Chapter 38 - 34: Hunter
Hearing Wang Yun’s story, a phrase popped into Qin Ziwen’s mind—’Misfortune is where fortune leans; fortune is where misfortune lurks.’
He remembered that besides hunting the powerful creatures in the current area, another way to obtain Cards was to explore resource points in the wild.
The Home system had specifically pointed out that these wild resource points were often located in high-risk areas.
Qin Ziwen praised him, "Well, congratulations, Brother Wang. When your luck turns, there’s no stopping it."
Although he had heard similar sentiments quite a few times today, Wang Yun couldn’t help but grin. This was coming from Younger Brother Qin, after all, and he had always considered Younger Brother Qin to be a man with great insight.
Qin Ziwen asked curiously, "Brother Wang, speaking of which, did you run into any Guardian Beasts or anything? When I used to play games, places like that usually had guards."
Wang Yun recalled, "No, we didn’t. We might have just been lucky. The karst cave was downstream from this river, and it must have been the dry season. It was damp, but there wasn’t much water inside, just a few puddles here and there."
Qin Ziwen pondered this, a theory already forming in his mind.
’The Home system only said that the resource points were in high-risk *areas*, not that the danger was right next to the resource points themselves.’
Qin Ziwen had no intention of asking what kind of Card Wang Yun had obtained. He considered it a private matter.
Wang Yun waved to the man in the corner. "Younger Brother Qin, do you know what kind of Card I got? A Recruitment Card! I can recruit a living, breathing person!"
Qin Ziwen was taken aback. ’Dude, you’re just going to tell me like that?’
The long-haired man who had been sitting in the corner stood up and walked over.
As he got closer, Qin Ziwen noticed an indescribable quality about him. Composed... Quiet! Yes, that was it. Quiet.
He had been sitting in the corner, but after the initial glance, his presence had been faint.
Sitting there, he was like a harmless plant.
When he walked over, his footsteps were light, and the way he moved was different from that of an ordinary person.
Wang Yun stood up and put an arm around the long-haired man’s shoulders. "I got a Recruitment Card for a Hunter. He’s an expert in traps and Bow and Arrow crafting, and he’s also skilled at tracking beasts. Younger Brother Qin, you should know what this means."
Qin Ziwen nodded. In this environment, getting a Hunter Recruitment Card was undoubtedly like pulling an SSR.
Wang Yun’s gaze was intense as he looked at Qin Ziwen. "So, why don’t you join us?"
Qin Ziwen glanced around. Everyone in the living room was looking at him, waiting for his reply.
He stood up, took two steps, and said thoughtfully, "Brother Wang, I really appreciate you thinking so highly of me. But I’m not alone; I have a younger brother. I’ve also partnered up with a few neighbors upstairs. There are eight of us now. It probably wouldn’t be convenient for us to just join in like this. Thank you for the kind offer, Brother Wang. But if you guys want to trade for fish, you’re always welcome."
Wang Yun hesitated and glanced at the others.
The three teammates sitting on the sofa were all hesitant.
Sighing internally, Wang Yun knew their answer.
He was sure his teammates would have welcomed just Qin Ziwen and his brother.
They had lost three people in the last wolf attack. With the Qin Family brothers and the newly recruited Hunter, they would have three more able-bodied young men, a perfect replacement.
But Qin Ziwen’s group had eight people. If they were to merge, his own "team" would be diluted, and his influence would drop significantly.
It would be like what happened in Paris after they took in a large number of Black immigrants—the white population’s influence plummeted.
At this thought, Wang Yun gave up the idea of recruiting Qin Ziwen. Still, he said, "If you change your mind, you can always come find me."
Qin Ziwen suddenly asked, "Brother Wang, you know about that giant bird that’s been appearing in the Gated Community these past few days, right?"
At the mention of this, Wang Yun’s brow furrowed. He nodded. "I do."
"I can’t tell if it’s an eagle or a hawk. For birds like that, how’s their night vision? Can it compare to an owl’s?"
Now in his area of expertise, Wang Yun spoke with great confidence. "Most eagles and hawks are diurnal raptors, so their night vision is relatively weak. A few species are crepuscular, with slightly better night vision, but they still can’t compare to owls.
"That giant bird that came by twice a few days ago should be a diurnal raptor. I just don’t know if it’s a mutated and enlarged Earth species or a native species from this world. Based on its two hunting attempts, its grip strength seems to be on the weaker side for its size."
At this point, Wang Yun’s interest was piqued. "Have you ever seen a documentary called *Sky Jaguar*? In it, a Beaked Eagle once pierced a tapir’s skull in a single strike. A tapir’s skull is about as thick as a human’s, which means that, to some extent, a Beaked Eagle in a dive could potentially pierce a human skull.
"If we scale that up, a Beaked Eagle with a wingspan of over seven meters that can still fly at high speed wouldn’t even need to drop a person from the sky to kill them. This tells me that, for its size, that giant bird’s grip is weaker than a Beaked Eagle’s.
"If we can make a few suitable Bows by then, I’d like to try hunting that giant bird. It might even drop a Card, just like that alpha male crocodile. Don’t be fooled by its large wings; birds don’t actually weigh that much."
Qin Ziwen looked thoughtful. "Brother Wang, it’s not like the bigger the bird, the faster it flies, right?"
Wang Yun laughed. "Haha, of course not. Unless it’s evolved into one of the Extraordinary Creatures."
After some more small talk, Qin Ziwen left the building.
In the Gated Community, many children were gathered together in small groups.
Many of their faces, necks, and hands were caked with dirt.
It was clear that these kids were happy to be free from school.
For the first two days, their parents still had the energy to keep a tight rein on them. But after nearly a week of struggling for survival, they had gradually relaxed their discipline.
"Hey, mister, these are the crabs I caught. Do you want to buy them?" A little boy who looked to be about eight or nine ran over, holding up a plastic box containing two large crabs.
"What are you selling them for?"
The little boy looked up, his eyes bright. "Do you have any sanitary pads?"
Qin Ziwen’s smile stiffened. "I’m a big brother, kid. You’d have to ask a big sister for those."
"Oh, sorry." The little boy chuckled and ran off, clutching his box.
After meeting up with his brother, the two of them left through the east gate.
Upon reaching a high, open spot by the river, Qin Ziwen waved at the sky.
A black shadow descended swiftly.
"Wheeeeee-ah!"
The Beaked Eagle affectionately nuzzled its head against Qin Ziwen.
"How is it? Are there many birds around? Did you see any of those really, really big birds?" Qin Ziwen asked, spreading his arms to indicate the size.
The Beaked Eagle tilted its head. From its expression, it seemed to be genuinely thinking about Qin Ziwen’s words.
Qin Ziwu whispered, "Bro, can it understand you? Its square-head looks kinda dumb."
"SQUAWK~"
The Beaked Eagle sharply pecked Qin Ziwu’s arm with its beak.
Even through his clothes, the pain made him hiss.
"Holy shit, this thing can understand human speech."
Qin Ziwen thought of the description on its Card: Tamed Adult Beaked Eagle.
Since the word "Tamed" was specifically included, it wasn’t hard to understand why it could comprehend some human words.
The Beaked Eagle let out a couple of squawks, but Qin Ziwen didn’t speak beast-language and couldn’t understand it.
"Stick out your left claw for yes, right claw for no."
The Beaked Eagle extended its right claw and placed it on Qin Ziwen’s palm.
Seeing this, Qin Ziwu was so excited he almost jumped. ’Holy shit, square-head, you’re a genius!’
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