71: Chapter Seventy-One: Going Mad

As the night deepened, the group sat around the vehicle, finishing two large pots of tea, and their interest in chatting gradually faded.

Having spent the entire day digging for gold, their bones felt like they were falling apart, so Guo Jianjun suggested they go back into the iveco to lie down and play on their phones.

The others readily agreed.

Following the old routine, they extinguished the remaining charcoal fire with dirt, climbed into the vehicle, and lay down on their "beds" to play on their phones.

But to their dismay, fate had other plans; the cell signal in this deep, remote forest was like a man in his fifties—always unreliable when you needed it the most.

The group, who had been able to chat and scroll through TikTok just yesterday, found themselves completely disconnected tonight, with not a single bar of signal on their screens.

They were used to this life without signal, so they figured if they couldn't play on their phones, they just wouldn't; after tidying up a bit, they lay down to rest.

Saving their energy to dig up more gold and silver tomorrow—wouldn't that be better?

Before long, the sound of snoring filled the vehicle, and they all fell into a deep sleep.

Around one in the morning, just as everyone was in their deepest sleep, a Big Wild Boar had been lurking in the dense thicket over three hundred meters away, filled with malice and ready to strike.

This Big Wild Boar was exceptionally robust, its coarse, stiff bristles matted against its skin, with several gruesome wounds on its back still slowly oozing blood.

A few days ago, it had fought to the death with another male wild boar over foraging territory, and although it had barely won, it had ended up severely wounded.

That fierce battle had exhausted most of its strength, and the torn wounds on its body had never healed. It could only curl up in the bushes, afraid to move much, because every movement sent searing pain throughout its body.

Hindered by its injuries, it couldn't travel far to forage, so it had to stay in this forest, digging up dry, hard grass roots and sour wild fruits nearby to barely satisfy its hunger, leaving its stomach empty for days.

This evening, while it was bowing its head to dig for food, a special aroma drifted in on the mountain breeze and went straight into its nostrils.

It was the scent of rice being cooked by Guo Jianjun and the others in their camp!

To humans, white rice was nothing special, but to a Big Wild Boar that had been starving for days, this temptation was simply irresistible.

The Big Wild Boar's eyes instantly turned red, and the greed that had been suppressed deep inside surged up in an instant.

Because wild boars are naturally nearsighted, the car and the human figures over three hundred meters away were just blurry blobs in its eyes; it couldn't make out any details at all.

However, its sense of smell was exceptionally keen, and based solely on the scent of food drifting over, it could determine that there was plenty of food at that resting spot.

The smell of rice was also mixed with the unique scent of humans, and it instinctively recognized this as an area where two-legged beasts were active, causing it to immediately become wary.

The light from the campfire in the camp had an ingrained, bone-deep deterrent effect on wild beasts.

So even though its vision was blurry, that firelight still filled it with fear.

Most wild beasts are naturally suspicious and cautious, so the Big Wild Boar didn't dare to act rashly and could only lurk in the bushes in the distance, waiting quietly.

Throughout the long first half of the night, it stared fixedly at the camp, intent on waiting for the light that it feared to disappear completely.

It wasn't until the second half of the night that the fire completely cooled, with not a single spark remaining, and there was no longer any light source around to deter it.

After observing and testing for a long time, the Big Wild Boar instinctively determined that this area was no longer a threat.

Prolonged hunger, mixed with the persistent, searing pain from its injuries, completely overwhelmed its remaining vigilance.

Unable to suppress its ferocity any longer, it lowered its massive body and charged straight toward the vehicle.

"Bang—!" A heavy, muffled sound suddenly exploded, tearing through the silence of the deep night.

The entire iveco swayed violently, and the dust accumulated on the roof showered down onto everyone's faces. Zheng Jing woke up instantly, his mind went blank, his heart raced, and his palms were instantly covered in cold sweat.

Before he could steady his nerves, three consecutive impacts struck again. Bang! Bang! Bang!

The iron body of the vehicle groaned and creaked from the impacts, the cabin shook violently, and the seats inside slid a few inches.

"What the hell?!" Zhao the Second bolted up from his sleeping spot, his voice trembling uncontrollably, his sleepiness instantly vanishing.

In his panic, his arm slammed heavily against the window frame, making him gasp in pain, but he didn't even have time to rub it; his entire face was pressed against the window, peering outside.

At the same time, Guo Jianjun in the driver's seat was also jolted awake: "Is it an earthquake?"

Boss Zhao shook his head, his lowered voice filled with gravity: "A large wild beast has come outside, and it's ramming our car with its head."

"What? A wild beast?"

The group instantly held their breath and looked outside. They saw a massive black shadow beside the iveco, using its huge head to slam against the door repeatedly.

By the faint reflection of the night, they finally saw the black shadow outside clearly.

Just from this massive silhouette, they could instantly determine that it was the most dangerous Big Wild Boar in the forest!

Because in the forests of Northern Fujian, apart from this creature, no other beast could grow to such a massive size.

"Good heavens, how could such a huge Big Wild Boar be lurking outside our camp!"

Zhao the Second swallowed hard, his muscles tense, his voice trembling as he spoke.

Zheng Jing's heart sank, and a layer of cold sweat instantly broke out on his back.

This was different from running into something like a venomous snake when entering the mountains; although a venomous snake could also be lethal, humans still had some room to maneuver against it in terms of size and physical ability.

But the Big Wild Boar in front of them was completely different!

Although it had the word "boar" in its name, it couldn't be compared to the docile, domesticated pigs at all.

Once a wild boar goes completely mad, relying on its massive, burly body and two sharp, hard tusks, an unarmed human has absolutely no chance of defending against it.

"Do not open the car door, you absolutely must not go down!" Zheng Jing quickly reminded the group in a low voice, "This Big Wild Boar is acting strangely; it has completely gone mad."