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Chapter 27: Heading West
At dawn, the warm sunlight drove away the thin mist on the ground, and the vast grasslands welcomed a new day.
Early-rising birds were busy with their morning routines, and the chicks in their nests opened their mouths wide, demanding breakfast. The entire grassland seemed to come alive, filled with a ruckus that only the animals could understand.
The African savanna is known for its rich biodiversity, and the variety of bird species is unparalleled. Birds here seem to form a separate society, independent of the land-dwelling creatures. Among them are the secretary birds, majestic in profile but comically awkward when they spread their wings, and the diligent white-bellied storks, tirelessly ridding the grassland of pests.
Of course, not all birds have a good reputation. Take the black kites inhabiting the Maasai Mara grasslands near the Great Rift Valley. They’re infamous as "bandits" in the area. As raptors, their diet is highly varied—everything from chicks in birds’ nests to rabbits caught by lions falls prey to their audacious theft. Sometimes, even tourists passing through Makuyuni find themselves victims of these avian robbers.
Around noon, when the sun grew scorching, a black kite was perched on the edge of the savanna, about fifty kilometers southwest of Makuyuni, plotting its next heist.
Not far from its perch on a juniper tree, a serval emerged cautiously from the grass with a disheartened-looking groundhog in its mouth. The serval scanned its surroundings carefully, wary of potential thieves who might snatch away its hard-earned meal.
Typically, black kites avoid provoking felines. The reason is simple—cats are far too agile, making it easy for them to counterattack during an ambush, often turning the tables on the kite.
But hunger has no fear. This black kite hadn’t eaten in two days, and as the saying goes, "Birds risk death for food." It decided to risk snatching a meal from a cat.
As the serval placed its prey down to eat, the kite prepared for a stealthy attack. But just then, a faint tremor ran through the ground, followed by the rumble of an approaching off-road vehicle.
The serval immediately grabbed the groundhog in its jaws and leaped onto a nearby tree in a few swift bounds. Moments later, an off-road vehicle with no front windshield came barreling over a small hill in an erratic S-curve, showing no signs of slowing down. The faint scent of predators wafted from the vehicle, causing the serval to bristle with alarm.
The black kite tilted its head in confusion, watching the vehicle disappear into the distance. Unlike the serval, it recognized the strange metal box.
These moving iron contraptions were common in the hills not far away, but the animals inside were rarely friendly. Many of the kite’s kind had fallen to the fire-spouting iron tubes wielded by those creatures. Of course, the kite would never admit that their deaths were partly due to their own thieving tendencies. Still, this particular black kite had chosen to forage near the savanna’s edge to avoid such dangers.
But now it seemed this area wasn’t safe either...
The serval, still recovering from the scare, suddenly saw a shadow flash by. Before it could react, its meal was snatched away, leaving it stunned and bewildered in the breeze.
Meanwhile, the groundhog, carried off by the kite, seemed to smirk inwardly: *Ha! Finally, I get to die.*
Unfortunately for the kite, it failed to take a closer look at the vehicle. If it had, it would have realized that the metal box wasn’t carrying upright-walking humans but the savanna’s most reckless brute and one of its swift predators.
Wang Ping was exhausted.
After driving all morning, the initial thrill of regaining his confidence had worn off, leaving only monotony and fatigue. Due to his size, Wang Ping could only stand upright on the driver’s seat, gripping the steering wheel with his paws to stabilize himself. There was no chance to rest—there was even enough space between his back and the seat to fit three of him. Relaxing was out of the question.
The prolonged stiffness was taking a toll on his body.
The terrain grew steeper, and occasional plastic bags blown by the wind hinted at approaching farmland near Makuyuni’s outskirts. Wang Ping estimated they were close to Highway 104. Before reaching it, he decided to take a break and recover some strength.
The vehicle came to a stop by the riverbank of a narrow, two-meter-wide river. Using his paws, Wang Ping firmly pressed the brake lever, kicked the gear stick back into neutral, and turned off the engine with a twist of the key.
Rosette, who was well acquainted with the routine, leaped out of the vehicle even before it had fully stopped. It inhaled deeply, looking weary.
Wang Ping had driven the entire way at top speed, ignoring obstacles and refusing to switch gears, as his short limbs made it inconvenient. This reckless driving made the bumpy ride particularly miserable for Rosette, who had been sitting in the passenger seat. The only reason it hadn’t gotten carsick was likely due to the absence of a windshield, which had forced it to gulp down fresh air the entire way.
After using an awkward posture to engage the handbrake, Wang Ping checked on Gu Lang in the back seat.
Gu Lang looked increasingly frail. His pale complexion was interrupted only by the faint flush left by his lingering fever. His hands were utterly bloodless.
Wang Ping knew Gu Lang’s condition was deteriorating due to the high fever and lack of sustenance. Without a timely intake of high-nutrient food, he wouldn’t last long. Wang Ping didn’t want the man he had risked his life to rescue to die of starvation instead of illness.
Digging through the food bag under Gu Lang’s seat, Wang Ping found the instant noodles reduced to crumbs and a fawn leg that had disappeared during the bumpy ride. Thankfully, there was still a pack of beef jerky Rosette had left uneaten. But in Gu Lang’s state, jerky wouldn’t do.
At the bottom of the bag, Wang Ping found several cans of beef. Opening one revealed a mushy, unappetizing paste. Still, it was the most nutritious option available—perfect for Gu Lang’s current needs.
The smell attracted Rosette, who poked its head into the vehicle to investigate. After one sniff, it turned away in disdain, dragging out the half-eaten prey it had stashed last night and retreating to a crooked tree for a solitary picnic.
Left alone in the car, Wang Ping pondered how to feed Gu Lang. His paws couldn’t hold a spoon, and feeding directly might injure Gu Lang’s mouth.
After tapping Gu Lang’s face to no response except a faint groan, Wang Ping improvised. Using his claws, he punctured a small hole in the bottom of the can and let the paste drip into Gu Lang’s mouth. Occasionally, meat chunks clogged the hole, which Wang Ping prodded loose with his paw.
Though unconscious, Gu Lang swallowed instinctively, his survival instincts strong.
Watching the yellowish paste slowly drip, Wang Ping couldn’t help but think the scene resembled a certain biological process, making him gag.
“Tch, why does it always get so weird whenever I try to help this guy?” Wang Ping muttered to himself.
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