C2 The Natives Were Scared to Death

The world before Bao Guo's eyes blurred and then plunged into darkness. Within seconds, he felt a heaviness engulf his entire being as he was once again thrust into that debilitating world. The gravity here was significantly stronger than Earth's.

Bao Guo wasn't foolish. He hadn't grasped the situation the first time due to the severe dizziness he experienced. Now, it was clear to him that the planet's gravitational pull was far greater than Earth's, explaining the overwhelming sensation he was enduring.

But before he could fully process his thoughts, he was struck dumb. The setting was unchanged, the rain unceasing, yet there stood three towering white men, over two meters tall, brandishing peculiar weapons in his direction. What on earth did they want with him?

The bearded giant wielding a wooden stick barked something at Bao Guo, but it was completely unintelligible to him.

"Hey, take it EASY, guys! EASY! Brothers, let's stay calm, no need to panic!" Bao Guo's legs shook with fear. He had assumed this was a primitive world scarcely populated, if at all. But to his surprise, no sooner had he returned from a meal than he found himself encircled. These men seemed not to be waiting for him, though, but for something else, and Bao Guo had awkwardly materialized right in front of them.

Suddenly, a melodious female voice pierced the air. Bao Guo instinctively turned toward the sound, but instead of a person, he was met with the sight of a massive, spotted leopard lunging at him with a ferocious growl. The beast was the size of three to five Northeastern Tigers combined – a veritable great white shark of the land.

In an instant, Bao Guo's courage deserted him. "Momma!" he shrieked, crouching and covering his head. In this world, where gravity far surpassed Earth's, resistance seemed futile. Who would be brave enough to claim they could fend off a leopard as large as a great white shark with a mere watermelon knife?

The three burly men let out a battle cry and charged with their crude weapons raised. "Puff, puff," warm, sticky liquid splattered onto Bao Guo's collar. But after the leopard's roar, it collapsed, landing just a short distance away from him.

Bao Guo cradled his helmet and stole a glance, only to gasp in surprise. A massive leopard lay before him, impaled by four wooden stakes—one in its throat, one in its chest, one in its abdomen, and, to Bao Guo's own tightening discomfort, one cruelly inserted into its rear.

His attention shifted as a pair of long, wheat-colored legs caught his eye. Hindered by the motorcycle helmet, his view was restricted, but the legs were undeniably long, their skin gleaming with a healthy sheen. "The owner of these legs has to be stunning!" he thought, even before laying eyes on her face.

Soon enough, the owner of the gorgeous legs crouched before him. Her fiery red hair, secured with a vine into a ponytail, cascaded down to her waist. She wore patches of leopard skin across her chest and waist, accentuating a figure that made Bao Guo's nostrils flare. Catching sight of her exquisitely delicate face, which seemed too perfect for this world, he felt breathless.

Despite having seen countless Hollywood films and foreign actresses, the girl before him was in a league of her own. She could breeze through a Hollywood audition with just her looks and figure alone.

"What am I thinking? I'm still in danger here," Bao Guo chided himself. "Curse that Void Crow, I just want to go home. Why do I have to eat here before I can travel? You're setting me up. And what's with this huge hole in my head? No, no, that's not right. Who says they have a hole in their brain?"

Yet, Bao Guo couldn't shake the feeling of a gaping void in his mind, akin to a lunar crater—five to six meters deep and at least twenty meters in diameter. It was certainly large enough.

The beauty uttered something unintelligible, then approached and deftly removed his helmet with both hands. He failed to hold onto it, and she easily took it off.

What unfolded next completely baffled Bao Guo. Three towering, muscular men, along with the beauty who was nearly as tall as he was, all prostrated themselves on the ground before him. Their legs were spread, hands clasped, fingers pointing at him, and they chanted something under their breath. Were they offering worship or something else entirely?

Bao Guo was no fool. He certainly didn't see himself as some sort of king, spouting nonsense about commanding the awe and submission of the masses with his mere presence. That was just ridiculous—there had to be something else at play.

"Stand up, come on, get up. That position, cough, cough, is making my nose bleed."

The three burly men were sprawled out on the ground, revealing little more than what any man might possess. But when the young woman lay there, Bao Guo caught sight of things he shouldn't have, and in an instant, his nose erupted in a gush of blood, his head spun, and darkness crept into his vision as he teetered on the edge of collapse.

"..."

"Anna, why do you think this gentleman ventured into the Dark Forest all by himself? And his clothes are so odd, especially that helmet—it's neither gold nor iron. It's quite extraordinary," Allen, the man with the impressive beard, inquired of the red-haired beauty with curiosity.

They were a group of four villagers from Black Stone Village, out on a hunting expedition. Anna, the village chief's daughter, was second only to her father in strength within the entire village, commanding the respect of the three stout men.

"I'm not sure," Anna admitted, "but with his black hair and yellow skin, he's clearly a nobleman from some grand city. We can't risk offending him. Plus, look at how frail he is—it fits the profile of those pampered young lords. We should take him back to the village for care. By the looks of it, he's probably just fainted from hunger. Sigh, I just hope bringing him back doesn't turn out to be a misfortune for us."

Trailing behind were two large men, twins with similar statures and features, each marked by a scar on opposite cheeks, likely the work of some wild beast.

One of them sidled up to Anna and murmured, "Big Sister Anna, why don't we just leave him here? We don't understand a word he says, and he probably can't make sense of us either. For all we know, he's not even from our country. It wouldn't matter if we just left him."

"No," Anna firmly replied, "he's still a human being. We'll take him back to the village and see what my father thinks we should do. He doesn't seem to be a threat; he's no master, so there's no danger." After a glance at Bao Guo, who was being carried on Allen's back, Anna resolved not to abandon him.

Allen chuckled and reassured, "Around here, if you're not familiar with the situation, you can't just walk out. No need to worry, let's head back to the village first."

...

"Oh my God, my God, are these indigenous people even human? They're hoisting boulders as big as tables with just one hand. I can't even budge a rock the size of a helmet. Are you sure you're human?"

"What in the world is that? A dog? It sounds like one, but it's as big as a tiger. How are we supposed to deal with that? You don't actually ride these dogs, do you?"

As Bao Guo wandered through the village, he was utterly terrified, his eyes darting around with the wonder of a curious child. The villagers, while equally curious about this outsider, seemed to mix their interest with a hint of fear, or perhaps something else.

It was akin to the way commoners in ancient feudal times would gaze upon the nobility with a blend of awe and reverence, their eyes betraying a multitude of emotions.

"This is strange, very strange. No, I must find a way to learn the local language; how else can I trade? And I need to find food, or I won't make it back home. Hey, is that a bonfire over there? Could we roast that big leopard they brought in?"

With thoughts of food spurring him on, Bao Guo hurried toward the towering bonfire at the village center.