The camp that Wang Ping was going to was on the southeastern edge of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, about 30 kilometers from the western foot of Mount Lolmarasin, which is 3,648 meters above sea level. Further north was the endless Serengeti Plain on the other side of the Great Rift Valley. And on the southeast side of the plain was the Ngorongoro volcano.
There is no other way to get here from the Maasai Grasslands except to cross the grasslands and take Highway 144 past Lake Manyara.
Secretly calculating the direction and distance, and using the simple navigation map in the car, Wang Ping had basically planned the route in his mind and had a clear map of the location in his head.
If you take the highway, you can reach the 500-kilometer distance in less than a day. But on the grassland, the road conditions are much more complicated.
The off-road vehicle stopped and started, avoiding those big brothers who were obviously not easy to deal with. In some places, there were even intermittent meadow swamps caused by precipitation. These situations were obviously not marked on the map. With such a large grassland, Wang Ping could not understand all the situations. In such a situation, Gu Lang had no choice but to take a detour or even get off the car to push it.
By the evening, when the sun was setting, Wang Ping estimated that they had not even covered half of the distance of the grassland. At the same time, Xiaohua woke up and stared at Gu Lang from the back seat, growling from time to time. Gu Lang was so nervous that he shifted the gear incorrectly several times, causing the car to stall.
Wang Ping knew that Xiaohua was hungry.
Although there was food in Gu Lang's backpack, it was just appetizers and snacks. It was too impractical to feed a leopard. Besides, Wang Ping also had to calculate the food consumption. He couldn't let the new little brother go hungry.
He knocked on the dashboard, signaling Gu Lang to stop the car.
Gu Lang could no longer bear Xiaohua's gaze behind him, so when Wang Ping signaled, he impatiently stepped on the brakes, opened the door, and ran out.
Wang Ping jumped out of the car through the windshield with Xiaohua, pointed at the grassland in the distance, and patted Xiaohua's neck to signal it to go hunt on its own.
Anyway, they couldn't make it to the camp today, and driving at night was dangerous. Besides, Gu Lang had been frightened all day, and Wang Ping was afraid that he couldn't hold on. So Wang Ping decided to camp there and rest for a night before leaving.
Sometimes it is very troublesome to not be able to communicate in the same language. But now Gu Lang probably understood that this unique flat-headed brother in front of him seemed to be able to understand what he was saying.
This was a relatively obvious conclusion that could be drawn after admitting defeat many times. Gu Lang discovered that as long as his attitude was sincere enough, the person in front of him could actually communicate.
Although it seems absurd that an African animal can understand Chinese, there are many animals that understand human nature in human society. Rare does not mean non-existent. Gu Lang did not show much surprise about this. Just think of it as meeting a unique dog!
So whenever Wang Ping indicated that he had something to do, Gu Lang had learned to take the initiative to ask, and until Wang Ping nodded, Gu Lang would do as he was told.
Although it seems very embarrassing, it is the only way to avoid making Wang Ping angry.
But now, Gu Lang was watching Xiaohua running towards the depths of the grassland and Wang Ping outside the car, and was secretly paying attention.
It seems like the right time to drive away.
But thinking about the speed at which Xiaohua carried Wang Ping, Gu Lang was a little scared. After hesitating for a long time, he gave up this tempting idea and climbed up to the roof of the car to dismantle the tent.
Although he was confident that he could escape, it was getting dark soon. Gu Lang was not sure if he could run to a nearby city in a short time. Both Wang Ping and Xiao Hua were obviously capable of tracking in the wild. If they were caught by Wang Ping again, Gu Lang could not imagine the consequences.
After all, from the information found on the Internet, it seems that creatures like the flat-headed brother are very vengeful.
Gu Lang set up the tent, found some dry branches around, and lit a bonfire on the ground. There was no lake nearby, and Gu Lang didn't dare drink the water in the puddles. He could only boil a pot of water in the car, soak a bucket of instant noodles, and eat them by the bonfire.
Wang Ping also squatted beside the campfire, looking at Gu Lang eating noodles with some envy. He looked down at his paws and sighed inwardly. Noodles, as a food, would no longer be available to Wang Ping.
Wang Ping got another bag of beef jerky from the car, then returned to the campfire and ate it slowly.
Gu Lang curled his lips. This time, he did pack a lot of compressed food and jerky in his backpack. He originally kept them for himself, but now Gu Lang doesn't dare to eat them. These two are carnivores, and keeping the beef jerky may save lives at a critical moment.
Around eight o'clock, it was already completely dark. In the distance, there was a noise in the bushes. Xiaohua was dragging a dead antelope out of the bushes, looking at the bonfire from a distance, not daring to get close.
At this time in China, it was already late at night, and the number of people in the live broadcast room had already dropped significantly in the afternoon. Currently, only a few night owls who came later were still holding on.
Gu Lang did not turn off the live broadcast, on the one hand because the tablet screen was broken and difficult to operate. On the other hand, Gu Lang kept the live broadcast on, so if he really encountered danger, at least no one would know about it.
Xiaohua finally didn't dare to get close to the campfire. She put the antelope down about twenty meters away from Wang Ping and called Wang Ping with a low growl.
Wang Ping went over and patted Xiao Hua, but did not accept Xiao Hua's invitation to eat together. There was beef jerky here, enough for him to eat. Besides, Wang Ping did not want to eat raw meat unless necessary, although there was a campfire and he could roast it before eating. But in front of Gu Lang, Wang Ping did not want to reveal too many non-animal habits.
But Wang Ping probably didn’t realize that in Gu Lang’s mind, he was almost equal to a monster.
Back to the campfire, he continued to chew beef jerky, while Gu Lang dozed off with his head lowered. Just at this moment, a few sharp howls came from afar, echoing in the night sky.
"roar!"
Xiaohua, who was tearing antelope meat, suddenly stood up, growled towards the distance, and instantly took an attacking posture.
Gu Lang also woke up, stood up subconsciously, and looked at the dark night sky in the distance with uncertainty.
"hyena!"
Wang Ping's heart trembled, and he secretly cursed his bad luck.
At first, Wang Ping couldn't distinguish the howls. But as the sounds got closer, Wang Ping, who often ran missions in the wild, recognized the unique calls of hyenas. That kind of creepy howl is very distinctive, especially on the grassland after nightfall, it is very creepy.
Hyenas are well-known "opportunists" in the animal world. In addition to hunting for themselves, they often snatch prey captured by other carnivores, such as leopards and even lions. This is why Xiaohua reacted so strongly. The other party probably discovered Xiaohua when she was hunting and followed her all the way to where Gu Lang camped.
Listening to the howling sounds getting closer and closer in the distance, Wang Ping knew that the other party was calling their companions and was about to prepare for an attack.
Perhaps because of the bonfire, although the sound was getting closer, the other party had no intention of rushing over for the time being.
Wang Ping could already see more and more bright spots emerging from the bushes in the distance. They were the eyes of hyenas. Their emerald green pupils were very eye-catching in the night.
Gu Lang's heart was about to jump out of his chest with nervousness, and he subconsciously looked at Wang Ping.
Brother, what are you still standing there for? Give the order to run away!