Poor Cultivation by Alan Bard

Author:Alan Bard [Bard, Alan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-05-25T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

HUNTING

I had no idea what it was like to go hunting. My whole life I had been around humans, though some of them lived like animals. However, my brain now helped me to recall the long-forgotten information from books, TV shows, articles, blogs... A hunter should... creep up against the wind... not hesitate before cutting the throat of an animal... lie in wait... fish in the shallows.

I wish I had proper shoes for stalking, army boots suck.

After a while, we passed the small clearing where we met Victoria. I was in no mood to explore the neighborhood then, but now I was aware of the smallest details. The ground was damp, stones small and sharp, and every blade of grass visible. But as I closed my eyes, the feeling was gone. Two hawks were circling overhead, or maybe it was some other bird—it was hard to say.

“The animals here are strange.” I shared my thoughts with the others, hoping for an explanation from Joe.

“They say that there was a laboratory somewhere underground. And that animals mutated after the experiments they conducted during the Cold War.”

“It’s bullshit,” Rio remarked dryly. “Nature doesn’t work like that. A living being can’t mutate like a Ninja Turtle.”

“Yeah? What about those Totems? Blue ice falling from the sky? Damn, there are freaking rifts here... And the neutral network... Can any of that be explained by science?”

“Neural network, sure. As for everything else... Well, all of this had to have had some consequences,” Rio mumbled.

“Oh, screw you, it’s all a bunch of sci-fi mumbo-jumbo,” Eli continued.

“Try to take everything for granted,” Rio said in a low voice. “It’s easier that way.”

“Take it easy? That’s your advice? There are mages out there, freaking mages...”

“It’s just a codename. Would you feel better had they called them psychics?”

“Well, I guess... And what about the artifacts?”

Jelena and I, walking beside them, were listening to their argument. Rio was surprisingly calm and reasonable.

“I think that they are ordinary items that the neural network has included in its system. That is, it seems to have given them a special meaning, strengthening something in the bodies of the players who have them. It’s all very interesting! Don’t you get it? We’re pioneers! We’re one of the first to see all this and learn of things that others consider unimaginable!”

There was a sparkle in Rio’s eyes; he was looking forward to finding answers to all those mysteries. I suddenly realized what was driving him forward. He wanted to challenge his mind and satisfy his curiosity. Despite being stuck in this deadly place, he was still a nerd, hungry for new knowledge.

There was a moment of dead silence, disturbed only by the whistling of the wind and pebbles crunching under our feet. Wolf Moor was a grim, dark place. It was flat—as flat as a table surface—with a waning growth of brown grass, low trees, and no bump or dent to hide behind or in. I didn’t want to linger—we were easy targets here.

In the distance, there was a long, sloping hill.

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