The gunshots were actually quite faint, but the island was very quiet at the moment, without a breath of wind, so they heard them very clearly.
"Are you sure it was gunshots?" Su Huilan asked again; Petru was the expert in this area.
Petru nodded in agreement, then looked at the birds taking flight from the distant woods and said, "The sound sounds like a large-caliber pistol, probably an M29. Judging from the density of the bushes ahead and the startled flock of birds, it's less than two kilometers from here."
"M29?"
Su Huilan remembered that the research vessel was equipped with a batch of firearms. Because the research vessel often had to go to uninhabited areas where wild animals roamed to carry out research missions, but most of the researchers did not know how to use complicated firearms, so a batch of hunting rifles and large-caliber pistols that could kill wild animals were specially equipped.
"It seems there are not only savages on the island, but also modern humans. The howling we just heard was probably the savages' alarm that they've discovered an intrusion," Petru said. "The gunfire means they've exchanged fire; we must be even more careful."
Qingmu agreed with his assessment, saying, "The situation is more complex than we imagined, but it may be developing in the direction we want. Before we can distinguish friend from foe, we shouldn't act rashly. I think it's necessary to develop an action plan, such as who will lead the three of us, how we will cooperate with each other, and how to deal with different situations."
The Crow overhead exclaimed in admiration, "It's rare to see you so clear-headed."
Su Huilan laughed and said, "Is he often out of his mind?"
The Crow tilted its head and thought for a moment before saying, "It's still alert, but its memory is terrible; it's probably just lazy."
Next, they discussed their next steps. Since everyone was intelligent, there was nothing to argue about, so they quickly came up with a plan.
The three people, along with the cat and the Crow, formed an action team.
Putting aside Mental Power, Petru has the strongest combat ability and has experience in jungle special operations, so Qingmu and Su Huilan unanimously agreed that he would command most of the following operations.
Crow use their high altitude to scout ahead, and although this island doesn't seem to be teeming with birds like Rapa Island, a single Crow flying by probably wouldn't arouse suspicion.
Despite having become a typical fat cat, Hanran still possesses strong physical abilities due to its survival of the Cat-Killing Order. Coupled with its innate feline instincts, it serves as an excellent watchdog in the dense forest where Crow cannot see.
Petru taught everyone some simple sign language gestures and devised a set of codes, such as the different frequencies of Crow and cats' calls in different situations.
They made it clear that they should avoid encountering the cannibals if possible, try to avoid direct conflict, and at the same time try to find out the identity of the modern man who fired the shot.
Finally, Qingmu emphasized, "When it gets foggy on the island, everyone must stay together and not leave each other's sight. The fog on this island is very strange."
With everything agreed upon, the Crow would fly out first to scout the area within two kilometers ahead, as planned.
Qingmu placed the Boss Coal on his arm, stroked its feathers with his other hand, and said, "Be careful, don't fly too far. You're my best friend, your life is my life!"
The Crow had never heard such sentimental words before. Even the usually talkative crow was momentarily speechless, its eyes welling up with tears. "Caw! Don't talk like that, I'm about to cry!"
Su Huilan laughed and said, "Alright, you two grown men, stop showing off!"
The Boss Coal flapped his wings and took flight, saying, "Don't worry, I still need to go back and eat the braised pork knuckle that Ruhua made..." Before he finished speaking, his figure was already in the sky, circling once, and then he plunged into the dense forest.
A moment later, it flew out of the dense forest again, landed on a tall branch at the edge of the forest, and let out a croak.
Qingmu knew the sound meant everything was normal ahead. He nodded to Petru and Su Huilan, and the three of them shouldered their equipment, crossed the mudflats, and entered the forest.
Once they entered the woods, the Crow took flight again and disappeared from sight.
The forest wasn't very dense at first, with large rocks and bare earth visible, but after a while, only a thick layer of fallen leaves and dense shrubs remained.
It kept a distance of about thirty meters from them and led the way. It walked Hanran, its paws landing silently, its eyes watching the front warily. It didn't look like that fat cat that was clinging to the dried fish and refusing to let go. Instead, it had the air of a king of the jungle.
Even with Hanran ahead of him, Petru was still uneasy. He picked up a twig and gently tapped at the thorns along the way, testing for traps and hidden poisonous insects.
Su Huilan found it amusing, imagining how Petru had run back naked last time. She thought it was impossible for him to be as cautious as he was now; he must have been terrified by the savages he encountered that time.
Then another Crow cawed, indicating that the area ahead was safe. About ten seconds later, the Crow cawed again. The ten-second interval between caws indicated that they had agreed beforehand to communicate any changes in person.
They walked two or three hundred meters forward when Crow fluttered down from the trees beside them and landed on the Qingmu.
Qingmu asked, "What's going on?"
"I see the lake and the Tushu in the distance, probably... um..." The Crow flapped its wings, as if trying to indicate the distance, but the undulating mountains and forests made the distance on the ground a blur in the bird's mind.
Qingmu estimated it wasn't far, and remembering Petru saying he saw the lake from a high place, he asked, "Are there any high hills ahead where I can see the lake?"
The Crow pointed with its wing to the right front and said, "Yes, there's one right ahead, a little to that side."
Qingmu looked at Petru. Since Petru had been given command of the group, they should listen to him.
Petru nodded and said, "Then let's go that way. Once we get to the high ground, I'll be able to tell if this is the place I came to last time."
"I'll go scout ahead first, you guys take your time," the Boss Coal said, and flew away.
They walked in the direction the Crow had pointed, and soon the Crow cawed to indicate that they were safe.
The path in the woods became increasingly difficult to traverse, Petru suddenly stopped, gently parting the leaves ahead with the branch in his hand.
Beneath the thick layer of leaves, many branches lay horizontally, and below them was a pit. Hanran had just walked across them, but because cats are light, a person would definitely fall into the pit if they stepped on it.
Petru moved the branches aside and found the bottom of the pit filled with sharpened pieces of wood, just like the one he had set on Tubuai Island. He knew perfectly well that the trap he had set was for those who wanted to kill him, but what was the purpose of the people on this island setting such a trap?
He pinched a bit of soil from the edge of the pit with his fingers, smelled it, and said, "An old pit, dug at least a year ago. A pit this big would either be used to deal with large wild animals or enemies. We haven't found any droppings or signs of life from large wild animals along the way, which means the savages on the island didn't just encounter enemies recently."
"So it's very likely that there's more than one primitive tribe here!" Su Huilan said.
No sooner had she finished speaking than the cawing of Crow came from ahead—caw, caw, Guagua.
As agreed, this is a signal that someone has been spotted.