dried fruits were enough to fill the stomach. They were life-saving things, which made Qin Ming's clear eyes glow with fiery brilliance.

He turned his head and looked at the little animal caught in his hand. Its fiery red fur was more silky than silk under the shining of the sun stone.

This was a red squirrel. A normal individual weighed no more than one catty, but it weighed more than two catties, and it was obviously mutated.

It was gnawing at the animal skin bag on Qin Ming's hand, trying to escape but unable to do so.

Its fiery red and crystal fur was glowing, and its value was definitely not low.

Qin Ming took out a piece of wire, tied it up neatly, tightened it, and then hung it on the tree.

Then came the joy of harvest. He took out the various dried fruits in the tree hole one by one, and soon the shriveled animal skin bag gradually swelled.

Finally, he weighed it and found it weighed more than eight kilograms.

Next, the mutant red squirrel hung upside down, its black gemstone-like eyes were round and squeaked non-stop, as if it was extremely angry.

Qin Ming felt that it was scolding him.

"You are so heavy, how can eight kilograms of winter food be enough for you?" Qin Ming hung it on the hunting fork and searched nearby with a sunstone in his hand.

Every winter, the snow is very thick. This kind of mutant creature generally does not bury food underground, otherwise they cannot find it themselves.

Qin Ming found a second tree hole nearby, and then a third one. Together with the first tree hole without frost, they all had "food stored".

He peeled a bunch of wild walnuts and ate a handful of chestnuts. They smelled really good. Then he washed red dates with snow and ate five in a row. His mouth was full of sweetness.

Qin Ming was no longer hungry. His delicate face was full of happy smiles. These dried fruits were delicious and could solve his current predicament.

A cunning rabbit has three burrows, and this red squirrel with glowing fur has four nests and stores more than 30 kilograms of food. It is indeed a mutant creature.

Qin Ming filled half of the animal skin bag.

"Squeak..." The mutant red squirrel was still struggling violently at first, and kept crying. When it saw that all four nests were found and emptied, it actually froze there and then stopped moving.

Qin Ming was surprised and shook it. Is it a corpse?

He had heard that this mutant mountain beast had a physique far superior to its kind and was very smart, but it was also very angry. He didn't expect it to be so angry that it could be killed.

"It just so happens that little Wenrui said he wanted to eat meat, so we can cook a pot of meat soup." He said to himself that he could satisfy the child's wish so quickly.

In Shuangshu Village, some villagers were discussing.

Some people mentioned that Qin Ming went to the wild fully armed. Looking at his posture, it felt like he was going to hunt large beasts!

Lu Ze also got the news and frowned. How could that kid venture out alone? Could he be going to hunt bears?

...

Qin Ming stood on the high ground and found that he was very close to the top of the mountain. This was a low mountain in the outermost area of ​​the dense forest.

Unfortunately, he searched for a long time and did not find any other squirrel holes.

He came to the top of the mountain and looked ahead. The forest was dark, and the vast mountains stood tall, but only some blurred shadows could be seen.

There is actually a very bright area deep in the mountains, but it is blocked by the vast night fog, with only a little hazy light. Qin Ming knew that it meant unknown, mysterious, and dangerous, and it was not a place he could set foot in.

After the early night, the tranquility was broken, and every household was busy going to the fire spring to get the sun stone.

Qin Ming was ready to go at any time, carrying a hunting fork, a short knife, a bow and arrow, etc., fully armed.

He had eaten the bread sent by Lu Ze, but did not tell him that he was going out, fearing that he would be dissuaded.

Qin Ming did not want to take risks, and planned to try his luck in a relatively safe area.

He thought for a long time, and remembered a trace he saw in the mountains and forests in autumn. According to the habits of that creature, it should live nearby.

"I hope it is still there and can give me a surprise."

It gradually became quiet outside, and no one went to get the sun stone anymore.

Qin Ming set off, and met two villagers on the way. He smiled and greeted them, and he had gone away quickly before the other party could react.

He passed the fire spring and entered the dark world.

The environment in the wild was very harsh. Qin Ming walked through the snow, with only the upper part of his chest exposed outside, and most of his body could not be seen.

The weather was extremely cold, and the white mist he exhaled condensed into frost on his eyebrows and hair.

Even in the early night, the sky and the earth were relatively dim, and the scenery in the distance could not be seen.

Holding a hunting fork, Qin Ming trudged along with difficulty. It was not easy to move forward.

Finally, after walking about four miles, he was close to his destination.

There was a dark mass in front of him, which was a dense forest. Although there was still some distance away, the outline could be seen.

Qin Ming's goal was the edge of the forest and he would not go too deep.

He walked into the dense forest with one foot deep and one foot shallow. Except for a few tree species, most of the trees were bare and the branches were covered with snow.

Qin Ming stopped and carefully recalled the activity trajectory of the creature he had seen at the beginning.

He had found a tree hole in that area, perhaps one of its nests.

"Its body is larger than its peers, and it is likely to have mutated. If we can find the main nest, we should get a lot."

After a short pause, Qin Ming continued to move forward. The forest was pitch black, with the occasional strange bird chirping, making this uninhabited area particularly eerie.

Suddenly, Qin Ming's body tensed up, and he smelled a faint stench of decay, which was very abnormal.

He held the hunting fork in both hands, looking around, ready to fight.

Suddenly, he stabbed the sharp steel fork in his hand above his head!

He heard an abnormal sound of wind and determined the source of the smell. At the same time, he looked up and saw what it was.

A black shadow hung upside down on a tree branch more than ten meters high, with a pale old man's face, swooping down and attacking Qin Ming's head fiercely.

In this lifeless dense forest, such a scene suddenly appeared, which was really terrifying.

Fortunately, Qin Ming reacted quickly and found that the sign was wrong in advance. The steel fork in his hand quickly attacked the creature in the air.

A sharp cry resounded through the forest, making people shudder. The creature did not rush down, but slid to the side when it was still several meters away.

The cold wind blew, and it spread its strong wings and rushed into the night sky from the gap in the forest. After circling for a while, it flew away and disappeared.

Although it was not very clear, Qin Ming still determined its origin.

The human-faced vulture is a scavenger bird of prey. It has a gray-black eagle body. Except for the beak, its face is no different from the pale face of an old man with wrinkles. Its weight generally does not exceed 40 kilograms.

Under normal circumstances, it will not actively attack living adults, but only eat corpses. Is it so abnormal because prey is hard to find at this stage?

Qin Ming was cautious and alert. After waiting for a long time, it did not reappear.

It was not far from the destination. He could not give up. After a short rest, he set off again.

"It should be here."

This area is dominated by larch, broad-leaved trees, and birch trees. Qin Ming was sure that he had found the right place. He found the tree hole he had seen before.

Although it was dark in the forest, he could still clearly see that the edge of the tree hole was very clean from a distance of several meters. This was not a good sign.

If the creature was dormant in the tree hole, in such severe cold, the exhaled water vapor would definitely form some frost at the entrance of the hole.

It was impossible not to be disappointed. Qin Ming frowned slightly. Could it be that the creature did not live in this area at all?

He took a deep breath and prepared to look carefully nearby.

He held the hunting fork firmly in his right hand and the short knife in his left hand, always maintaining a defensive state. After all, no one could predict the danger in the wild.

Qin Ming explored and searched slowly without making any noise.

Half a minute later, he saw traces left by some animal on the snow, and immediately felt that there was a way!

Suddenly, a large piece of rosy clouds rushed up from the mountains in front of him, instantly illuminating the dense forest.

Qin Ming was startled, and then he became very alert. He took this opportunity to carefully observe the surroundings to see if there were any large beasts lurking.

At the same time, he also quickly scanned the vicinity to see if there were any suspicious tree holes.

Soon, the bright glow disappeared, and the sky and the earth returned to black.

That was the "ground light" that was evaporated from the fire spring deep in the earth, which occasionally appeared.

Generally, it is more common after the weather warms up, especially in summer. Sometimes the evaporation of ground light can last for one or two days, triggering celestial phenomena, or bringing large rain clouds.

At that time, dense raindrops accompanied by smoke and haze, and the sky and the earth were particularly gorgeous and beautiful.

For people who live without daylight, that is the most beautiful landscape.

The dense forest returned to darkness, and Qin Ming showed a bright smile from the heart, because he just found another tree hole with ice flowers.

He moved slowly in the snow, and the slight sound was covered by the rising cold wind.

He tiptoed to a big tree as thick as a bucket. Looking at the tree hole that was a little high from the ground, he raised his hunting fork and barely approached it.

Qin Ming put down the hunting fork, then suddenly jumped out of the snow. He hugged the tree trunk and climbed hard. His body was agile and swift, and he came directly to the tree hole.

He swung the short knife in his right hand and chopped it at the hole area, making a muffled sound.

At the same time, a creature that was about to rush out quickly shrank back and was almost hit by the sharp blade.

Qin Ming didn't expect that it would be a pleasant surprise to really block this creature in the tree hole.

In his expectation, if he could find its main nest and take out all its stored food, it would be considered a success and there would be a lot of gains.

There was constant movement in the tree hole, accompanied by urgent calls.

The hole was not very big, and Qin Ming had a hard time reaching his hand in. He swung the knife continuously, and this section of the tree had long been dry. After a few swings, the tree hole became larger.

He quickly took out a leather bag, put it on his hand, and started to hunt animals.

In the dark tree hole, panicked cries came out.

Qin Ming put his whole arm in and felt that he was hit. Fortunately, the leather bag was thick enough, otherwise he would definitely be bitten.

He grabbed the prey and pulled it out quickly.

He took out a sun stone from his arms and shone it deep into the tree hole. He was immediately delighted. There were wild walnuts, chestnuts, red dates, etc., full of dry goods.

These were his main goals.

It was not pleasant to be hungry. These dried fruits were enough to fill the stomach. They were life-saving things, which made Qin Ming's clear eyes glow with fiery brilliance.

He turned his head and looked at the little animal caught in his hand. Its fiery red fur was more silky than silk under the shining of the sun stone.

This was a red squirrel. A normal individual weighed no more than one catty, but it weighed more than two catties, and it was obviously mutated.

It was gnawing at the animal skin bag on Qin Ming's hand, trying to escape but unable to do so.

Its fiery red and crystal fur was glowing, and its value was definitely not low.

Qin Ming took out a piece of wire, tied it up neatly, tightened it, and then hung it on the tree.

Then came the joy of harvest. He took out the various dried fruits in the tree hole one by one, and soon the shriveled animal skin bag gradually swelled.

Finally, he weighed it and found it weighed more than eight kilograms.

Next, the mutant red squirrel hung upside down, its black gemstone-like eyes were round and squeaked non-stop, as if it was extremely angry.

Qin Ming felt that it was scolding him.

"You are so heavy, how can eight kilograms of winter food be enough for you?" Qin Ming hung it on the hunting fork and searched nearby with a sunstone in his hand.

Every winter, the snow is very thick. This kind of mutant creature generally does not bury food underground, otherwise they cannot find it themselves.

Qin Ming found a second tree hole nearby, and then a third one. Together with the first tree hole without frost, they all had "food stored".

He peeled a bunch of wild walnuts and ate a handful of chestnuts. They smelled really good. Then he washed red dates with snow and ate five in a row. His mouth was full of sweetness.

Qin Ming was no longer hungry. His delicate face was full of happy smiles. These dried fruits were delicious and could solve his current predicament.

A cunning rabbit has three burrows, and this red squirrel with glowing fur has four nests and stores more than 30 kilograms of food. It is indeed a mutant creature.

Qin Ming filled half of the animal skin bag.

"Squeak..." The mutant red squirrel was still struggling violently at first, and kept crying. When it saw that all four nests were found and emptied, it actually froze there and then stopped moving.

Qin Ming was surprised and shook it. Is it a corpse?

He had heard that this mutant mountain beast had a physique far superior to its kind and was very smart, but it was also very angry. He didn't expect it to be so angry that it could be killed.

"It just so happens that little Wenrui said he wanted to eat meat, so we can cook a pot of meat soup." He said to himself that he could satisfy the child's wish so quickly.

In Shuangshu Village, some villagers were discussing.

Some people mentioned that Qin Ming went to the wild fully armed. Looking at his posture, it felt like he was going to hunt large beasts!

Lu Ze also got the news and frowned. How could that kid venture out alone? Could he be going to hunt bears?

...

Qin Ming stood on the high ground and found that he was very close to the top of the mountain. This was a low mountain in the outermost area of ​​the dense forest.

Unfortunately, he searched for a long time and did not find any other squirrel holes.

He came to the top of the mountain and looked ahead. The forest was dark, and the vast mountains stood tall, but only some blurred shadows could be seen.

There is actually a very bright area deep in the mountains, but it is blocked by the vast night fog, with only a little hazy light. Qin Ming knew that it meant unknown, mysterious, and dangerous, and it was not a place he could set foot in.