Chapter 568 - 568 Uninvited (2)
Zhou Chao looked at the two men with some confusion, as he wasn’t very familiar with the minefield.
Abdullah paused for a moment, not knowing what to say, as he wasn’t very clear about how long the exploration would take. He could only look at Ilya beside him with a pleading look.
“It won’t take long. The preliminary work is almost ready, and we may be delayed for another hour or two in the afternoon. Then we can produce basic data,” Ilya hastily replied. He was quite familiar with this area, after all. The resources in Russia were abundant, and he had several companies under his belt that operated in this sector.
“That’s good then. If we can’t finish by this afternoon, there’s no point in staying here,” Zhou Chao said.
As soon as Zhou Chao finished speaking, he heard Chen Nan’s voice not far away.
“Boss, the deer meat is ready. You can eat it anytime.”
“Got it. Bring it over,” Zhou Chao said as he cleared the table in front of everyone.
Chen Nan and Agfu came over with a large wooden tray, filled with the venison that Chen Nan had worked hard to roast.
Smelling the tantalizing aroma of the venison in front of them, even Zhou Chao couldn’t help but swallow his saliva. He had only had a bowl of porridge in the morning and wasn’t resisting hunger at all. In fact, he had drunk quite a bit of tea in between, and his stomach was already growling.
“Chen Nan, give me the knife!” Zhou Chao reached out his right hand.
Chen Nan hesitated for a moment but still handed over the hunting knife strapped to his thigh.
Zhou Chao took the hunting knife and quickly divided the roasted venison on the table into more than a dozen pieces.
This move stunned Abdullah and his men next to him. Even Ilya’s close bodyguard, Agfu, was shocked.
Although the deer had been cooked, it still required some skill to divide it so easily.
As the saying goes, “The layman sees the bustle, while the expert sees the doorway.” Agfu knew that even if he personally wielded the knife, he wouldn’t have the skill that Zhou Chao demonstrated.
Abdullah swallowed nervously, a bit hesitant to ask, “Zhou, did you… do this yourself?” Abdullah gestured lightly to his own neck.
Zhou Chao smiled wryly at the question. “I’m a law-abiding citizen. I’m just a little skilled in cooking!”
Abdullah nodded slightly at the response. He couldn’t help but feel a little overwhelmed by Zhou Chao. The longer he spent with Zhou Chao, the more mysterious he found him. It seemed like Zhou Chao knew a lot and was quite proficient in many things.
“You guys aren’t eating yet. If you wait any longer, it won’t taste good,” Ilya, already taking the lead, grabbed a deer foreleg and began eating heartily.
“I didn’t expect you to be so crafty, Ilya,” Abdullah said, taking another deer foreleg in his hand.
Before Zhou Chao could react, both forelegs of the deer had already been taken by the two men and devoured.
“Well, for good food, you two arc really something else. Has anyone told you it’s really dog-like?” Zhou Chao shook his head helplessly.
It was well-known that the forelegs of deer were better than the hind legs, as the latter were a bit tougher, especially when roasted. Moreover, the forelegs were considered the most precious part of the deer.
“Really? Abdullah, did you know?” Ilya asked with feigned confusion.
“I don’t know. No one has told me. Oh, this deer meat is really good, cooked so deliciously!” Abdullah said as he moved a little closer to Zhou Chao, sniffing the aroma of the deer leg in his hand and taking a big bite.
Zhou Chao couldn’t help but laugh at the scene. With a sigh, he muttered, “Bad choice of friends,” and then took the knife to divide the hind leg meat.
“Chen Nan, take this roast meat to your people!” Zhou Chao handed the divided hind leg meat and some roasted ribs to Chen Nan.
“Thank you, boss!” Chen Nan happily took it and walked towards Lev and Lin Wu.
In the blink of an eye, it was already 3 o’clock in the afternoon. Zhou Chao was now lying comfortably on the military bed in the tent, fast asleep. As for Abdullah and Ilya, they had already gone hunting with their bodyguards.
In his sleep, Zhou Chao felt something crawling on his leg. With a quick reflex, he opened his eyes and sat up on the bed, only to see a fluffy object drawing a parabola in the air.
“What’s this?” Although puzzled, Zhou Chao stood up and caught the furry thing.
When Zhou Chao saw the appearance of the thing in his hand, a surprised expression appeared on his face.
“Oh my, isn’t this a baby tiger?”
The baby tiger in his hand looked at him dumbly, with cute big eyes and occasionally let out a soft whimper.
“Little guy, how did you end up here? Where are your family?” Zhou Chao held the baby tiger in front of him, murmuring softly.
“Roar-” The baby tiger twisted in Zhou Chao’s hands.
Seeing this, Zhou Chao quickly put it down on the ground to see its reaction. To his surprise, the next moment, he saw the baby tiger hugging his leg and roaring loudly.
“Are you mistaking me for your mother? And how did this little guy end up here all alone?” Zhou Chao was puzzled. He hadn’t activated the animal affinity skill, so why did it cling to him like this? This is like a staged scam!
Just as Zhou Chao was wondering, Lin Wu lifted the curtain of the tent and walked in.
“Boss, you’re up. I was about to come in and report something to you. Hey, where did this baby tiger come from?” Lin Wu also noticed the baby tiger in Zhou Chao’s hand.
“I don’t know. I was just sleeping, and I felt something crawling on me. When I woke up, I found this little guy,” Zhou Chao said, gently shaking the baby tiger in his hand, causing it to growl softly.
“So boss, what are you going to do? Arc you going to put it back in the mountains or take it back to the ranch?”
Zhou Chao pondered for a moment before saying, “Let’s wait and see. If its parents show up later, we’ll send it back. If there’s no sign of them, we’ll take it back to the ranch. If we leave it in the forest, I’m afraid the baby tiger won’t survive the night.”
“This little guy is really lucky!” Lin Wu exclaimed as he bent down and reached out to touch the tiger’s head.
To his surprise, he was met with a roar from the baby tiger, who seemed to dislike being touched by him.
“Boss, this little tiger is quite interesting. It behaves so obediently in your hands, but it’s hostile to me when I try to touch it.”
Zhou Chao looked at the baby tiger thoughtfully, its innocent eyes fixed firmly on him.
“Oh, by the way, you came in earlier to report something. What’s the matter?” “I was so focused on the baby tiger that I almost forgot about everything else. The two exploration teams have finished their surveys and are now packing up to return to the ranch.”
“Oh, have Abdullah and Ilya returned?”
“They’re on their way back, estimated to arrive in about 10 minutes.”
“Okay, I got it. After we return, arrange for some people to come here tonight. I’m worried that the news of the gold mine will be leaked, which may attract some desperate people.”
Lin Wu was stunned for a moment and said incredulously, “Boss, arc you saying that those two might have someone trying to stir up trouble?”
“Not necessarily stirring up trouble, but they might want to use some public opinion to gain more benefits for themselves.”
“Got it, boss!” Lin Wu said and then turned to leave the tent.
Meanwhile, Zhou Chao walked out with the baby tiger in his arms. As he looked at the moderately sized basin in front of him, Zhou Chao fell into deep thought for a moment.
“The show is about to begin!”
Before long, Abdullah and Ilya returned with their men. Zhou Chao noticed that many of their bodyguards were carrying small prey in their hands.
“Huh, Zhou, where did this baby tiger come from?” As soon as they returned to the camp, Abdullah saw the baby tiger in Zhou Chao’s arms.
“I told you, it came to me on its own. Believe it or not!”
Abdullah and Ilya exchanged glances and shook their heads simultaneously. “We don’t believe it!”
“But that’s the fact. This little tiger somehow sneaked into my tent while I was sleeping,” Zhou Chao said, gently stroking the baby tiger in his arms, which responded with a few soft cries.
“Alright, let’s go back. Your exploration teams have completed their tasks, and I’m sure you’re eager to know the results!”
“Let’s go, back to camp!” The two of them couldn’t contain their excitement any longer and wanted to hurry back to await the reports from their exploration teams.
After everyone had packed up, they set off on the journey back home..