Three hours of continuous hunting had worn Boggy out.
So after catching the second Sand-Spray Qiang, he stopped his motorcycle behind a small shady dune, opened the storage box under the seat, and took out a tent and a small cooking pot.
Boggy set up the tent and then chose four of the less lively Gray Elephant Shrews from those he had bundled up.
Ma Lu volunteered to behead them, after which Boggy skinned them, removed their innards, gave them a simple rinse with water, and then threw them all into the pot.
The cooking pot was powered by the motorcycle's battery, and before long, the aroma of meat wafted from the pot.
Boggy sprinkled some salt on top, and once the meat was cooked, he gave the first piece to Ma Lu.
"Eat up, we owe this catch to you. I didn't expect to land so much prey so near to the Giant Curtain."
"Your hunting skills are pretty impressive too," Ma Lu said with genuine sincerity. He had just witnessed Boggy's entire hunting process up close, and even without much understanding of the skill, he could tell Boggy had performed well.
It's worth noting, despite venturing out together, Boggy hadn't accepted his invitation to team up, so he didn't benefit from the blessings that came with it.
In other words, it was all his own strength.
"At school, no one was more diligent than I was," Boggy said with pride. "I was first in my class every year, except for the last one."
"What happened in that last year?"
Ma Lu took a bite of Gray Elephant Shrew meat, which tasted slightly tough, a bit like wood and had a strong gamy flavor, very different from the pan-fried sand bream he'd eaten at the Little Bear Bar a few hours earlier. Boggy's cooking was brute-simple; other than salt, he hadn't used any seasonings, so it wasn't tasty, just barely enough to fill one's stomach.
But Boggy didn't seem picky at all, devouring a leg in a few bites before tearing into another, "In the fourth year, psychic power was included in the evaluation."
"Ha, I figured as much."
"It's inevitable, without talent, you're just without talent. Hunting common prey near the city, this gap might not be so pronounced, but once you delve deeper into the desert and encounter the real deal, the chasm that talent gaps create becomes crystal clear."
Boggy paused for a moment, "Your telekinesis... it's indeed unique. Unlike me, it is quite useful, especially valuable to the big Hunting Groups. With them, you'd get a larger share of the spoils. Are you sure you want to form a Hunting Group with me?"
Ma Lu waved his hand dismissively, "Big Hunting Groups have too many restrictions. Besides, being an outsider, I'd rather have the peace of mind working with you. Plus, I've said before that your situation isn't entirely hopeless."
He wasn't just comforting Boggy; under the Meat Pigeon system, indeed, all things were possible.
And it was after he had just dispatched nineteen Young Flame Lizards and four Gray Elephant Shrews in one go that Ma Lu made a new discovery.
The two Two-Headed Hyenas were about to pounce on Boggy, but the latter suddenly rolled to the right side, then rolled on the spot, casually pulling out the mechanical spear hanging on the motorcycle mid-roll.
That's how Boggy brushed past the two Two-Headed Hyenas, gaining some distance before quickly standing back up from the ground.
"You stand back, I'll handle these two guys!"
Although the opponents were not weak, Boggy was quite confident in himself as well.
This confidence stemmed from years of relentless, hard training, but then he heard Ma Lu say, "You might not be able to handle this alone this time."
"Just two Two-Headed Hyenas..."
"Not two, but thirteen," said Ma Lu, pointing to another sand dune where eleven more red figures stood.
Boggy drew in a sharp breath, "A pack of hyenas?"
Encountering a pack of hyenas in the desert wasn't strange, but it was quite rare to come across them so close to the Giant Curtain.
So many hyenas were completely beyond Boggy's ability to handle, especially since the motorcycle had been blocked by the two Two-Headed Hyenas that had attacked him earlier.
Boggy had encountered Two-Headed Hyenas before, and perhaps because they had two heads, these creatures were much smarter than ordinary beasts.
They clearly understood the importance of the motorcycle to a hunter, and once they occupied a favorable position, they wouldn't easily give it up.
This could be seen from the fact that they didn't pursue Boggy further after landing, and at the same time, the eleven hyenas on the sand dune also began to run over.
The situation suddenly became perilous.
Boggy could only hope that a hunting group was passing by; otherwise, he and Ma Lu would probably both perish in this desert today.
Thinking this, Boggy also became a bit nervous, his palms gripping the mechanical spear beginning to sweat, but to his surprise, Ma Lu beside him didn't show any signs of panic, his eyes even shimmering with a hint of excitement.
This guy, is he not afraid of death at all?
While Boggy was pondering this, he saw Ma Lu stretch out his right hand to him, "Quick, join up now."
"Now is not the time to discuss this kind of thing, is it?"
"No, now is exactly the time to discuss this, it will be too late soon, do as I say if you want to survive," Ma Lu said sternly.