Hawke held the shotgun tightly and advanced through the woods.
And in front of him was the hound his family raised.
Since he was ten years old, it was handed over to Hawke by Hawke's father, who asked him to raise the hound well and train it to become his partner.
"Woof...woof..."
As he was walking forward, Hawke heard the barking of a dog from ahead.
This is a warning.
Hawke knows his hound very well, and he understands that it only takes one bark and one movement to understand what his hound is thinking and needs.
The barking of the dog at this time is a warning to the enemy and also a warning to Hawke that he must move forward carefully.
Hawke's hand tightened, and after checking the ammunition loaded in the shotgun again and the bow and arrow hanging behind him, he began to advance cautiously and quickly.
"Woof...woof...woof woof!!"
The shortened distance allowed Hawke to hear more clearly and feel the state of his hound more clearly.
alert,
anxiety,
Even fear.
Could it be a brown bear?!
I remembered that half a month ago, the brown bear that lived in this forest suddenly appeared near Hawke's settlement, almost causing casualties.
Fortunately, the men in the settlement had not gone out to hunt yet, so they managed to scare away the brown bear.
But now, the barking of the hounds was getting faster and shriller, which made Hawke feel bad.
Should we evacuate?
But even if the brown bear appeared, Hawke was unwilling to turn around and run back to the settlement without even looking at it.
That would be too timid.
Hawke gritted his teeth, ran quickly, shuttled between the trees, and quickly approached the location of the hound. Then he bent down and hid behind a big rock. After taking a quick breath, he raised the shotgun and slowly
The earth peeked out from behind the boulder.
"!!"
As a result, after seeing clearly the figure confronting his hound, Hawke was speechless, and even subconsciously pulled off his hat and brushed it against the boulder.
"Damn brown bear!! That's obviously a human being! Damn it, Ali, can't you even tell the difference between a brown bear and a human?"
Confronting his hound were a man in a white military uniform and a woman lying on a simple cart, covered with a thermal blanket and seemingly with a layer of fur underneath her body.
Hawke could clearly see the white military uniform and could vaguely recognize it.
Those were the uniforms worn by people in a headquarters called the Earth United Army, which was far away from the settlement.
"There was an accident and we were in trouble?"
Hawke blinked, put his hand to his mouth, whistled to call his hound back, and at the same time leaned out half of his body from behind the boulder and shouted to the other party.
"Hey!! Where did you come from? Don't you know it's dangerous here? That brown bear will kill you."
First, he was barked by a hound that ran out of nowhere, which made him feel nervous. Then, a half-sized boy who looked like he had just grown up stuck his head out from behind a big rock. Bucky Lulu felt that this time he was trapped in the wilderness.
A little too exciting?
"Don't worry! Leave it to me!"
He Ming nodded towards Bucky Lulu, and then looked at the boy who reached out to hold down the barking hound.
"I am a soldier of the Earth Alliance. When I was going to the headquarters, I encountered a plane crash and lost my way in this wilderness. In addition, my companions were also injured."
"Crashed? Injured?"
Hawke was shocked and finally understood why Bucky Lulu was lying on the extremely simple cart, covered with such a thick thermal blanket and fur.
"My settlement is nearby. Do you need help?"
Bucky's eyes lit up at Hawke's invitation, but she didn't agree immediately, but looked at He Ming.
"Yes. Thank you very much! My companion needs some treatment. If possible, can you borrow the communication tool of our settlement?"
He Ming nodded in agreement, but his request made Hawk feel embarrassed.
"For treatment, my grandma can help you. For communication, I'm afraid there's nothing we can do."
"Oh, what's the problem?"
He Ming's eyes flashed and he understood.
Hawke showed a naive smile and gently touched the hound's head with his right hand.
"I don't know the details. It's just that that night not long ago, a lot of drill bits suddenly fell from the sky. After they penetrated the ground, many communication tools became unusable. My father took the men from the settlement with him in the early morning.
Go to a town about thirty kilometers away to inquire about the news."
He Ming and Baji Lulu frowned immediately after listening to the boy's words.
Unfortunately, the situation was as they expected, and all communication methods were interrupted due to the neutron jammer.
The only thing that can be done is probably a fixed telephone network built using wired lines.
However, even if he arrived at the settlement where the boy in front of him was, he could not contact the outside world.
Bucky Lulu said nothing, waiting for He Ming's decision.
She believed that He Ming could make the right judgment at this time.
"Baki Lulu, it seems that we will have to delay for a few more days."
"No, it's all up to you. What's your name?"
The conversation between He Ming and Baji Lulu was witnessed by the boy.
Although He Ming and Bucky Lulu were strangers to Hawke, the few conversations between the two made Hawke feel an emotion.
A scene similar to this emotion is the way the women in the settlement gave their full support without hesitation before and after the men made important decisions.
"so good!"
Hawke bit his lip and showed a look of envy.
"Woof!"
The hound Allie shouted, reminding Hawke that this was not the time to be distracted.
"You know how to scream! Didn't you recognize that they are humans?"
"Woof...woo..."
The hound Allel lowered his head and whined a few times.
But its eyes were always directed towards He Ming, and the trace of vigilance under its eyes never dissipated.
However, Hawke didn't notice at all.
"Come! Well, uncle?"
"Don't! I'm not old enough to be called uncle yet."
He Ming raised his hand to stop Hawke from calling him "old".
Regardless of appearance, actual age, or even the upper limit of lifespan, He Ming can now call himself a teenager without any hesitation.
"Ah? Oh. That's big brother and big sister! Come! Follow me! Our settlement is nearby!"
Hawke nodded and said hello, then drove his hound Allie to explore the road, while he led the way in front of He Ming and Bucky Lulu.
Looking at Hawke leading the way, Bucky Lulu subconsciously pulled the thermal blanket on her body, her eyes a little wandering.
"Uncle? If everyone is called uncle by any name, then wouldn't I be aunt?"
Although He Ming did not tell his age, Bucky Lulu could still tell that He Ming seemed to be a little younger than herself.
()
Chapter completed!