Chapter 42 The Abnormality of the Crystal Ball
Cowboy Georgia Meyer, who received the news, was already waiting at the fork in the road in a jeep.

He used to be a programmer at Philemon, but because he was too introverted and could not adapt to the life in a modern company, he took the initiative to apply to look after the ranch for Philemon.

Life on the ranch suited Georgia very well. He was kept in charge for eight or nine years. The long period of time completely transformed him and turned him into a standard cowboy.

Luke was brought to the ranch, where there was a house specially prepared for his family. It was usually idle, but someone came to clean and tidy it every other week. It was very clean and tidy.

Life in the country is often down to earth and pleasant, especially if you are rich enough to modernise your home.

With the previous furniture and daily necessities in place, Luke could move in with just his luggage.

This bag is naturally a gun bag, which contains some good things such as weapons, ammunition, explosives, holy water, etc.

Before coming here, Luke had already told cowboy Georgia that he wanted to practice his shooting skills here, and the other party was not surprised. There are many wild animals in the wilderness of America, such as wolves and wild boars, which often run rampant. They also hunt with rifles on a daily basis. In fact, this young master even came here to experience hunting a few years ago.

Now that I'm itching to do something, it's not unusual to come and stay for a few more days.

The vast grassland stretches to the horizon, and the endless green grassland is connected with the blue sky and white clouds, forming a magnificent picture. The cattle and sheep on the ranch are grazing leisurely under the warm sunshine. The cowboy riding a white horse is patrolling the ranch, and two sheepdogs are following behind him, observing the surroundings loyally and diligently.

Luke walked out of the room, greeted Georgia from a distance, and then went to the other side with his bag.

The sound of shooting was too loud and could easily scare the livestock that were eating, so Luke simply drove the car to a slightly farther place to practice.

A high-performance pickup truck focused on off-road, the Mammoth chassis uses a large amount of high-strength steel to improve the frame rigidity. At the same time, the suspension system is also equipped with powerful adaptive shock absorbers. It performs great on the grassland and provides an excellent driving experience.

After driving for half an hour, Luke stopped beside a forest. After looking around and asking loudly to make sure there was no one there, he selected a large tree on the edge as a target and started today's shooting training.

After trying the 25-meter fixed target more than a dozen times, emptying two magazines and hitting all the bullets, Luke lost interest in this fixed target.

Ultimately, marksmanship must be honed through actual combat.

He carried an AR-47 as a backup, held an M500 in his hand, and slowly walked into the jungle, ready to hunt some prey.

Perhaps it had been cleared not long ago, or perhaps he was startled by the gunshots just now. Luke wandered around in the jungle for a long time but found nothing, not even a rabbit.

However, what is certain is that there were indeed many traces of animals living here. Luke even found bloodstains and animal carcasses left behind by carnivores after hunting, as well as many fresh impact marks and fresh thick branches fallen on the ground, as if some large creature had lived and hunted here recently.

After wandering for a long time, Luke finally walked out of the woods dejectedly. He rubbed the mud on the soles of his shoes on the unfortunate tree that was used as a target, and then returned to the cockpit.

You can't hunt, so just go for a walk.

This mammoth hasn't run across the grassland much yet, so this is a good opportunity to have some fun.

Luke opened the car window, stepped on the accelerator, and drove all the way along the outskirts of the forest. The mammoth's huge tires drove the mud and grass leaves into the air, as if a giant beast really passed by here.

With the woods as the boundary, this large grassland here belongs to Luke's ranch, so the grass can be damaged at will without worrying about any disputes caused by driving.

More than ten minutes later, when they were almost at the end of the woods, Luke eased off the accelerator and was about to turn around and go back when he suddenly received a message from the outside world. The source of the message seemed to be consistent with his mental power, just like a buzzing mosquito, trying to enter his mind.

Luke slams on the brakes. Let me see what's going on?
Following the source of the spiritual power, it turned out to be a crystal ball placed in the box in the back row.

Did you discover the monster?
Luke released the mental protection of his brain and allowed the information to enter.

Sure enough, it was a simple hint from the crystal ball, with only one general meaning - there was a dark monster nearby, the distance was uncertain, and the level was unknown.

In this desolate wilderness, with low grassland all around, Luke took the AR-47, got out, stepped on the wide wheels and looked around, but he couldn't see any monsters.

Then there is only one answer, the monster came from the direction of the woods.

As the old saying goes, don't enter the forest.

This forest is not small in size, and the environment is relatively dark and hidden. The terrain is also very complicated due to the division of various large trees, which is not conducive to Luke's performance.

Moreover, if there are monsters in the woods, this is most likely the enemy's familiar home ground. If you rush in rashly, there is a high possibility of being ambushed.

Don't be impulsive. You should go back and ask the cowboy to find out the details first, and see if this local has more information.

Luke returned to the car, put the rifle on his lap, prepared for possible attacks, and stepped on the accelerator to leave the outskirts of the woods.

There were no monsters that suddenly appeared, no potholes or tire nails, and the journey back was safe.

Back near the ranch house, cowboy Giorgia was already driving the cattle and sheep back with the help of two sheepdogs. Seeing Luke's car coming back, he rode closer and asked loudly, "Mr. Luke, what would you like to eat for lunch? There are not so many fresh vegetables here at the ranch."

Luke responded: "Then let's grill some meat, it's simpler."

When they got back to their place and got out of the car, Luke and Giorgia packed up the meat together and asked, "Has anything strange happened at the ranch recently?"

"I haven't heard of anything strange recently. The ranch is very peaceful," Giorgia recalled for a moment and added, "A lamb was taken away the day before yesterday, but this is a common occurrence on the ranch. Even if we hunt and clean up after a period of time, there are always wild animals that come to hunt. There are even eagles that directly catch lambs and take them away."

Luke put the processed beef aside, washed his hands, and continued to ask: "The edge of our ranch is that forest, right? Is there anything on the other side of the forest?"

"Across the street?" Georgia replied, "Across the street is a farm run by Bjorn's family, but it's much smaller than ours."

Nothing happened on the ranch, and there was a family living across the forest.

Luke's mind flashed through the bloodstains and bones on the ground when he was searching for prey in the forest. Were they really traces of hunting by wild beasts?

Were those unusually clean gnawed bones really the result of animal bites?
There are also traces of large biological impacts.

Or are all these signs in the woods coming from that unknown monster?
Everything was unknown, which made Luke, who was used to taking the initiative and attacking secretly, a little uneasy.

However, life is like this. It is impossible to always be prepared for everything in advance, and it is always full of unknowns.

What I can do is to follow the very famous words from my previous life – always be prepared.

(End of this chapter)