Chapter 173 - 170: Entering the Mountains to Find the Golden Eagle

Chapter 173: Chapter 170: Entering the Mountains to Find the Golden Eagle

He searched the surrounding area, even trying to find traces of the Golden Eagles, but unfortunately, came up empty.

Lin Feng wanted to help, but the spot where Mo Yu and the others had found the Golden Monkey cub was right in this area, and they hadn’t discovered any other clues.

’Perhaps if I could form a contract with that pair of Golden Eagles, I could use them to find the poachers’ trail in the mountains.’

"Captain Shi, how is it? Any leads?"

"We haven’t found any leads yet, but we’re certain that group is somewhere in the mountains to the west."

Lin Feng looked to the west. Trying to find a group of people hiding in such a vast mountain range was no different from finding a needle in a haystack.

When Captain Shi and his team left Lin Xian Village, their expressions were grim. It was clear that the lack of useful clues was weighing on them.

Besides, with the discovery of the giant panda and the Golden Monkey, the poachers were sure to have started relocating.

This made their goal of catching the poachers even more difficult.

When Lin Feng returned to the village, Hu Zhiming sidled up to him and asked, "Brother Lin, what happened?"

"There are poachers in the mountains. The giant panda and Golden Monkey escaped from them."

"What! Those damn bastards! Did you find their location?"

"No, we only know they’re in the mountains. We have no idea where exactly."

Hu Zhiming also knew how difficult it was to find people in the mountains without any leads.

"Brother Lin, do you have any way to find them?"

"No way. They’re hidden in the mountains, and we don’t even have a single clue. What could I possibly do?"

’If the village could level up quickly, I might be able to find them within the village’s expanded territory.’

’Unfortunately, it’s hard enough for the village to reach Level 3, and even then, the coverage area of a Level 3 village probably wouldn’t be enough.’

"Oh, right, don’t spread this around. If the poachers in the mountains find out, they might kill the animals and hide them."

"I know, I’m not an idiot. I’ll go to the Land God Temple later to pray for the poachers to have some bad luck."

Hearing this, Lin Feng opened his mouth to speak but then stopped himself. ’Oh well, his heart is in the right place, but it’s a pity the Earth God doesn’t have that function.’

’I wonder if the Mountain God Temple will have that kind of function once it’s built.’

At this moment, the poachers in the mountains were following Ruan Tianzhong’s orders and retreating to location number two.

When these men learned their boss had given them a strict, non-negotiable order, their gloomy mood vanished in a flash of fear. They began relocating meticulously, following the plan to the letter.

However, the mountain paths were difficult to travel. Even though they had cleared a route in advance, their progress was still very slow.

They were especially cautious while moving, knowing they had likely been exposed.

Furthermore, because they had to transport their "goods," the relocation couldn’t be done in a single trip. It would take several runs to move everything.

These people were extremely cautious. The scouts at the front were dressed like hikers and communicated with each other via walkie-talkies.

They even had scheduled contact times. If someone missed a check-in, they would immediately switch to a different location.

"Second Brother, the Golden Eagles are back."

"Too bad they won’t come down, or we’d just shoot them."

Wu the Second knew why the Golden Eagles were watching them. They had accidentally killed a Golden Eagle chick, and this pair had pursued them all the way from the Qinling Mountains.

"Ignore them. They don’t dare to come down. Keep moving."

The Golden Eagles circled once in the sky, then flew off in the direction of Lin Xian Village.

Ruan Tianzhong had arrived in the county adjacent to Wuyuan County. He didn’t dare go to Wuyuan County, let alone Lin Xian Village.

He had looked up information about that place online, and it was just too bizarre.

While eating lunch, he managed to gather some information by listening to other people’s conversations.

’This Lin Xian Village... should I go take a look?’ Ruan Tianzhong was conflicted.

’Based on the information I’ve gathered, the place is definitely weird, but as long as I don’t worship that Earth God, I should be fine.’

The main thing was, knowing such a place existed and not seeing it for himself just didn’t sit right with him.

’However, you need an appointment to get in. It doesn’t seem that easy to just walk in whenever I want.’

There was a way, though, which he found online: directly buying someone else’s appointment slot. That was one way to get into Lin Xian Village.

This was good news for him. This method wouldn’t leave behind any of his personal information.

Lin Feng had no idea the poachers’ boss was agonizing over whether to visit Lin Xian Village. At that moment, he was questioning Mo Yu.

"Mo Yu, can you find the Golden Eagles’ nest in the mountains?"

"WOOF WOOF."

"’No.’ Xiaohong, can you find it?"

Xiaohong stood up and chittered excitedly, "SQUEAK! SQUEAK!"

"You can!" Lin Feng was stunned for a moment.

"How? Can you take me there?"

"SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK."

Lin Feng said excitedly, "Then let’s go! We’ll find their nest right now."

He never expected that where Mo Yu failed, Xiaohong would actually succeed.

Only after asking did he learn that Xiaohong had gotten the information from other squirrels.

There were many squirrels in the forest, and ever since the Golden Eagles arrived, the small animals had been living in constant fear.

Some animals had even been attacked by the Golden Eagles, including squirrels.

Although Xiaohong didn’t know the exact location of the nest, it knew the general area. That whole patch of forest had become a no-go zone for small animals.

Lin Feng told Hu Xia he was leaving, then shouldered his backpack and headed into the mountains with Mo Yu and Xiaohong.

With his "Mountain and Forest Guardian" title, he wasn’t the least bit afraid in the mountains.

The West Mountain area was relatively easy to traverse, but once he passed it, there was no path at all.

Luckily, Xiaohong was leading the way. Plus, since it was winter, the leaves had fallen and the weeds had withered, leaving only tangled branches to block the path.

’The farther I get from Lin Xian Village, the more desolate the mountains become. The environmental influence is huge!’

Still, there were many animals along the way. If he hadn’t prepared food for them, many would surely have died this winter.

’It’s a shame I can’t build a signal tower here. Otherwise, it would be easy to survey the surroundings.’

Although the Golden Eagles had appeared within Lin Xian Village’s territory and the signal tower had recorded them, there were no specific details.

This was mainly because, according to the signal tower’s parameters, Golden Eagles weren’t classified as dangerous creatures. The records for bears and wild boars, on the other hand, were very detailed.

’Of course, if I were to build a new signal tower here, I could try to get a special attribute by adding certain items during construction.’

’There are quite a few animals in these mountains. That flash of brilliant color just now must have been a golden pheasant.’

"SHREEE— SHREEE—"

Hearing the high-pitched, sharp, and resounding cry, Lin Feng looked up at the sky and quickly spotted the silhouettes of the Golden Eagles.

’Looks like I’m heading in the right direction. The Golden Eagles’ nest is this way.’

Lin Feng visually estimated that the eagles’ location was about six or seven kilometers from Lin Xian Village.

And this was mountain terrain. For an ordinary person, walking six or seven kilometers through completely undeveloped mountains would be a very dangerous undertaking.

Hearing the eagles’ cries, Mo Yu looked to the sky, its gaze fixed on their figures, full of fighting spirit.

The dog still remembered the shame of being scratched last time. Unfortunately, since it had been staying within the woods, it hadn’t seen the Golden Eagles attack it again.

Xiaohong stood on Lin Feng’s shoulder, puffing out its cheeks adorably as it glared at the Golden Eagles in the sky.

"Let’s go. We’ll find them."

Lin Feng picked up his pace. The effect of his "Mountain and Forest Guardian" title meant he didn’t feel tired at all.

’If some master outdoorsman got this title, they could definitely explore every forest on Earth.’

’This stamina recovery effect is a god-tier skill for the outdoors. It feels like a bit of a waste on me.’

Even though he lived in Lin Xian Village, surrounded by mountains and forests, he rarely ventured deep into them.

After walking about five kilometers from Lin Xian Village, Lin Feng discovered a very interesting valley shaped like a gourd.

Moreover, there was a spring at the valley’s mouth, and its water flowed down into the valley, making it look just like a gourd being filled with water.

He thought for a moment, gathered some large stones, and built a Well nearby.

’This area could be developed in the future. It looks really nice. If it weren’t winter, this place would probably be beautiful.’

He memorized the location and continued walking toward the area where the Golden Eagles were.

After crossing three mountain peaks, he finally arrived. Standing on a summit, he looked down at a vast, sloping piece of land.

His drone had filmed this area before. The video hadn’t done it justice; standing here now, he realized just how large it truly was.

If this were fully developed, it would cover over a hundred acres.

However, there was no road from Linshan Village to this spot, and it was blocked by three large mountains, making development extremely difficult.

He shook his head. ’Forget this place. It would be better to develop in the direction of Mountain Ridge Town instead.’

"Mo Yu, Xiaohong, start searching for the Golden Eagles."

"WOOF WOOF."

"SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK."

Since there were no leaves to obstruct the view in winter, the line of sight in the mountains was quite clear.

Moreover, Lin Feng had also brought equipment. He took a drone out of his bag and began to survey the surroundings.

He focused on cliffs and tall arbors—the kinds of places Golden Eagles liked to build their nests.

Lin Feng was still searching with the drone when he heard Mo Yu barking. He packed up his things and ran in the direction of the sound.

He found Mo Yu by a cliff’s edge. The dog was peering down from the precipice.

"WOOF WOOF."

"Down there? Let me see."

Lin Feng stood on the edge of the cliff and looked down, quickly spotting something.

About four or five meters below, he saw a huge nest built from branches. The Golden Eagles weren’t in it at the moment.

He put the drone away, took a rope from his bag, and found two relatively thick trees, testing their sturdiness with his hands first.

After confirming the trees wouldn’t break, he tied the rope to both of them and spread a cloth over the cliff’s edge.

"You two go hide in the woods. When you see the Golden Eagles return, don’t make a sound. I’m going down to wait."

This was the plan Lin Feng had come up with. He had the "Mountain and Forest Guardian" title, so even if the Golden Eagles spotted him, they wouldn’t attack.

As long as he remained motionless next to their nest, he could act to form a contract with them once they returned.

People usually wait by a stump for a rabbit; today, he would try waiting by a nest for an eagle.

He placed anything on his person that might make noise into his backpack, secured the rope, and rappelled down toward the nest.

At this moment, his balancing ability as an Archer played a huge role.

He soon reached the nest. Lin Feng found a protruding rock, secured himself, and leaned against the cliff face.

His eyes scanned the sky. The Golden Eagles must have gone out to hunt. ’I hope they come back soon.’

The wait always feels long, especially when you have nothing to do. It was a true test of patience.

Fortunately, Lin Feng was no ordinary person. Leaning against the cliff face, he pulled up his data panel, saving himself the trouble of testing his patience.

’None of these seven quests are easy to complete. On the other hand, I still haven’t fully explored the functions of some of the buildings.’

’From the looks of it, the effect of the Barracks is not being utilized at all.’

’The main issue is that tourists aren’t going to go to the Barracks to train, and since they’re only here for a day, any training wouldn’t show results anyway.’

’Maybe I could organize some special activities, like an employee sports training competition.’

Lin Feng decided to discuss it with Hu Zhiming when he got back. It was too much of a waste not to make use of the Barracks.

A sharp cry interrupted his thoughts. He looked up to see the two Golden Eagles flying toward him, wild rabbits clutched in their talons.

Just as he had expected, the Golden Eagles completely ignored his presence and landed directly in the nest.

Only after they had steadied themselves did they look at him with curiosity, as if wondering why there was a strange creature next to their nest.

The effect of the "Mountain and Forest Guardian" title made the Golden Eagles naturally friendly toward Lin Feng.

The larger of the two even nudged a rabbit in Lin Feng’s direction, as if offering him a bite to eat.