Chapter 58 - 54: Day 11 Settlement
"You have successfully survived in the wilderness for the eleventh day. Today you harvested one wild rabbit, two field mice, several crabs, and a quantity of wild rice shoots. You also gathered a decent amount of wild kiwi fruit and drew a simple map. Comprehensive Score: 41."
"You have received your rewards: [Recruitment Card] Common: Skilled Human Race Blacksmith x1, [Resource Card] Level 1 Coal Mine x1, and a bag of chili powder."
Qin Ziwen stared at the new Recruitment Card. ’A human!’
And a Blacksmith, no less—the one he needed most!
’But what’s with the "Human Race" specifier? Could there be other races? I’ve never seen any, though.’
After some thought, Qin Ziwen went to the bathroom and took out the Level 1 Coal Mine Resource Card.
The Level 1 Coal Mine required a 10x10 meter empty area.
Qin Ziwen looked around but was disappointed. Due to the farmland he had built, plus the other structures, he couldn’t find a contiguous 10x10 meter area, even though there were some empty spots here and there.
He could only hold onto it for now and would have to wait until he got another Blank Expansion Card to build the coal mine.
He then took out the Recruitment Card and looked at the purple Card in his hand. Its face depicted a burly, long-haired, middle-aged man. His exposed arms, cheeks, and neck were dotted with scars from being burned by sparks.
A leather apron was tied around his chest. His arms were thick and his muscles corded; his hands alone looked full of power.
He could summon him at any time, but that would mean a person suddenly appearing out of thin air.
He wasn’t worried about anyone else, as he didn’t interact much with outsiders, but Deng Guang was always with him. A person couldn’t just suddenly appear in their group.
Moreover, his entire bearing was completely different from that of a modern person.
Any normal person would notice something was off.
Therefore, he had to find a way to rationalize the man’s appearance.
Soon, Qin Ziwen had an idea: the altar they visited today would be the perfect excuse.
The Card he’d supposedly gotten from the altar would be this Recruitment Card.
He packed his things, hung the two Mountain-Climbing Knives he’d gotten from Xie Jun on the side of his backpack, and pulled on his high-top combat boots.
He opened the window and released the Beaked Eagle.
"Let’s go."
At five in the morning, the sky was still dim.
The three of them put on masks and hurried out the south gate. Once outside, they looped around and headed due east.
Traveling light, the three of them moved with great speed.
Having traveled this path once before, their pace was slightly faster than it had been on their return trip the previous night.
The Beaked Eagle flew above the forest, gliding close to the treetops.
"SKRAW!"
The Beaked Eagle let out a cry.
A leopard lounging on a branch up ahead was startled by the sound. It opened its eyes and watched the Beaked Eagle warily.
After a moment’s pause, it leaped to a neighboring branch and, with a few more bounds, vanished into the surrounding woods.
After they had traveled some distance, a thick fog silently rose in the forest.
Visibility dropped to less than ten meters.
The trio was forced to slow down.
Fortunately, the Beaked Eagle was there to occasionally correct their course. Finally, just after seven o’clock, as the sun rose, Qin Ziwen spotted the familiar cave.
He stopped, panting heavily. "We’re here."
He glanced around. It was eerily quiet.
"Let’s go."
Qin Ziwen took out a flashlight, its beam piercing the darkness of the cave.
Inside the pitch-black cave, a Card floated above the stone altar to the left, rotating slowly.
The Card was exceptionally conspicuous above the otherwise empty stone altar.
"There really is one!"
Secretly pleased, Qin Ziwen said, "I’ll go get it. You two watch the entrance."
Qin Ziwu said, "Be careful, Bro."
"I will." Qin Ziwen first shone his flashlight toward a deep pool of water. A dark shadow was resting near the edge of the shallows. When the bright light hit it, the thing swiftly retreated to the bottom of the pool.
’Doesn’t seem too brave,’ he thought.
𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢
Mulling it over, Qin Ziwen stepped into the shallow water, sending ripples across the clear pool.
The water level near the entrance was low. He waded a few steps in, then leaped lightly onto a stone platform extending from the side.
He hurried over to the altar.
It was a square stone altar with many grooves carved into its surface, looking like something used for a mystical ceremony.
Half a meter directly above the center of the altar floated a silver Card with a black border.
’If I remember correctly, this color scheme means it’s a Resource Card.’
He climbed onto the altar and touched the Card with his finger. The moment he did, the floating Card lost whatever magical force held it aloft and dropped onto his fingertip.
After grabbing the Card, he quickly retraced his steps. "Let’s go."
There was no Card yesterday, but there was one today. This could only mean the altar had been discovered, and someone had come and taken yesterday’s Card.
That meant someone could follow them at any moment. This place wasn’t safe.
Less than ten minutes after Qin Ziwen’s group had left, a large party of more than thirty people hurried to the scene.
"We’re here."
"This fog is so thick. If we hadn’t seen the markers we left yesterday, we probably would’ve gotten lost."
When the group entered the cave and saw the empty altar, all hell broke loose.
"Where’s the Card!"
"How is it gone?"
"Someone took the Card."
"It was here yesterday."
"Did one of you take it?"
The two groups immediately started arguing.
In the crowd, Zhang Bo’s expression was grim. A tall man in a gray windbreaker next to him leaned in close and whispered, "Brother Zhang, I’m not trying to stir up trouble."
"But I just feel like something’s not right about the Card being gone today. That other group insisted we all gather at the Gated Community entrance and leave together."
"They claimed it was to prevent the Card from being stolen by someone else, but I suspect they leaked the location and had someone come grab the Card ahead of time."
"All of our people are here, but who’s to say all of theirs are?"
Zhang Bo’s face darkened. He looked toward a man in the other group. "Lu Hongtao, was it your people who took it?"
Lu Hongtao flew into a rage. He had been suspecting that Zhang Bo was the one who sent someone to take it ahead of time.
"Bullshit! All eighteen of us that were here yesterday are present right now. Who could have come early to get it? We don’t even know the route well. Don’t you try to pull that ’thief crying ’thief’’ crap on me!"
Zhang Bo’s expression was grim. "Hah. I gave you the location, didn’t I? It’s not like I could take that back."
Lu Hongtao subconsciously felt that Zhang Bo had a point.
Zhang Bo gritted his teeth. "But you lot! Wasn’t giving you yesterday’s Card enough? Today it was supposed to be our turn, and now it’s gone! Maybe you wouldn’t leak the info, but can you guarantee that none of the people behind you did?!"
The two sides descended into chaos, and a commotion quickly broke out.
In the midst of the pushing and shoving, one person lost their footing and fell into the pool.
"Help me! I can’t swim!"
The man thrashed about desperately, doggy-paddling in the water.
Suddenly, his eyes widened in terror and he screamed, "There’s something here! Something’s biting my leg!!!"
His blood-curdling scream was cut short.
The man was dragged under, his hands flailing briefly on the surface before disappearing.
A moment later, a dense cluster of bubbles rose from the depths.
The deep, dark pool grew still once more, without a single ripple.
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