Chapter 64 - 62: Framing the Giant Snake and the Fishing Club’s Plight
BANG!
BANG!
BANG—
After dozens of strikes with an axe and a spear, the two eagle eggs, each nearly as tall as a man, finally shattered.
Most of the shells lay shattered, and a viscous mess of egg whites and unknown substances flowed to the bottom of the nest...
Chen Chong watched the scene unfold with a calm expression.
Then, he slowly reached into his backpack and pulled out a dark red scale.
It was a scale from a Blood-tooth Python.
He knew, of course, that smashing the eggs would infuriate the Stone Claw Eagle.
’If I didn’t have a plan, why would I have done something so reckless?’
Unlike serpentine creatures, avian ones don’t rely much on their sense of smell.
If he were trying to steal snake eggs and frame another creature, he might have been found out. After all, they could lock onto a target using scent molecules alone.
But eagles were different. They possessed extraordinarily powerful vision, but their sense of smell was extremely weak.
’When it returns to find its eggs smashed to pieces and a Snake Scale left in the nest...’
"Sir, are you trying to use the Giant Eagle to fight the giant python?"
"That’s right. These two Extraordinary Creatures have eaten countless people. Smashing these two eggs is just getting rid of a future menace in advance. I’ll leave this Snake Scale here and let them kill each other."
As he spoke, Chen Chong tossed the Snake Scale down.
To make sure the returning Stone Claw Eagle wouldn’t miss it, Chen Chong even thoughtfully placed the Snake Scale in the most conspicuous spot inside a broken eggshell, ensuring it wouldn’t be overlooked.
He had previously seen the skeleton of what looked like a Blood-tooth Python near the nest.
Its blood-red fangs were practically identical to those of the Blood-tooth Python he’d encountered before.
Aside from being only about ten meters long—nearly half the size—there was almost no other difference.
If he wasn’t mistaken, this was a smaller Blood-tooth Python.
He had no idea what the connection was between the two Blood-tooth Pythons.
Besides, eagles and snakes were natural enemies. The students who survived the last bloody incident had also said that if the two hadn’t started fighting each other, not as many people would have escaped.
Now, with this new development, the two creatures—already filled with mutual hatred—would surely fight to the death.
’Whether the Stone Claw Eagle kills the Blood-tooth Python, the Blood-tooth Python constricts the Stone Claw Eagle, or they both end up gravely injured, it’s all to my advantage.’
’What’s more, smashing the eggs of an Extraordinary Creature should also give me a bonus to my Rating...’
"Wang Biao, let’s go." Just as Chen Chong was about to turn, Wang Biao’s voice rang out.
"Sir, there’s something in the eggs!"
Chen Chong looked over in the direction of the voice.
Next to the eggshells, which had been empty just a moment ago, two Cards glowing with a green light had appeared out of nowhere.
"Huh?"
Puzzled, Chen Chong picked up the two Cards.
’I remember the intel mentioned that killing Extraordinary Creatures causes Cards to drop. Does killing their young count, too?’
However, these were just C-Class Cards. Chen Chong refused to believe that a behemoth like the Stone Claw Eagle would only drop Cards of this level.
It was probably because the threat level of the young was too low.
’Undeveloped Extraordinary Creatures only drop low-level Cards...’
[Card Types: Building Card · Mud Pond]
[Rating: C-Class]
[Description: Creates a 20-square-meter mud pond. Plants, fish, shrimp, and other organisms living within it will receive a 50% bonus to their daily growth speed.]
’A Mud Pond Card?’
Chen Chong immediately thought of a use for it.
Some plants and crops, like lotus roots, needed mud and water to grow.
Although he didn’t have any lotus roots right now, the eels, loaches, crabs, and some of the small carnivorous fish caught in the fishing cages finally had a place to be kept.
A regular fishpond wasn’t suitable for them, but a mud pond was perfect.
Not only did it better suit their natural habitat, but they would also be easier to catch when it was time to eat.
[Card Types: Resource Card · Refined Iron Shield]
[Rating: C-Class]
[Description: Forged from Refined Iron and leather, it is lighter and more durable than a traditional iron shield. Can easily block piercing attacks from sharp objects.]
’This is good stuff, too.’
Chen Chong wasn’t in a hurry to use it and stored it in his bag.
"Wang Biao, we really have to go now. Hurry!"
The two of them quickly climbed down from the nest, stuffing a tiger hide and some tiger bones they found at the edge into their bags before they left.
Both were valuable items.
The hide could be made into clothing, blankets, mats, or even a rug, and the tiger bones could apparently be used for medicine.
Compared to most of the other bleached bones, these were relatively well-preserved; they must have been captured by the Stone Claw Eagle not too long ago...
If the fangs on the snake bone hadn’t been so long, Chen Chong would have wanted to take it with him as well.
There were many other such treasures, but they were clearly out of time. He would just have to wait for a future opportunity to return...
"Careful. I’ll take some of the weight."
Wang Biao, who was carrying the eagle eggs, slowly climbed down while Chen Chong stood above, holding onto the backpack to help bear the weight.
The most difficult part of the mountain was this final section leading up to the Stone Claw Eagle’s nest, which was a near-vertical climb up an uneven rock face.
If there hadn’t been enough stones for handholds, Chen Chong and Wang Biao would have likely turned back before even reaching this point.
Once they were past this short stretch of cliff, the rest of the way was a steep slope that spiraled around the mountain, with plenty of vines growing nearby to grab onto like safety ropes.
Though still dangerous, it was at least a recognizable path...
...
「By the river, near the school’s back gate.」
Zhong Fang was leading a dozen or so members of his club in a frantic sprint along the bank.
Carrying tackle boxes in one hand and fishing rods in the other, they didn’t stop running until they were more than ten meters from the water’s edge.
"Fuck!" one of the members roared.
"That Giant Catfish is definitely doing this on purpose! It doesn’t want us to fish; it’s trying to knock us into the river with those waves!"
In the deep water, a black figure over ten meters long thrashed about, its single, eye-catching horn breaking the surface.
It was none other than the third Extraordinary Creature on campus, after the Stone Claw Eagle and the Blood-tooth Python—the Unihorn Catfish.
The Unihorn Catfish had its reasons for acting this way.
Its massive, broad body was like a small submarine. Each time it leaped from the water and crashed back down, it sent huge waves surging toward the bank.
Anyone who wasn’t careful could be knocked off their feet by a wave and dragged into the deep water by the undertow.
It had already used this tactic to successfully catch prey several times over the past few days.
Humans were delicious, but they were too small.
Unless it could catch them in large numbers, they were hardly enough to satisfy its appetite...
Zhong Fang’s expression was absolutely foul, his body trembling with rage.
Ever since the day after the bloody incident, people had been trickling out to hunt for food, and the Fishing Club was no exception.
The Extraordinary Creatures were terrifying, but people still had to eat.
The riverbank was once again crowded with people looking for food, with the Fishing Club making up the main contingent.
At first, the Unihorn Catfish would just poke its head out of the deep water to watch the people on the shore, looking for an opportunity to prey on them.
But being more than ten meters from the bank, it could never find an opportunity and could only watch helplessly.
Gradually, everyone got used to its presence and figured out its weakness: as long as they stayed on the bank and didn’t enter the deep water, it couldn’t do anything to them.
But who would have thought that this Extraordinary Creature would actually evolve, as if it had learned how to think.
It had started using tactics on them...
...