Crisis Averted

Facing the icy-cold arrow, even though he knew the best choice was to leave and return home immediately, Bai Yang still forced down the fear in his heart and stayed.

This was his first time contacting people from this side. If he suddenly vanished, who knew what would happen next? What if they waited here for him to reappear? Or brought more people to search for him? He couldn't just never come back here forever.

Leaving would certainly be safe, but the outcome was unknown. Besides, he could leave at any moment—he could just bolt when they tried to harm him, unless they were faster than his own thoughts.

Right now, Bai Yang's outfit was bizarre. He wore a camouflage jacket on the outside, black fingerless gloves, held a stun baton in one hand and a military shovel in the other, a helmet on his head, and beneath the helmet, a hat that only exposed his eyes, making him look like some kind of terrorist.

"Who are you? Why are you skulking here spying on our hunt?" The burly man pointing the great bow at Bai Yang asked in a cold voice.

But what he heard sounded like this: "#￥%...&#%(--)(@￥%..."

He couldn't understand a word. The pronunciation was strange, and it sounded incredibly awkward.

Without a shared language, there was no way to communicate. Judging by sheer size, the other man's combat power completely outclassed him by a dozen streets. To prove he meant no harm, Bai Yang made a 'universal gesture' with excruciatingly slow movements...

"I hope this gesture doesn't mean something unfriendly over here."

Bitterly laughing to himself, Bai Yang slowly raised his hands in a surrender pose, staring unblinkingly at the other man. If he showed the slightest sign of hostility, Bai Yang would be gone in an instant, waiting on Earth for ten days or so—he didn't believe these people would still be here.

While surrendering, Bai Yang spoke: "I'm just lost in the jungle. I have no ill intent."

Even though he knew the other probably couldn't understand, Bai Yang felt that saying nothing would only make things worse.

Similarly, Bai Yang's words sounded like this to the other side: %￥()%&&*(&(*0-...

Though he couldn't make out what Bai Yang said, the surrender gesture clearly showed no threat, so his stern expression softened slightly.

Footsteps sounded as two more people walked over. Facing three beast-like burly men at once, Bai Yang felt immense pressure.

These three muscle-bound men—the shortest was no less than 1.8 meters tall, and the tallest probably over two meters. Their explosive, steel-plate-like muscles gave off an overwhelming sense of oppression.

Even though Bai Yang himself was 1.82 meters tall, his build made him look several sizes smaller standing before them, like a weakling.

"Brother Zhao, what's going on?"

"When we were hunting just now, this guy was skulking around on the sidelines watching!"

"Huh? Why is this person hiding his face and not daring to show himself?"

"What should we do, Brother Zhao? Kill him?"

Bai Yang stared blankly at the three chattering away, completely lost. He had no idea they were having a not-so-heated discussion about whether to kill him, as casually as slaughtering a chicken.

"Don't kill him yet. This kind of outfit is unheard of. Look at his gear—everything about it is refined. The material of his clothes isn't something ordinary people can afford. If he's some big shot from a certain place, killing him rashly will bring disaster to our village."

"Then what do we do?"

Bai Yang, feeling utterly insignificant, could only keep his hands up and watch. But he figured it out: the man with the long staff and the unarmed one, though huge, seemed younger, and both deferred to the middle-aged man with the great bow.

"These guys are way too rugged. If I could bring them back as bodyguards, I'd be walking around like a boss..."

Just as Bai Yang's mind wandered, the bow-wielding man slowly lowered his great bow, signaling no harm, then slowly reached out and placed his hand on Bai Yang's head...

"Is he going to snap my neck or crush my skull?"

Just as Bai Yang considered whether to leave immediately, he found himself lifted off the ground...

"Ow ow ow... What the hell are you trying to do?!"

Bai Yang yelled, but they couldn't understand a word.

Then everything went dark as a big hand reached over, roughly snapped the strap of his helmet under his chin, and he thudded to the ground. He realized they wanted to take off his helmet.

"Do you have to be so barbaric? Are you all cavemen? Can't you just gesture?!"

Since they couldn't hear him anyway, Bai Yang grumbled silently, yanking off the hat that only showed his eyes.

The three muscle-bound men froze when they saw Bai Yang's face, exchanging glances.

"Brother Zhao, I think we've messed up."

"Yeah, look at him—smooth-skinned and delicate. He's clearly a pampered young master. Our actions must have offended him. Will it bring disaster to our village?"

"Zhu Zi's right. How about we kill him, bury him here, and run?"

"Shut up, both of you. This guy is clearly a young master from a big family. If we kill him, his people will definitely find us. That's the real disaster. Don't forget, big families have all kinds of strange experts," the older man interrupted impatiently.

"Then what do we do?"

"This guy can't even talk. Is he an idiot?"

The two younger ones muttered, sizing Bai Yang up.

"Now I realize the importance of knowing a foreign language. All those years of studying, busting my ass to pass CET-4, and it's useless. No, I have to do something, or running is my only option."

Facing this situation, Bai Yang's brain worked at lightning speed. In a language barrier, how could he best and fastest express goodwill? They were humans, not beasts. Even without a shared language, communication was still possible...

A thought struck, and his eyes lit up. Bai Yang had an idea.

Survival depends on food. This natural law applies not just to humans but to any animal. So, when words fail, sharing food is undoubtedly the best way to show goodwill.

Then, Bai Yang slowly lowered one hand, setting the military shovel on the ground. He kept the stun baton in his hand—it made him feel safer.

Next, he pulled a piece of chocolate from his pocket, prepared to replenish his energy, and slowly offered it to them.

The three savages exchanged looks, completely baffled by Bai Yang's intent.

Seeing they didn't understand, Bai Yang thought for a moment, broke off a piece of the chocolate bar, put it in his mouth, chewed with exaggerated enjoyment, and handed the rest to them.

"It looks really tasty," said the young stalwart called Zhu Zi, sniffing the air.

"Is he... going to give it to us?" another young man asked, looking at the older one.

Frowning, the elder said, "He doesn't seem hostile, but who knows if there's something in that thing meant to ambush us..."

"Wow, so good! This taste is so special—sweet and fragrant..."

Bai Yang stared speechlessly at his now-empty hand, then at the burly man who had shoved the palm-sized piece of chocolate into his mouth, chewing with an expression of sheer ecstasy and flailing his limbs in exaggerated delight. He was utterly speechless at the man's over-the-top antics.

"Is chocolate really that good, aside from replenishing stamina when needed or coaxing girls?" Bai Yang expressed serious doubt.

"..." The older stalwart felt his words had been wasted.

Then Bai Yang saw a big, honest face lean in close, wearing a conflicted expression that was both ingratiating and embarrassed.

Don't make it so obvious that you want to eat some too after watching someone else enjoy it so much—you're practically drooling, Bai Yang complained inwardly as he pulled another piece from his pocket and handed it over, saying, "Here, this is the last one. Eat it slowly..."

To make sure the other man understood he had no more, he even turned his pocket inside out.

The language barrier was there, but Bai Yang had made himself clear enough. However, for the impatient big guy, Bai Yang's gesture was wasted. Just like the other young stalwart, he shoved the whole chunk of chocolate into his mouth, chewed, eyes gleaming, flailing his arms and hopping around in bliss...

The two burly men, thrilled by the taste of the chocolate, stomped the ground so hard it boomed!

"Is it really that good?" Bai Yang doubted again.

The two younger ones were bouncing around, but the elder kept his eyes fixed on Bai Yang the whole time, looking like he might snap and attack at any moment—a real violent type.

The middle-aged stalwart, called Brother Zhao, glanced at Bai Yang, then at the two young men hopping with joy from the chocolate, pointed at Bai Yang, then at himself and the other two, and finally gestured into the distance...

Bai Yang thought for a moment before realizing the other man meant for him to go with them...

"Sigh... no immediate danger for now. Next step is how to earn their trust, and then... the language barrier, ugh, such a headache..."