Chapter 197: No, We Can't Just Sit and Wait
"They already have cars, and yet they still come to snatch our meat."
"Damn it, do these people even want us to live?"
"Hurry up, let's go. We can't let them succeed."
...
Meng Ci and the others naturally heard these words, but Meng Ci and Shen Que were not affected.
Verbal conflicts did not affect them.
However, Huang Zhi was quite upset upon hearing these words and almost rushed forward to argue with them, but he was promptly held back by Zhang Mingtian and the others.
"Big brother, these people are too much. Having a car doesn't make them better!"
"Having a car only shows you have the means. They don't have one because they lack the ability."
"Now they're even criticizing us. It's too much."
Huang Zhi had fought beasts alongside Meng Ci and others during the extreme cold.
Since then, he had deeply admired Meng Ci and Shen Que, especially after receiving many generous gifts from them, which made him even more devoted to them.
Moreover, ever since Meng Ci brought a pair of rabbits, Huang Zhi's previously unresponsive son had begun taking care of the rabbits actively, and his mental state had greatly improved.
Therefore, Huang Zhi was deeply grateful to Meng Ci and Shen Que.
If he felt closer to the two big brothers, he would have paid them a visit to express his gratitude long ago.
Now that he heard someone criticizing his big brothers, he naturally felt displeased.
Meng Ci, upon hearing Huang Zhi's words, gave him a few extra looks. Noticing that Huang Zhi was speaking sincerely, he comforted him with a few words.
"It's fine."
"Their harsh words are just out of jealousy because we're doing well."
"Why bother with them?"
"Exactly, exactly." Zhang Mingtian let go of Huang Zhi's arm and echoed Meng Ci's comforting words.
"We're here today to catch birds, which should be a joyful task. We can't let them ruin our mood."
Although Huang Zhi still felt a bit resentful, he was eventually calmed down.
Brother Zhang was right; catching birds was the main goal and couldn't be delayed.
Afterward, the four of them began to discuss the bird-catching plan.
These birds usually inhabited the depths of the forest, and the road leading up the mountain was not suitable for vehicles.
If we park the car here, what if it gets sabotaged by ill-intentioned people?
"How keen is the sense of smell for those birds?" Meng Ci gazed into the woods, no longer hearing the sounds from that group of residents, assuming they had already gone far away.
Zhang Mingtian replied, "Compared to the birds before the apocalypse, their sense of smell is much keener."
Upon hearing this, Meng Ci had a plan in mind.
"Why don't we catch the birds right here!"
Meng Ci suggested this idea for a reason.
The group making such a commotion heading deep into the forest might startle the birds, causing them to scatter.
Setting up bait at the entrance now might help them catch a few.
Zhang Mingtian and Huang Zhi, who trusted Meng Ci unconditionally, agreed to the proposal.
Shen Que, on the other hand, followed Meng Ci's lead completely.
With a plan, the group sprang into action.
To ensure Meng Ci and the others wouldn't return empty-handed, Zhang Mingtian and Huang Zhi had brought half a rabbit. They had placed it in a sealed box to prevent the blood smell from leaking and being detected by others.
With no one around, they took the rabbit out and cut it into several long strips for later use.
Meng Ci and Shen Que scouted the area and chose spots to set up the traps.
One spot was in front of a large rock, where they could hide behind it and be ready to act when the birds arrived.
Another spot was near the off-road vehicle for the same purpose.
Meng Ci then chose an open area and set up two animal traps, placing meat inside each.
These traps had been in the vehicle earlier, and when Zhang Mingtian asked about their origin, Meng Ci simply said he and Shen Que had made them.
Due to the long nights, Zhang Mingtian and the others didn't examine them closely. Since they believed Meng Ci and Shen Que were highly capable, it made sense that they could make animal traps, so they didn't think much of it.
The two animal traps didn't require anyone to watch over them. If any birds came to eat the meat, the traps would catch them.
Additionally, to prevent the birds from carrying the traps away, Meng Ci tied ropes to them.
The other two traps were simple: a large woven basket propped up by a stick, with a rope tied to the stick.
If any birds came, they would just need to pull the rope to trap the birds inside the basket.
However, due to the large size of the birds, someone would need to run over quickly to press down the basket and prevent the trapped birds from escaping.
Earlier, Meng Ci had asked Shen Que about the techniques for catching birds. Now, as long as the bait was effective, catching the birds shouldn't be a problem.
After setting up the traps, Shen Que and Meng Ci crouched behind the off-road vehicle, while Zhang Mingtian and Huang Zhi hid behind the rock.
Everyone then fell silent, waiting patiently for the birds to arrive.
However, after waiting for over ten minutes, there was still no sign of any birds.
Meng Ci's legs had gone numb from crouching for so long, so under the cover of darkness, he took out two stools from his space and sat down with Shen Que to wait.
Another ten minutes passed, and they still hadn't seen any birds.
Meng Ci began to feel that staying here was a waste of time.
He then wondered if the meat strips were too small and the blood smell wasn't strong enough to attract the birds. He considered using a piece of pork instead.
Just as Meng Ci cupped his face and rummaged through his space for something suitable, his eyes lit up when he saw something.
Two of the three people who had tried to climb over the house using a ladder were killed by Meng Ci and Shen Que with a compound bow.
The arrows pierced deeply into their bodies, covered in a lot of blood. Meng Ci did not wipe the blood off the arrows before tossing them into his spatial pocket.
Since the spatial pocket had a preserving function, the blood on the arrows remained fresh.
Meng Ci took out his phone, wrote down his plan, and showed it to Shen Que, then donned his night-vision goggles and silently made his way to the nearest trap.
He inserted the arrow inside, then went to the closest animal trap and set it.
However, after waiting for a few minutes, no birds came.
So, Meng Ci retrieved a suffocated rabbit from his spatial pocket, slit its throat, and dripped its blood into both traps.
Afterward, Meng Ci silently departed.
The rabbit was placed in a basin in his spatial pocket, and he planned to cook a rabbit dish when he returned.
This time, he used a lot of rabbit blood, and Huang Zhi and Zhang Mingtian detected the scent of blood.
However, they were not overly concerned, thinking that wild beasts in the mountains might have attacked someone, and continued to wait patiently for birds.
The two had used less meat previously and caught birds because they were in the forest.
Now that they were further away, the method was not as effective.
Thanks to Meng Ci's blood and a gust of wind, they all heard several flaps in the quiet forest.
The birds, having been attacked by humans these past few days, became wary and were probably watching from a distance, unwilling to approach recklessly.