Chapter Sixty-Five: Building a Home in the Marsh

Big Nose was already running at full speed, and his swiftness was not to be underestimated. Qin Fei’s act of flinging the Hunter’s Divine Artifact to the ground had not only delayed the woman by several seconds but also drew her attention entirely. As she stooped to retrieve the artifact, she failed to notice the movement behind her. This lapse gave Big Nose the critical opportunity he needed—he barreled into her and knocked her out cold.

“Big Nose, finish her off!” Qin Fei commanded.

The woman would likely regain consciousness soon, but with his hands and feet bound tightly by the Y-shaped plant, Qin Fei had no choice but to entrust the final blow to Big Nose.

Big Nose seemed to understand Qin Fei’s intention. At his word, the beast lumbered to the woman’s side, opened its massive jaws, and engulfed her entire head. Perhaps unsure if he’d interpreted the command correctly, Big Nose glanced back at Qin Fei for confirmation.

“Bite down!” Qin Fei nodded emphatically, urging him to act.

A sharp crack of bone splitting echoed through the air. At Qin Fei’s signal, Big Nose clamped down, severing the woman’s head in a single bite. Soon, the grisly sound of crunching and chewing followed—a sight as brutal as it was effective.

“Stop chewing! Spit it out!” The sight of Big Nose gnawing on a human head was too much for Qin Fei. He made a gagging gesture.

Big Nose immediately caught his meaning and spat the mangled remnants onto the ground.

At the same moment the woman died, an elimination message appeared in the sky, signaling her removal from the contest.

The Y-shaped mutant plant trap was highly vulnerable to fire. Once ensnared, survivors needed only to have a companion scorch the tendrils with a torch to break free. Alternatively, they could wait for the trap’s effect to expire on its own, as the binding was only temporary.

After the woman’s death, some time passed before the plant’s tendrils withered and crumbled away from Qin Fei’s body.

With her demise, a heap of her belongings—easily over ten kilograms—dropped to the ground. Qin Fei’s backpack was nearly full already, so he could not carry much more.

He retrieved a nylon sack, filled it with the less valuable food and ores scattered on the ground, and slung it over Big Nose’s back. The more precious items he selected carefully for his own pack.

From the woman’s dropped loot, Qin Fei recovered not only the Y-shaped mutant plant traps but also reclaimed the ancient Hunter’s Divine Artifact he had tossed away moments before.

[Y-Shaped Mutant Plant Trap: When thrown, creates a two-square-meter area of grasping tendrils that can ensnare humans and small animals.]

This Y-shaped trap was almost certainly something the woman had obtained from an airdrop. Qin Fei found nine of them among her supplies.

Besides the Y-shaped traps and the Hunter’s Divine Artifact, he also discovered two other valuable items in her bag:

[Grappling Hook: A finely crafted, retractable hook, usable in tandem with a crossbow. Its sharp, durable barbs allow for secure anchoring on various terrains and repeated use.]

[Glider: Crafted from a sapphire and iron alloy! The glider increases air resistance during a fall, reducing the user’s descent speed.]

Both tools were highly practical. Qin Fei’s composite crossbow, acquired earlier, was a perfect match for the grappling hook, enabling him to scale steep cliffs and rugged slopes. The glider would allow him to glide swiftly down from hills or precipices, greatly enhancing his mobility.

He attached the glider to the chest of his military armor. Perhaps due to the crystalline gemstones embedded within, the entire apparatus felt astonishingly light in his grip. Worn across his back, it didn’t hinder his movement at all.

With the woman eliminated, the number of remaining survivors on the island dropped once more.

Current survivors: Sixteen or fewer.

The delay had caused the surrounding seawater to rise higher still. Qin Fei dared not linger any longer. Mounting Big Nose, he raced back to the entrance of the Hunter’s Divine Artifact mine.

Upon his arrival, he found the area already half-flooded. Light objects like wood and jerky, once stored within, had mostly floated away, swept off by the tide. The dodo birds, however, remained.

Their cage, made of wood, floated on the rising water, wedged against the cave wall. Dodos were, in essence, a type of duck and were quite at home in the water. As the flood came, they remained calm and unruffled.

Qin Fei gathered the dodos and the most valuable of the remaining items, hauling them out and loading them onto Big Nose.

As the water continued to rise, the cave filled higher and higher. A few giant scorpions and spiders swam out with the tide, seeking escape. Who knew what other dangers might emerge from the depths as the flooding persisted?

Qin Fei wasted no more time. He led Big Nose away from the cave and struck out toward the island’s interior.

Along the way, he occasionally encountered small predators like velociraptors, dispatching them with his shotgun whenever necessary. In the island’s streams, he even spotted a spinosaurus—a massive, carnivorous dinosaur far beyond his ability to confront directly.

In theory, with the advantage of higher ground and sustained shotgun fire, Qin Fei might be able to bring down the spinosaurus. But it was hardly worth the cost. Killing it would deplete his precious ammunition, and all he’d gain in return would be dinosaur meat—not nearly as valuable as his bullets.

Better to avoid it altogether.

The spinosaurus’s immense size made it highly conspicuous. From a distance, Qin Fei spotted it and gave the beast a wide berth.

After traveling some distance, he arrived at the edge of a swamp and paused.

The island’s swamps were exceedingly dangerous. In their waters lurked giant emperors crocodiles and titanic pythons, as well as a host of smaller, nastier creatures—giant dragonflies and monstrous leeches among them.

This area was far inland, well away from the sea. At the current rate of rising water, it would be several days before the swamp was inundated. Qin Fei saw no need to cross it just yet.

With his “Stone Construction Mastery” skill, he could quickly build a temporary stone shelter near the swamp.

He chose a steep slope for his shelter, where the elevation kept standing water at bay. With no stagnant water, there would be fewer leeches, giant dragonflies, and titan pythons to contend with. Building on high ground also meant his shelter would last longer when the sea inevitably rose higher.

Constructing a stone shelter required a great deal of material, but with his system backpack and Big Nose’s help, hauling stone from the surrounding area was no great burden.

As he was gathering stones nearby, a pterosaur swooped down onto his supplies and plucked an egg from among them—the very egg laid by his dodo birds.