A little over an hour later, Cheng Zongyang looked at the pile of Snake Galls on the counter, feeling quite pleased.
'89 Points. It's a shame the small Snake Galls don't count, and I broke another six. Otherwise, I would have earned a lot more Points.'
Still, Cheng Zongyang was satisfied.
His Points, which had dropped to 45.5, were now back up to 134.5.
With that, Cheng Zongyang turned his attention to two other items.
10 rolls of Medicated Bandages.
10 Apples.
He bought them without a second thought.
Points -11.
Remaining: 123.5 Points.
Cheng Zongyang's eyes burned with intensity as he stared at the bag of bright red Apples on the table.
'Nine years!'
'I haven't eaten this kind of Apple in nine years!'
It wasn't that there were no apples in the mountains, but those were just wild fruit—small and sour. He'd tried one once and never touched them again.
They were nothing like these selectively bred and improved Apples.
CRUNCH...
Cheng Zongyang took a bite and chewed. It was incredibly crisp and sweet, with a high sugar content and plenty of juice.
'Now *this* is a real Apple!' Cheng Zongyang almost cried.
'I missed this so damn much!'
Taking one crunchy bite after another, he quickly finished the Apple, leaving only the small core behind.
Cheng Zongyang let out a soft sigh. "Phew..."
He looked at the core, thought for a moment, and picked out the seeds. 'Who cares if they'll grow into an apple tree or not? I'll save them to plant later, even if it takes a few years.'
As for the bandages, he took just one roll, grabbed his new Bow and Arrow and Firewood Knife, and left the market hut once again.
It was still early; there was no way he was leaving yet.
But this time, he wasn't planning on hunting. Instead, he intended to explore the environment. This would give him a mental layout and a sense of direction for future hunts.
'Next time, I need to bring in a piece of cloth and a charcoal pencil to draw a map.'
The palest ink is better than the best memory. Memory can be unreliable, and written records are much easier to consult.
However, he still found a spot near the entrance and cleared a patch of ground.
Then, using an Arrowhead, he sketched a simple map in the dirt.
As long as he kept adding to it, he would eventually map out the entire five-square-kilometer forest.
Just like the Outer Mountain of Tianduan Mountain in the world outside.
Once he had accumulated enough money, he could even expand the area of the Wilderness World.
A rough map now took shape on the ground, marking the location of the blueberry bushes.
Next, Cheng Zongyang continued east.
His main goal this time was exploration, but if he came across any prey needed for a purchase order or a mission, he wouldn't pass up the opportunity.
As he traveled east, Cheng Zongyang mentally recorded the details of his surroundings, all the while pondering the nature of this forest.
'A circle of five square kilometers... its radius should be... what was it again? One times three is three, three times six is eighteen, three point one four... pi r squared... Hmm... so that's about 1.7 kilometers, right?'
Having not touched math in years, he wasn't sure if his calculation was correct. But at least he now had a rough idea.
He proceeded in fits and starts, constantly exploring. He occasionally encountered large animals, and the sheer danger of this forest was truly shocking.
For one thing, there was an incredible number of snakes and insects.
Every short distance he walked, he would spot snakes slithering about, hiding in the grass, or lurking in piles of dead leaves.
There were also centipedes crawling through dead leaves and branches or climbing up tree trunks. 'Their size would make for some top-grade medicinal wine.'
The sight of such creatures made his skin crawl.
If not for the stick he carried, he probably would have had several dangerous encounters.
On top of that, there were swarms of mosquitoes. Although he wore long pants and sleeves, any exposed skin was an easy target.
Large, camouflaged chameleons; a massive, shed python skin; animal skeletons... The discoveries he made along the way left Cheng Zongyang on edge. 'This primeval forest is fraught with peril!'
After walking for some time, he suddenly heard the sound of flowing water.
At the sound, Cheng Zongyang's vigilance heightened.
Proximity to a water source meant a higher chance of encountering other large creatures, and by extension, a greater degree of danger.
Following the sound of water for a hundred or two hundred meters, Cheng Zongyang was forced to take cover behind a thick, arm-span-wide tree.
He peeked around the side and saw a gurgling stream about a hundred meters away.
'From this angle, it looks to be at least five meters wide...'
Cheng Zongyang silently estimated as his eyes swept across the visible stretch of the stream.
Soon, his gaze fell upon a large brown bear standing on its hind legs in the stream, motionless as it stared into the water.
It was clearly trying to catch fish.
'The mission list has a task for bear paws. I think it's worth 100 Points.'
After racking his brain to confirm, Cheng Zongyang fixed his gaze on the brown bear, his eyes turning cold and sharp.
'Those bear paws are mine!'
He scanned the surroundings. This appeared to be the bear's territory, as there were no other large creatures in sight.
This actually put Cheng Zongyang's mind at ease. At least where a brown bear resided, other large predators were unlikely to be found.
Immediately, he nocked an arrow, stepped out from behind the tree, and fixed his eyes on the brown bear in the stream.
His gaze was like a hawk's as he locked onto his target and slowly raised his arms.
The distance was about a hundred meters. His vision wasn't good enough for a perfect lock at this range, but the bow's effective killing distance was more than sufficient!
As long as the arrow hit its mark, kiting the beast was the only viable strategy, regardless of whether it chased him or not.
Bracing his core and engaging his back muscles, he gradually drew the bowstring into a near-full moon.
His gaze sharpened, and he released his right hand.
TWANG!
As the bowstring vibrated, the Ironwood Arrow vanished in a flash!
The moment the arrow was loosed, Cheng Zongyang turned and ducked back behind the tree without even looking to see the result.
At this distance, with the target standing still, he was confident in his Archery.
From a hundred meters away, in the single breath it took after Cheng Zongyang released the string, the Ironwood Arrow slammed into the flank of the brown bear, which was turned partially away from him.
ROAR!
The brown bear roared in pain and whipped its head around to look at its right side, only to see a Wooden Arrow sticking out of its body!
ROAR...!
The enraged brown bear roared and glared in the direction the Wooden Arrow had come from!
It was no fool; the creature that attacked it had to be over there.
Forgetting all about fishing, it charged toward the forest.
However, the tearing pain from the embedded Wooden Arrow forced it to slow down.
Finally, in a fit of rage, it yanked out the Wooden Arrow!
The secondary damage from the Arrowhead being torn out caused such intense, agonizing pain that the brown bear began to roar and thrash about madly, venting its torment!
Behind the tree a hundred meters away, Cheng Zongyang listened to the bear's furious roars, his heart secretly pounding with alarm.
'If it finds me, will this become a fight to the death?'
But Cheng Zongyang knew from his years of hunting experience that a brown bear's sense of smell was incredibly keen.
The bear could easily distinguish the scent on his Wooden Arrow, as well as his own distinct scent drifting on the wind.
The brown bear was currently enraged. Although the arrow had wounded it, the injury wasn't severe enough to be immediately fatal.
An enraged brown bear possessed terrifying speed and attack power.
Therefore, before the brown bear could find him, he took out another Wooden Arrow.
'Just one more shot to compound the injury. If it keeps thrashing around in a Frenzy, its internal wounds will only worsen!'
Relying on his excellent hearing, Cheng Zongyang could tell the bear's movements had calmed down somewhat; at the very least, its roars had grown much weaker.
He waited for several more minutes.
As long as the bear didn't come looking for him, he had no intention of revealing himself.
Hearing the commotion gradually die down, Cheng Zongyang figured the bear's fury had mostly subsided. He nocked an arrow, drew the bow to its limit, and immediately pivoted to emerge from the other side of the tree.
His hawk-like eyes instantly locked onto the brown bear, whose movements had slowed considerably.
But one look was all it took for Cheng Zongyang's eyes to nearly bulge out of his head.