Chapter 7

It is very common for prey to be snatched away. When they finally track down their prey after much effort, they often find that the immobilized prey has already been devoured by lions or hyenas. Whenever this happens, they can only return empty-handed.

The chief was almost at the antelope when a figure suddenly leaped out from the nearby grass and pounced on the large antelope, knocking it to the ground.

Gao Yang, who was at the back, saw clearly that the one who pounced on the antelope was a leopard. However, the chief and the leopard were now face-to-face, and whether the chief intended it or not, it formed a situation where he was competing for food with the leopard.

Gao Yang quickly understood why the leopard, which usually avoids humans, dared to confront the five of them. This leopard was very old, and its hunting ability had declined significantly. It was now extremely thin and starving. The immobilized antelope was fatally attractive to the old leopard, and a starving old leopard would not give up the food in its mouth.

The distance was too close, and the situation was very dangerous. The leopard opened its mouth and let out a low growl. The chief, standing less than two meters from the leopard, spread his arms and slowly backed away. The others, including Gao Yang, also slowly retreated.

Competing for food with a hungry leopard is very dangerous, even if the leopard is old and weak. At such a close distance, the explosive power of a four-legged animal is unimaginable. Even with five people, they could not afford to anger the leopard. They could only retreat to a safe distance and then work together to scare the leopard away.

Just as the chief was slowly retreating, the leopard suddenly released the antelope and, like a bolt of lightning, pounced on the chief.

The chief only had time to pull back his spread arms to protect his neck before being knocked to the ground by the leopard.

The large leopard tilted its head and opened its mouth, aiming for the chief's throat. It bit down and refused to let go. Fortunately, the chief had protected his neck in time, preventing the leopard from severing his throat.

Seeing the chief knocked to the ground, Gao Yang roared and charged forward, gripping his hunting knife. The three people in front of him also thrust their spears. After being hit, the leopard released the chief and pounced forward again, leaving deep claw marks on one person's thigh before finally turning and fleeing.

Gao Yang was both shocked and angry, feeling a chill in his heart. The leopard is one of the top predators in Africa, and prey that has been bitten on the neck by a leopard has almost no chance of survival.

The chief held his neck with one hand, and blood kept seeping through his fingers. The others were so frightened that they just stood there shouting. Only Gao Yang remained relatively calm. He ran to the chief, pulled away the hand covering his neck, and examined the injury.

The chief had protected his throat in time, and the leopard had not bitten through it. However, the leopard's long canines had left two deep blood holes on the right side of the chief's neck, and it was still bleeding. Additionally, the leopard had left a row of deep tooth marks on the chief's right arm.

Gao Yang drew a sharp breath and covered the chief's neck wound with his hand. His mind was in chaos as he tried to think of ways to save the chief's life, but the more he thought, the more anxious he became. From any perspective, the chief was doomed.

Fortunately, the leopard had not bitten through the chief's throat or severed his major artery. With basic surgical care, the chief could stop the bleeding. However, now, the chief could only slowly die from blood loss. Even if the bleeding stopped by luck, the subsequent wound infection would still cause the chief to die a long and painful death.

As a carnivore, the leopard's mouth and claws carried many bacteria and viruses. Whether bitten by its teeth or scratched by its claws, any wound, regardless of its size, would be fatal without antibiotics.

After three years of close companionship, Gao Yang had deep feelings for the chief. Just a moment ago, everything was fine, but now he could only watch the chief die. Despite clenching his teeth tightly, tears still fell uncontrollably.

The chief knew his life would not last much longer. He pushed away Gao Yang's hand, slowly stood up, and shook his head at Gao Yang, saying in a hoarse voice, "Don't cry. I am already very old. We all have our day. Balie, if you survive, you will be the chief. If you also die, let Xiaobalie be the chief. Stop crying. Let's process the antelope, eat something here, and then take the meat home."

"Dad, you won't die. You won't die, waa."

The one speaking was the youngest, Kusto, who was only about 14 or 15 years old. He was not as composed about life and death as his older brothers. After speaking, he finally burst into tears.

Hearing the chief's words, Gao Yang remembered that Balie, the chief's eldest son, had also been scratched by the leopard, which meant that Balie was likely to die from wound infection.

Gao Yang, in a daze, said, "No, it shouldn't be like this. There must be a way. There must be a way to save you. Let me think. Don't talk. Let me think."

The chief had lost a lot of blood and looked sad. He wobbled and sat down again.

"White child, there is no way. Death brought by the leopard cannot be escaped."

Gao Yang had no solution and could only watch the chief die, which made him extremely frustrated. After pacing around for a few minutes, Gao Yang finally could not bear it anymore. He roared and ran in the direction the leopard had disappeared.

Gao Yang knew that catching up with the leopard would be futile, but he still wanted to find the damned leopard, kill it, and avenge the chief. Only then would he feel a little better.

Gao Yang followed the leopard's tracks, which were clearly marked by the blood from its wounds.

After running for only a few minutes, Gao Yang suddenly stopped. He stared blankly at the tracks on the grass that should not have been there. His mind went blank.

The tracks on the grass were tire marks, and it was clear that they were not left by a single vehicle but by a convoy of at least four or five vehicles. This long-missed sign made Gao Yang momentarily disbelieve his eyes.

"White child, stop. We can't go now. We need to take care of Dad and Balie."

The shouts and footsteps behind him snapped Gao Yang out of his daze. A current seemed to pass through his body, and he shivered involuntarily. He suddenly turned around and shouted at Xiaobalie and Kusto, who were following him, "Go back, go back quickly."

After shouting, Gao Yang did not have time to explain to the confused Xiaobalie and Kusto. He turned and ran back to the chief at a faster speed.

"Chief, don't leave here. Wait for me here. You and Balie can be saved. I found..."

When Gao Yang excitedly wanted to tell the chief that he could be saved, he did not know how to describe what he had found, as there was no word for tire marks in the Akuri tribe's language.

"I found a trace that can lead to white people, like me. They have, um, strange herbs. They can save you and Balie. Don't leave here. Wait for me. I will find those white people."

At this point, Xiaobalie and Kusto finally understood what had happened. Knowing that the chief and Balie could be saved, everyone was naturally excited.

"Kusto, you stay and help Dad and Balie. I will go with the white child to find those white people."

"No, you can't run as fast as I can. My name is Cheetah. I will go with the white child. You stay and protect the injured Dad and Balie. You are stronger than me."

"Both of you shut up. I will go myself. Listen, if you hear gunshots, run away immediately. Do you know what gunshots sound like? Chief, you have heard gunshots, right? If you hear them, leave here and don't wait for me. If you don't hear gunshots, wait for me here, but be careful. Understand?"

The chief shook his head and grabbed the excited Gao Yang, "Don't go. You don't know who they are. They are very evil. You will die."

Gao Yang pushed away the chief's hand and smiled, "If I don't return by this time tomorrow, you should go back. Don't worry, Chief. You know I am one of them. I will be fine."

The chief hesitated for a moment and finally nodded.

"I forgot you are also a strange white person. Okay, go. Take Kusto with you. Be very careful."

At this point, Kusto excitedly shouted, "White child, I will go with you. If anything happens, I can help you."

Gao Yang thought for a moment and decided to take Kusto. If anything happened, at least someone could bring back the news. So, Gao Yang did not hesitate and took Kusto, following the tire tracks at a fast pace.

It was easy to determine the direction of the vehicles from the tire tracks on the grass. Moreover, Gao Yang could see that the tracks were not very old. If they were lucky, they might find the convoy soon.

Although he was extremely worried, Gao Yang only jogged along the tire tracks and did not push himself too hard. He had to control his pace to avoid running out of energy. After all, he had already run tens of kilometers today and had not eaten anything.

Kusto was much faster than Gao Yang, so Gao Yang often had to call Kusto back to prevent the two from getting too far apart. In the Akuri tribe's language, Balie means lion, and Kusto means cheetah. As his name suggested, Kusto, though the youngest, was indeed the fastest runner.