Chapter 34 The Hunter
Hearing Wang Jun's account, a phrase popped into Qin Ziwen's mind—misfortune may be a blessing in disguise, and a blessing may be a misfortune in disguise.
He remembered that besides hunting powerful creatures in the current area, another way to obtain cards was by exploring wild resource points.
The Home system emphasized that wild resource points were often located in high-risk areas.
Qin Ziwen praised, "Congratulations, Brother Wang! When luck comes, you can't stop it."
Although he had heard similar comments many times today, Wang Jun couldn't help but smile, because it was his younger brother Qin who said it, and he had always thought his younger brother Qin was a very insightful person.
Qin Ziwen asked curiously, "Brother Wang, didn't you encounter any guardian beasts or anything? When I played games before, there were usually guards in places like this."
Wang Jun recalled, "No, it's possible we were just lucky and didn't encounter any. That cave is downstream of this river, and it should be the dry season. Although it's quite damp, there's not much water inside, only a few puddles in a few places."
Qin Ziwen pondered, and a guess formed in his mind.
The Home system only mentioned that wild resource points were located in high-risk areas, not that danger was right next to the resource points.
Qin Ziwen didn't intend to ask Wang Jun what card he had obtained; he considered it a private matter.
Wang Jun beckoned to the corner, "Brother, do you know what card I got? A recruitment card! It can recruit a living, breathing real person!"
Qin Ziwen was taken aback. Dude, you just told me that?
The long-haired man who had been sitting in the corner got up and walked over.
As he got closer, Qin Ziwen noticed an indescribable aura about the man—calm and quiet! Yes, quiet.
He had been sitting in the corner, but aside from the first glance, his presence wasn't strong.
Sitting in the corner, he was like a harmless plant.
When he approached, his footsteps were light, and his posture was different from ordinary people.
Wang Jun stood up and put his arm around the long-haired man's arm: "I got a recruitment card, a hunter. He's skilled in traps, bow and arrow making, and animal tracking. Brother, you should know what that means."
Qin Ziwen nodded. In this environment, getting a hunter recruitment card was undoubtedly like getting an SSR.
Wang Jun looked intently at Qin Ziwen: "So, why don't you join us?"
Qin Ziwen glanced around; everyone in the living room was watching him, waiting for his reply.
He stood up and took a few steps, then hesitated, "Brother Wang, I'm very grateful for your high regard, but I'm not alone. I have a younger brother, and I've also reached agreements with several neighbors upstairs. There are eight of us on my side now, so it might be inconvenient for someone to suddenly join. Thank you for your kind offer, Brother Wang, but if you want to eat fish, you're welcome to exchange."
Wang Jun hesitated for a moment, then looked at the others.
The three teammates sitting on the sofa were all hesitant.
With a sigh, Wang Jun knew the answer.
He believed his teammates would welcome Qin Ziwen and his brother if they only joined.
They had lost three in the last wolf attack, and with the Qin brothers and the newly recruited hunter, they had three more able-bodied men.
But Qin Ziwen had eight people on his side; if he joined their group, his "team" would be diluted, and his influence would significantly decrease.
Just like Paris, which heavily recruited Black immigrants, the voice of white people declined significantly.
With this thought in mind, Wang Jun abandoned his idea of recruiting Qin Ziwen, but he still told Qin Ziwen, "You can come find me when you've thought things through."
Qin Ziwen suddenly asked, "Brother Wang, do you know about those giant birds that have been appearing in the neighborhood these past few days?"
Mentioning this, Wang Jun frowned and nodded, "Yes, I know."
"I don't know if it was an eagle or a vulture. How good is the night vision of birds like these? Can it compare to an owl?"
Wang Jun, speaking from his area of expertise, explained, "Most eagles and vultures are diurnal birds of prey with relatively weak night vision. A few species are twilight birds of prey with slightly stronger night vision, but still not comparable to owls.
The giant bird that came twice a few days ago should be a diurnal bird of prey. I just don't know if it's a mutated, extended species from Earth or a native bird. Judging from its two hunting performances, its grip strength is probably weak for its size."
At this point, Wang Jun became interested. "Have you seen a documentary called 'The Jaguar in the Sky'? In it, a harpy eagle pierced the skull of a tapir with a single blow. The thickness of a tapir's skull is similar to that of a human, so this means that, to some extent, a harpy eagle, if it were to swoop down, could potentially pierce a human skull." If we zoom in proportionally, a harpy eagle with a wingspan exceeding seven meters and capable of high-speed flight wouldn't even need to throw a human off the plane to hunt us. This suggests that, for birds of similar size, the giant bird's grip strength is inferior to that of the harpy eagle. "
If I can make a few suitable bows, I'd like to try hunting that giant bird myself. Maybe I can even get some good cards like that male crocodile leader. Don't be fooled by its large wings; birds don't actually weigh much."
Qin Ziwen pondered, "Brother Wang, birds don't necessarily fly faster just because they're bigger, right?"
Wang Jun laughed heartily, "Haha, of course not, unless it evolves into a supernatural being."
After exchanging pleasantries, Qin Ziwen emerged from a building. In
the neighborhood, many children were gathered in small groups.
Many of them had mud on their faces, necks, and hands.
It was clear that these children were happy now that they didn't have to go to school.
For the first couple of days, the adults had the energy to keep a close eye on them, but after nearly a week of struggling to survive, they gradually relaxed their discipline.
"Big brother, these are the crabs I caught, do you want to buy them?" A little boy who looked about eight or nine years old ran over, holding a plastic box containing two large crabs.
"How much are they?"
The little boy looked up, his eyes bright. "Do you have sanitary napkins?"
Qin Ziwen's smile stiffened. "I'm the big brother, you'll have to ask the older girls for them."
"Oh, sorry." The little boy chuckled, hugging the box and running away.
After meeting up with his younger brother, the two went out through the east gate.
Reaching a clearing on a high point by the river, Qin Ziwen waved to the sky.
A dark shadow quickly descended.
"Wheeeeee-ah!"
A harpy eagle nuzzled Qin Ziwen affectionately with its head.
"How are things? Are there many birds around?" "Have you seen that really, really big bird?" Qin Ziwen opened his arms.
The harpy eagle tilted its head, and judging from its expression, it seemed to be genuinely considering Qin Ziwen's words.
Qin Ziwu whispered, "Brother, can it understand human speech? This square-headed thing looks a bit silly."
"Aww~"
The harpy eagle suddenly pecked Qin Ziwu's arm with its beak.
Even through his clothes, it hurt so much that he gasped.
"Holy crap, this thing can understand human speech."
Qin Ziwen remembered the description on the card: a domesticated adult harpy eagle.
Since it was specifically described as domesticated, it wasn't hard to understand that it could understand some human speech.
The harpy eagle howled twice, but Qin Ziwen didn't know animal language and couldn't understand it.
"If you have it, extend your left claw; if not, extend your right claw."
The harpy eagle extended its right claw and placed it in Qin Ziwen's palm.
Qin Ziwu was so excited at this sight that he almost jumped up. Holy crap, square-headed thing, you're too smart!
(End of Chapter)