Chapter 23: Danger—Run!

The whole roasted lamb was finally done, and Fugui was beside himself with excitement. Annan quickly paused her butchering work and hurried over to eat.

The lamb sizzled with juicy fat, sending waves of mouthwatering aroma into the air.

She first cut off a big chunk of lamb leg for the dog, thoughtfully reminding him,

“Eat slowly, don’t burn yourself.”

Watching Fugui wag his tail so hard it looked like a propeller, Annan felt a warm surge in her heart.

In her previous life, she had wandered hungry and homeless, with two jackals by her side always ready to betray her. Every day had been a struggle, battered by storms.

But in this life, she was free from want—even in the harsh apocalypse, she had piping hot roast lamb and the loyal Fugui by her side.

How lucky she was!

Gnawing on a lamb chop, her eyes grew misty.

Fugui, sensitive as ever, immediately noticed her shift in mood. He even stopped eating and rushed over to comfort her, pawing at her and licking her palm.

…Wait, licking her palm?

“Fugui! Your mouth’s covered in grease, and now you’ve smeared it all over my sleeve!”

Annan snapped out of her tangled emotions, half laughing, half crying, as she looked at her now-messy sleeve.

“Woof woof~ woof woof woof!”

You’re okay? If you’re okay, I’m going back to my meat.

Fugui shook his head and trotted back to his bowl, happily digging in.

And so, woman and dog enjoyed a warm, peaceful dinner together.

Afterwards, Annan packed the leftover lamb into her storage space, left Fugui a bone to chew on, and went back to processing the rest of the lambs.

Her butchering skills, once clumsy, were now growing more and more practiced.

“If it weren’t for the apocalypse, I could make a living as a professional butcher by now.”

She quickly dealt with dozens of lambs. As night fell, she stopped and returned to her tent to rest, leaving the rest for tomorrow.

The moon was bright, the mountain air crisp and fresh, and the sky was dotted with stars.

Outside the tent, the campfire crackled. Under the starry sky, woman and dog let their minds drift, feeling more relaxed than ever before, and soon drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, Annan was woken by the sound of roosters crowing.

She blinked in confusion, then suddenly sat up straight.

Roosters?

She threw on her coat, unzipped the tent, and rushed outside.

Sure enough, not far away, several big red-combed roosters were crowing at the top of their lungs, with a few silent hens nearby.

There are chickens here too? Looks like the flood really did drive a lot of animals to this area.

Fugui, hearing her voice, ran out. The moment he saw the chickens, he dashed after them, putting on a real-life “chickens fly, dog jumps” show for Annan.

She couldn’t help but laugh as she joined the fray.

Even though she had plenty of chickens stored away, who would ever complain about having too many supplies?

Between the two of them, they quickly caught all the chickens—over a dozen—and even collected some eggs.

Though, Annan’s hair now looked like a bird’s nest.

With her experience butchering lambs, dealing with chickens was a breeze. In no time, she had them all processed and headed back to the tent with Fugui for breakfast.

She took out soy milk and fried dough sticks from her storage. After a hearty breakfast, they packed up the tent and set off again.

After a while, a snake appeared by the roadside. Annan shuddered and immediately sprinkled herself with realgar powder she’d stored away for just such occasions.

She really couldn’t stand these slithery creatures, so she hurried her pace, climbing further up the mountain.

The higher she went, the rougher the path became. Just as she was about to stop and rest, Fugui suddenly got excited and bolted ahead.

Annan jogged after him, only to find a herd of cattle up ahead.

About thirty big yellow oxen were grazing peacefully.

Annan’s eyes lit up. One cow could yield about 450 jin (225 kg) of meat—these would add up to over 15,000 jin (7,500 kg) of beef.

She already had plenty stored away, but now she was set for beef for life.

This mountain was a real treasure trove!

If it weren’t for the coming extreme heat and cold—and the risk of dying out here—she’d have loved to settle down for good.

Watching the sturdy cattle, Annan worried Fugui might get hurt if he rushed in, so she called him back.

“Fugui, come here!”

Fugui seemed to sense these cows weren’t as easy to handle as sheep, and stopped, eyeing them warily.

“You think you’re a bulldog and can take on real bulls?”

Annan was afraid he’d get gored or kicked. “You’re still a baby—don’t be reckless.”

She hurried over to stop him, then cautiously approached the herd herself.

The yellow oxen were calm and didn’t pay them much mind, continuing to graze unbothered.

Annan crept closer, cranked her electric baton to max, and zapped them one by one, quickly knocking them all out.

Just to be sure, she zapped each one again before starting to bleed them.

By the time she finished processing all thirty-some cows, the place was a mess.

She stored all the beef away, but then Fugui suddenly growled, fur bristling with alarm.

“What is it?”

Annan followed his gaze to a patch of grass not far ahead. The grass was swaying, and there was a faint rustling sound.

Then, a gray-black wild boar slowly emerged.

It must have been drawn by the scent of blood. Its massive, muscular body was covered in bristling hair like needles.

Its fierce eyes locked onto Annan, and it immediately bared its tusks, charging at her with a roar.

In a panic, Annan shouted, “Fugui, run!”

Woman and dog turned and bolted.

This wasn’t some cute little piglet, nor a chicken, duck, cow, or sheep—this was a real wild beast.

An 80-kilogram wild boar could easily knock over a 150-kilogram tiger.

Annan wasn’t about to try her luck fighting tigers or boars.

She grabbed Fugui and sprinted, but the crazed boar was gaining fast.

In desperation, Annan scooped up the dog and dove into her storage space.

Collapsing onto the soft, comfy sofa, both woman and dog let out a sigh of relief.

The boar’s presence had been overwhelming—her first instinct was to run, and she’d almost forgotten about her life-saving storage ability.

After a while, figuring the boar must have left, Annan left Fugui behind, grabbed a knife, and exited the space to check.

The moment she emerged, she locked eyes with the boar’s savage glare.

!!

Why was the boar still here?

Startled, Annan immediately retreated back into her space.

The furious boar, seeing its prey vanish again, snorted and rooted the ground in frustration.

That fragile two-legged creature—where did she go again?!

Back in her space, Annan realized this boar wasn’t going to be easy. It was smart—waiting in ambush.

She couldn’t hide in her space forever; eventually, time would run out and there’d be nowhere to run.

Taking a deep breath, she grabbed her triangular blade and exited the space once more.

Huh? The boar was gone?

But… why weren’t her feet touching the ground?

Annan looked down—and nearly screamed. She was riding on the wild boar’s back!"