The giant bird was incredibly fast, like a gust of wind or a sudden downpour.
Air pressure churned the lawn, its broad wings blocking out the sunlight and casting large shadows.
A person sitting on the ground a dozen meters ahead was suddenly lifted by the shoulders and pulled into the air.
Her scream echoed from above.
She struggled desperately, but the giant bird released its claws, only lifting her again after she landed freely.
Only after the giant bird had flown far away did the group, hidden in various places, regroup in the sunlight, exchanging bewildered glances as they watched the departing bird.
Qin Ziwen muttered, "This guy really thinks this place is a buffet."
The closer they got, the more they could feel the oppressive presence of this giant bird.
It was like the dominant male crocodile in the river.
Zheng Yuan's face darkened: "If it comes a second time, there will definitely be a third, a fourth."
But facing an opponent that could fly, they didn't know how to deal with it.
Huang Tao stepped forward and asked the crowd, "Who was just taken away? Did anyone see clearly?"
"I don't know."
"I didn't notice, but the voice sounded like a woman's."
"That bird flew too fast, I didn't have time to notice."
The crowd murmured amongst themselves.
The atmosphere was tense; no one knew if they would be the next target. Faced with such a flying predator, the only option was to stay away from open areas.
Someone cursed angrily, "Damn it, there are crocodiles in the river, and man-eating birds in the sky! This damn world!"
"Cuifang! Cuifang!" An old man ran out breathlessly, calling out several times to the crowd.
Receiving no response, the old man looked around in fear.
He anxiously shouted to the surrounding crowd, "Luo Cuifang, Luo Cuifang, where are you? Have you seen my Cuifang? She was just here. She sprained her ankle and asked me to go home and get her some medicine."
"I remember now, a woman seemed to have been taken away by that big bird." Qin Ziwu's words trailed off as he turned away, unable to bear it any longer, because the woman who had been taken by the bird had just lost her son.
The old man stood there, mouth agape, stunned.
His chest heaved violently, and the medicine bottle in his hand shattered on the ground with a crash.
"Ah—"
He collapsed to the ground, howling in agony.
He had seen the giant bird overhead on his way here, and worried about his wife's safety, so he had run all the way.
He never expected that the thing he dreaded would still happen.
The old man's hands trembled as he rose and looked around at the crowd.
Everyone avoided his gaze.
In one day, his son was dead, and his wife was dead too.
He hunched over and staggered back home.
As evening fell and darkness descended
, "Bang!" A hydraulic shear clamped down hard, severing the middle joint of the guardrail in front of him. Zou Sheng let out a long breath and rubbed his aching arms. "This broken railing is actually quite sturdy,"
Qin Ziwen said, picking up a broken piece of railing from the ground. "It's better that it's sturdy, so it won't break under the weight of the crocodiles."
He squeezed the sharp, angular tip of the railing with his fingertip. "It's not sharp enough; the tip needs some work."
Yang Chuhe picked up a dismantled piece of railing from the ground, weighed it in his palm, and said with satisfaction, "The quality of this zinc-steel railing is good. It's not just for piercing crocodiles; it could even be used for hunting wild animals. It seems the developers of Yujing Jiangcheng didn't cut corners. This thing would be considered a divine weapon in ancient times; it would easily pierce a crocodile."
Hearing what General Manager Yang said, many people around him exchanged strange glances.
Huang Tao looked at the dozens of dismantled railing bars on the ground and said with a wry smile, "I can't handle this by myself; there are too many. Everyone will have to help sharpen them tonight."
Hearing this, the others looked conflicted.
After digging in the dirt all afternoon, no one was not tired and just wanted to go home and rest.
Qin Ziwen volunteered, "Give me some, I'll work a little longer tonight."
Seeing Qin Ziwen's initiative, Huang Tao was secretly pleased, and his gaze towards Qin Ziwen became even more amiable.
Some people thought to themselves that Qin Ziwen was just trying to show off; with him like this, how could anyone slack off?
Zheng Yuan stepped forward, "I'll take some back to grind too."
Qin Ziwen waved his hand, smiling, and said, "No need, I haven't been sleeping well lately, I go to bed late, so it's good to have something to do."
Seeing his firm attitude, Zheng Yuan couldn't persuade him otherwise and had to take some spears from Huang Tao to take back.
Carrying the dismantled iron fence back home with his younger brother,
Qin Ziwu didn't understand his older brother's actions. "Brother, nobody else is doing it, why are we bringing it back?"
"Go to sleep early, I'll do it myself tonight."
Qin Ziwu thought his older brother was angry, so he quickly said, "I didn't say I wouldn't do it, I just think with so many people, it won't take long for each person to take one and sharpen it."
Qin Ziwen glanced at him sideways: "Go and get me two rough, hard stones."
Of course, he couldn't explain to his younger brother that it was for the sake of gaining points.
Now he had roughly figured out the pattern of the daily score settlement.
Gathering resources, drawing maps, hunting prey—as long as he did something positive for survival,
he could gain points. He could predict that if he succeeded in hunting this alpha male crocodile, he would definitely gain a lot of points.
So, did collecting so many alloy long sticks count as obtaining a large amount of materials?
In this primitive society environment, zinc-steel alloy material was extremely rare; it was extremely sturdy.
Whether used to make traps, spear-like weapons, or shield frames, it was a top-notch material.
Even if bringing back these zinc-steel alloys doesn't count as collecting materials, processing them would still increase his "contribution" to the crocodile hunt.
Night fell, and the curtains were drawn back.
Under the bright moonlight, the young man crouched on the ground, rubbing his zinc-steel spear against a rock.
"Shh."
It continued until evening.
A voice reached his ears.
"You have successfully survived five days in the wilderness. Your team hunted a crocodile, and you received some raw meat. You encountered the alpha male crocodile of this area. The crocodile's threat forced the community residents to cooperate in preparing traps. You participated in setting the traps, but you seem to have forgotten something. Overall score: 19 points."
"You have received the following rewards: [Building Card] Level 1 Farmland, Rabbit Food *4, Woodcutter's Knife *1."
Forgot something.
Qin Ziwen looked at the rewards, his gaze shifting to the rabbit food.
"Damn it! I forgot to feed the rabbits during the day!"
Qin Ziwen quickly got up and went to the animal cage.
He had put a little wild vegetable in the trough before leaving in the morning, but the rabbits hadn't eaten.
The food trough was now completely empty, and the two rabbits looked rather listless.
Qin Ziwen took out a bag of rabbit food.
His hand sank; a large 20-pound bag of rabbit food appeared in his palm.
He tore open the packaging and poured the dry rabbit pellets into the trough. As he poured, he smelled the rich aroma of hay, along with a faint scent of roasted grains.
The two rabbits hesitated for a moment after smelling the aroma, then eagerly hopped to the trough and began to devour the rabbit food.
Perhaps the smell was too strong, for they even ignored the large hand gently stroking their backs.
(End of Chapter)