The Return of Cambrian Period

 60 Cambrian Consciousness Part 1

Tang Yanqiu flew into the forest and saw the Chen brothers with a group of people pouring gasoline from one bucket to another, spreading it all over an area of over a hundred meters. 

Tang Yanqiu shouted, "Retreat!" 

The Chen brothers gave him a thumbs-up and led the group to run ahead. Tang Yanqiu struck his arrow against a flint, igniting its tip. He shot an arrow into the oil on the ground, causing the forest beneath his feet to burst into flames. 

Glancing at the group of pursuers approaching in the distance, he turned around and flew away. The members of the group noticeably increased their speed. They knew that the pursuers wouldn't easily let them go, and they had no idea how long the fire could hinder them. All they could do was hurry along. 

Tang Yanqiu landed on Abu's back and spoke softly when he saw Zhuang Yao still resting, "What did you just do? Can you control others' thoughts?" 

Despite Zhuang Yao being on their side, anyone would feel somewhat uneasy with someone who could manipulate their thoughts around. 

Zhuang Yao closed his eyes, appearing somewhat weak, and said, "No, at least not now. When the leader was contemplating whether or not to take the gamble, I intruded into his thoughts. He was wavering between the two options, but leaning towards accepting the bet. Since he didn't want to fight either, I guided him a bit. Consequently, he had no reliable basis to judge which tanker to choose, and could only rely on intuition. I added some psychological suggestions, guiding him to select those four cars. However, if he insists on choosing a specific car for other reasons, I can't control him at the moment." 

Cong Xia patted him on the back and smiled, "That gamble worked well for us. It bought us a lot of time, and with those four cars gone, our speed has increased too." 

Cheng Tianbi said in a deep voice, "They will surely catch up. Be prepared for battle at any moment." 

Zhuang Yao said, "Abu is afraid of those two dogs. It's not that easy to deal with them." If they really had to fight, they still needed Abu as their high-speed mount. 

Liu Fengyu ran his slender fingers through Abu's fur and remarked, "After all, Abu is just a little kitty." 

Zhuang Yao gave him a scornful glance, "Abu is a domesticated pet cat. How can you compare him to Tibetan mastiffs? If a real fight breaks out..." 

Cheng Tianbi said in a deep voice, "If a real fight breaks out, Abu won't be a match for those two Tibetan mastiffs. We must find a way to deal with them." 

Cong Xia glanced back and saw the deep silence in the forest. Only the thick smoke in the distance proved that they had just experienced a hidden battle. They had tricked their pursuers, but even if their opponents were wary of their strength, they wouldn't give up easily. It seemed that a fierce battle was inevitable. He sensed the energy within him. When he replenished Zhuang Yao's energy earlier, it consumed a portion, and compared to the extremely fulfilled state he felt after absorbing the gecko's energy, he now only had about thirty percent left. His method of obtaining energy was too passive; he could only rely on absorption. If he could find his own energy core as soon as possible, he could cultivate like Cheng Tianbi and the others. 

To increase their speed, they abandoned the last water-filled car. After walking for several hours, the road became increasingly rough. Chongqing was a mountainous city, and this road was full of ups and downs. Due to the heavy weight of the oil tanker truck, it was extremely dangerous to go uphill or downhill. Especially on the uphill sections, the uneven road surface often prevented the tanker truck from moving forward due to insufficient power. 

The Chen brothers and a group of young men had to push the truck up. Some sections of the road were severely damaged by plants, and sometimes cracks of over a meter could be seen on the ground. Thanks to these two power-type mutants, they managed to pull the truck through. However, their progress slowed down. 

Zhang Gong cheered them on, "Hold on! We only have over thirty kilometers left. We won't rest tonight, and we'll reach Chongqing before dawn." 

The Chen brothers were already pale from exhaustion. When they didn't need to push, they both lay on the truck to rest. 

At three o'clock in the morning, most of the people were exhausted and could barely walk. As the road became increasingly difficult, they had only covered a distance of four to five kilometers in the past few hours. Daylight was approaching, and they still had twenty kilometers left to reach Chongqing. The closer victory seemed, the more fragile their hearts became. 

Zhuang Yao looked at the people resting by the roadside and the two power-type mutants who were almost paralyzed, and said to Zhang Gong, "Let's abandon one tanker . The longer we delay here, the greater the variables. Let's divide the oil and leave. Otherwise, these two won't be able to hold on much longer." 

Zhang Gong sighed and gritted his teeth, "Divide it." He walked while shouting, "Prepare to abandon a tanker! Everyone, get ready with the oil drums. Let's start dividing the oil. Take as much as you can carry and don't force it if you can't." 

Everyone was prepared and lined up in order to receive the oil. The road bully carried and dragged containers, managing to take over a hundred liters. Even those with remaining strength carried two drums. Some children even used mineral water bottles to fill one. No matter how much they took, they could only bring three or four tons with them. The remaining tens of tons of oil had to be left behind, and it was heartbreaking for anyone to witness.

After dividing the oil, the driver drove the tanker into the forest, covering it with branches and providing some concealment, hoping to come back and retrieve it later. The group used a wooden cart to tow the barrels of oil and continued on their way.

A few people sat on Abu's back, leading the way at the front of the group. They didn't have much time to rest. The period before dawn was the darkest moment. The headlights only provided faint light and limited visibility. The dark forest instilled a suffocating fear.

In order to ease the increasingly tense atmosphere, Cong Xia tried to find something to talk about. He asked Tang Yanqiu, "Xiao Tang, besides being able to grow wings, what else can you do with your abilities?"

Tang Yanqiu was sitting cross-legged, resting with closed eyes. Upon hearing the question, he opened his eyes and said, "I can transform completely into a bird. My vision and sense of smell are enhanced, and my body feels light. This sense of lightness has nothing to do with my weight; it's just how I perceive it."

"Besides being skilled with a bow, what else can you do?"

Tang Yanqiu honestly replied, "I can use most weapons, but I'm particularly proficient with the bow and the sword."

Cong Xia praised him, saying, "You're really amazing."

Liu Fengyu coldly snorted and said, "In your eyes, everyone is amazing."

Cong Xia smiled awkwardly and said, "You all are indeed very talented."

"How can I compare to Tang Daxia? I'm just a superficial man."

Tang Yanqiu furrowed his brows slightly and said seriously, "Mr. Liu, I admit that my words were inappropriate. I hope you can forgive me for the offense. However, as a public figure, you have set many negative examples for young people. You, as a man, are more concerned about your appearance than women, and your attitude towards relationships is extremely frivolous, lacking any sense of shame..."

Liu Fengyu angrily retorted, "What did you say?"

"As a man, you focus more on your appearance than women, and your attitude towards relationships is extremely frivolous, lacking any sense of shame..."

Liu Fengyu exclaimed, "You damn deserve a beating!"

Liu Fengyu swung his palm, and a faint odor permeated the air. Tang Yanqiu caught a glimpse of the sharp thorns on Liu Fengyu's palm. He grabbed Liu Fengyu's wrist, swiftly moved to the side, and twisted his arm behind his back. With a slight frown, Tang Yanqiu said, "Strange, why does it smell so bad?"

Liu Fengyu kicked towards Tang Yanqiu's face, but Tang Yanqiu had been practicing martial arts since the age of three and didn't take this unskilled kick seriously. He quickly restrained Liu Fengyu's leg.

Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in the hand that was grabbing Liu Fengyu. He quickly released his grip and looked at his palm, where a faint yellow liquid was burning like flames, emitting a foul odor. He hurriedly wiped it off on his clothes.

Zhuang Yao was resting and opened his eyes just in time to see them fighting. He couldn't help but get angry and shouted, "Are you looking for death? Don't fight on Abu!"

Cong Xia quickly intervened and said, "Calm down, both of you. Liu Ge, don't be angry. Xiao Tang didn't mean it. Xiao Tang, you were rude with your words."

Tang Yanqiu still hadn't recovered and said, "Aren't you a plant-based mutant? Why do you smell so bad?"

Liu Fengyu angrily exclaimed, "Don't you dare mention that word to me." He then lunged towards Tang Yanqiu again.

Cong Xia instinctively tried to hold him back, but Cheng Tianbi pushed Cong Xia away, grabbed Liu Fengyu by the collar, and pulled him back, sternly saying, "Behave yourselves."

Liu Fengyu fiercely gestured a middle finger at Tang Yanqiu and said, "Go to hell."

Tang Yanqiu shook his head and said, "How could Yanjin like someone like you?"

Cong Xia sighed and said, "Xiao Tang, what you did was wrong. We are companions, and we should support each other. Don't you agree?" Among these people, Tang Yanqiu was the only one who could reason with Cong Xia, although Tang Yanqiu's temperament was still far from normal. Nonetheless, compared to the other three, he was much friendlier.

A trace of guilt appeared on Tang Yanqiu's face, "I'm sorry, Mr. Cong."

"Just call me Cong Xia. You shouldn't apologize to me; you should apologize to Liu Ge."

Tang Yanqiu glanced at Liu Fengyu and said seriously, "Mr. Liu, I can apologize to you, but I won't take back what I said. My sister is going through adolescence, and I hope to instill in her a proper understanding of appreciating men, rather than being infatuated with meaningless appearances. If she truly falls for a man like you, who only looks good on the surface, I will never agree."

Cong Xia covered his face helplessly.

Cheng Tianbi grabbed Liu Fengyu's arm, preventing him from attacking Tang Yanqiu.

Zhuang Yao angrily said, "You bastards, get off Abu!"

Abu let out a soft meow.

Cheng Tianbi glanced at Cong Xia and furrowed his brows, saying, "You always stir up trouble when you have nothing to do."

Cong Xia sighed, "I can't keep my mouth shut. I was wrong."

Lie Fengyu snorted：“Each of you have such unpleasant personalities. Xiao xia, if it weren't for you, I wouldn't stay with them."

Cong Xia tried to appease him, saying, "Yes, yes, let's try to get along peacefully, shall we?"

"If he dares to provoke me again, I won't be polite to him."

Cong Xia chuckled helplessly.

Cheng Tianbi suddenly said, out of the blue, "You also like men, don't you?"

Liu Fengyu was taken aback and asked, "Are you talking about me? What's the matter? Give up, I'm not interested in someone like you."

Cheng Tianbi coldly replied, "Don't have ideas about people around you."

Liu Fengyu made an exaggerated expression and said, "Are you out of your mind? Whose ideas am I having? Yours? That lunatic's? Or the child's? I think it's only Xiao Xia..." Liu Fengyu paused for a moment, a knowing smile appeared on his face, and he jokingly said, "Well, Xiao Xia might suit my taste a little. Xiao Xia, how about you surrender to me?" Liu Fengyu pinched Cong Xia's chin.

Cong Xia could tell that he was joking and laughed. Liu Fengyu said, "We could die at any time, and if you die as a virgin, wouldn't your life have been wasted? What do you think, should I, Liu Ge, help you?"

Cheng Tianbi narrowed his eyes and said coldly, "Liu Fengyu—"

Suddenly, Xiao Yan leaned out of the car and nervously shouted, "They're coming! From that direction!"

Everyone became alert.

Tang Yanqiu called out, "Don't panic, everyone. Put down the oil barrels and hide in the forest."

Cheng Tianbi shouted to the driver, "Turn off the engine!"