Tonight was destined to be a sleepless night.
Although he had hidden himself well, Shi Ming remained in a state of constant vigilance.
Especially after peeking through the cracks between the stones and seeing the Fierce Moths. They had followed his scent and were now flying right in front of him, yet they still couldn't find their prey. Seeing that, and the distant bonfire that had gone out after just sixteen and a half minutes, he decided he absolutely could not sleep tonight.
'The Fierce Moths' sense of smell is incredibly sensitive. Even though I'm hidden in this pile of rocks, they can still sense my general location. And they found their way here from the crevice so quickly.'
'This trait... I can use this.'
Inside the cave, he used the starlight to observe the situation outside while planning how to use the information he had to formulate his next move.
Suddenly, his vision went dark.
A massive Fierce Moth had landed precisely on the breathing hole he had left for himself, blocking the starlight and his view.
'I've been discovered!'
But it didn't matter. The breathing hole he'd left was only the size of a fist; the Fierce Moths were too large to get in.
Shi Ming prepared to block the opening completely to prevent a potential poison gas attack.
The air inside the cave would be enough for him to survive for a while.
However, just as he turned to grab a stone, the proboscis of the Fierce Moth blocking the entrance shot out like an arrow. Like a frog's tongue, it WHOOSHED through the fist-sized opening, aiming straight for Shi Ming's head.
Shit!
'So treacherous!'
Luckily, Shi Ming had remained vigilant. He narrowly dodged the sudden attack, then swung his dagger in a flash. With a swift flick of his wrist, he sliced off the Fierce Moth's proboscis at its base!
The entire sequence of actions took less than a second!
HISS!
Its proboscis severed, the Fierce Moth cried out in pain. It fluttered its wings frantically below the opening but had no other way to attack.
'Trying to sneak attack me? I was ready for you!'
Instead of immediately blocking the hole, he watched the injured Fierce Moth's reaction for a while, using the vantage point he had planned in advance.
'No ability to release poison gas.'
'It's lost the ability to fly.'
'All it can do is flutter its wings and screech.'
'It seems this creature put all its evolution points into its proboscis. If this is all it's got, then things are about to get interesting.'
He positioned his knife at the opening, using himself as bait, and waited for the next victim.
There were still many Fierce Moths flying around.
A professional Hunter can discern a prey's weakness from the details. Shi Ming had already determined that the Fierce Moth's proboscis was crucial; losing it meant losing all combat capability. Furthermore, under the influence of extreme pain, they could only lie on the ground, fluttering their wings uselessly, unable to even fly.
For him, this was a perfect hunting opportunity.
The second one!
The third!
Although the dagger provided by the captain wasn't very sharp, empowered by Shi Ming's strength, any Fierce Moth that dared stick its mouth in had its "weapon" mercilessly confiscated. The number of hissing Fierce Moths on the ground grew, and for a time, these instinct-driven creatures no longer dared to approach the mysterious opening.
And Shi Ming just had to wait for sunrise. Then he could break out of the cave and harvest these malicious creatures that had lost their ability to fly!
This would allow him to complete the first mission assigned by the system.
...
Before he knew it, the first-quarter moon had moved to the western sky and was about to set.
From this, Shi Ming deduced it was the seventh or eighth day of the lunar month, and the time was just before midnight.
'The mission still has about twelve hours to go. And once it's past midnight, the Eye of Intelligence can get new information.'
Shi Ming kept a wary eye out for potential attacks from outside while refining his plan.
His plan had evolved from a rough concept into something with a real chance of success. But with additional intel from the system, it could perhaps be perfected and made more foolproof.
Soon, the moon disappeared below the western horizon.
It was past midnight.
'Eye of Intelligence, acquire new information.'
Shi Ming blocked the opening with a stone, leaving only a tiny crack for air circulation. Now he no longer had to divert his attention to the restless Fierce Moths outside.
The familiar text appeared once again.
[BEEP... BEEP...]
[Compiling information...]
[Searching. Confirming host's detailed coordinates... Search successful. Summarizing information... Information generated.]
[The mimicry dust on the host was created by a biologist who extracted special substances from the glands of lepidopteran larvae to create a mimicry agent. Applying the mimicry dust to the wrists, abdomen, and ankles will disrupt the cognition of lepidopteran creatures, preventing their attacks. It is especially effective against the Bloodthirsty Moths on this island. However, this bottle of mimicry dust has been stored for too long and has lost most of its efficacy. It will only last for thirty minutes.]
Oh?
'So the mimicry dust in the Syringe Bottle, the one the bald slave gave me to repay his debt, is actually this useful!?'
Shi Ming had suspected for a while that the dust was something left behind by the owner of the notebook he had found earlier. It seemed he was right.
'With this, I can ignore the attacks from these Fierce Moths—oh, no, Bloodthirsty Moths—for a short time.'
It was just a pity that the mimicry dust wouldn't last long enough, having been stored for so long. Otherwise, Shi Ming could stroll right over, jump into the Xuanwu's wound, bathe in the Xuanwu Blood, and achieve his awakening.
Resources were limited. He had to save his best tools for the most critical moment.
Shi Ming put the mimicry dust away carefully.
This would be an important strategic weapon.
With this mimicry dust, Shi Ming's plan had a much higher chance of success.
A sleepless night passed.
Dawn was breaking.
Before the first light of dawn broke over the coastline, the Bloodthirsty Moths outside had already departed, returning to their "happy nests" to sleep.
Only a few pitiful creatures that had lost their proboscises were left. They lay twitching instinctively below the stone cave. When Shi Ming pushed aside the stone at the entrance, he could immediately see the Fierce Moths on the ground, waiting to be slaughtered.
He checked his surroundings to make sure there were no more threats, then finished them off one by one, sending the pests that wanted a taste of his brain on their way.
This also gave him a chance to observe these creatures up close—
Scarlet spots dotted their wings, their heads were ferocious, and their teeth were sharp as a wolf's fangs. Their proboscises were completely gone.
He wondered how many slaves had lost their lives to these Bloodthirsty Moths last night.
...
[BEEP.]
[Congratulations. You have killed three Bloodthirsty Moths, completing the Novice Mission: Kill 3 creatures with strong malicious intent.]
[Reward Obtained: Novice Combat Starter Pack.]
[System Warehouse unlocked. The reward has been placed in the System Warehouse. Items can be retrieved or stored at any time. Other non-living items can also be stored.]
Seeing the system's notification, Shi Ming was thrilled!
'It even unlocked a warehouse this time!'
For a "slave" with no privacy whatsoever, a personal warehouse was incredibly valuable. It meant he could hide anything he wanted right under the captain's nose. No body search would ever detect anything unusual!
Take weapons, for example. For a slave, they were absolutely forbidden contraband. Even the dagger issued for this trip had to be returned after a body search. But with the System Warehouse, Shi Ming could store lethal weapons inside, and no detector would ever find them!
When the time was right, he could give the captain and the others a nice surprise!
Shi Ming accessed the System Warehouse.
He couldn't wait to see what was inside this "Novice Combat Starter Pack."