Chapter 58: Chapter 57: Elk, Giant Salamander

Jiang Si walked up to Qin Shen and looked down from the yacht. The water was pitch-black, with no sign of anything strange.

Still, she asked, "Is something wrong?"

Qin Shen watched for a long time before saying, "It swam away."

Jiang Si froze. "The Weasel Crocodile?"

Qin Shen shook his head. "Maybe."

’Maybe?’

Jiang Si’s intuition told her it probably wasn’t a Weasel Crocodile. If it had been, it would have eagerly surfaced at the first sign of movement.

After being plucked and gutted, the moorhen was just over a catty of meat and bones.

Shen Baoying simmered a pot of moorhen and reed mushroom soup, adding some ginseng root and goji berries. There was just enough for everyone to have a bowl. It was especially nourishing and good for one’s complexion.

Jiang Si took a sip, and a vague taste from her memories became sharp and clear. "It’s so savory~"

Shen Baoying smiled. "This moorhen was a bit small. Once the chicks grow up and we breed more, we can eat them often."

Niu Niu said with delight, "I’ll go dig for more reed mushrooms, too! We can stock up so we can eat them whenever we want."

Everyone exchanged smiles, feeling that this moment of peace and happiness was a rare treasure.

The night passed without incident, and everyone woke up full of energy.

Zhang Qingfang had been wanting to dig up some soil for a while. She planned to fill every plantable space on the yacht and the two steamships with grains and vegetables.

Jiang Si and Qin Shen went to collect moorhen eggs. Jiang Linhai and Lu Zhifeng dug for soil at the front of the yacht, while Jiang Chengwu, as usual, kept watch for everyone.

Jiang Si and Qin Shen passed through a patch of reeds, got into an inflatable boat, and paddled along the marsh. Soon, they spotted the nest of moorhen eggs from yesterday.

The moorhen was a little slow to react. It only thought to flap its wings and fly away when Jiang Si and Qin Shen were right in front of it.

Qin Shen swung his pole and knocked it unconscious.

Qin Shen tossed the moorhen to her, and Jiang Si tied it up with a hemp rope. Then, she saw Qin Shen take the moorhen’s children all in one go.

He was quite careful as he held the bird’s nest. He asked Jiang Si, "Should we hatch a few clutches of moorhens? The meat last night was pretty good."

Jiang Si pursed her lips in a smile. ’I never thought Qin Shen had such a gluttonous side.’

"Alright, let’s raise some then."

The inflatable boat drifted a few dozen meters along the waterway when Qin Shen spotted another nest of moorhen eggs. He also casually snatched a black snake as thick as a calf.

The black snake wasn’t venomous. Qin Shen dangled it in front of Jiang Si and asked, "Want to eat it?"

Snakes carry the most parasites. In her past life, Jiang Si wouldn’t have eaten something like this unless she had absolutely no other choice.

Now that they had so many options, Jiang Si naturally shook her head. "It’s hard to treat parasite infections. Let’s pass. We should stick to more normal food."

"Alright."

Qin Shen snapped the snake’s head off and casually tossed it into the reeds.

Continuing on, they collected a few more nests of moorhen eggs and two nests of wild duck eggs.

As they neared the end of the waterway, Jiang Si suddenly spotted an elk. Before she could even raise her gun, BANG—Qin Shen had already shot it.

The elk struggled for a moment before collapsing.

Jiang Si was thrilled. This bull elk was a full-grown adult, weighing at least two hundred kilograms.

They would be able to eat fresh meat every day for a while.

Speaking of which, Qin Shen really loved meat. He’d get listless when eating vegetarian meals, but with meat, he could eat two extra bowls of rice.

Qin Shen went ashore and shouldered the elk. Suddenly, the sound of something large slithering rapidly—RUSTLE, RUSTLE—came from the reed marsh.

Jiang Si sensed it was a giant python and screamed at Qin Shen, "Danger!" 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Qin Shen scrambled back onto the inflatable boat. A giant, pitch-black creature with six horns, resembling a giant salamander, quietly poked its head out from the reeds.

Jiang Si recognized it at a glance: a giant, atavistic salamander.

In modern times, small salamanders were kept as pets. They were docile and timid, with cute, endearing expressions that made them popular among young people.

This giant salamander was also known as a Tyrant Salamander. It lived in swamps or wetlands, was amphibious, and extremely aggressive, feeding on dinosaurs and crocodiles. Its mouth was filled with sharp teeth for tearing apart prey. This particular atavistic salamander was still a small one, only three or four meters long, not yet big enough to swallow a person whole.

The Tyrant Salamander Jiang Si had encountered in her past life could swallow a small car in one gulp.

They also had venom on their backs. This venom contained lethal delphinidin, and 0.5 grams was enough to kill an adult.

Despite its ugly appearance and cumbersome body, its crawling speed was not slow at all.

Just as Qin Shen got onto the inflatable boat, the salamander closed the distance to just a few meters.

Bullets couldn’t kill this kind of giant monster. Jiang Si reached into her pocket, pulled out a grenade, and at the exact moment the salamander opened its mouth, she pulled the pin and threw it accurately inside.

With his strong, powerful arms, Qin Shen grabbed the paddle and rowed as if he had a propeller. Before the grenade even exploded, the inflatable boat shot backward with a WHOOSH.

"BOOM—"

The salamander exploded into chunks of flesh, and Jiang Si was only spattered with a bit of blood and gore.

The sudden explosion made Shen Baoying’s heart leap into her throat. She shouted anxiously, "Sisi, Sisi—"

Jiang Si wiped her face and waved the small red flag she was holding.

Seeing it from the ship, Shen Baoying immediately said to Jiang Linhai and Lu Zhifeng, "They’re over there!"

Jiang Linhai ran over at top speed. "Sisi, Qin Shen, where are you?"

Lu Zhifeng followed close behind, shouting as well.

Soon, they heard Jiang Si’s reply, "We’re fine! Wait for us on the shore! Don’t get in the water!"

Hearing Jiang Si’s response, Jiang Linhai’s heart, which had been lodged in his throat, finally dropped back into place. He was covered in a cold sweat.

Jiang Si and Qin Shen appeared in their line of sight.

Seeing them covered in blood, with gory messes of flesh and blood in the inflatable boat, Jiang Linhai asked, his heart pounding with fear, "What happened?"

Jiang Si handed them the two moorhens. "We ran into a giant salamander. I blew it up with a grenade. It’s fine."

Jiang Linhai put the birds on the ground and helped Jiang Si out of the boat. "A giant salamander? How big was it? Bigger than the largest Weasel Crocodile?"

Jiang Si nodded. "About the size of a small car."

Jiang Linhai and Lu Zhifeng exchanged a look, each seeing the shock and relief in the other’s eyes.

Jiang Linhai asked anxiously, "Could there be more giant salamanders here?"

Jiang Si shook her head. "Salamanders are territorial. Now that we’ve killed that one, there won’t be another for the time being. Still, it’s better to be careful. Let’s hurry back."

Jiang Linhai nodded hurriedly. Only then did he notice the two-hundred-plus-kilogram elk in the boat.

Elk meat is tender and succulent, with a clean flavor, making it the "king" of meats.

The antlers are a top-grade medicinal ingredient, used not only as an aphrodisiac but also to strengthen muscles and bones and to treat frailty and internal injuries.

Velvet antler wine is a luxury product that people would flock to get.

The tendons can be used to make bowstrings, and coats made from the deerskin are soft, breathable, moisture-wicking, and warm.

Deerskin is also waterproof. Waterskins made from it are lightweight and don’t leak a single drop, and they take up no space when empty.

Hunters in ancient times loved deerskin waterskins and boots most of all.

When Jiang Linhai and Lu Zhifeng saw the elk, they couldn’t help but grin and exclaim, "What a prize!"