Chapter 383 - 355: Countdown
"GLUG... GLUG..."
Deep in the sea, at the Fishman Tribe.
Ever since the able-bodied Fishmen had returned to the tribe to retrieve their families, the settlement had seemed somewhat deserted.
The Fishman Leader stepped into the ancestral temple. "Old Chieftain, you were looking for me."
"I hear you plan to send more of our people away, even to gamble the future of the Fishman Tribe on him."
The Fishman Leader nodded. "That’s right."
He paused for a moment. "I’ve been there. It’s a good place. And Qin treats the Fishmen without discrimination. This is our hope for leaving this world."
The old chieftain looked up, his deep eyes filled with a complex mix of emotions. "You are gambling with the fate of our tribe."
The Fishman Leader’s attitude was firm. "I trust my instincts. Qin is a friend worthy of our trust."
"Yes, he’s a good person now. But you must understand that humans are the most fickle of creatures. He may be your friend today, but tomorrow, for the sake of profit, he’ll suck you dry to the marrow," the old chieftain said, his tone grave.
The Fishman Leader paused for a fraction of a second, then said slowly, "I... still choose to believe in him."
Seeing this, the old chieftain gave the Fishman Leader a deep look, then finally smiled in resignation. "You’re a lot like me, especially this stubborn side of yours."
"Since this is your choice, it’s useless for me to stop you. After all, you are the chieftain of our tribe now." After speaking, the old chieftain closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair.
"Will you come with me?" the Fishman Leader asked.
The old chieftain stared at the ceiling with his cloudy eyes. "The tribe is too old, and I am too old. I’ll stay behind and rot with it. I no longer belong to this era. You are in your prime. Your era has only just begun."
...
"President, the Fishman Tribe is willing to leave with us." Mogu stood with his arms crossed. Behind him was the Fishman Leader.
"Welcome." Qin Ziwen stepped forward and extended his hand.
The Fishman Leader extended his right hand, and the two hands, one large and one small, clasped together.
The sea’s surface glittered in the light. It had been like this since the storm passed.
For several days in a row, the weather had been clear and sunny.
The island’s development was on the right track. Resources from several neighboring islands were being harvested on a large scale. At the same time, simple salt pans were created on the beach. Under the scorching sun, basket after basket of damp, crude salt was brought back, then baked at high temperatures to produce sea salt.
Large quantities of salted fish were prepared and placed in the warehouse for storage, serving as reserve food.
The Gated Community entered a period of stable, uninterrupted development.
"ROAR~" On the beach of an island, a massive black shadow as tall as the surrounding coconut trees charged forward, each step leaving a deep footprint in the sand.
Ahead of it, a Moa fled in a panic.
The two figures, one large and one small, fled one after the other, but the Moa was a step too slow. Black closed the distance from behind, lunged forward, and sank its teeth into the Moa’s spine. With an upward flick of its head, the Moa was thrown into the air and crashed heavily to the ground, its long legs flailing.
Black planted a foot on its back and hooked its body with its two foreclaws. The Moa was scared out of its wits. It had lived on this island for so long with almost no natural predators and had never imagined it would one day encounter a Tyrannosaurus.
"SQUAWK! SQUAWK!"
The Moa’s terrified cries came to an abrupt halt.
Black bit down on its body, which burst like a meat-filled pastry.
It swallowed the whole thing in two or three big gulps.
As its mouth opened and closed, hot, metallic-smelling breath escaped from its maw.
A look of pure satisfaction appeared on Black’s face.
This primal hunt gave it an unparalleled sense of exhilaration.
"Let’s go. To the north side of the island. There are Saltwater Crocodiles over there," Qin Ziwu shouted from behind.
Only after being called several times did Black slowly turn around and, wagging its tail, follow behind Qin Ziwu.
Ever since the Fishman Tribe had fully joined the Home, the Gated Community’s development had entered the fast lane.
Black was transported by boat to the surrounding islands, partly to help clear them of large wild beasts and partly to cultivate its hunting skills.
Under the tutelage of the Female Tyrannosaurus in the Blood Sand Beast Fighting Arena, both Black’s and Little White Dragon’s hunting skills had improved by leaps and bounds, but training alone couldn’t transform those skills into muscle memory.
So, Qin Ziwen sent them to the islands for real-combat training. Black was entrusted to Qin Ziwu’s care, while Qin Ziwen himself took Little White Dragon and Red Hare to hunt in the surrounding area.
"AWOO~"
Little White Dragon stared fiercely at the Sea Lizard, which was over two meters long.
For Little White Dragon, who was not even half a meter tall, this Sea Lizard—a creature Black could crush with a single stomp—was enough to be the greatest enemy of its life.
The Sea Lizard tilted its head, its vertical pupils fixed not on the prey before it... but on the human behind it.
Compared to this little white snack, it felt the human was a much greater threat.
Over the past few days, humans had been aggressively developing the island.
The great commotion from them felling trees and catching seafood had disturbed it in its shallow-water home.
After several days of observation, it had discovered that humans were dangerous.
They had long wooden sticks and some sort of long-range attack.
Seeing that the Sea Lizard was ignoring it, Little White Dragon let out another fierce cry, then opened its mouth and spat out a ball of frigid air.
The airflow turned into an icy mist in the air, but after traveling a few dozen centimeters, it was quickly dissolved and dispersed by the surrounding air.
By the time it reached the Sea Lizard’s face, all that was left was a faint, warm breeze. The lizard blinked, then darted away, fleeing toward the sea behind it.
"NEIGH—"
A black shadow suddenly shot out from behind it. Red Hare kicked the Sea Lizard in the face, sending it stumbling back to its original spot.
Then, it blocked its path of retreat.
With its escape route cut off, the Sea Lizard turned its head, agitated. Seeing Little White Dragon charging from behind, it let out a warning sound from its throat. As its opponent continued to close in, it could no longer contain its aggression and lunged forward.
Qin Ziwen stood with his arms crossed, watching Little White Dragon and the Sea Lizard fight back and forth. It was a classic case of meeting one’s match, a diamond cutting diamond. For a time, it was impossible to tell who had the upper hand.
Although Little White Dragon was exceptionally gifted—a born Extraordinary Tyrannosaurus—
it was less than a month old. Fighting an adult Sea Lizard, it was completely outmatched in combat experience and was also smaller in size.
Its strength lay in its slightly superior physical constitution and its ability to control cold currents, which hampered the Sea Lizard’s movements to some extent.
Nearly half an hour later, Little White Dragon was covered in bite marks, its body stained red with blood. Opposite it, the Sea Lizard lay on the ground, covered in a thin layer of frost as if it had just been pulled from a freezer, its body frozen solid.
"Come here and eat this." Qin Ziwen took out the Healing Spring and a Sea Pear Fruit. One could accelerate wound healing, while the other could treat toxins and prevent infection and inflammation.
Little White Dragon scrambled up from the ground, trotted over to hug its master’s leg, and tilted its head up, obediently opening its mouth.
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