Wilderness: I Tame Beasts to Survive-Chapter 56 - 55: Squeak

The processing center was a sprawling factory.

Han Ning hadn’t visited this place often before, but he vaguely remembered a large, sliding iron gate at the main entrance.

But now, the entrance was empty. Only the gate’s frame remained, standing forlornly and revealing the large glass doors that led into the processing center.

"...The Iron-toothed Snakes or the Silver-Scaled Python must have chewed the gate off. I hope those brutes didn’t get to the equipment inside."

A nervous expression appeared on Lü Xiuning’s face as he took in the scene.

If those precious machines were damaged by the Iron-toothed Snakes, it would be a complete disaster.

He took the key to the glass doors out of his backpack, unlocked the door, and went inside with the others.

The moment they stepped inside, the reek of something foul mixed with the smell of dust hit them.

The vast processing center was shrouded in dim light, and a thin layer of dust coated the various machines.

Han Ning’s gaze swept across the room. He spotted the carcasses of many Iron-toothed Snakes, twisted together. Scraps of metal in various colors were scattered across the floor.

"Shit... Don’t tell me I was right?" Lü Xiuning couldn’t help but curse at the sight.

"Teacher Lü, don’t worry. It doesn’t look like there are any particularly large Iron-toothed Snakes here. These scattered snakes probably just crawled in through some pipes and windows. The equipment might still be salvageable." As he spoke, Liu Yueming directed his Silver Lotus Wood to casually dispatch an onrushing Iron-toothed Snake before walking straight inside.

Without a word, the students fanned out on their own, beginning to clear the factory of Iron-toothed Snakes hiding in corners and under machinery.

At this point, Yin Yi could reduce the weak Iron-toothed Snakes to a pulp with a single lash of its Vine Whip; it didn’t even need to use its Emerald Flower Thorns.

Han Ning even felt he was probably strong enough to take on one of these weaker Iron-toothed Snakes himself.

He followed Yin Yi as it cleared the path, joining several other students. They cleared out the hiding Soul Beasts while simultaneously inspecting the surrounding machinery for damage.

"I’m not familiar with this kind of equipment. Zhiran, could you tell me what they do?" Han Ning asked, pointing to a gray-white machine with a metal outer casing on his right.

"This is a lathe, used for machining cylindrical parts. It can handle various processes like boring, turning, facing, and threading. It’s widely used in manufacturing." Liu Zhiran was a mechanical engineering student, so he was familiar with this basic equipment.

As he spoke, he stepped forward to examine the lathe, running his hands over it before nodding in satisfaction. "Only the outer metal casing is a bit damaged. It should still work fine."

He then pointed to an upright machine further ahead and explained, "That’s a drill press, a machine for making holes. You use different drill bits to machine the workpiece, depending on its size and shape..."

"This is a grinder..."

"This is a milling machine..."

"This is a punch press..."

"And this is a laser cutter..."

Liu Zhiran led Han Ning past a row of machines—some intact, others slightly damaged—explaining the function of each one.

Finally, they arrived outside a room enclosed by layers of thick glass walls.

A massive machine stood inside the room.

Teachers Lü Xiuning and Liu Yueming were already inside, carefully inspecting the machine for damage.

"This is a CNC machining center. The school spent a fortune importing it from abroad a couple of years ago for training purposes. You can tell just by how well it’s protected that this thing wasn’t cheap."

"As long as we have the blueprints, the CNC machining center can fabricate any gun parts we need," Liu Zhiran explained proudly, pressing his face against the glass and gazing at the expensive machine inside.

"Incredible..." Han Ning echoed in amazement.

...

After a thorough search by the group, they confirmed that with the Silver-Scaled Python dead, there were no longer any Soul Beasts in the area between the dorms and the processing center that posed a threat to them.

Having cleared out most of the nearby Iron-toothed Snakes and assessed the damage to the equipment, Han Ning, the teachers, and the other students returned to the dorms.

The remaining tasks were best left to professionals like Dean Wu.

After all, everyone has their own expertise.

...

「One week later.」

Inside the dorm.

Han Ning and Yin Yi were cheek to cheek, both staring at a single grayish-white Gecko Egg inside a glass tank.

A few hours earlier, he’d been surprised to find several cracks on the egg’s surface.

"Ling?"

Yin Yi carefully clung to the side of the tank, letting out a soft chirp in Han Ning’s direction.

"I don’t know when it’ll hatch, but it should be soon..."

The moment Han Ning finished speaking, the fist-sized Gecko Egg began to tremble gently. A web of fine cracks now covered its surface.

A strange scent began to drift from within the cracked shell.

’The Gecko Egg is hatching?!’

Han Ning immediately fell silent.

The flames in Yin Yi’s pupils suddenly flared.

CRACKLE~

As the strange scent intensified, more and more long, thin cracks spread across the Gecko Egg’s surface.

The white egg emitted a faint CRACKLE... CRACKLE... as pieces of shell of all sizes began to break away from the top, crumbling downward.

Soon, the top of the egg completely shattered.

In a domino effect, large chunks of the shell’s midsection fell away as well.

The next moment, a small, ochre-colored foot poked out from inside the shell.

It was followed by a second tiny foot. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Finally, a tiny Guardian appeared before Han Ning. It was no bigger than his ring finger, its body a pale yellow, and it stared up with enormous, obsidian-black eyes.

The little creature braced its tiny feet against the cracked shell, which instantly crumbled into the soil, fully revealing its body.

Two pairs of slender feet, a long, thin tail, and a back dotted with ochre-colored spots.

The Little Guardian lay on the damp soil, dazed for a few seconds. Then it turned its innocent gaze upon Han Ning and let out a faint, "CHIRP~."

Instead of moving to explore its new surroundings, it remained curled up where it was, its large, bright eyes shimmering with confusion.

Han Ning carefully placed his palm on the soil in front of the Little Guardian and smiled gently.

"Hello, little one."

"Chirp?"

The newly-hatched Little Guardian seemed calmer than Han Ning had expected. Even though Han Ning was the first living being it saw upon hatching, the little one still leaned against the broken eggshell, scanning its surroundings with eyes that were both confused and wary.