Knowing what it is is the only way she can plan to eliminate them.
"Why aren't you afraid?"
Grandpa Plum didn't expect that after realizing she was surrounded by wolves, Ran could still be so calm and not worried about her situation at all.
"What's there to be afraid of!" Ran casually cleaned the bowls and chopsticks, then stored them back in the space, speaking carelessly, "It's just a pack of wolves, I'm confident I can easily drive them away!"
She had no doubt about her own abilities.
While they were talking, three wolves slowly approached. Their cold, bloodthirsty eyes locked onto Ran by the fire, and drool dripped constantly from their mouths onto the ground.
Ran saw the green eyes not far away and slowly stood up. With a twist of her wrist, a handgun appeared in her hand.
Her gaze was calm as she raised the gun, eyes fixed on the three wolves coming closer. She silently watched them approach.
When they reached the distance she had predicted, a faint smile curved her lips. She aimed the muzzle at one of the wolves' heads and pulled the trigger without hesitation.
"Bang!"
The gunshot echoed through the valley. Blood kept gushing from the head of the wolf she had shot.
The entire wolf lay still on the ground, clearly dead.
"Whimper..."
Seeing the wolf beside them killed with a single shot, the other two wolves backed up two steps and let out low growls of warning.
"Awoo! Awoo!"
Suddenly, two loud wolf howls came from not far away. Ran knew it was the voice of the wolf king. It must be giving orders to the pack.
Sure enough, as soon as the wolf king stopped howling, the surrounding wolves all howled in response.
Hearing the overlapping howls, Ran understood that a big battle was about to begin.
Sure enough, as the wolves' howls stopped, countless wolves slowly moved toward her, growling warningly and staring fiercely at Ran, who still held her gun high.
There were at least over a dozen wolves. If it were someone else, they would likely be pale with fear and filled with despair.
But Ran didn't panic at all facing the pack. Calm as ever, she held her gun in one hand while using her ability with the other.
Without the wolves noticing, thick vines had quietly surrounded them.
Just as the wolves crouched in ambush, Ran suddenly raised her hand and waved lightly. The thick vines quickly wrapped tightly around the wolves' bodies.
In an instant, all the wolves lost their ability to move and collapsed on the ground, struggling helplessly.
No matter how hard they struggled, the vines wrapped around them only tightened.
"Awoo! Awoo!"
Just as all the wolves were awaiting death, a tall, snow-white wolf slowly walked out. Its eyes were calm and filled with intelligent wisdom.
Ran couldn't help but wonder to herself, had this wolf gained intelligence?
The Wolf King stepped out and glanced at the wolves lying on the ground, then growled at Ran. But the growl didn't make Ran feel threatened. Grandpa Plum, on the other hand, stayed completely alert.
She had killed a wolf today, which meant she was already at odds with the pack. If she let them escape now, she would never have peace again.
Without any hesitation, Ran pointed the gun at the Snow Wolf's head. If it dared to move even a little, she would pull the trigger without a second thought.
"Ran, what are you planning to do with these wolves?" Grandpa Plum had been about to help protect Ran earlier, but once he saw the wolves tied up by vines and unable to move, he didn't say anything. Now, seeing the Wolf King appear, he couldn't help but speak with concern.
"This Wolf King isn't simple. If it's not absolutely necessary, I think you shouldn't make it your enemy."
"But I've already killed a wolf from their pack. That means I'm already their enemy. Letting them go now would be like setting a tiger free to return to the mountains."
Ran knew wolves were pack animals and had strong vengeful instincts. If she let them go, it would only bring endless trouble later.
She wasn't scared for herself, but there were still a few villages at the foot of the mountain. The villages had plenty of people and livestock.
If the wolves came down the mountain, the consequences would be unimaginable. So even if it wasn't for her own safety, she still couldn't let them go today.
Although she wasn't a good person, she knew she couldn't drag innocent people down just because of her own actions. Thinking of this, the killing intent in Ran's eyes grew stronger.
The Wolf King sensed this intense threat, and its eyes turned fierce. Its body tensed into a pounce position.
With a low growl, it leapt straight at Ran. Seeing this, Ran didn't hesitate.
She quickly pulled the trigger. "Bang!" A sharp gunshot rang out.
A painful cry followed. The Wolf King's hind leg was hit. Bright red blood flowed from the wound and soon dyed the fur on its leg red.
Ran raised an eyebrow in surprise. She hadn't expected the Wolf King to move so fast.
Her shooting had been trained. Even if not perfect, she rarely missed.
She had thought the shot would be enough to kill it, but it only injured its leg. The Wolf King, now enraged, bared its fangs and glared fiercely at Ran.
Then it charged at her again with even more speed. "Bang bang bang!!"
Ran fired three more shots while backing away. In the next moment, the Wolf King fell heavily to the ground with a loud thud.
The Wolf King lay in a pool of its own blood, weakly whimpering and motionless. Ran walked over and, without the slightest hesitation, aimed at its head and fired one final shot.
"Bang!" The gunshot echoed. The Wolf King's head dropped to the ground.
Its eyes stared lifelessly ahead. After dealing with the Wolf King, Ran looked at the struggling wolves.
She raised her hand, and with a bit of force, the vines around their necks tightened and strangled them all. Seeing the ground now covered in wolf corpses, Ran finally let out a breath of relief.
With a wave of her hand, she stored all the bodies into her space. With these wolf corpses, the trip into the mountains had proven worthwhile.
Ran decided that after leaving the mountain, she would find a leatherworker to help process the pelts. If the price was good, she would sell them all except for the White Wolf's fur.
After getting through the wolf pack crisis, Ran felt a little tired. She yawned, stretched, and walked toward the tent.
"Sis, what were you holding just now?" Smoliv asked excitedly.
It couldn't believe Ran was so powerful, she had taken down the whole wolf pack by herself.
"This is a handgun!" Ran took the gun out of her space again and played with it for a moment. She smiled and explained, "This gun has been with me for many years."
She yawned, rubbed her tired eyes, then said to Smoliv and Grandpa Plum, "Alright, I'm really tired now, let's talk tomorrow. Good night."
"Good night, sis!" Although Smoliv didn't know what good night meant at first, after seeing her actions and looking at the dark sky, it roughly understood.
Grandpa Plum didn't speak, but its branches swayed a little.
Ran crawled into the tent, opened the air mattress and sleeping bag, then curled up inside it, leaving only her head exposed. She placed the handgun and a flashlight beside her.
After the intense and thrilling moment earlier, Ran quickly fell asleep from exhaustion.
The next morning, Ran slowly opened her eyes.
She usually woke up early, but this time, to her surprise, it was already bright outside.
She unzipped the tent and stepped out, stretching as she cheerfully greeted Smoliv and the others.
"Good morning, Smoliv, Grandpa Plum!"
"Hmph, the sun's already shining on your butt!" Before Smoliv could say anything, Grandpa Plum scoffed first.
"No, Sis didn't get up late!" Worried that Ran might be upset, Smoliv quickly tried to comfort her.
"I don't have a job, so why should I get up early?" Ran rolled her eyes at Grandpa Plum and then pulled out her toiletries, heading to a nearby small waterfall to freshen up.
After a quick wash, Ran reheated the leftover fish soup from yesterday. Once she finished eating, she let out a satisfied burp.
"Burp~"
"Are all two-legged beasts like you?" Grandpa Plum asked in a slightly disgusted tone.
"Like me? What's wrong with how I am?" Ran didn't expect Grandpa Plum to ask something like that. She wasn't angry though, and just smiled as she replied, "What's wrong with being like me? After all, eating and sleeping well keeps you healthy."
"Also, I'm not a two-legged beast. Calling me that is really rude." Ran corrected again. Just yesterday it was calling her by name, how come overnight it switched back to calling her a two-legged beast?
Grandpa Plum didn't respond this time. Ran didn't mind.
She carried her basket, which held a small shovel and hoe, and walked over to Grandpa Plum, asking, "Grandpa Plum, are there any herbs nearby?"
"Why are you looking for herbs?" Grandpa Plum asked in confusion. Though it knew some of the plants were herbs, it didn't know much about their effects. It only knew they were valuable to two-legged beasts.
But in the past hundred years, no one had stepped foot here, so its knowledge of their uses wasn't very clear.
"I'm going to collect them!" Ran replied with a bright smile. "Herbs are really important to us humans. They can heal our injuries."
"That, we don't know. We can't move around, so how would we know where those so-called herbs grow?"