Xu Mingxuan, seeing that Chen Lan had already said so much, knew his wife wanted to help him and the soldiers in the camp, so he happily agreed, "Okay, I accept your challenge. This is a sure-win, no-loss deal, and I'm destined to win."
The couple stopped their idle chat. Chen Lan took out six carbon steel arrows from the system's warehouse and handed them to Xu Mingxuan, briefly explaining the working principle of the crossbow. Xu Mingxuan, having used real weapons and fought on the battlefield, quickly understood how to operate it.
Chen Lan specifically reminded him, "Brother Mingxuan, the maximum effective range of this crossbow is sixty meters. Beyond that, it might not be able to kill the prey.
But you also can't get too close to the prey; it's not safe. Wild boars are very ferocious animals. Look at their long tusks, like daggers, and they run incredibly fast. Humans simply can't outrun them. If a wild boar spots you, it'll be big trouble.
Also, Brother Mingxuan, since our crossbow is only equipped with six carbon steel arrows, we must kill the wild boar with a single shot.
We need to use two carbon steel arrows for each wild boar: one aimed at the skull and the other at the throat. This way, we can ensure it's foolproof."
Chen Lan then purchased a pair of walkie-talkies from the system, put one on her head, and adjusted it according to the prompts on the system's light screen.
Under Xu Mingxuan's surprised gaze, she gestured for him to bend his head so she could put the other walkie-talkie on him and adjust it. She then walked about fifteen meters away and stopped, speaking softly, "Brother Mingxuan, can you hear me?"
Xu Mingxuan immediately replied excitedly in a low voice, "Lan'er, I can hear you! This thing is amazing!"
Chen Lan said quietly, "Brother Mingxuan, then let's start working separately. We've agreed! We need to give each other a signal before we start. We both have to act at the same time, or the wild boars will hear the noise and run away."
Xu Mingxuan immediately entered combat mode and replied, "Received, understood."
So, the two of them separated and carefully began to search for ambush points and target prey.
Chen Lan left the area to Xu Mingxuan and walked back with her crossbow, circling around to the front of the group of wild boars. She carefully observed the group; it was quite large, with about twenty adult wild boars and seven or eight young ones, plus two sows that were pregnant.
Since she had decided to help Xu Mingxuan solve the problem of insufficient winter provisions for the camp, Chen Lan felt that sending just four wild boars wouldn't solve much.
Thus, she changed her strategy and decided to hunt this group of wild boars using twin crossbows, just like last time.
She searched the surroundings and found a large tree with many branches. She checked the effective range; fortunately, it was fifty-three meters, well within the effective range.
She took a chopping knife from the system's warehouse and cut a few pliable vines. She then securely bound the crossbow to a tree branch with the vines. After adjusting the crossbow, loading it with six carbon steel arrows, and turning on the infrared sight, she aimed at the wild boars' skulls and throats.
She then purchased another new crossbow of the same model from the system, assembled it very skillfully, and also secured it to the tree branch with vines. She adjusted the angle, loaded it with six carbon steel arrows, turned on the infrared sight, and aimed at the targets, adjusting the firing angle.
Once everything was ready, she turned on the walkie-talkie and whispered to Xu Mingxuan, "Brother Mingxuan, are you ready?"
Xu Mingxuan replied excitedly in a low voice, "All preparations are complete. Awaiting your command."
Chen Lan immediately responded, "Okay! Brother Mingxuan, I'll count to three. When I say 'three', we'll both press the launch button simultaneously.
Let's begin. Ready, one, two, three." As she finished counting "three," Chen Lan pressed the launch buttons with her index fingers.
The sound of thunderous roars echoed, signaling the wild boars falling to the ground from the sudden attack. This was followed by the wild boars' heart-wrenching squeals. The deafening cries of the wild boars pained the ears and reverberated through the valley for a long time, causing leaves to fall from the trees.
Then came the sounds of panicked wild boars fleeing in all directions, echoing through the valley.
Finally, only the wild boars' cries continued to echo in the valley for over half an hour, gradually growing fainter until they disappeared altogether.
The valley fell silent, so quiet that even the sound of falling leaves could be heard. Everything around returned to its original state, as if the hunt had never happened.
Another half an hour passed. Chen Lan untied the crossbow from the tree branch, put one back into the system's warehouse, and kept one in her hand.
She then called out softly, "Brother Mingxuan, can you hear me?"
Xu Mingxuan's voice immediately came back through the walkie-talkie, "Lan'er, I can hear you. Are you alright!"
Chen Lan hummed in response. After a moment's thought, she said, fearing he might not have heard, "I'm fine, Brother Mingxuan. Let's go down into the valley now!"
Xu Mingxuan replied with an affirmative.
The couple then emerged from behind the large tree, both holding crossbows, and descended cautiously into the valley to meet.
They saw nine wild boars lying scattered on the ground. Each wild boar had been struck through the throat, with shattered skulls, and the carbon steel arrows embedded deep into the bone.
The nine wild boars on the ground were all adult males, measuring about 1.7 to 2 meters in length, and each estimated to weigh over 300 pounds.
Their fur was a dark brown with a hint of black, and they were all plump and strong with short, thick legs. Unfortunately, the pig's blood had pooled on the ground.
Chen Lan stored the other crossbow in the system's warehouse and, with considerable effort, pulled the carbon steel arrows from the wild boars' bodies, her forehead soon beading with sweat.
Xu Mingxuan offered to help, but Chen Lan declined, afraid he might tear the wounds by exerting too much force.
She pulled out all eighteen carbon steel arrows and, using the flawed fabric she had washed and stored in the system's warehouse after last use, wiped the blood off the arrows and arrowheads.
She extended her hand to give six arrows to Xu Mingxuan, then paused, took them back, and stored them along with the twelve carbon steel arrows in her hand into the system's warehouse.
Xu Mingxuan understood immediately and handed his crossbow to Chen Lan. Chen Lan accepted it without hesitation and stored it in the system's warehouse.
She walked around the nine wild boars, stored them all in the system's warehouse, and then turned to say, "Brother Mingxuan, let's head back quickly!"
Xu Mingxuan cautiously scanned the surrounding valley, then nodded and said, "Okay! Let's go! Lan'er, you lead the way, and I'll follow behind you."
The couple quickly turned and climbed back up the mountain, leaving the valley. After walking rapidly through the forest towards home for about half an hour, they began to slow their pace.