Desert Island Survival Arc

Zhang Heng's missed arrow had already drawn the jaguar's attention, and it swiftly shifted its gaze toward him.

Bear was still fighting the other jaguar, which meant Zhang Heng had to deal with this king of the tropical rainforest alone. Before coming to the island, faced with a situation like this, he could only have GG'd.

Forget a jaguar—even the goose at the village entrance might have been more than he could handle.

But hadn't he trained hard in archery for a year precisely for this moment?

Zhang Heng swiftly drew another wooden arrow from his quiver and nocked it to the bowstring. He didn't rush to shoot, because they were still quite far apart.

At this distance, he wasn't completely confident he could hit the target. He had to suppress the fear in his heart and wait for the jaguar to attack first.

It sounded simple enough, but actually doing it was far from easy.

For a ranged fighter, greater distance meant greater safety. As the saying went, every archer had the heart of a kiting player.

But reality was cruel. Zhang Heng knew very well that, in terms of agility and speed, his two legs definitely couldn't outrun the other side's four. And if he started kiting, this jaguar might just join its companion in focusing down the other explorer first.

Then, with both leopards surrounding him, Zhang Heng definitely wouldn't be able to escape this forest.

Thus, man and jaguar entered a standoff. Following his coach's instructions, Zhang Heng maintained a standard stance and adjusted his breathing.

Meanwhile, the jaguar's patience was finally running out. It lowered its body into a crouch, the preparatory motion before a pounce.

Zhang Heng grew tense at the sight. This was completely different from hunting Dodo Birds. Back then, if he missed, the worst outcome was simply going without chicken. But if this arrow went wide now, the jaguar's agility would never give him a chance to nock a second one.

He would be the one getting eaten.

Zhang Heng did his best to drive those random thoughts from his mind and keep his emotions steady. Then, in the next instant, the jaguar moved. It was even faster than Zhang Heng had imagined. In the blink of an eye, it had left its original position, its powerful hind legs kicking off the ground and giving its body terrifying momentum and explosive force.

The distance between them rapidly shrank, until, when it was less than seven meters, the twang of a bowstring finally rang through the air.

This was, without question, the most satisfying arrow Zhang Heng had ever fired. After such lengthy preparation and buildup, his mind entered a state of perfect unity. It felt as though the world had slowed before him, and he could see the path traced by the whiskers at the corners of the jaguar's mouth.

The force, angle, and predictive calculation were all flawless.

The moment the arrow left his hand, Zhang Heng knew it would hit its target.

And indeed, it did.

At such close range, and while it was charging at full speed, the jaguar had no time to dodge. It could only watch helplessly as the oncoming wooden arrow struck its head.

But then something happened that Zhang Heng hadn't expected. Whether the charred arrowhead lacked sufficient killing power or he was simply unlucky enough to hit the skull, the arrow failed to penetrate very deeply and became lodged there.

The jaguar let out a pained roar, but the wound to its head was not enough to kill it on the spot. Instead, it roused its ferocity. With the arrow still sticking out of its head, it pounced on Zhang Heng, who had no time to flee, and slammed him to the ground.

Zhang Heng desperately used the wooden bow in his hands to hold the jaguar's neck back, denying it the chance to bite through his throat. But his upper body was also pinned against the ground by the beast, its claws hooking into his shoulder and instantly punching several bloody holes into it.

Yet the tremendous pain also caused Zhang Heng's body to erupt with unprecedented strength.

Death at such close range even made him temporarily forget his fear. Zhang Heng knew that no one could help him now. If he wanted to live, he had to rely on himself.

He gripped the wooden bow with one hand while freeing the other to frantically grope around beside him. Feeling the pressure on its neck weaken, the jaguar's eyes gleamed even more fiercely. It stretched its head forward and bit toward Zhang Heng's throat. Drool dripped from its fangs onto Zhang Heng's face, and the stench nearly knocked him unconscious.

His situation had become more dangerous than ever.

But in the next moment, Zhang Heng's free hand finally found the spear he had thrown aside earlier.

Just as that reeking mouth was about to bite through his throat, he moved first, viciously driving the spear into the jaguar's neck. The beast's gaze froze. Rather than letting go, Zhang Heng exerted even more force, wildly twisting the spear inside the jaguar's neck.

At the same time, he threw away the wooden bow and instead grabbed the arrow lodged in the jaguar's skull, pulling with both hands.

The surging adrenaline made him forget the pain in his body. This was a fight to the death, with no room for mercy. Zhang Heng used every possible means to injure the beast before him, until the notification sound rang in his ears once more.

Successfully hunted an adult jaguar alone. Game points +10. Relevant information can be viewed on the character panel...

Only then did Zhang Heng finally confirm that he truly was the final victor of this bloody battle.

Reaching out to shove away the breathless lump of dead flesh crushing him, Zhang Heng saw that Bear's battle was also nearing its end.

The explorer was straddling his opponent, with the knife embedded in its lower abdomen.

The jaguar had lost a great deal of blood, and its movements were becoming slower and slower. It looked as though it would soon follow its companion's fate.

"Hey, are you okay, Zhang?" Bear asked with concern. He had seen Zhang Heng in danger earlier, but had been completely unable to free himself to help.

"...I've always wanted a tiger-skin skirt, but leopard skin will do." Zhang Heng lay sprawled on the ground, gasping for breath. Once he confirmed he was safe, all the strength left his body. He didn't even want to move a finger.

Looking back on what had just happened, it all felt utterly insane. Zhang Heng's heartbeat still refused to settle.

He had never imagined that one day he would engage in close-quarters combat with a large wild beast. By real-world time, he had been drinking lemonade in a bar just an hour ago.

And now, he was a man who had slaughtered a leopard.

It sounded pretty cool when he thought about it that way, but it would be best if nothing like this ever happened again.

"While we were fighting, one of the stone slabs on the altar broke apart. I also found this," the explorer said after finishing off his opponent, walking over.

"What is that?" Zhang Heng looked at the furry object in Bear's hand. It resembled the tail of some creature. Strangely, if the natives really had hidden it underneath, there was no reason for the fur to have remained so well preserved after all this time.

He had been about to tell Bear to keep it for himself, but then changed his mind at the last second. "Can you give it to me?" he asked the explorer.

"Of course. You saved me, and twice at that," Bear said generously.

"Thanks. This thing might be useful to me."

The reason Zhang Heng had changed his mind midway was that, when he took the furry object, another notification had unexpectedly sounded in his ear.

Discovered game item—Rabbit's Foot (Unidentified).