Ch 44: The Farmer Ger in the Apocalypse

In the northern winter, the land was frozen solid, and vegetation had withered, leaving the wild boars with very little food. A light snowfall two days ago had made things even worse. Apart from raiding the village for a bite to eat, the boars could only dig through the thin layer of snow for bark, roots, and other underground plant parts.

Now, faced with a mountain of millet and rice bran, the recently starving wild boars were ecstatic—they could finally have a feast! Their not-so-bright minds didn’t even register the strange-looking net surrounding them; all they cared about was devouring the food. It wasn’t until a loud bang rang out that their leader collapsed, letting out agonized screams as it lay there, unable to stand. The other wild boars froze in place, unable to comprehend whether their leader had suddenly fallen ill or what had just happened.

Shen Qing gripped his gun tightly. He hadn’t been training with firearms for long, and his teacher, Song Kaiji, was no sharpshooter either, so naturally, he wasn’t an expert marksman. Fortunately, Shen Qing had prior experience with crossbows, had great strength, and could handle the gun’s recoil well.

Instead of aiming for the wild boar’s head or eyes, he chose to shoot directly at its spine. Though the shot didn’t kill it instantly, it left the leader paralyzed on the ground, its limbs clawing at the dirt helplessly. Wasting no time while the rest of the herd was still in shock, Shen Qing quickly fired three more shots, hitting three different boars.

At first, the wild boars were merely confused because they had never encountered a gun before. But their instincts quickly kicked in, sensing danger, and they began to panic and flee. It was then that they realized the entrance they had used earlier had somehow been sealed off. The tightly woven rope net now formed a complete enclosure, trapping them inside like a giant barrel.

One of the wild boars let out an enraged roar and charged at the rope net. Within just two or three impacts, the net was already beginning to show signs of strain, with some parts snapping. The other wild boars quickly joined in, ramming against the barrier in desperation.

Seizing the moment, Shen Qing fired several more shots. Instead of focusing on one boar at a time, he tried to wound as many as possible first, reducing their ability to fight back. Within moments, his pistol was out of bullets. Without pausing to reload, he grabbed a second gun he had prepared in advance and continued shooting.

Below, most of the injured wild boars collapsed onto the ground. Though they weren’t dead yet, they couldn’t move, only able to let out pitiful cries. Some that were less severely wounded struggled to crawl forward using only their front legs. However, a few, though hit, were still mobile and became even more aggressive from the pain, charging at the net with renewed fury.

Gunshots echoed through the mountains, and the wild boars finally noticed Shen Qing in the tree above them. While some continued trying to break through the net, others turned their attention to him, ramming into the base of his tree.

A four-hundred-pound wild boar slamming into a tree! Luckily, Shen Qing had chosen an exceptionally thick and sturdy one. Though it didn’t break, it still shook violently under the impact. Shen Qing quickly wrapped an arm around the trunk for stability and kept firing downward.

Why did hunters always say, A boar before a bear, a bear before a tiger? It wasn’t that wild boars were stronger than bears or tigers—it was because boars had an unmatched reckless ferocity. Bears, tigers, lions, and leopards all had the ability to assess their own strength compared to an opponent. If they were injured or sensed they were at a disadvantage, they would often retreat instead of fighting to the death. It was just like the old saying The donkey of Guizhou has exhausted its tricks—when a tiger encountered an unfamiliar donkey, it would hesitate before attacking, unsure of the unknown threat.

So if a tiger ever encountered a fully grown, enraged boar, it might actually decide it wasn’t worth the risk and retreat.

But wild boars were different! They didn’t assess danger rationally. They didn’t flee out of fear. Even if they were shot or injured, they would turn around and charge at the hunter with everything they had!

Gritting his teeth, Shen Qing first disabled the boars attacking his tree before finishing off the others. He had taken twenty-odd bullets with him—all the ammunition Song Kaiji had stockpiled. By the time he fired the last shot, every wild boar had been rendered immobile, though several were still alive.

Shen Qing exhaled deeply, a wave of lingering fear washing over him. He had been overconfident. He had assumed that twenty bullets would be more than enough—after all, hadn’t that patrol officer at the base killed a zombie with just one shot the other day?

But he hadn’t anticipated that there would be as many as fourteen wild boars in the herd. On top of that, unlike zombies, wild boars had thick layers of fat and coarse bristles that made it harder for bullets to be fatal.

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Shen Qing shivered as the cold wind hit his damp bangs. He silently vowed that from now on, whatever amount of supplies he thought he needed, he would double or even triple it! He couldn’t afford to be caught unprepared like this again—panic was one thing, but if he had run out of bullets and the boars had managed to knock his tree down, his life would have been over!

Carefully climbing down, Shen Qing pulled out his compound crossbow and went around finishing off the still-breathing wild boars. The advantage of a crossbow was that its arrows could be reused. After confirming each boar was dead, he retrieved the arrows and moved on to the next.

The rope net had been completely torn apart, and two of the boars had managed to escape the trap. Fortunately, they had already been wounded and didn’t get far before collapsing. Shen Qing chased them down, finished them off, and then dismantled the remains of the net to use as a makeshift sled to drag the carcasses toward the village.

Meanwhile, down in Lantang Village—and even in the neighboring villages of Shiqu and Xiahe—chaos erupted.

“What was that noise? Thunder?” The village elders rushed out of their homes, looking up at the sky in alarm.

It was winter, and a light snowfall had just fallen two days ago. Thunder during snow was not a good omen! Superstitions aside, many old sayings were based on practical experience. Winter thunder signals heavy snow. The rare phenomenon of thunder in winter usually meant a major snowstorm was coming. That’s why there was a saying: Winter thunder rolls, nine out of ten cattle pens will be empty—not because of some divine warning, but because if a blizzard hit, the livestock would freeze to death!

The old farmers craned their necks, squinting at the sky, but there were no signs of an impending snowstorm.

“I don’t think it’s thunder. Have you ever heard thunder rumble like that, continuously for so long?”

“Then what do you think it is?”

“How should I know? I just don’t think it’s thunder.”

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Inside her home, Miao Shi jolted up from the heated brick bed. She had heard it too—it had to be the gunfire Qing Ge’er had mentioned! That meant he had started hunting the wild boars!

Her heart pounded with worry. He had been up in the mountains for a long time now, and the gunfire had lasted for quite a while, meaning there were a lot of boars. Had he gotten hurt?

Quickly wrapping herself in a cloak, she rushed to the Lian household, calling for Second Aunt Lian’s eldest son. “Shishi, do me a favor. Qing Ge’er went up the mountain, and then all that noise started—I’m worried! Can you run over to Shiqu Village and fetch my two brothers? Have them bring my nephews to help search for him.”

Shen Qing had instructed her—once she heard the gunshots, she should wait an hour before sending help up the mountain. Since just getting to Shiqu Village and back would take nearly an hour, by the time they arrived, it would be just right.

Second Aunt Lian quickly agreed, urging her son to run fast, then scolding Miao Shi, “Why didn’t you tell us earlier that Qing Ge’er was heading up the mountain? Guixiang and I said we’d have our boys help set up the traps!”

“He left hours ago,” Miao Shi waved her off. “It’s nothing serious, Qing Ge’er had everything planned. It’s just that thunder spooked me! No need to trouble the village chief—I’ll just wait for my brothers and their boys.”

Second Aunt Lian eyed Miao Shi suspiciously. Lately, she had found her harder and harder to understand. “Are you worried, or are you not worried?”

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