Chapter 278: Chapter 251: Extraordinary in the Forest

When their leader plummeted from the sky and slammed into the ground,

The Wolf King was reduced to a pile of bloody pulp.

The rest of the pack scattered in chaos.

Tails tucked between their legs, they fled in all directions, howling as they ran.

The Beaked Eagle skimmed the treeline in a wide circle, and only after seeing the wolves flee did it ascend once more, flying toward the foot of the mountain.

The leopard carefully leaped down from the tree. It watched the Beaked Eagle depart and let out a few soft cries.

As they passed a cliff, Qin Ziwen stretched out his arm and pointed, signaling the Beaked Eagle to check out a spot in the distance.

It was the same cliff face where the Giant Toad had previously fallen to its death.

Riding the Beaked Eagle down to the valley floor, he saw that new, tender green plants had sprouted from the earth once scorched by gasoline.

The Giant Toad’s remains had long since been picked clean, leaving only its massive skeleton. From the crevices in the bones, tiny green shoots burst forth with new life.

The forest was never short on death. Death was simply the beginning of new life.

"Let’s go." After gazing for a long while, Qin Ziwen signaled the Beaked Eagle to depart.

’Even a creature as mighty as the Giant Toad, a hegemon that once dominated this part of the forest, leaves behind nothing but bleached bones after death.’

Afterward, Qin Ziwen rode the Beaked Eagle to the other altars scattered around the forest’s periphery.

With time running short, he only managed to search three altars, snagging three Cards from them.

Including the Advanced Enhancement Card from the cave, he now had a total of four Cards.

Qin Ziwen realized he had found another way to reliably obtain Cards.

’As long as I use the rewind function periodically, I can harvest Cards on a regular basis.’

’Of course, that’s provided the rewound map doesn’t have any other Gated Communities.’

"Bro, over here!"

By the Teleportation Gate, Qin Ziwu was waving his arms energetically.

To avoid any accidents that could leave people stranded, the main party had started returning in waves during the last half hour. Now, only a few people remained by the Teleportation Gate.

The gatherers from the surrounding area started to congregate, forming a long line.

"President, I think there’s something in the river. A little while ago, some of the men went to fetch water and heard a commotion," Cao Biansheng said, walking over to report to Qin Ziwen.

There was no fresh water on their rocky island. Even though they had collected some from the Oasis, they were still running low.

Qin Ziwen said, "Crocodiles? That’s normal. There are quite a few of them downstream."

Cao Biansheng replied, "Not a crocodile. They said it looked like some kind of snake. A very fast one that can skim across the water’s surface."

’Skim across the water’s surface?!’

Qin Ziwen pictured the scene in his head. "Are you sure it wasn’t a lizard?"

Qin Ziwu chimed in, "Bro, I went to see for myself. It’s real. The snake isn’t very long, maybe two or three meters, but it’s so fast it’s hard to get a clear look."

"Let’s go see."

Qin Ziwen was curious. ’What kind of snake can move across the surface of the water?’

At the riverbank, the current flowed much more gently.

The water level had also dropped. It must have been the summer flood season before; it was normal for the water to recede after more than a month.

Just as he reached the riverbank, a rapidly moving silver line on the water’s surface caught his eye.

"There it is!"

"I see it."

Driven by curiosity, Qin Ziwen used Insight on the silver line.

[Extraordinary Silver Thread Snake: ☆☆☆]

He was surprised. This was the first wild Extraordinary Creature he had encountered, other than the Giant Rock Dragon.

’Its Star Level is a bit low, though. It doesn’t even have any solid stars.’

’Probably a juvenile.’

But on second thought, the Heaven-Reaching Fruit had also been discovered on this map. ’If there are Extraordinary Plants, then it’s not so strange to find Extraordinary Animals too.’

’Still, this is incredible luck. I spent a month here before without seeing one, and now I run into one after just half a day.’

He thought of Red Hare’s Third Gear quest: to hunt an Extraordinary Creature weighing no less than their combined total while carrying a Rider, with both horse and Rider sustaining zero damage.

"Too bad it’s so small." Qin Ziwen shook his head in disappointment.

’This Silver Thread Snake is only Three Stars. It’s too light; it doesn’t meet the weight requirement.’

’If only it were heavier.’

"When you’re over here next time, be more careful. Don’t let the snake bite you."

’Even though its Star Level is low, it’s still an Extraordinary-Level creature. If that snake is venomous, the poison could be terrifying.’

Qin Ziwen’s expression shifted. "Right, go back and get some cages. We’ll set a few traps in the area."

’Judging by its size, this Silver Thread Snake probably isn’t known for its strength.’

’An Earth Cage might be able to hold it.’

’After all, an Extraordinary Level snake is a rare find.’

Upon hearing this, Qin Ziwu and Cao Biansheng hurried back. Soon, they returned, each carrying two Earth Cages.

The cages were filled with bait.

They then set up the traps along the bank, placing the Earth Cages so they were half-submerged in the river.

The Silver Thread Snake seemed to notice the people on the bank. It "skimmed" across the water to the opposite side, then dove under and vanished.

Back at the Home, the adjacent open space was piled high with trees.

Thick tree trunks were stacked neatly on the ground.

In the distance, people were lined up to receive their "wages."

The most suitable wage was meat.

It was the hard currency of their Gated Community.

Tao Fu hurried over. When he saw the stacked logs, he immediately began to inspect them for suitable materials.

He had been worried they might have cut down the wrong trees, since not all wood is suitable for shipbuilding.

After a quick inspection, Tao Fu was relieved.

Most of the trees had clearly been roughly sorted by species; they hadn’t been felled indiscriminately.

Teak, oak, fir, pine, camphor...

The vast majority were suitable for shipbuilding.

Some of the wood was also suitable for making Bows and Crossbow Wagons.

"How many ships can we build with all this timber?" Qin Ziwen asked as he walked over.

Tao Fu replied, "If we’re talking twenty-meter sea-going vessels, we can probably build four."

"Good. Build them to that standard, then. How long will it take to build four ships?"

Tao Fu considered this for a moment. "Reporting to you, my lord, once construction begins at the Ghost Ship Dock, the Ghost Boatmen hardly need to rest. They can work around the clock. The black water beneath the center of the dock also treats the timber, so we don’t need to worry about air-drying and preservation. We can probably launch one ship every three to four days."

Qin Ziwen nodded to himself. ’At that rate, they could have three twenty-meter-class wooden sea vessels in about ten days.’

’That’s incredibly efficient. But just having ships isn’t enough. There are plenty of Sea Beasts on the ocean floor in these waters.’

’A wooden hull would still be a bit too "fragile" to withstand a Sea Beast’s attack.’

After a moment’s thought, Qin Ziwen asked, "What if we clad the sides and bottom of the hull with a layer of iron plating? How much longer would that take?"

"Iron plating?" Tao Fu considered it. "That would add about half a day to the construction time. But, my lord, we would need the materials prepared in advance."

"Of course. I’ll have the Military Equipment Supervisor’s department assist you."

Afterward, Qin Ziwen went to the Military Equipment Supervisor and told Li Tieshan to assist Tao Fu’s team with cladding the ships’ hulls in iron. He then asked if Li Tieshan foresaw any difficulties.

Li Tieshan broke out in a cold sweat as he listened and began to complain bitterly. "My lord! I do have difficulties! Huge difficulties! We’re short-staffed! Just give me another hundred men, and I guarantee I’ll get the job done!"

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