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Chapter 28: Makuyuni
It was unclear whether it was because he had eaten and regained some strength, or because Wang Ping had stopped driving, allowing Gu Lang to catch his breath, but after feeding the canned food, Wang Ping could clearly sense that Gu Lang seemed to have relieved some kind of burden. His breathing became much smoother.
Aftering running to the riverbank to wash his paws, Wang Ping looked toward the northwest, where the river passed. In the direction without any small hills or trees obstructing the view, he could already faintly make out the shadows of vast farmlands.
Makuyuni, located in the northern part of Tanzania, is the only passage to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Although it is administratively a town-level unit, in reality, the overall area of Makuyuni is less than 1.5 square kilometers, resembling a medium-sized village at most. The surrounding farmlands are more extensive, stretching all the way to the riverbanks twenty kilometers outside the town. A decade or so ago, this place was just a small village surviving on agriculture.
However, with the development of Arusha National Park, more and more international tourists passed through this small town, which gradually began to develop.
Of course, this is only relative. A glance at the tourists coming through here, each accompanied by a guard, clearly shows that achieving an internationally recognized tourist destination is not something that can happen overnight.
This is the usual arrangement for tourists visiting East Africa. All foreign visitors to Arusha National Park are protected by armed guards dispatched by the Tanzania government to ensure their safety in the outdoors. Whether it's to guard against animals or something else, everyone understands it without needing to say a word.
Because of this, considering the difficulty of passing through the town during the day, Wang Ping decided to stay by the river for a while longer and set off in the evening. Compared to the tourist groups that often have military vehicles clearing the way and armed guards, the local defense forces are much easier to deal with, especially at night.
One unwritten rule that most tourists who have stayed in Makuyuni know is that in East Africa, especially in such sparsely populated small towns, it’s best not to venture out at night. You never know what strange creatures might show up in the yard. Perhaps a wildebeest and a buffalo are tasting the tree leaves that have stretched into the yard, or a pair of lions are secretly flirting in the shade.
Therefore, if Wang Ping chose to quietly enter the town at night, not many people would notice. As long as he was quick enough to get onto the 144 Highway leading west toward Karatu before anyone noticed something unusual, everything would be fine. If all went smoothly, he might reach the security post at the edge of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area before sunrise the next day.
After making up his mind, Wang Ping ran back to the car to rest and conserve his energy.
At this point, there was no need to save food anymore. He pulled out the last packet of beef jerky from his backpack and, with no appetite, shoved it into his mouth, chewing with little interest.
Just then, Rosette, who had been resting on a tree after eating, suddenly let out a warning whimper. Wang Ping leaned out of the car and discovered a few elephants leisurely walking across the riverbank.
Perhaps they heard the sound of Rosette, for the lead bull elephant turned its head and gave them a disdainful glance. Its expression showed no fear of large predators, and it didn't even alter its stride. The condescending look in its eyes was so apparent that even Wang Ping could feel it.
Wang Ping wasn’t sure what kind of temperament Rosette had, but the feeling in his chest suddenly flared up, and he really wanted to march over and slap the big-nosed elephant.
However, the feeling came and went quickly. Wang Ping guessed it was probably the original mindset of this body taking control. Everyone in the grasslands knew what kind of temperament honey badgers had.
In comparison, Rosette remained calm, perhaps not even noticing the bull elephant's gaze. Or, if it had noticed, it simply chose to ignore it.
After all, it was a presence that even lions couldn’t provoke, so being looked down upon wasn’t a big deal.
Silently, they waited for the sun to set. Wang Ping called Rosette back into the car and prepared to make a move, hoping to rush through Makuyuni.
Ten kilometers to the northwest of where Wang Ping was staying, there was a dirt road that directly connected to Highway 104. While it could be called a road, it was really just a path created by the people of the town who worked in the fields. When it rained, it simply turned into a muddy ditch.
Of course, Highway 104 wasn’t a paved road either. It was also a dirt road, but it had been specially maintained, with a layer of coarse sand spread across it to prevent the road from collapsing during rainy weather. Even so, during heavy rain, the road would often be blocked due to flooding.
Wang Ping drove toward the southwest, toward the farmlands, and directly onto Highway 104.
The mountains to the northwest cast long shadows over the grasslands, causing the small town at the eastern foothills to enter the night earlier.
At this hour, the farmlands were already empty, with only wild birds circling above, waiting to take advantage of any opportunity to steal food.
The night belonged to the animals, leaving Wang Ping to wonder how much of the harvest would survive. In China, any animal bold enough to wreak havoc in the fields—no matter its size—would inevitably end up hanging to dry on a farmer’s clothesline.
By the time Wang Ping reached the main road of Highway 104, he hadn’t seen a single person. The 50 kilometers passed in less than an hour, boosting his confidence.
At this point, Makuyuni was mostly dark, except for two pubs and the gas stations at either end of the town. The eastern native areas were completely dark, not because the residents had early bedtimes, but because the electricity bills were too expensive, so they avoided using power whenever possible.
At the town’s entrance, Wang Ping saw the Huawei logo printed on a billboard. The town’s only communication station was built by Huawei, allowing tourists from all over the world to use their phones normally here.
However, despite Huawei providing the infrastructure, the best-selling phone brand in Africa was Sonic, a Chinese brand that nearly no Chinese person had heard of. With prices starting as low as 100 yuan or 14 us dollars, they supported four SIM cards with four standby slots and had large batteries. According to the official statement, no matter how bad the signal quality in Africa is, with four SIM cards, at least one of them should have a signal, right?
In Africa, brands like Apple and Huawei were sidelined, and Sonic was the true market leader.
Unfortunately, Gu Lang's phone, left in the car, had long run out of power. Otherwise, Wang Ping would have tried to contact his family.
However, this thought only passed for a moment. When his gaze fell on the paws on the steering wheel, he sighed inwardly.
He couldn’t understand who the jerk who invented the touch screen was, it was so unfriendly to animals! He missed the old Nokia phones with small screens...
After entering the town, it was clear that there were no pedestrians on the main road. Green military vehicles, motorcycles, and farming tools were parked by the roadside. The main road, which was less than 500 meters long, had three pharmacies, a hotel, and several guesthouse signs. There were no stores related to daily life—no supermarkets, not even a grocery store.
Wang Ping didn’t have time to savor the features of this small town. After passing a mosque, he saw a left turn ahead and quickly turned the steering wheel. The SUV made a sharp turn, not slowing down at all. Wang Ping’s small body was almost thrown out of the car, but the weight of his body yanked the steering wheel back. Just as he was about to crash into the gas station's entrance, he barely managed to turn the corner, awkwardly heading west along Highway 144.
Upon hearing the noise, two young black men in navy blue uniforms rushed out of the gas station, looking confused at the off road vehicle speeding by without its headlights on. They quickly turned and ran back into the gas station—whether to gossip or call the police, it was anyone’s guess.
Wang Ping saw what happened in the rearview mirror, but it wasn’t his fault. With his current dexterity, trying to slow down and brake while turning was harder than performing yoga. Getting the car to move at all had already been a struggle.
However, just as Wang Ping was feeling a bit relieved, he squinted his eyes and muttered an expletive under his breath.
At the western edge of the town, near a white house by the roadside, two black men in reflective vests and carrying rifles emerged. They held up a circular “STOP” sign and waved it in the direction of the car from a distance.
“Gruuuh….” Rosette, sitting in the passenger seat, suddenly crouched down, baring its canine teeth with a growl.
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