I don't know if it was because he had eaten and his strength was restored, or because Wang Ping didn't continue driving, giving Gu Lang a chance to catch his breath. In any case, after feeding him the canned food, Wang Ping could clearly feel that Gu Lang's body seemed to have unloaded some kind of burden, and his breathing seemed much smoother.
After washing his paws at the riverside, Wang Ping looked northwestwards where the river passed. In the direction without low hills and trees blocking the view, he could already vaguely see the shadows of large tracts of farmland.
Makuyuni, located in the north of TSNY, is the only access to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Although it is a town-level administrative unit in administrative planning, the total area of Makuyuni is less than 1.5 square kilometers. It looks like a medium-sized village. However, the farmland in the suburbs is not small, extending to the river 20 kilometers outside the town. More than a decade ago, this was just a small village that relied on agriculture for survival.
However, with the development of Arusha National Park, more and more international tourists passed through this town, which gradually began to develop.
Of course, this is only relative. Just take a look at the configuration of one guard for each tourist here and you will know that it will take time to achieve international level tourist attractions.
This is also a routine operation for tourists in East Africa. All foreign tourists who come to Arusha National Park will be protected by armed guards sent by the TSNY government to protect the safety of outdoor tourists. As for whether it is to prevent animals or something else, everyone knows it in their hearts, but it is tacitly understood.
It was for this reason that Wang Ping decided to stay by the river and wait until the evening to set off, considering the difficulty of passing through the town during the day. Compared with the tourist groups that often had military vehicles leading the way and rifles on guard, the local garrison seemed easier to deal with, especially at night.
Most tourists who have rested in Makuyuni know that in East Africa, especially in a relatively sparsely populated town like this, it is best not to leave the room at night. Because you can never guess what strange creatures will appear in the yard. Maybe there are wildebeests and buffaloes tasting the leaves that extend into the yard, or a pair of lions secretly having a love affair under the shade of a tree.
So if Wang Ping chose to sneak into the town at night, not many people would notice him. As long as he was fast enough and entered Highway 144 to Karatu to the west before anyone noticed anything unusual, everything would be fine. If everything went well, he would be able to reach the security team base on the edge of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area before sunrise tomorrow.
After making up his mind, Wang Ping ran back to the car and began to recuperate.
At this time, I didn't care about saving food. I found the last bag of beef jerky from my backpack, stuffed it into my mouth without any appetite, and it tasted like chewing wax.
Xiaohua, who had been enjoying the coolness under a tree after a full meal, suddenly made a warning humming sound. Wang Ping leaned out of the car to take a look and found that there were several elephants walking leisurely on the other side of the river.
Perhaps hearing Xiaohua's voice, the male elephant walking in front glanced over here with a look of contempt. He showed no sign of panic at the sight of the large predator, and even his pace did not change at all. Even Wang Ping could sense the contempt in his eyes.
Wang Ping didn't know what Xiaohua's temper was like, but he did feel a strange emotion in his heart, and he wanted to rush up and slap the long-nosed guy.
But this emotion came and went quickly. Wang Ping guessed that it was the original body's thoughts that were causing trouble. All residents on the grassland knew what kind of temper the flat-headed brother had.
In comparison, Xiaohua was much calmer, perhaps she didn't notice the male elephant's gaze at all. Or maybe she noticed it but pretended not to know.
After all, it is a being that even lions cannot afford to offend, so being looked down upon is no big deal.
They stayed there in silence until the sun set. Wang Ping called Xiaohua back to the car and prepared to rush through Makuyuni in one go.
Ten kilometers northwest of the river where Wang Ping stayed, there is a dirt road that connects directly to Highway 104. It is called a road, but in fact it is just a path trampled out by people working outside the town. When it rains, it is simply a mud ditch.
Of course, Highway 104 is not an asphalt road, but a dirt road. It is just that it has been specially repaired and covered with a layer of coarse sand to prevent the road from becoming muddy and collapsing in rainy days. However, even so, when it rains heavily, this road will often be blocked by rain and become impassable.
Wang Ping drove the car and approached the farmland on the southwest side in the afterglow of the setting sun, and drove directly to Highway 104 along the dirt road.
The mountains in the northwest cast long shadows across the grassland, which also made the small town at the foot of the eastern mountain enter the night earlier.
There were no people working in the fields at this time, but from time to time one could see various wild birds circling above the fields, ready to raid the farmland at any time.
It is true that animals rule the night here. Wang Ping is very skeptical about how much yield will be left in this farmland when the harvest season comes. If this happened in China, any blind animal would dare to cause trouble in the fields. No matter how heavyweight you are, you will be hung up by the farmers to dry.
Wang Ping did not meet anyone on the main road of Highway 104. He was able to cover 50 kilometers in less than an hour, which gave Wang Ping great confidence.
At this time in Makuyuni, except for two pubs and gas stations at both ends of the town, the indigenous area on the east side was already dark. It was not that the residents were used to going to bed early, but the electricity bill was too expensive, so they tried not to use it if possible.
At the entrance of the town, Wang Ping saw a billboard with the iconic red chrysanthemum logo of Huwei. The only communication base station in the town was built by Huwei, thanks to which tourists from all over the world can use their mobile phones here normally.
Although Huwei provided the infrastructure, the best-selling mobile phone in Africa is Sonic, a Chinese brand that Chinese people have hardly heard of. The lowest price is even less than 100 RMB, but it supports 4 SIM cards and 4 standby, and has a large battery. According to the official statement, no matter how bad the signal quality in Africa is, if we have 4 SIM cards, there will always be one with signal, right
So in Africa, Apple, Huawei, and others have to stand aside, and Sonic is the real market leader.
It’s a pity that the phone that Gu Lang left in the car had run out of battery, otherwise he could have tried to contact his family or something.
However, this thought only flashed through his mind for a moment. When Wang Ping's eyes fell on the claws on the steering wheel, he sighed silently in his heart.
I don't know which idiot invented the electronic touch screen. It's so unfriendly to animals! I really miss Nokia's small bar...
After entering the town, there were indeed few pedestrians on the main road. Green military vehicles, motorcycles of various colors, and farm tools were parked on the roadside. On the main road less than 500 meters long, there were three pharmacies, a hotel, and various homestay signs. On the contrary, there was no store related to people's livelihood. Not to mention a supermarket, there was not even a grocery store.
Wang Ping didn't have time to appreciate the characteristics of this small town. Seeing the left turn after passing a mosque, Wang Ping hurriedly turned the steering wheel. The off-road vehicle turned into the fork in the road at an exaggerated arc without slowing down. Wang Ping's small body almost flew out of the car due to inertia, and then he pulled the steering wheel back with his weight. When it was about to hit the gate of the gas station at the intersection, it just turned the big bend and rushed west along Highway 144.
Hearing the sound, two black guys in navy blue uniforms ran out of the gas station, looked at the SUV whizzing past with suspicion without even turning on its lights, and hurriedly turned around and ran back into the gas station. It was unknown whether they went back to gossip or call the police.
Wang Ping saw what was happening behind him in the rearview mirror, but it was not his fault. With his current hand flexibility, it was harder to slow down and brake while turning than to do yoga. He had already used all his skills to make the off-road vehicle drive normally.
However, less than 200 meters later, Wang Ping's eyes narrowed and he cursed in his heart.
At the western edge of the town, in a white house beside the highway, two black men wearing reflective strips and with guns on their backs came out. They held up a round sign with "stop" written on it and waved it in the direction of the off-road vehicle from a distance.
"Woo..."
Xiaohua, who was sitting on the passenger seat, suddenly lowered her body, baring her canine teeth at the corners of her mouth.