In front of the clearing at the wildlife observation station, after the group's final check of their mountain supplies and equipment, the nine-person team, including Yang Lin, officially embarked on their journey into the mountains.
It was already past two in the afternoon, and under normal circumstances, the sky should have still been bright.
However, due to the sudden blizzard, the sky within the forest had already begun to darken.
At first, Yang Lin didn't notice, but as they ventured deeper, the light quickly turned as dim as dusk. Combined with the relentless wind and snow blowing against them, visibility dropped to an extreme low.
This reminded Yang Lin of his previous time in the Qinling Mountains. Without exaggeration, the environment here was far more severe than anything in the depths of Qinling.
It was no wonder that in the vast area of the Shennongjia forest, the population was less than ten thousand; this place was truly unsuitable for human habitation. At this moment, a small head suddenly poked out from Yang Lin's fleece jacket.
It was Peng Baobao, who had been sleeping hidden in Yang Lin's clothes. Perhaps because it had slept enough, Peng Baobao was now exceptionally spirited, its pair of golden eyes filled with excitement.
"Park Director, is this Shennongjia? It looks pretty good, there must be a lot of delicious food here."
Hearing the little one's words, Yang Lin, while warding off the wind and snow, said to it:
"You're finally awake. Since you're awake, go help me with something."
"What is it?"
"Fly up into the sky and scout the way for me."
As soon as he finished speaking, Yang Lin yanked the little creature out of his clothes and threw it directly into the sky.
The next second, to the shocked gazes of the surrounding people, a golden figure shot straight into the heavens.
The violent wind and snow seemed utterly incapable of affecting it.
Only after the golden figure disappeared did Li Changhai and the others finally react.
"Director Yang, what was that just now? It just zipped away like that..."
"Yeah, was it a drone?"
"How could a drone possibly fly in this weather?"
"It must be a bird that Director Yang raised."
As everyone speculated, the experienced Elder He Guang had already seen through the facade. He stroked the beard on his chest and then said:
"That which flew away just now should be a golden eagle, and not an ordinary one. I've roamed the mountains and forests for so many years, and I've never seen such a golden eagle."
As soon as the elder finished speaking, Yang Lin smiled and nodded.
"It is indeed a golden eagle. It's a new breed cultivated at our Xihong Zoo. I brought it along thinking it might be useful this time."
"This new breed is quite extraordinary. When I was young, I raised a Jade-Clawed Sea Eagle, and I suspect even that wouldn't be comparable to yours."
"Heh heh, it's just luck."
Hearing the elder's words, Yang Lin felt a touch of pride. The Jade-Clawed Sea Eagle was known as the God of Eagles.
Of course, it was only a little bit of pride. How could Peng Baobao be compared to a Sea Eagle?
At this moment, the released Peng Baobao was like a dragon entering the sea, flying freely above the Shennongjia forest.
The blizzards that would deter even helicopters seemed non-existent to Peng Baobao.
The next second, a majestic cry echoed through the Shennongjia forest.
It was as if it were announcing to the birds of the forest that their king had arrived.
Instantly, movements could be heard from various parts of the forest.
These sounds clearly startled the members of the rescue team.
"What's that sound? Could it be a wild man?"
"If not a wild man, then some large beast, otherwise there wouldn't be such a commotion."
"Why do I feel movement everywhere..."
As everyone held their breath in fear, Yang Lin's vision suddenly shifted to another perspective.
From this perspective, the landscape deep within the forest was completely revealed to him.
The blizzard that could obstruct the vision of others was now rendered ineffective.
What surprised Yang Lin even more was that he could even adjust the focus of his vision, zooming in or out.
"As expected of a legendary divine bird, its eyesight is countless times stronger than its parents."
While marveling, Yang Lin attempted to direct Peng Baobao towards the Yinyu River, the location where Teacher Xiaoliang and the others had gone missing.
However, before he could issue the command, intense sounds of disturbance erupted from the forest about a hundred meters away.
Accompanying these sounds, a large tree suddenly toppled.
The next second, a scream that echoed through the forest came from the direction where the tree had fallen.
The already terrified group was so shocked by the scream that they froze on the spot.
But at this moment, two figures suddenly darted out towards that direction.
One was Yang Lin, and the other was the nearly centenarian elder He Guang, known as the "Old Wild King."
The two figures, one after the other, one fast and one slow, moved as if the knee-deep snow before them didn't exist.
The dead branches and weeds in the mountains offered no obstruction to them.
In less than a minute, Yang Lin was the first to reach the fallen tree.
About half a minute after his arrival, Elder He Guang caught up.
Before he could once again praise Yang Lin's stamina, the scene before him caused his brow to furrow.
Following his gaze, they saw a massive wild boar carcass lying quietly on the white snow.
A large amount of blood had stained the entire snowy ground red.
Of course, these were not the main points. What truly shocked the elder were the massive, tearing wounds on the wild boar and its missing hindquarters.
The atmosphere at the scene immediately turned silent.
Both Yang Lin and the elder were deeply stunned by such a gruesome scene.
After an unknown period, Li Changhai and the others finally arrived, panting heavily.
"Elder, Director Yang, you ran so fast! As expected of the 'Two Generations of Wild Kings' mentioned by netizens..."
Before he could finish speaking, his gaze swept over the remains of the wild boar, and his pupils constricted.
On the other side, the shooting instructor Zhang Cheng immediately pulled a rifle from his backpack and vigilantly scanned the surrounding mountains.
For a moment, the snowfield was so quiet that one could hear their heartbeats.
But at this moment, Yang Lin suddenly bent down to examine the wild boar carcass on the ground.
After a thorough inspection, his gaze finally settled on a large bite mark on the wild boar's throat.
After a series of gestures with his hands, he then mimicked a bite mark of the same size on his own head.
Realizing that such a bite could have taken his head clean off, he immediately gasped.
Before his inner turmoil could subside, Li Changhai's voice was heard again.
"Eh? What's this?"
Following Li Changhai's voice, an object appeared beside the wild boar's carcass.
At first glance, Yang Lin thought it was a broken wild boar tusk, but after a closer look, his expression changed drastically.