Chapter 156: Serves You Right!

Wild boars, at one point in later generations, were even classified as protected animals. But because they became overpopulated and caused a slew of problems, they were eventually removed from the list.

The main issue with wild boars is how fast they reproduce.

As long as food is abundant, give them a few years and they’ll overrun the place.

Everyone knows how quickly rabbits breed—Australia is a living example. But wild boars are no worse. A single sow can produce two litters a year, each with six to eight piglets. That’s about fifteen piglets a year. In the wild, very few animals can match that reproductive speed.

So give one sow just a few years, and she’ll give you a whole wild boar clan.

As the villagers banged pots and pans and lit a string of firecrackers, the wild boars initially panicked and ran about chaotically.

But once they realized there wasn’t any real danger, they started to calm down.

That was when the village “hunting rifle squad” made their move.

Under the team captain’s command, everyone aimed and got ready to fire. First target: the biggest male boar. As the saying goes, to catch the bandits, catch the ringleader first. The male led the group, and that made things complicated.

“Shoot that boar—aim properly!” the team captain shouted.

As long as the male boar was driven off, the rest would follow.

Five or six marksmen all aimed at the big male. Luckily, both the team captain and Zhou Yimin had flashlights, so they lit up the boar for everyone to take aim. Otherwise, in the pitch black, it would’ve been tough.

Even though the moon was bright, no one dared get close to wild boars, so visibility still wasn’t great.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Gunshots rang out. But they only hit the boar’s rump. In pain, the wild boar charged forward.

No matter the species, wild or tame, when under attack, their first instinct is to flee. Wild boars are no exception. Humans do the same—first instinct in danger is to dodge.

Only when they’re truly provoked will wild boars turn around and charge at people.

Watching the others shoot made Zhou Yimin itch to join in. As someone who had time-traveled from the future, he’d never handled a gun before. Of course he wanted to try it.

But now wasn’t the time to mess around.

There’d be plenty of chances to fire later. No need to mess things up at a critical moment. He didn’t even get too close—he valued his life.

The male boar’s retreat dragged the rest of the herd along with it.

Along the way, they trampled an entire cornfield.

As soon as they were gone, the villagers rushed in to prop the corn stalks back up. Some were too badly broken, so they had to be pulled and taken home. Even though the corn hadn’t fully ripened yet, it had already formed kernels. They just weren’t plump yet, but still edible.

Even corn stalks could be eaten—they were slightly sweet. And even if people didn’t eat them, the village cattle would. Couldn’t let them go to waste.

Watching the villagers grit their teeth in pain as they salvaged the corn, Zhou Yimin comforted them, “As long as we can kill a few boars, this damage can be made up for.”

That line made some villagers even more determined to hunt the wild boars down.

Yeah! We’ve already lost stuff—time to make up for it! Maybe even turn a profit, and get the village some meat.

Fortunately, the direction the boars ran in worked perfectly in Zhou Yimin’s favor—they were heading straight for the western cliff. The cliffside was a place the village elders constantly warned kids to stay away from.

There’d even been a tragedy before—two brothers went there to play and ended up falling off, both dying.

“You few, the fast runners, go to the fork in the road and try not to let the boars run down there,” the old village head commanded.

The ones he pointed at were all young men. They ran over right away and blocked one of the paths, holding farming tools as makeshift weapons.

Zhou Yimin loudly warned, “Don’t try to stop them by force—if you can’t hold them, get out of the way!”

At most, they could only scare the boars off.

If they couldn’t, and the boars were dead set on charging, it was better to back off. Trying to block them head-on was a bad idea. Zhou Yimin had seen how powerful a charging boar was.

In some stories, the main characters fight wild boars with their bare hands. Zhou Yimin could only say—badass.

If it were him, even with a system that had strengthened his body, he wouldn’t risk it. You only get one life—he wasn’t about to gamble with it.

“Don’t block them head-on,” the old village head added.

A second round of gunfire erupted.

Two wild boars fell behind and collapsed, convulsing. The team captain led a group over and fired two finishing shots to make sure they were dead. Villagers following behind quickly carried them off.

They weren’t very big—about a hundred jin each. Still juveniles.

Adult wild boars typically weigh between 160 to 200 jin. Anything over 200 is considered strong, and over 500 is a boar king—strong enough that even bears and tigers would think twice before attacking.

That male boar in this group weighed over 300 jin.

Seeing that these wild boars only wanted to run away brought a collective sigh of relief. Unlike some others that go berserk after getting shot, this group was clearly “rational,” just trying to escape.

And wild boars like that were actually easier to kill.

Kindness invites bullying, meek horses get ridden! It’s the same for wild boars. The ones that don’t go berserk are easier to take down. The ones that do? Most people wouldn’t dare give chase—they’d actually get away.

Soon, another boar was killed—this one around 200 jin.

At that, the villagers were overjoyed.

With three wild boars down, they’d already made back their losses—and then some.

Turns out, fortune favors the bold and punishes the timid.

“See? I told you! What’s there to be afraid of?” Zhou Dafu was getting braver, leading a few young guys to cut across and get ahead.

The team captain exploded: “Damn it! What the hell are you doing over there?! If we fire and hit someone, you’ll find out how it feels to die!”

Seriously!

If you’re cutting across to the front, how’s anyone in the back supposed to shoot?

Zhou Dafu’s father was furious and planned to beat the guy later.

Suddenly, the wild boars changed direction and charged straight at Zhou Dafu. Scared out of his mind, he scrambled up the nearest tree.

The team captain gritted his teeth. “Fire! Be careful not to hit anyone.”

Damn it! These idiots are just getting in the way!

The tree Zhou Dafu had climbed wasn’t much thicker than a thigh. The boar crashed into it and snapped it clean in two. Zhou Dafu tumbled straight into a ditch nearby with a loud scream.

Zhou Yimin just shook his head when he saw it.

Serves him right!

No idea what to even say about that guy.

Every time he got hurt, it was his own damn fault. But somehow, the guy’s luck was insane.

The boar that broke the tree was already dazed. After taking a few more bullets, it collapsed into the ditch too. Another miserable scream followed.

Everyone rushed over. One of Zhou Dafu’s legs was pinned under the boar.

They quickly jumped into the ditch and moved the boar aside.

His dad, seeing the pitiful state he was in, didn’t even bother hitting him anymore.
(End of chapter)