Nowadays, Shen Feng also knew what was most dangerous on the grassland, and that was wolf packs. In just one day, Shen Feng had already encountered two places that had been breached by wolf packs. The terrain of the mining area was also relatively complex, and only five soldiers could barely survive.
In complex terrain, wolf packs mainly rely on their noses to find prey. Their sensitive noses can track many prey, whether it is a sika deer or a human. Gray wolves' noses can clearly distinguish prey, but in the mine, the wolf packs' noses are useless.
Gas leaks, which are essentially methane, often occur in coal mines. Methane is explosive when it burns in the air, so open flames are absolutely forbidden in mines, otherwise, it would be life-threatening. Besides methane, other gases may also be present in mines.
These gases interfere with the sensitive noses of gray wolves, making it impossible for them to act. This is why the five people survived.
Shen Feng placed Zhang Jue's remains on the car, preparing to take them back to Zhang Xixi. This was the only thing Shen Feng could do. The letters would never be sent, and only the bones of a loved one could be taken back. He didn't know how Zhang Xixi would react when she learned of this devastating news.
Since there were many dangers on the grassland, Shen Feng did not intend to linger too long. Leaving the Mongolian Plateau as soon as possible was the priority.
Soon, Shen Feng's group drove out of Inner Mongolia and into Outer Mongolia. Here, towns were not so easy to find. Among the five East Asian countries, Outer Mongolia was the worst off because its people lived a nomadic life, and their income was mainly derived from mining. Therefore, it was undoubtedly very difficult to establish towns here. To this day, they still lived in yurts, while the people of Inner Mongolia had adopted a settled lifestyle.
Driving on the grassland was fast because it was flat. The terrain occasionally had undulations, but it did not affect the vehicle's movement. As long as they drove forward, even without a road, the speed was still very fast.
Finally, as dusk began to fall, Shen Feng's group started to rest. They had brought dozens of pounds of coal from the mine. After lighting the fire, they began to cook. There was no need to set up camp; they would sleep directly in their sleeping bags for warmth. The sleeping bags were made of new materials, and it was said that astronauts used these sleeping bags for rest.
Xu Xing was nimble and skillful. Children from poor families had to grow up early. Therefore, although she was from the south, she surprisingly knew how to make flatbread. Smearing the flatbread with beef sauce made it very delicious. It was impossible to find vegetables on the grassland, and Shen Feng did not recognize wild vegetables. At most, he knew that dandelions were edible, but dandelions did not taste very good. Thus, it was impossible to supplement vitamins.
"Next time I go out, I should bring some pickled vegetables. Without eating some vegetables, I always feel like something is missing," Shen Feng muttered.
Previously, when Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi were in Southeast Asia, they regretted not bringing seasonings when they went out to sea. Now, Shen Feng had brought seasonings but lacked vegetables, which he felt was not right. In fact, this was the difference between Chinese cuisine in the north and south. In southern regions, fresh vegetables were easily available, even in winter. Therefore, it was best to have green vegetables on the table for every meal, which looked more comfortable. However, in the north, the temperature was completely unsuitable for growing vegetables in winter, so it was very difficult to eat vegetables in winter.
Lu Xian watched their surroundings vigilantly and said, "I don't care what I eat, as long as I don't encounter danger. I won't be picky."
At this point, Lu Xian was still worried about being attacked by wolf packs. The scenes he had seen during the day had made a huge impact on him. He could see many bones on the ground, and all the flesh had been gnawed clean from these bones. It was imaginable how cruel wolf packs were, so being cautious was never too much.
Qi Lingshan comforted him, "Lu Xian, you are too nervous. Not to mention anything else, the Mongolian Plateau is so vast, and we are such a small target. There's no reason for us to be attacked."
"Do you know Murphy's Law? The more you don't want something to happen, the more likely it is to happen. Hurry up and shut up. Eat your fill and go to sleep quickly!" Lu Xian said impatiently.
The place they chose to rest was a gentle slope. With the cold wave moving south, the wind was from the north, and they rested in the leeward side. The cars were parked on both sides, which could block the strong wind and prevent them from enduring the harsh wind.
After eating and drinking their fill, the stars had already come out in the sky. The four of them leaned by the campfire to rest. Lu Xian was worried and prepared to stand guard at night. The other three lay peacefully in their sleeping bags, watching the stars and chatting, and soon fell asleep.
Lu Xian watched as the three of them fell asleep one by one. He sat on the roof of the car and used his abilities to scan the surroundings. He could sense even a rabbit in a cave. If any danger appeared nearby, he would be able to detect it and give an early warning.
The campfire was very bright, and the coal was a bit smoky but very warm. In the distance, it was pitch black, and nothing could be seen. The stars in the sky, however, were incredibly brilliant and looked magnificent.
"Stars fall on the vast plain, and the moon surges in the great river." Lu Xian suddenly thought of these two lines of poetry. Although the latter half was not applicable, the first half was perfectly suited to describe the scene at this moment. The sky was like a lid, covering the earth from all sides, and the stars were still twinkling, looking very spectacular.
However, looking at the unchanging scenery around and the darkness everywhere, Lu Xian couldn't help but close his eyes.
After Xu Xing fell asleep, she always felt a sense of unease in her heart. She couldn't sleep after a while, so she sat up. She thought, "Strange, why do I feel so restless? What's going on?"
Just as Xu Xing was wondering why she had this feeling, she suddenly felt the ground vibrate. If it were an ordinary person, they might not be very sensitive to vibrations unless the amplitude was particularly obvious. However, Xu Xing was an ability user, specifically one who used vibration abilities. Immediately, Xu Xing sensed that something was wrong.
The Earth was vibrating all the time, and these vibrations were very regular. If a major earthquake occurred, the magnetic field would change, and the seismic waves would also change. Animals relied on these sensitive perceptions to avoid earthquake disasters. At this moment, Xu Xing sensed that the ground vibration was unusual. This was not an earthquake, but rather sounded like the sound of large-scale movement in the distance.
At this moment, Xu Xing suddenly became alert. Why couldn't she sleep? Why was she always restless? In the final analysis, it was a sense of insecurity!
If the vibration she felt came from a distance, then what kind of movement could produce such dense vibrations?
"Wake up quickly, the wolf pack is coming, stop sleeping!" Xu Xing immediately gave a warning, pushing Shen Feng and Qi Lingshan. They also woke up immediately.
Shen Feng instinctively looked in Lu Xian's direction but found Lu Xian on the car roof, groggily opening his eyes. He asked, "Wolf pack? Where is the wolf pack?"
"Aren't you the one on guard duty? How can you ask me where the wolf pack is?" Shen Feng said with disappointment, unable to hide his frustration. He never expected Lu Xian to fall asleep while on guard duty. If Xu Xing hadn't given an early warning, wouldn't it have been a disaster?
"No, I was too tired. I was just about to take a nap, and then I fell asleep." Lu Xian said sheepishly. During the day, Lu Xian had been using his abilities, so his stamina was greatly depleted. When he first started guard duty, he felt energetic, but after a while, he felt drowsy and couldn't help but fall asleep.
"Hurry up and check the surrounding wolf packs, what are you waiting for?" Shen Feng urged. At this moment, Shen Feng didn't want to pursue Lu Xian's responsibility anymore. The most important thing now was to figure out where the enemy was.
Lu Xian nodded and quickly used his abilities, only to find that his abilities detected nothing within a kilometer. It was very safe here.
"Xu Xing, you are not allowed to report false information. I have already checked. There is nothing within a kilometer!" Lu Xian looked at Xu Xing with displeasure, clearly dissatisfied with Xu Xing's baseless claims.
Xu Xing said seriously, "My feelings are never wrong. As long as an object moves, it will produce vibrations. I can tell you clearly that there is a large group moving in the distance. On the grassland, only wolf packs can be moving now."
"Is that so? Then I'll expand the search range. However, my limit is two kilometers. If the wolf pack is beyond two kilometers, then I can do nothing!" Lu Xian was half-believing, but seeing Xu Xing's confident demeanor, he could only choose to believe her.
Afterward, Lu Xian exerted his abilities to their limit, sensing everything within a two-kilometer range. However, this move consumed a lot of stamina, and soon Lu Xian's face turned pale, and his stamina was somewhat depleted.
After a moment, Lu Xian opened his eyes and said, "On the east and west sides, there are countless wolf packs approaching us. We are being pincered from both sides. This is a pincer attack."
After Lu Xian sensed carefully, he finally discovered the enemy situation. There were two wolf packs approaching them, and their numbers were large. This meant that the wolf packs had discovered them and were attacking from both sides.
Shen Feng calmed down. He felt that something was wrong with the current situation. How could wolf packs have such high intelligence? Especially being able to determine their direction and flank them from two kilometers away? How was that possible?
"No, we are not being flanked. This is just a coincidence. These are two wolf packs, and their destination just happens to be this hillside. It must be like this," Shen Feng said in a deep voice.
"Then what should we do? Which way should we go?" Qi Lingshan quickly asked.
Shen Feng was silent for a moment and said, "Let's go north. If necessary, we can go to Ulaanbaatar. We will definitely get protection there."
Ulaanbaatar was always the capital. In Shen Feng's opinion, fortune favors the bold. By going directly north, as long as they reached Ulaanbaatar, where there were hundreds of thousands of people, the wolf packs would definitely not dare to attack. As for going south, that was impossible. They had to press forward on their journey to Siberia.