Monkey

He spoke first. "Captain, the one I visited was a professional exploration team hired by the Celestial Master Mansion. There are ten of them, and two are Taoist priests from the Celestial Master Mansion. They've been exploring the mountains for seven days already. One of them was injured and brought out yesterday. He's still recovering at the camp!"

Liu Tingquan had been a geological prospector. Around 1.7 meters tall, Liu Tingquan had dark skin, a cheerful personality, and was familiar with the wilderness.

Wang An had recruited Liu Tingquan to map the terrain and the distribution of mineral deposits and waterways in the restricted area. These would become important materials for Wang An's future research into feng shui fields.

Thus, Liu Tingquan's role was to gather geographical information and assist with exploration.

Liu Tingquan was naturally very satisfied with the high pay offered by Wang An's company and the job as a technical specialist, with a team for protection in the wilderness.

Following Chen Yanshan, Liu Tingquan said to the Avatar, "Captain, the one I visited was an exploration team put together by the Chunhe Aluminum Group itself. I counted about fifteen people, but three people in their camp were injured, and they were preparing to send them to a hospital outside."

"And I heard their people say that the team had been formed less than five days before they came here. They'd only been in the mountains for two days when they carried those people back. They seemed like a makeshift troupe thrown together at the last minute."

The Avatar nodded, now having a sense of the strength of these exploration teams.

Given the current level of official control, a conflict was unlikely to break out in the camp. Once in the mountains, as long as each team did its own exploring, they would hardly run into one another.

The worry was that two exploration teams might meet beside a meteorite crater. How would they divide the meteorite? That could lead to conflict, with the larger group potentially pressuring the smaller one.

But judging by the four exploration teams in the camp, Wang An was not the least bit worried that they would pose a threat to him. In fact, once the four archery coaches on his own team grew familiar with the environment and the psychological issues involved in fighting people,

neither Chunhe Aluminum nor the Chen Martial Arts School could compare with their firepower.

He just didn't know what level the hired professional exploration team was at.

As for the exploration team assembled by the authorities, there was basically no need to worry about conflict. Even if Wang An and his team wanted to, they could not stand against the weapons in their hands.

After all, according to the others, practically everyone on this special recovery squad was equipped with a military crossbow and a compound bow.

With that kind of firepower, they would face little pressure on Mount Huaiyu, which had only a little over two hundred meteorites. They just had to watch out for sneak attacks from venomous insects and snakes.

Afterward, the Avatar requested the exploration records for Mount Huaiyu from the Management and Recovery Bureau. They detailed the directions each exploration team had taken and the mutated creatures they had encountered.

This would save time otherwise spent covering the same ground and make exploring new areas more efficient.

That evening, Wang An, Chen Yanshan, and Liu Tingquan began drawing up a detailed exploration plan. Wang An decided on the direction, while Chen Yanshan and Liu Tingquan provided additional input.

At seven the next morning.

After breakfast, the Avatar explained the exploration plan to the team at the camp.

"This time, we'll mainly follow the route from Huang Family Village to Four Corners Flat, while also exploring the mountain hollows on either side."

"A round trip may take around five days, so be mentally prepared. Everyone, get your equipment in order. We'll set out in an hour."

At eight, the exploration team set out from the far end of Huang Family Village, where a military patrol was stationed.

The exploration team showed their permits before they were allowed into the mountains.

When the Avatar's satellite phone began experiencing obvious strong magnetic interference, the Avatar reminded everyone to turn off their electronic devices. Leaving them on for a long time under such interference could easily damage them.

After entering the mountains, the Avatar took the second position in the team to deal with any emergencies that might arise.

Chen Yanshan went first, choosing routes that would be easy for the team to traverse.

Liu Tingquan went third, using the special electromagnetic-interference-resistant camera the Avatar had requested from the authorities to record information along the way, draw terrain maps, and so on.

Behind them were Mo Yuemei, Hu Jun, Li Guohua, and Chen Zhenhua.

As they entered the mountains and forests this time, Wang An could feel the changes in the heaven and earth field more and more clearly. The circulation of heaven and earth qi was more than three times as fast as it was outside.

Living things had also become very active. Plants grew faster, and other creatures showed a clear tendency to reproduce.

The Avatar picked up a green leaf from the ground. Seeing its decayed state, the Avatar could clearly tell that the decomposing ability of organisms within the heaven and earth field had also grown much stronger.

Seeing this, Wang An knew that the entire ecosystem within the heaven and earth field was operating much faster than the one outside. Before long, the populations within it would rise sharply and gradually spread outward.

On the afternoon of the first day, Wang An and the others finally passed beyond the routes taken by previous exploration teams and set foot on the mountain range stretching southwest.

In this unexplored area, for every hour they advanced along the mountaintop, they went down to explore the mountain hollows on either side.

During this time, aside from small animals such as hwameis, red-billed leiothrixes, great tits, South China hares, squirrels, and bats, they found nothing else.

It was not until four in the afternoon, when everyone was somewhat exhausted, that they chose a flat spot on the mountaintop and set up camp. After dinner, just as everyone was getting ready to rest,

the Avatar called them back.

"In the wilderness, it's very dangerous not to have anyone keeping watch at night. Remember the porcupine quills from before? I'll arrange for everyone to take turns keeping watch in pairs. I'll take the last shift."

After arranging the watch rotation, the Avatar told everyone to hurry and get some rest so they could get up early the next morning.

As the sky gradually darkened, the sounds of various creatures in the mountains and forests grew livelier. Eventually, even the cries of monkeys could be heard.

Early the next morning, a heavy fog filled the sky. After breakfast, everyone continued onward.

Wang An reminded everyone that they might encounter a troop of monkeys along the next stretch and should keep a close eye out.

Around noon, halfway up a mountainside, they finally found a meteorite landing site. Unfortunately, the meteorite had already been used.

After putting the meteorite away, Wang An reminded everyone that mutated creatures were very likely to appear near a meteorite, so they needed to stay alert and watch their surroundings.

Just then, a fruit pit fell from the woods and struck Hu Jun's backpack with a soft thud.

"On guard!"

The Avatar warned everyone to assume defensive positions. Looking toward where the fruit pit had fallen, they saw more than a dozen monkeys gradually gathering in the trees.

One white-furred monkey had a very sturdy build and strong arms, with lively eyes, a hat of flowers and grass on its head, and a short wooden stick in its hand. It looked every inch a monkey king.

Several stronger monkeys stood beside it as guards.

When it saw this group of hairless monkeys, it grinned and laughed. It meant to show off its abilities and conquer them.

Its hand, already as thick as an adult's, picked up a fist-sized stone and hurled it at the group.