"What’s your name?"

"Jiang Shan."

Cao Biansheng looked up at the man before him and smiled. "I remember you."

Jiang Shan froze for a moment, then lowered his head, his expression complicated.

The two of them had actually clashed before.

Cao Biansheng said, "You’re strong. You have potential. Train hard after you join, and maybe we’ll be comrades-in-arms one day."

Jiang Shan was silent for a long moment. "Yeah."

The rush to join didn’t die down until evening.

Cao Biansheng, Qin Ziwu, Wang Yun, and Yuan Dajun each came over with their tallied registration ledgers.

"How many people joined?"

Qin Ziwu said, "I’ve got forty-five."

Wang Yun handed over her ledger. "Thirty-eight."

Yuan Dajun passed his ledger over. "Thirty-four."

Cao Biansheng grinned. "Then I have the most—fifty-nine."

Qin Ziwen did the math. "One hundred seventy-six people. That’s a lot."

Wang Yun shook her head. "It’s more than that. We haven’t even counted their families, which will easily add another one or two hundred people. Plus, there were the fifty we brought with us. Out of the three hundred people in this group now, two hundred twenty-six are from our Qin Alliance."

Qin Ziwen estimated silently. ’The Qin Alliance must have over five hundred members now.’

That was nearly a quarter of the Gated Community’s population. Furthermore, over half the Alliance’s members were young and able-bodied—an astonishing ratio.

...

That evening, Qin Ziwen selected ten people from the ranks to join the hunting party.

Five of them were elites who had been with the team since they first left the Gated Community. The other five were crack members selected from the able-bodied adults who had just joined during this expansion.

Using Insight, Qin Ziwen noted that all ten had Three-star Level physical attributes.

In an environment like this, superior physical strength really made one stand out.

Just then, Yuan Dajun brought a man over. "Leader, this is my neighbor, Zhang Liang. He was my colleague, too. He used to be a hunting squad captain in the Alliance Association."

Qin Ziwen stood up and shook his hand. He remembered this man; he was one of the ten just selected for the hunting party.

"Hello."

"Leader, we’re going to hunt the Tyrannosaurus, right? I have an idea, but I’m not sure if it’ll work."

"Let’s hear it."

Zhang Liang said, "Actually, back on the last map, I used this method to kill several large pythons. I’d hide a fist-sized, three-pointed iron spike inside a piece of meat. The spike was tied to a rope, which I’d then secure to a nearby tree. Once the snake swallowed the meat, any movement would cause the spike to twist around in its stomach, shredding its guts completely."

Qin Ziwen nodded as he listened, then asked, "Have you used this method on a crocodile?"

Zhang Liang hesitated.

Then he answered honestly, "I tried. But the crocodile just fled back into the river. I never saw a body, so I don’t know if it worked."

Qin Ziwen was still appreciative of Zhang Liang’s idea. "Mm, I’ve actually considered that method myself. But carnivores that swallow their food whole, like this one, tend to have much tougher esophagi and stomach linings than other animals. If the spike is too small, it won’t be effective. If it’s too large, well, they’re not stupid. If you get a fishbone in your mouth, are you going to spit it out or swallow it?"

Zhang Liang thought for a moment. "What if we spread some Iron Thorns or Tripwire Nails on the ground? We could add some barbs. If the Tyrannosaurus steps on them, it should hinder its movement." 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Qin Ziwen said, "That’s a viable option, but it’s too late now. A small amount would be useless on the plains, and we don’t have time to forge more."

At this, Qin Ziwen’s interest was piqued. "Mr. Zhang Liang, what did you do for a living before all this?"

Zhang Liang replied, "Old Yuan and I were in the army together. After we got out, we both worked at a stunt company. I was the props master, and Old Yuan was the martial arts director."

’A props master,’ Qin Ziwen thought, nodding. "No wonder. If you’re interested in this kind of work, how would you like to join the Military Equipment Supervisor after the battle? You could be in charge of creative development for our military-grade weapons."

Zhang Liang’s eyes lit up, and he quickly agreed. It was, in a way, a return to his old line of work.

「The next morning,」 another seven Car-Mounted Crossbows were delivered through the Node. Combined with the previous four, they now had eleven in total.

Li Yue arrived with the Car-Mounted Crossbows. He had pulled an all-nighter, and his eyes were completely bloodshot.

Thankfully, he had drunk plenty of the Healing Spring before setting out. ’Otherwise,’ he felt, ’I’d probably just collapse right here on the spot.’

"What are you doing here?" Qin Ziwen glanced at him.

Li Yue sighed dramatically. "Out with the old, in with the new, is that it? Did the big boss not want me to come?"

"Speak plainly."

Li Yue dropped the act. "Master Li is still at the Military Equipment Supervisor building more Crossbow Wagons. This batch is a new, improved model. The range has changed, the ballistics are different from the old ones—everything. I had to come over to show you guys how to use them."

As he spoke, he looked from side to side.

"Wow, so this is the Oasis? So much grass, so much water... The green and blue are so easy on the eyes."

"Enough chitchat. Let’s go."

With that, Qin Ziwen had the Beaked Eagle lead the way from the sky while he led the men to push the Car-Mounted Crossbows away.

They took a wide detour, avoiding the direct route between the Tyrannosaurus’s lair and the Oasis, parking the Car-Mounted Crossbows on a nearby sand dune off to the side.

From the dune, they had a clear view of the Tyrannosaurus’s nest diagonally across from them.

The only problem was the distance—it was a little far, nearly two hundred meters.

Li Yue straightened up, shielding his eyes with a hand as he squinted into the distance. "This spot will work. It’s right within the optimal range of the Car-Mounted Crossbows. Boss, to make aiming easier, I added a scope to each of the new ones. I can’t guarantee one-hundred-percent accuracy, but it should be close enough."

Li Yue craned his neck to look west. "Has the Tyrannosaurus left yet?"

"Left a while ago. This Tyrannosaurus is a creature of habit. Every morning it comes out to the Oasis for an all-you-can-eat buffet, then heads back to its nest. The whole trip takes half an hour, tops. The beast is remarkably self-disciplined."

Qin Ziwen narrowed his eyes, staring at the empty nest across the way.

’Should I take a peek inside the Tyrannosaurus’s nest while it’s gone?’ A thought flickered through his mind.

But he ultimately suppressed his curiosity. ’I can still check it out after we kill the Tyrannosaurus.’

They had timed their departure carefully, setting out early so they would arrive shortly after the Tyrannosaurus had left. It wouldn’t be long before it returned.

"Alright, everyone start putting on the mud," Qin Ziwen ordered. As he spoke, Cao Biansheng threw back the tarp on a cart, revealing a crate full of mud from the lakebed.

The men began methodically smearing the mud on their exposed arms, faces, and necks.

The sun beat down relentlessly. In the distance, at the edge of the horizon, a tall, imposing figure was returning to its nest with a jaunty stride.

...

...