Experience Points +7 Experience Points +31 Experience Points +3 Experience Points +1 Experience Points +1 ...
What a guy—Zhang Chen had dug for an entire day, only to realize when it was time to leave that he had barely accumulated three thousand Experience Points.
Name: Zhang Chen Skill 1 (Second Tier): Light of the Righteous God (0/5000) Skill 2 (Unranked): Dragon Qi (0/2000) Points: 3050
Zhang Chen looked at his three thousand and fifty points, then at his red, swollen palms, and could not help frowning. "It's getting harder and harder to dig. At this rate, my excavation progress won't improve. Who knows what year or month it'll be before I can upgrade my second-tier skill."
"Thankfully, there's still the Stone Tablet to make up for it. I just don't know where that Stone Tablet came from." Zhang Chen muttered, then carried his basket to the stream to wash up. But when he saw the stream before him, his brow furrowed even deeper. "The water level has dropped even more than yesterday. How could this be?"
After washing the mud from his body, Zhang Chen stared at the dwindling stream, a grave look appearing in his eyes. "This is bad! The moisture in heaven and earth is constantly decreasing. That's no good sign. Once the Great Drought years come, nobody will have an easy time."
After washing for a while, Zhang Chen carried his basket toward the hive. He went straight to its location, chopped up one chicken leg from the pheasant he had hunted that morning, carefully cut it into rice-grain-sized pieces, and scattered them before the hive.
That was right—hornets ate meat! As the scent of meat spread, countless hornets rushed out, scrambling to pounce on the meat scraps and feast greedily.
Watching hundreds of hornets devour the chunks of meat, a thought arose in Zhang Chen's heart:
If I could bring the hornets' nest home, it would be much safer. If those people dared give me trouble, I could summon the hornets from inside the house and make them suffer a crushing loss.
Looking at the hornets, Zhang Chen shook his head. He knew it was only wishful thinking. Hornets relied on their daytime speed; if anyone learned where their nest was, a single fire at night could burn them all clean.
"So I still need to find stronger creatures. The hornets are only a stopgap for me." Zhang Chen fed the hornets for a while, then cleaned up all the scraps from the ground so as not to attract any predators before turning to leave.
Within two kilometers of where the hornets lived, there were basically no small animals like rats, because such tiny creatures simply could not withstand the hornets' hunting.
Upon arriving at the cave, Zhang Chen began making gunpowder again. Only after half a day had passed did he emerge from the cave with a satisfied smile, showing that he had reaped quite a harvest today.
But after leaving the cave, Zhang Chen turned to look at the natural cavern, unease rising in his heart. "This place is indeed rarely visited, but that doesn't mean mountain hunters or villagers won't blunder in. If they discover my gunpowder, it'll be a huge problem. If I could move the hornets here and use them to guard the cave, then with these killer bees around, those villagers surely wouldn't dare approach lightly."
"Getting hornets to build a nest here is actually simple. During the period when they split off new colonies, aside from providing a suitable living environment, all I need to do is smear honey where I want them to nest and add some meat scraps. With enough food, the hornets will naturally build a nest here." A thoughtful look appeared in Zhang Chen's eyes.
But honey was a luxury in this era, something only true nobles could enjoy. Ordinary people could not buy even a little of it.
"Or should I just dig that one out and move the hive directly here?" Zhang Chen racked his brains but could not think of a good idea, so he could only head down the mountain to check his hunting traps.
The traps had not come up empty again. They had actually caught two frogs.
Zhang Chen carried the two frogs home. Today, he did not see the White-Haired Fox at the entrance, nor did he see Zhang Chen. Still, he conscientiously hung the food on the wall, then returned indoors to think about the coming Great Drought and moving the hive.
"How strange. Why haven't I seen any sign of that Fox Spirit today?" Zhang Chen lay on the bed and thought for a while. Suddenly feeling that something was off, he got up and went to the fire wall, using a small stick to poke the hole open again. From next door came earthshaking snores. The White-Haired Fox was sleeping flat on her back with all four paws in the air in an exceedingly ungraceful pose, and those snores came from the Fox Spirit's mouth.
Zhang Chen did not know that the Fox Spirit and Zhang Chen had stayed up all night, and neither of them had gotten out of bed during the day.
Seeing the Fox Spirit drooling from the corner of her mouth, lying with all four paws in the air, Zhang Chen suddenly pictured an incomparably beautiful girl in white sleeping in the same ungraceful pose, flat on her back and drooling. His heart skipped a beat, and he quickly plugged the gap in the hole.
"Do Fox Spirits all sleep like this? Honestly, that Fox Spirit's sleeping posture... was hard to describe in a single word!" Zhang Chen returned to his bed, conserving his energy as he considered tomorrow's plans.
Zhang Chen's breathing was soft and steady. Golden light flowed through his abdomen, illuminating most of it as though a small lantern were inside him. With every breath, the golden light continuously echoed with the outside world.
Just as Zhang Chen hovered between sleep and wakefulness, the clatter of pots and bowls suddenly came from next door, startling him awake. He knew the Fox Spirit and Zhang Chen had woken up and were cooking.
"Eh?"
Zhang Chen raised his head and looked at the wall. The prey he had hunted had not been taken by the Fox Spirit.
"Why hasn't the Fox Spirit moved the prey yet?" A flicker of surprise crossed Zhang Chen's mind.
But he did not think too much about it, figuring that with Zhang Chen at home, the Fox Spirit found it inconvenient to use her methods.
Night fell.
Zhang Chen drifted off drowsily. Suddenly, dark clouds blanketed the sky outside. Flying sand and rolling stones howled again, shaking heaven and earth, and a red light appeared outside the little courtyard, descending directly before Zhang Chen's house.
"Damn it! He's here again!" Zhang Chen looked at the paper on the table glowing with red light, horror appearing in his eyes. He grabbed the stick beside him and stared at the red glow reflected on the window paper, his gaze filled with fear.
"Brother Zhang Chen, open the door! I've brought you some prey!" At that moment, knocking sounded. Zhang Chen's voice came from outside the door—and it sounded exactly like Zhang Chen.
"This..." Zhang Chen froze inside the house. If his relationship with the one next door had not already reached the point of fire and water, he might have believed the ghostly nonsense outside.
Little Fox's expression darkened as well. "Damn it, that thing can imitate people now? It can even use tricks! Its abilities have grown stronger again!"
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