Hua Yun carefully examined the pig before her. Though "pocket-sized," a rough estimate suggested its meat would be enough to feed a family for a meal. Narrowing her eyes, she automatically analyzed its attack methods and lethality as it moved. In the past, it would have been a mere wave of her hand, but now…
Holding her breath, Hua Yun slowly retreated from the bushes, a smirk curling at the corner of her mouth. Could the great hunting captain really be outmatched by a little piglet? It wasn't as if she hadn't resorted to hand-to-hand combat when her Special Ability was depleted before. She, Hua Yun, had never let food slip from her grasp!
Her eyes lit up as she slowly pulled a branch from the nearby rotten leaves—about two fingers thick. Hua Yun bent it; it was quite sturdy. Though not ideal, there was nothing else at hand. There were stones nearby, but unfortunately, the pig's hide looked thick and resilient against smashing.
The wild boar remained unaware of Hua Yun's presence. It had been unlucky today, accidentally bumping into a wolf. The two had clashed, neither gaining the upper hand. The wolf had been flipped onto its back by the boar's charge, but the boar had also been bitten, leaving a bloody wound on its back. Now, grumbling inwardly, it was hurrying back to its territory to gather its siblings and raid the wolf's den.
Hua Yun followed like a cat for a few steps, deftly stripping the branch into a smooth, clean stick and sharpening one end further. Feeling prepared, she stomped her foot heavily.
The wild boar's ears twitched—had that bastard come back for more? It turned its head fiercely, only to be confused: Wasn't this ugly, upright creature a human?
Hua Yun stomped her foot again.
The boar blinked its small eyes: Was this ugly creature provoking me?
Hua Yun was puzzled. Did humans and animals get along so well here? Weren't they told the creatures here were fierce and would pounce at the sight of humans?
The boar didn't move, all thanks to Hua Yun. In the Post-apocalyptic Era, humans and beasts were like fire and water, actively seeking each other out to provoke fights even when they didn't cross paths. But this place was different. Especially for this boar, humans it had encountered before either wanted to kill it or fled in terror. One standing still and staring at it was a first, leaving its small brain momentarily unable to process the situation.
Hua Yun felt an inexplicable pang of guilt. This little thing seemed quite friendly, but… Her eyes fell on the boar's back, where a large patch of blackened flesh emitted a steaming, savory aroma…
Food!
Her feet flew into action, hurling several palm-sized stones at the boar with a whoosh, hitting it squarely.
The dazed boar snapped back to reality, furious! It had thought this one was different, but it turned out it still wanted to fight! Who's afraid of whom? Bring it on!
Fueled by the resentment of being bullied by the wolf cub, the boar charged with an angry roar, its round body like a small cannonball.
Hua Yun wanted to cry—it finally moved! If she hadn't needed to conserve energy, she would have charged long ago.
Seeing her unmoved, the boar thought she was scared and felt smug. As it closed in, instead of slowing down, it accelerated, baring its tusks and aiming its head straight for Hua Yun's chest and abdomen.
Delight flashed in Hua Yun's eyes. Her feet rooted to the ground, she gripped the wooden stick tightly with both hands, its sharp end pointing outward. The moment the boar's head lunged forward, all her strength surged into her arms as she thrust violently!
The stick slid effortlessly into the boar's brain through one of its small eyes. Hua Yun gave it a forceful twist.
The wild boar died with its eyes wide open!
How could it close them? One eye was propped open by the stick.
Hua Yun collapsed like a broken frame… right on top of the boar's head.
She knew she had only one chance to strike. If she failed with that single blow, exhausted and weakened, she would become nothing more than a meal for the wild boar. Though it was just one strike, it wasn't a difficult task. In the post-apocalyptic era, to conserve her special ability and ammunition, she had long honed the instinct of taking down an enemy with a single, precise blow. This small boar was far less ferocious than a mutated pig, so Hua Yun felt only excitement, not tension. As long as she found its weak spot, this meal of meat was guaranteed.
Licking her lips, Hua Yun longed to sink her teeth into the delicious meat! Unfortunately, while the virus had affected her spiritual magnetic field, it hadn't altered her physical body. The sensation of her gums shifting was just an illusion—she hadn't grown fangs, and she couldn't bite through!
As warm blood flowed down the wooden stick, Hua Yun's heart stirred. But upon seeing the white fluid mixed with it, she decisively looked away. It kept reminding her of zombies with half-exposed skulls and brains…
After a moment's thought, Hua Yun pulled out half of the boar's tongue from its gaping mouth, leaned down, clamped her teeth around it, and bit hard. A warm stream of blood gushed out. Closing her eyes, Hua Yun sucked vigorously, feeling strength gradually return to her body.
A tongue kiss! A tongue kiss! And it was with a pig…
But she needed the blood, and even more, she needed what was in it—salt! After days of plain porridge and bland vegetables, with Mrs. Wan not adding any salt at all, it was no wonder she had no energy.
The boar had a wound on its back where she could have sucked blood, but Hua Yun worried it might be unclean, so she chose… the tongue kiss. The tongue was much easier to bite through than the fur-covered body.
After several bites, Hua Yun had swallowed half a stomach's worth of blood and could no longer suck out more. Straightening up, she felt dizzy and collapsed, her face landing right beside the boar's mouth, smearing her head with blood and brain matter.
Meanwhile, Hua Yu and Hua Bing quickly filled a basket with wild vegetables and picked a handful of small berries. Turning back to show off their treasures, they realized Hua Yun was missing. Immediately, they burst into loud cries.
Hearing the commotion, Hua Lei rushed over and nearly fainted upon learning what had happened—they were in the mountains! Carefully following the traces, he called out as he chased after her. Perhaps due to their blood connection, the three of them didn't take any wrong turns and found Hua Yun directly.
Seeing her lying beside the wild boar with blood all over her face, they were terrified. Hua Lei's hands trembled as he turned her over to check: "Elder Sister is fine. This blood must be from the wild boar."
Only then did Hua Yu relax and burst into loud sobs, crying "Sister! Sister!" while helping Hua Lei carry Hua Yun on his back.
The noise woke Hua Yun. She had simply collapsed from sudden exhaustion and mental strain. Seeing the three of them gathered around her with concern, she couldn't help but grin.
Tsk, it would have been better if she hadn't smiled—her mouth was stained red.
Hua Lei habitually blamed himself: "How could I forget to bring water?"
Hua Yun pointed at the ground with her blood-stained lips: "Meat."
All three heard the longing in her voice and exchanged glances. The wild boar had clearly been killed by that wooden stick, but—who had done it?
They wanted to ask, but Hua Yun had already slumped against Hua Lei's back and fallen asleep again.
Hua Lei had no choice but to instruct his younger siblings to work together and drag the wild boar back.
The boar wasn't fully grown, but compared to the children, it was still huge. The three of them had to take the flat main road back to the Hua family home.
Who would have thought that a single wild boar would stir up another storm?
By the time Hua Yun woke up, it was already dark. Though she hadn't eaten lunch, the boar's blood had left her feeling more energetic than usual, and her muddled mind seemed clearer as well.
Hua Yun sat up on the kang, stretched her arms, and noticed her clothes had been changed. Touching her face, she realized her hair had been washed too. Just as she was about to get out of bed, a stream of curses drifted over from the front courtyard.
"You little brat, stealing food right from the pot! So greedy, why don't you just eat yourself to death? Get back to the backyard!"
It was Hua Changguang's wife, Mrs. Zhang.
Hua Yun stepped out of the room just as Hua Yu came running back, fuming with anger. Hua Yun gave her a questioning look: What happened?
Hua Yu wasn't intimidated by Mrs. Zhang, but when she met Hua Yun's gaze, tears began to fall uncontrollably. Her voice hoarse, she said, "Sis, our pig is gone."
Hua Yun was momentarily confused before remembering the wild boar. What about the meat?
In her urgency, she headed toward the front courtyard.
Hua Yu didn't know why, but ever since she could remember, she had treated this older sister as if she were a younger sister to protect. Whenever Hua Yun was bullied, Hua Yu would rush to her defense. But this time, there was something different in those dazed eyes—something that made Hua Yu instinctively want to rely on her. Following closely behind, she sobbed in grievance, "When we came back, we passed through the front courtyard, and they saw it. We told them the wild boar was ours, but they didn't believe us. They insisted it was theirs, snatched it away without another word, skinned it, cut the meat, and boiled it all afternoon. They plan to eat it tonight. Mom and Dad didn't argue, and the three of us couldn't fight them for it. We just wanted to keep half for ourselves. Grandma wouldn't allow it, and when I tried to sneak some, Second Aunt saw me…"
To hell with Grandma, to hell with Second Aunt—all Hua Yun could think about was meat, meat, meat!
In the front courtyard, Hua Lei was shouting at a group of people.
"Grandma, you made it clear that day that from now on, our eldest branch would provide for ourselves, and you wouldn't interfere. Why are you keeping the wild boar we hunted?"
Hua Changguang sucked his teeth, glancing sideways at him. "A wild boar that big, and you hunted it? How did you manage that?"
"My eldest sister did it. She stabbed it to death with a wooden stick. Didn't you see the wound in the boar's eye?"
"Pfft, that idiot… If she had run into it, she'd be the one eaten."
Hua Changzong's wife, Mrs. Liang, said softly, "The four of you together couldn't take down a boar like that. It definitely wasn't yours."
"It was ours," Hua Lei clenched his fists.
"What? You want to bite someone? Dad, Mom, look at this little wolf cub's eyes—he's filled with hatred for us! All for a piece of meat, he'd even bite his own grandparents to death! Big Brother, how did you raise your children? Teaching them to rebel and defy their elders?"
Hua Changnian pulled Hua Lei behind him. "That's not it, the child is still young, the child is still young…"
He repeated the same phrase over and over: "The child is still young."
Hua Changyao sneered darkly. "Big Brother, can't Mom and Dad have a piece of meat from your family?"
Mrs. Li's face darkened. "Eldest, it wasn't easy for me to raise you. Remember when you had a high fever, and I carried you through wind and rain to the clinic? You can't be ungrateful in life—the ungrateful are struck by lightning…"
Hua Changnian hurriedly replied, "I remember it all, Mom, don't be angry. It's just a piece of meat…"
Hua Lei shouted angrily, "Dad!"
Hua Changnian tugged at him again, signaling him to say no more.
Hua Lei gritted his teeth, watching the scornful smiles on the faces of those before him. He turned to run back to the backyard.
"Eldest Sister, why are you here?"