The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 193 - 182 Rhizomys

Chapter 193: Chapter 182 Rhizomys

Manbao blinked and looked around with her little head, only to find that she couldn’t see any trace of her three brothers.

She rubbed her dirty little hands and asked Keke, "Where are my brothers?"

"They went to catch rhizomys," Keke, who had also seen that, added, "Rhizomys is also a species facing extinction; I hope the host will include it in the collection."

Manbao had never seen a rhizomys before and was startled by the mention. She hopped next to the big tree and clung to it tightly, asking, "Is a rhizomys a rat?"

"No, rhizomys belongs to the rhizomys family. They are robust in appearance. The host can walk into the bamboo thicket; I scanned that there are many rhizomys inside."

Manbao then found a stick on the ground and walked forward with it.

Swinging the stick and hitting the ground, she occasionally called out loud for Zhou SiLang and the others, but they seemed to have run off somewhere, leaving behind only her echoes and the occasional sounds of insects and birds in the forest.

Keke directed Manbao into the bamboo thicket to look for the big holes near the bamboo roots.

It presented the scanned scene into Manbao’s mind, where she could see two rhizomys lying close to the underground bamboo roots, one of which was very large and lazily scratching its face with its paws.

Manbao had been a bit afraid, but seeing its plump figure, she actually found it rather cute.

Manbao squatted in front of the hole, unsure of what to do next. She couldn’t just reach into the hole to catch them, could she?

Keke said, "Host, you can use smoke to drive them out, and then I can assist you in capturing them. However, of the rhizomys you catch, you must include at least one in the collection."

Manbao agreed that was no problem.

Then, instead of searching for her missing brothers, she stooped over and started groping for dry weeds in the forest.

After collecting quite a few dry leaves and weeds, Manbao bought a lighter from the mall. It wasn’t her first time knowing about this object, but it was her first time using it.

With Keke’s guidance, she reluctantly lit the fire, then placed the burning kindle at the mouth of the hole and gently blew on it, causing the smoke to waft into the hole.

Manbao’s eyes gleamed as she watched, finding playing with fire quite interesting, so she kept adding wood and dry grass into the hole.

Keke didn’t stop her, for it only had theoretical knowledge and had never made a fire before; how could it know the right way to do it?

Because of Manbao’s overzealousness, the fire, which had just started, was extinguished by her fiddling, and then clouds of smoke billowed up. Manbao fanned again, dispersing the smoke in every direction, which made her eyes turn red from irritation.

Of course, if so much smoke was billowing out, it would naturally billow in as well.

Keke, which had no physical form and relied solely on scanning to "see," was unaffected. It saw the fire smoke gushing down into the hole, stirring the two animals inside, with the smaller one making a dash for the hole first.

Keke immediately warned Manbao in her mind, shouting, "It’s coming out!"

Manbao instinctively used the stick in her hand to block the hole, but as soon as she positioned her stick, the hole stuffed with dry grass was forcefully burst open, knocking her stick aside.

Without thinking, Manbao lunged forward.

She landed squarely on the ground, and the moment her fingers touched the rhizomys, Keke incorporated it into the system.

This sequence of actions had just been completed when an even bigger and fatter rhizomys burst out of the hole. Manbao didn’t have time to get up from the ground before she came face to face with the rhizomys.

The rhizomys in front of her, clearly very annoyed, bared its teeth directly at Manbao, then arched its back, ready to attack.

Keke instructed her, "Just pounce and grab it. As long as you can touch its body, I can pull it into the space."

Manbao, no longer afraid and excited beyond measure, agreed that was no problem.

Manbao crouched, knowing she might not catch it, so she lunged forward, hoping to complete the task with her body.

The rhizomys, ready for this moment, darted out the instant she moved, squeaking sharply and leaping out from under Manbao.

But the moment Manbao’s clothes touched the rhizomys, Keke captured it into the space in that instant.

Manbao watched as the rhizomys vanished into thin air and quickly checked Keke’s space for the items inside. Seeing the bewildered fat rhizomys sitting there, she was overjoyed.

Knowing she couldn’t tell anyone about Keke’s existence, she found a sturdy vine to tie up the rhizomys and then started to drag it along as she walked on.

She decided to go find Zhou SiLang and the others, "Keke, where did they actually go?"

Keke replied, "Initially, they ran towards the southeast, but I don’t know if they changed direction halfway. I suggest the host stays put and waits for their return."

This indeed was the best approach, but could Manbao just sit still?

Of course not. So after playing around for a bit and seeing that Zhou SiLang and the others still hadn’t returned, Manbao could only drag the rhizomys along to find them.

She muttered as she searched, "They weren’t grabbed by wolves, were they?"

It was something said to scare her when she was younger, and because she grew up hearing it, Manbao was convinced that there were wolves in the mountains.

Manbao asked the chattering rhizomys she was dragging to keep quiet, saying, "Once we find SiLang, we can go home and cook, so don’t rush."

Manbao wandered deeper and deeper, occasionally calling out loudly, but there was no response. She felt uneasy and walked a bit further without discovering anyone.

She stopped, pursed her lips, and was about to burst into tears, "Keke, my brothers have disappeared."

Keke was also scanning, but its scanning range was limited. It could only comfort the host, "Host, maybe we should turn back and wait, it’s better that way."

Manbao sniffed, shook her head, and said, "No, I want to find them. If I lose them, how am I supposed to explain it to mom and dad when I go home tonight?"

Keke silently thought: Who lost whom wasn’t certain yet.

Manbao continued dragging the rhizomys forward, while at that moment, Zhou SiLang and his two brothers, who had been chasing the rhizomys for a while, were pondering how to light a fire to smoke out a rhizomys at a hole they found on the ground.

Zhou WuLang had already found another exit and called out, "I’ve blocked it, hurry up and light the fire!"

Zhou LiuLang was industriously drilling wood to make fire because they hadn’t brought flint, and the only way to make fire was through this method. Fortunately, they played often, and although it was slow, they managed to start the fire.

The three brothers cheered and immediately lay on the ground, fanning smoke into the hole...

When the three of them finally smoked the rhizomys out of its hiding spot and pinned it down, they lifted their heads in triumph.

Then Zhou SiLang’s smiling face stiffened, he looked around, and asked, "Where is this?"

Zhou WuLang answered, "In the mountains, of course, SiLang, are you confused? Didn’t we come to see your mountain today?"

Zhou SiLang’s voice was somewhat shaky, "I know, but I also remember that we came with Manbao."

Zhou WuLang and Zhou LiuLang also stiffened, and looked around.

Zhou SiLang was almost crying, "So where is Manbao?"