He portioned out the meat at home using a bathroom scale, then went downstairs to complete the trade.
The instant noodles the man with the slanted eyes had brought for the trade were the classic, bagged pickled-pepper beef flavor.
Looking at the familiar packaging, Qin Ziwen felt a bit nostalgic. Back in his school days, he had loved this flavor of instant noodles. He was a growing boy back then with a huge appetite, so one pack was never enough. He would buy a pack of braised chicken and mushroom noodles to cook with it.
Mixing the two flavor packets together tasted pretty good.
But perhaps he'd had his fill of instant noodles, because he rarely ate them after starting college, aside from the occasional bowl of spicy Korean fire chicken noodles.
Glancing at the sky, Qin Ziwen said to Deng Wen, "Xiaowen, go get your dad. We need to go set the Earth Cages."
"Mhm."
A moment later, Deng Guang and Deng Wen came downstairs together.
Just as they reached the south gate, a ragged, battered group came limping back.
Qin Ziwen immediately recognized the man in the lead, Wang Yun.
Compared to the high spirits he'd been in the last time they met, this time Wang Yun's hair was a mess, full of twigs and broken leaves. His clothes were torn, his pant legs were covered in burrs, and there was a scratch on his face.
It wasn't just him; most of the group behind him were in a similar state.
"Brother Wang." Qin Ziwen walked up and put a hand on Wang Yun's shoulder.
Back in the familiar Gated Community, the constantly tense Wang Yun finally relaxed. His body slumped, and he leaned against Qin Ziwen.
Qin Ziwen asked with concern, "What happened to you guys?"
The corners of Wang Yun's mouth twitched into a smile, but it was uglier than a grimace.
Patting the back of Qin Ziwen's hand, Wang Yun said, "Brother, if you're going to the western grasslands, you have to be extremely careful. A pack of over twenty wolves has moved in over there. Those wolves are even bigger than Alaskan Malamutes."
After catching his breath, Wang Yun straightened up, sighed, thanked Qin Ziwen, and slowly walked away.
After a few steps, he turned back. "Oh, right. I caught two more of those rabbits you wanted. We can talk about it later. I'm going to head back and get some rest."
The others in Wang Yun's group were mostly silent with their heads bowed, and the atmosphere was oppressive.
After watching them leave, Qin Ziwen glanced past them at the ominous, shadowed woods.
"Let's go."
'No matter what, the work still has to be done.'
As the sky grew darker, there was almost no one left outside the Gated Community.
Qin Ziwen and the others were extremely cautious along the way, not only guarding against potential crocodiles in the river but also keeping a close watch on the surrounding bushes.
They followed the river downstream for a few dozen meters until they reached the cove where he had fished during the day.
Deng Guang tossed tigerfish guts into two Earth Cages as bait. He tied the ropes attached to the cages to a tree on the bank, then submerged them in the river. Finally, he covered them with a layer of dead branches and weeds for camouflage.
With that done, the two headed back.
Deng Guang said in a low voice, "We should come early tomorrow. Best to head out just after five. Any later, and there might be more people around."
"Alright, we'll leave early tomorrow, then." Qin Ziwen knew what he meant. At just after five in the morning, the sky would be barely lit, and not many people would be out and about.
It would be a more discreet time to retrieve both the cages and the catch. If they waited until it was fully light out, they couldn't guarantee they wouldn't be seen by someone else.
After returning to his apartment in the Gated Community, he retrieved the fresh tigerfish from his cellar and cut off about three pounds of meat. After a moment's thought, he grabbed an adhesive bandage and headed for Apartment 801 in Building One, Unit One.
Wang Yun's wife, Lin Yi, opened the door. As soon as Qin Ziwen stepped inside, he was hit by the thick smell of cigarette smoke in the living room.
Wang Yun stubbed out the cigarette in his hand and stood up from the sofa, forcing a smile. "Have a seat. We're out of fruit, so I'm afraid we have nothing to offer you. Please excuse the poor hospitality."
Qin Ziwen sat down next to Wang Yun and placed the bag of meat on the table. Then he took the adhesive bandage out of his pocket and set it down in front of him. "I saw the scratch on your face. I brought this for you so it doesn't get infected."
A flicker of gratitude showed in Wang Yun's eyes. He accepted it without any ceremony. "Thanks."
He sighed. "You said last time that you'd be willing to trade for more live rabbits, so I set some extra traps. I'd caught two does when I checked them today. We were planning to hunt a muntjac deer we'd spotted, but we had the bad luck to run into that wolf pack. We lost three people from our team."
Qin Ziwen recalled seeing Wang Yun that afternoon. 'His group did seem smaller than last time,' he thought.
Wang Yun called out, "Honey, bring out those two rabbits from the bathroom."
Lin Yi came out of the bathroom holding a cardboard box. Inside were a gray rabbit and a white rabbit.
Judging by their size, they were a bit smaller than the previous two rabbits, but they seemed healthy and alert.
Qin Ziwen said, "Brother Wang, in the bag is some fish I caught today. I think it's tigerfish. You should eat it soon, otherwise it'll go bad if you let it sit for too long."
Wang Yun paused. "Tigerfish?"
He turned to look at the bag and let out a long breath. "This godforsaken place really has a bit of everything, huh? Tigerfish are schooling fish. Try your best to stay out of the water.
"A lot of the animals here are bigger than their counterparts on Earth. The wildlife now is still manageable; as long as we're cautious, survival shouldn't be too difficult. The real disaster will be if a Giant Beast from some medieval or even ancient era suddenly appears."
After a pause, Wang Yun said, "Brother Qin, I'm planning on not going west for the time being. It's too far from the Gated Community. If we run into that wolf pack again, we won't have time to make it back. I'm thinking of spending the next couple of days exploring the areas north and east of the community to draw a simple map. Want to come along?"
Qin Ziwen thought it over. 'That kind of exploration is too risky,' he concluded. 'If we really run into a large beast, my Compound Bow won't be a reliable defense. Combat isn't the same as shooting at a stationary target.'
So he politely declined with a shake of his head. "I'd rather take advantage of the fact that not many people are fishing right now and try to catch some more."
Although Wang Yun was a little disappointed, he respected Qin Ziwen's choice.
Qin Ziwen carried the box home and placed the two rabbits into the animal cage.
Looking at the four wild rabbits in the cage, he couldn't help but feel a surge of accomplishment.
'I have four now. Is forty, or even four hundred, so far off!?'
The night passed without incident.
Early the next morning, the first thing Qin Ziwen did after waking up was check the previous day's settlement.
"You have successfully survived in the wilderness for a seventh day. Today, you caught a tigerfish and expanded your rabbit colony. Overall Score: 13."
"Reward Acquired: [Recruitment Card] Common · Tamed Adult Beaked Eagle x1, Earth Cage x3."
Looking at the rewards, Qin Ziwen's heart began to pound.
A type of Card he had never seen before had appeared—a Recruitment Card.
'So Cards aren't just limited to inanimate objects,' he realized. 'There are also Recruitment Cards that can grant living creatures.'
But a problem quickly occurred to him: if a Beaked Eagle suddenly appeared in his apartment, how would he explain it if someone saw it?
The thought made Qin Ziwen frown. This wasn't like the Building Cards and Resource Cards he could just hide at home.
'If I summon it, I'll have to put it to use,' he reasoned. 'Otherwise, hiding it at home would just be a waste of food. I might as well keep it as a Card for now and save the rations.'
...
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