At six o'clock the following morning, the four people who had spent the entire night slumped over the mahjong table finally exited the instance and returned to the camp. The wolves were gone.
Compared to the rhinos stomping out fires, the dire wolves tearing through had been far more horrifying. Mutilated corpses lay strewn everywhere, and even those previously buried in the dirt had been dug back up. True to their habit, the dire wolves had prioritized devouring the internal organs. Aside from Ding Shi, who merely felt sick to his stomach, the other three threw up relentlessly.
Walking into Cave B, they found bloodstains lining the path and corpses with chewed-out entrails scattered about. The remains of Di Nü and the fire team leader were conspicuously among them.
Near the end of the cave, firelight still flickered. A handful of people sat huddled together, staring blankly at a small campfire in front of them.
The only person standing was Wang Meng. He leaned against the stone wall with his eyes closed to rest, but opened them at the sound of their arrival. "Bad pennies really do always turn up."
Seeing Wang Meng still alive, Ding Shi felt a twinge of disappointment and smiled. "Two of a kind. Neither of us is any good."
Yu Yuan asked, "Is this everyone who's left?"
"I think so," Wang Meng replied.
There were ten survivors in total: Ding Shi, Yu Yuan, Wang Meng, Su Su, Herbalist Girl, Hua Shi, Captain Wu—the leader of the weapons and tools team—and the oldest of the group, fifty-year-old Aunt Zhang. In addition, there was the man and woman from the first day, the goofy duo who had used ninjutsu to kindle fire and splash water.
These people each possessed fairly unique skills. Aunt Zhang, for instance, had left everyone baffled as to why she would choose a nightmare-difficulty instance, a choice she never explained. Her ability was weaving rattan baskets; as long as materials and tools were provided, she could weave bamboo baskets and the like without trouble.
The male half of the duo was named Xiao Long, an expert at climbing trees.
The female half was named Xiao Feng. She specialized in water ninjutsu, and while her Fierce Water Technique could not defeat enemies, it could supply the camp with drinking water.
Seeing everyone in low spirits, Yu Yuan spoke up. "We can't stay in this camp any longer. Wang Meng, Ding Shi, I'd like to ask you two to scout west and prepare for the camp's relocation toward lower elevations."
Just as Wang Meng was about to refuse, Ding Shi cut in first. "He can't manage it. I'll go alone."
Wang Meng glared at Ding Shi. "Why can't I?"
Ding Shi answered, "You didn't get any sleep last night."
Wang Meng asked in surprise, "You people actually slept last night?"
Ding Shi shrugged. "Shouldn't people sleep at night?" One could temporarily go idle in the mahjong game. Each player had ten seconds to discard a tile; after ten seconds, one point was deducted per second. Once one hundred points were deducted, the round ended, and the deducted points were distributed to the other three. If everyone slept together, everyone had points deducted together, and an abortive draw still allowed the dealer to retain the dealer seat.
Judging by everyone's condition, Ding Shi and Wang Meng might not have the best energy, but their emotions were the most stable. Ding Shi knew he couldn't survive and complete the quest entirely on his own; he had to contribute to the team.
Wang Meng shot Ding Shi a disdainful look. "Let's go."
Hua Shi interjected, "Hold on, drink some pig liver soup before you leave." He had a crucible in his item slot, so he headed straight out of the cave to fetch water.
Yu Yuan followed him. "I'll go gather some charcoal."
Herbalist Girl slung a rattan basket over her back and silently trailed after them.
With these few taking the lead, color returned to the eyes of the others. They stood up one after another, stretching their limbs and loosening up before beginning to gather whatever usable items remained in the camp. No one asked how many had died, nor did anyone ask how they were supposed to survive.
***
The pig liver soup used real pig liver, not Xiao Pu's. Sliced with stone knives and boiled in the crucible, it soon left everyone dumbfounded: how were they supposed to drink soup without spoons?
The genius Ding Shi cut several hollow vines and brought them back for everyone to use as straws. Xiao Feng, naive enough to believe his nonsense, took a deep sip of the boiling soup. A mouthful of scalding broth surged straight into her belly, sending her hopping in place.
In the end, they adopted a cooling method: pouring the soup onto a flat stone slab, everyone gathered around and used the hollow vines to sip the liquid after the stone cooled it down. It had to be said that simple fun brought great joy; after a lively breakfast, everyone's spirits were mostly restored.
When Ding Shi and Wang Meng were ready to set out, Su Su, styling herself as the scouting team leader, refused to be left behind. Believing it was her duty to lead her teammates, she applied to join and took charge of the departure.
The morning woods were relatively quiet. After walking one li, the three had yet to encounter any fierce beasts. On the large trees they passed, Su Su poked arrow markers with her fowling piece to prevent them from getting lost.
As they pressed forward, the elevation began to drop. The three traversed a rocky patch of ground, avoided an ambush by three vipers, and entered a new tract of forest. Su Su announced that she was naming it Su-1 Forest. She recovered quickly; she chatted the entire way, while Ding Shi gave offhand replies.
"Shh!" Ding Shi hissed.
Wang Meng slapped a palm onto Su Su's shoulder, forcing her into a crouch.
Rustling sounds came from the woods ahead, and a large monkey emerged—more accurately, a prehistoric gigantopithecus. Three meters tall and weighing five hundred kilograms, it was packed with muscle, easily capable of punching Tyson to tears.
Su Su kept quiet for less than a minute before murmuring softly, "Apes and monkeys are social animals. For an ape of this size, a troop usually numbers around ten. Looks like they're the overlords of Su-1 Forest."
Ding Shi asked, "How do you know all this?"
Su Su answered, "One of my close girlfriends is a zoologist."
Ding Shi asked, "What does that have to do with you?"
Su Su answered, "Every time I chat with her, she introduces animals to me in one long breath. I don't even get a chance to cut in."
Ding Shi asked, "Is it possible that your friend just doesn't want to listen to you talk?"
Su Su replied, "Impossible. Someone who didn't want to hear me talk wouldn't be my friend."
Ding Shi asked, "Are we friends?"
Su Su said, "Of course."
Wang Meng interjected, "Pardon the interruption, but that monkey isn't moving. Do we have to go around?"
Su Su corrected him, "An ape, or a great ape. Definitely not a monkey."
The three took a detour. After walking for about half an hour, they heard the sound of rushing water and subsequently discovered Su-1 Waterfall. Crouching at the edge of the cliff to observe for a while, all three agreed that the area below the waterfall was an ideal location to settle.
The waterfall had two tiers. The first tier formed a pool halfway down the mountain, bordered by bare rock except for a small patch of woods of about five hundred square meters near the right cliff face. There was water, there were trees, and there were no predators—after all, a five-hundred-square-meter copse could never support a fierce beast.
There was timber, and likely fish and shrimp as well.
On top of that, there was a cave about two meters deep.
Almost simultaneously, the three concluded this was the best possible campsite. Though its resources were limited, there was plenty for ten people to burn through for the full five days.
The biggest problem was that the new site lay roughly one hundred and twenty meters down. As for taking another path around? Circling around was out of the question; this was an effectively isolated sanctuary.
Vines were everywhere in the forest, but rattan strips were not rope. Relying on them to descend to the new camp was practically impossible.
With their scouting complete, the specific details would have to be discussed back at camp. The three turned and began their journey back.
Chapter 76