Chapter 134 - 125: Jackpot
With the Giant Toad dealt with, the group turned back to look at Yuan Ming, who was still unconscious.
"Come give me a hand," Wang Yun called out.
Working together, two of them gently turned Yuan Ming onto his side.
After a moment’s thought, Qin Ziwen took off his jacket and draped it over Yuan Ming.
Qin Ziwen frowned. "I’ve heard you’re not supposed to move someone who’s unconscious."
"Yes, that’s true. The best thing to do would be to call for an ambulance." Wang Yun nodded, then gave a wry smile. "But we can’t wait for rescue. We’ll have to figure something out ourselves."
Wang Yun looked down worriedly at the large, swelling lump on Yuan Ming’s forehead. "I’m just worried the coma was caused by a neurological injury. If that’s the case, this is very serious."
Qin Ziwen suggested, "Regardless, we have to try. Dr. Wang, what should we do now?"
Wang Yun said, "I’ll do what I can."
With that, he squatted down, wrapped a clean corner of his shirt around his finger, gently lifted Yuan Ming’s eyelid, and observed his pupil.
Deng Guang asked curiously, "Dr. Wang, I’ve noticed a lot of doctors check their patients’ pupils. What does that tell you?"
After checking both of Yuan Ming’s pupils, Wang Yun breathed a small sigh of relief. He turned his head to explain, "Asymmetrical pupils indicate brain damage. His are still fairly symmetrical. Captain, let me borrow your flashlight."
Qin Ziwen handed the solar-powered flashlight to Wang Yun. Wang Yun switched it to its lowest setting, then draped a layer of cloth over it to make the light less harsh.
He performed a pupillary light reflex test on Yuan Ming.
After another check to be sure, Wang Yun pressed down hard on Yuan Ming’s philtrum.
Beside them, Deng Guang suddenly whispered urgently, "He moved! He moved!"
Lying on the ground, Yuan Ming’s eyelashes trembled slightly.
The others gathered around, watching as Yuan Ming slowly opened his eyes.
Qin Ziwu asked curiously, "How do you feel?"
Yuan Ming opened his eyes, looking dazed at first. It took a moment for his vision to focus. "My head hurts."
Wang Yun’s expression changed slightly. "I hope there’s no lasting damage. Where does it hurt?"
"I don’t know." Yuan Ming shook his head, then seemed to notice something.
He reached a hand up to the large lump on his forehead and pressed it lightly, sucking in a sharp breath. "HSSS!!!"
Seeing this, Wang Yun actually breathed a sigh of relief. "It’s just swollen. You’ll be fine, don’t worry about it."
Qin Ziwu asked, "Are you thinking clearly?"
Yuan Ming hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
"Okay, then what’s one thousand, seven hundred and eighty-four times five thousand, six hundred and forty-five?"
Yuan Ming looked up, dazed. ’Maybe I’m not so clear-headed after all,’ he thought.
Qin Ziwen shot his brother an exasperated look. "Stop messing with him. He just woke up."
Yuan Ming finally realized Qin Ziwu was joking. He chuckled and scrambled to his feet. "I’ll tell you once I find a calculator."
Once he was on his feet, Yuan Ming recalled the scene with lingering fear. "That scared me half to death. Thank god for that incredible tree."
The Giant Toad had barreled right toward him.
It was an overwhelming black mass, like a mountain bearing down on him.
More terrifying than bungee jumping.
He walked over to the tree that had saved him. It was nearly a meter and a half in diameter. At the point of impact, a huge patch of bark had been stripped away, and numerous cracks webbed the trunk. Its roots were partially uprooted, and the once-straight tree now tilted at a nearly twenty-degree angle, as if it had been struck by a speeding car.
Seeing that he could walk on his own and seemed lucid and coherent, the others let him walk with the group under his own power.
After all, none of them were professional doctors. They worried about potential complications, but there was nothing to be done. They couldn’t perform a CT scan or an MRI out here.
As the group made their way down the mountain, Qin Ziwen walked at the rear. He watched the last rays of the setting sun in the west and suddenly grew pensive.
’Our current living situation is a lot like that of the ancients,’ he mused. ’Minor ailments can be treated, but serious ones are left to fate.’
"Hey, Big Bro, pick up the pace! We gotta get down the mountain and find those Cards!" Qin Ziwu, walking up ahead, turned back, cupped his hands around his mouth, and shouted.
Qin Ziwen snapped out of his reverie and quickened his pace. "Coming!"
...
Because the Giant Toad had fallen from the cliff, the group had to take the long way around, but they finally reached the bottom.
The flames were flickering out, and the sky had turned pitch-black.
The Giant Toad’s belly was charred black, and its stiffened limbs made it look like a grotesque sculpture.
Directly above its corpse,
five Cards hovered over its belly, rotating slowly. Their glow was strikingly bright in the darkness.
The most eye-catching one was in the center, glowing with a golden light. Qin Ziwen had seen Cards with a similar border pattern before—Resource Cards.
The other Resource Cards he had seen were silver with black borders, but this one was gold with a black border.
Besides that one, the other four Cards at the corners were two gray ones, one silver and black one, and one yellow one.
He’d never seen a yellow Card before, either.
’Truly a behemoth,’ he thought.
Luck had played a huge part in their successful hunt.
After falling from the cliff and lying immobilized on the ground, it had burned for over ten minutes from the Incendiary Bottles before it finally died—a testament to its terrifyingly high Life Energy.
If it hadn’t fallen from the cliff, they would never have been able to stop it from escaping in open terrain.
Furthermore, the gasoline had proven to be an excellent weapon. Regular firewood or other combustibles wouldn’t have been able to stick to the creature and burn it so effectively.
But high difficulty meant high rewards.
A full five Cards. Qin Ziwu clambered onto the Giant Toad’s abdomen and collected all of them.
"We hit the jackpot! We’re rich! Big Bro, I’ve never seen so many Cards at once!"
Everyone gathered around, passing the five Cards from hand to hand to inspect them.
[Building Card] Level 1 Orchard, [Building Card] Level 1 Carpenter’s Hut, [Resource Card] Level 1 Spring Eye, [Advanced Resource Card] Level 1 Healing Spring, [Building Enhancement Card] Grants a random special effect.
The most valuable of the lot were the Advanced Resource Card and the Building Enhancement Card.
It went without saying that the Advanced Resource Card was much rarer than a regular one.
As for the Healing Spring, its name made its general purpose obvious.
It could likely heal injuries or cure diseases. Either way, in their current environment, it was a strategic-level asset.
Then there was the Building Enhancement Card, which could bestow a special effect upon a building.
This special effect was not the same as a "trait."
For instance, something like "accelerated growth" was a trait, whereas the Celestial Star Arrow Gallery’s ability to create Arrows from thin air was a special effect.
’In my opinion,’ Qin Ziwen thought, ’the biggest difference between a normal building and an Advanced Building lies in these special effects.’
Of course, the traits of Advanced Buildings were also a cut above those of normal buildings.
Qin Ziwen addressed the group. "These five, plus the Blank Expansion Card we acquired earlier today, make six Cards in total. How about we assign a contribution point value to each one, and anyone with enough points can exchange for them? What do you all think?"
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