It was clear that the experiences of Teacher Xiao Liang and his three companions during their two-day disappearance were more extraordinary than Yang Lin had imagined.
First, they had been caught in a blizzard, causing their bodies to rapidly lose heat, and then they encountered creatures resembling wild ape-bears.
Even more thrilling, they had also encountered mysterious beings suspected to be the legendary donkey-headed wolves.
"At that moment, I was truly terrified. I originally thought the donkey-headed wolf was a creature invented by humans, but I never expected it to be real."
Immersed in the hot spring water, Yang Lin and the other four people were soaking together.
Teacher Xiao Liang was meticulously recounting his experiences to Yang Lin.
"Did you take any photos at the time?" Yang Lin suddenly asked.
"We were on the verge of death, who had the mood to take photos?" Teacher Xiao Liang shook his head.
"Director Yang, do you not believe me? It really was a donkey-headed wolf. Its claws were like hooves, and it was almost as tall as a horse. I estimated its weight to be at least over 200 catties."
As he spoke, Teacher Xiao Liang seemed to make a difficult decision, gritting his teeth and turning around.
The next second, a large, scabbed-over bite wound appeared on his buttocks.
Seeing this massive wound, Yang Lin was stunned for a moment, then quickly said,
"I believe you, I believe you. I won't look anymore, it's too much for my eyes."
As soon as he finished speaking, the other three also began to show Yang Lin their wounds.
Some were on their thighs, some on their lower backs, and one had been bitten on the ankle.
Each one was incredibly terrifying and gruesome, with very large wounds.
This was even with them wearing thick clothes in winter. If it were summer, they would have likely lost a chunk of flesh from the bitten areas.
To inflict such a bite, an ordinary wolf would certainly not be capable.
"The situation at the time was too perilous. If it weren't for Da Bai, which is the white bear you just saw, the four of us would probably have become fertilizer by now."
At this point, Teacher Xiao Liang's face once again showed a hint of lingering fear.
"By the way, Teacher Xiao Liang, based on your knowledge of flora and fauna, what do you think the donkey-headed wolf is?"
"Is it a mutated species or a relict species?" After pondering, Yang Lin suddenly asked.
Upon hearing his question, Teacher Xiao Liang seemed uncertain for a moment.
"It shouldn't be a mutated species. Mutations usually only occur in individuals; there are very few examples of group mutations."
"I feel the donkey-headed wolf is somewhat similar to the mesonychids from the Paleocene to the Eocene epochs."
As soon as he finished speaking, Yang Lin's eyes were filled with astonishment.
"Mesonychids? Aren't those primitive mammals from forty to fifty million years ago? Can they still be alive today?"
"And how did they manage to maintain their appearance over those forty to fifty million years?"
After speaking, he seemed to recall something.
"However, what you said isn't entirely impossible. After all, there are quite a few relict species in nature today."
"The baiji dolphin and the Chinese sturgeon are examples. It doesn't seem impossible for a group of mesonychids to have survived until now."
"Exactly, that's what I thought too. If that's the case, then there might be even older creatures living in Shennongjia," Teacher Xiao Liang nodded.
"For example, this one?" Yang Lin suddenly pointed at the white ape-bear beside them.
After observing for a while, he was mostly certain that the white bear before him was not a black bear that had undergone albinism, nor was it any other species of bear.
It was a completely new, unprecedented species, as indicated by the question marks on the system's information.
"Da Bai is indeed not any bear species we are familiar with..."
Before Teacher Xiao Liang could finish speaking, Yang Lin suddenly made a bold inference.
"Do you think it might be the legendary common ancestor of polar bears and pandas?"
"Judging by the era, it would also be a species from four to five million years ago."
As this bold inference was made, all five people present looked uniformly at the large creature beside them.
Upon closer inspection, they realized that the creature's face did indeed resemble a combination of a panda and a polar bear.
"Perhaps its ancestors discovered Shennongjia by chance during their migration and then hid here."
"Just like the other animals here."
As soon as he finished speaking, a system prompt sounded in Yang Lin's mind.
"Ding! A new species has been discovered. Please name it, host."
Upon hearing this system prompt, Yang Lin's eyes lit up. The system's prompt undoubtedly validated his statement.
Without overthinking, the characters "Bai Pi" appeared in his mind.
In ancient Chinese texts, "Pi" already meant ape-bear. "Bai Pi" meant white ape-bear, which was a perfect name for the large creature before him.
After naming the creature, Yang Lin originally wanted to soak in the hot spring a little longer, but upon remembering the purpose of their trip, he abandoned this tempting idea.
Ten minutes later, all five of them, including him, were fully dressed.
Casting a reluctant glance at this secluded paradise, the group then followed the passage back into Shennongjia.
At this moment, they tacitly agreed to keep their recent experiences to themselves.
Although the paradise was wonderful, it did not belong to humans, nor should it be disturbed by them.
If its existence were to be revealed, it might be developed into a tourist attraction within a month.
This would be incredibly unfair to the animals that had lived there for generations.
"Let's go, we have to get back. If we don't return soon, there will be one more person on the missing list."
Taking a deep breath of the icy air mixed with wind and snow, Yang Lin prepared to lead the group to meet the rescue team.
However, just as they had taken a few steps, bursts of chilling screeches echoed from the nearby mountain forest.
Yang Lin was relatively calm, but Teacher Xiao Liang and the others beside him turned deathly pale.
"It's the donkey-headed wolf pack."
Upon hearing this, Yang Lin not only felt no fear but also showed a hint of excitement.
However, this spark of excitement only lasted for a few seconds before disappearing, especially after he opened the GPS locator.
The red dots representing the other members of the rescue team were now overlapping with the direction from which the donkey-headed wolf screeches were coming.
Realizing this, Yang Lin immediately had a bad premonition. Without time to think, he immediately led Teacher Xiao Liang and the other four towards the direction indicated by the locator.
Fortunately, the distance was not too far. In just over ten minutes, scattered firelight appeared in the mountain forest shrouded by the night.
Under the illumination of these lights, six familiar figures became clearly visible.
They were Li Changhai and his companions, whom Yang Lin had been separated from for a long time.
And surrounding the six figures were more than a dozen sturdy black shadows, encircling them. The atmosphere instantly became extremely terrifying.