The Trembling World Chapter 332

Chapter 332 - Giant Sequoia Tree
TL: xDh20, LifeisaJourney
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!
Liu Gan walked up and placed his foot on the snake's neck, so that it was under his foot without any chance of opening up its mouth.
"Come kill it!" Liu Gan shouted at Zhao Meng quickly.
Zhao Meng snapped out of his dream-like state. Quickly, he picked up his own spear and stabbed at the snake head. A weak attack from Zhao Meng's spear wouldn't be able to kill the snake anytime soon. Instead Han GuangMing handed over a stone to Zhao Meng. With the stone, Zhao Meng smashed at the neck until it separated from the body of the snake. At that moment, a large black orb seeped out from the snake's body and was absorbed into the body of Zhao Meng.
Treading through the jungle had to be done with extreme care. The jungle in this world was a lot more terrifying than the jungle in the real world. If Liu Gan hadn't stopped the snake, Zhao Meng would've been infected or poisoned. Either way, Zhao Meng would've had to die.
"I am finally level 5! Thank you, Elder Liu for saving my life! Thank you again for giving me this opportunity!" Zhao Meng quickly got on his knees to kowtow.
"Shh…" Liu Gan picked up his spear and signaled Zhao Meng. Liu Gan listened to his surroundings quietly.
Once again, no other team members were able to hear anything in particular.
"Elder Liu, what did you discover?" Han GuangMing quietly asked.
"Something nearby has been tailing us. It has been following us for a long time, but it is keeping its distance away. It is relying on its sense of smell to track us. I'm curious as to why it hasn't attacked us yet. It is maintaining its distance," Liu Gan frowned.
"What could it be?" The others started to tense up when they realized that Liu Gan was worried.
"There is a high possibility of it being an Advanced monster. It will hunt us for dinner. It is probably waiting for a more opportunistic time," Liu Gan guessed.
"That is too horrifying!" exclaimed the rest of the members when they heard it was an Advanced monster. Some of the members paled in fear.
The poisonous snake from earlier was quite successful in its attempt, it was just that Liu Gan was faster. Zhao Meng would've died to a variant creature, so if it was an Advanced monster like Kingler, then there chances of survival were low. In the jungle, Advanced beasts like tigers and panthers were the most difficult to handle.
"From the way the monster's panting sounds, it could be a bear species. Everyone be on alert, don't break formation. The moment you get separated, your life will be in danger," Liu Gan warned. Since he was leading the way, it was hard for him to focus on the movement of Advanced Malevolent Bear behind them. If the group was too spread out, then some of them would be in danger.
If Yin He and her dog NaNa were here, they could still fight against the beast. Since they weren't present, Liu Gan couldn't rely on his current group to properly handle an Advanced beast.
The stories of how Liu Gan killed Kingler with his bare fists were blown out of proportion. The actual battle was a lot more brutal. Kingler was severely wounded by a lightning strike due to Yin He's sacrifice. The finishing blow was with Liu Gan's hand grenade.
Right now, Liu Gan's only weapons were his wooden spear, dagger, and his storage ring. Inside of the dimensional storage was an empty electric baton and an USB.
The USB was given to him by the crew woman when he was still stuck on the billboard. Earlier, Liu Gan tried to access the USB, but it all the data was encrypted. Without the correct key, it was impossible to read the data. So Liu Gan safely kept the USB close to his body.
Luckily the ring could store materials inside, which was why his USB didn't get washed away in the explosion and rushing waters. When Liu Gan had to escape from the underwater base, he left behind most of his bags and didn't have time to store more important items inside the dimensional storage space.
"Elder Liu, when you were in the real world, did you have any experiences surviving in the jungle?" Han GuangMing asked.
"Yes, but not that often," Liu Gan looked upward, he was close to the mountain's peak. He should be able to find a good outlook.
"In the real world jungle, when people encounter bear species, what would be the appropriate normal response? Would it be best to hide silently or play dead on the floor? Or perhaps climb a tree?" Han GuangMing continuously asked Liu Gan. If he knew that it was this dangerous in The Trembling World, then he would've tried to learn more survival skills to gain experience.
"Playing dead on the floor is useless. If you know how to climb a tree, then the bear will climb it better than you will… In the real world, the best method would be to shout at it, using the loud noise to scare it away. Bears are very sensitive to smell. It can smell prey for up to ten kilometers. Even if you hide silently, it would be able to pinpoint your location. The more you try to hide, it will recognize you as prey," Liu Gan shook his head.
"So if I shouted at the bear loudly, wouldn't it get angry and rush towards me?" Han GuangMing questioned Liu Gan's method.
"Then run downwind, using the geography and trees to reduce its speed. Try to get out of its field of vision. Running downwind will prevent the bear from picking up your scent. If you are lucky and you come across a river, then run into the water to wash off your scent. Once it can't follow you, it won't be a problem. However, don't even think about hiding underwater. Bears can swim better than you can," Liu Gan reminded Han GuangMing.
"What happens if I can't outrun it?" Zhao Meng also chimed in.
"Then… just wait to die. Don't underestimate the bear's intelligence. It is a natural-born predator," Liu Gan quickly replied, as he started scaling the mountain.
Another hour passed and by this time, everyone was exhausted. The group had finally reached the mountain's peak. Even at the peak, there were still trees. The crown of the trees covered up most of the sky. It was hard to look for distant sceneries.
"Elder Liu, what do we do now with this kind of overlook?" the other people asked angrily.
"It is very simple. Now that we are at the peak of the mountain, we just need to find the tallest tree. Climb up on the tree and use that panoramic information to figure out where to go next." Liu Gan scouted out the tallest tree easily.
Staring at the giant sequoia tree, he had suspicions that the tree must have mutated after the catastrophe. This tree had reached unimaginable heights. It was at least a hundred meters tall, with a great deal of vines that wrapped around the trunk forming different shapes. Based on its looks alone, it gave off signs of trouble.
[TL Note: Yes, sequoias get that tall in real life; they don't grow in hot jungles; they are pines; don't have branches starting that low on their tracks, nor vines; and don't grow in SE Asia. Happily, video game logic gets to ignore all of that.]