Self-Entrapment

The Black Forest's area, by estimation, wasn't too large, but it was definitely not something they could clear out in a short amount of time.

During this process, they undoubtedly rediscovered the rats scurrying around in every corner of the Black Forest. Many tribe members wanted to rush forward and catch them, but Zhou Xu stopped them all.

"Alright, don't waste your energy. These rats are incredibly fast. If you could catch them with your bare hands, you would have caught them yesterday, not waited until today. Save your strength for now."

As he spoke, he picked up a stone from the ground. It was about a handspan larger than his palm and generally flat.

"Look at this, pick up stones like this."

Zhou Xu gestured to the tribe members responsible for gathering supplies as he spoke.

During this time, every tribe member had already picked up branches from along the way, with some even holding two in their arms.

This was also one of the reasons why their efficiency in picking up branches was so low.

With the way they were holding them, they wouldn't be able to carry many and would have to go back soon, wasting more time on each trip.

Seeing this, Zhou Xu directly beckoned them over.

"Come here, and get out that bundle of bark rope I gave you before we left."

Taking the bark rope from the tribe members, Zhou Xu spread it out on the ground.

"Put the branches on it."

Upon receiving the order, the tribe members didn't hesitate and did as they were told.

The branches they had collected were quickly piled on the ground. Once a sufficient amount was gathered, Zhou Xu stepped on the branches and used his hands and feet to pull the bark rope, bundling the branches together in a flash.

In his previous life, he would always save some cardboard boxes from daily life to sell. Now, this technique for bundling cardboard boxes was sufficient for this situation.

"See, like this, you can directly carry the bark rope and put it on your shoulder. One person can carry back so many branches at once."

Before, it would have taken at least five or six of them to carry back the branches. Now, with a single piece of bark rope, Zhou Xu easily lifted them with one hand.

The tribe members watching couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

The bundling technique itself wasn't difficult; the hard part was who could have been the first to think of doing it this way!

"Alright, members of the gathering team, split into two groups of five. Each group will go to the areas on either side to gather supplies. Do not approach this area. The rest of you, follow me."

Although the gathering team members were curious about what their chief would do next, their chief had already given the order, so they naturally didn't dare to delay. They quickly split into two teams and moved towards the areas on either side.

After the two gathering teams had moved away, Zhou Xu began his actions.

"Fei Que, put the insect heads and entrails here. Not too much, just a little is enough."

"Yes."

With a response, Fei Que quickly complied, placing some insect heads and entrails in the spot Zhou Xu indicated.

"Good, now bring out that small, forked branch you just picked up, and the basket. Arrange them like this."

A small basket trap was quickly set up.

Of course, Zhou Xu didn't intend to rely entirely on the rats knocking over the branch or hitting the basket when they entered, causing the basket to fall.

To achieve this, he had already tied a thin bark rope to that small branch.

The bark ropes he taught Butterfly and the others to weave last night were of two types. One was thicker, made by weaving multiple bark strands together, and was now being used by the gathering team to bundle branches.

The other type was what he was using now: a thin rope simply twisted together, serving as the trigger rope for the trap.

To avoid accidentally pulling the branch prematurely, Zhou Xu carefully laid the rope while backing away, hiding behind a large tree not far away.

"You all hide nearby and don't make a sound. What we're going to do now is wait for the prey to come on its own."

Zhou Xu's words left Fei Que and the others speechless for a moment.

However, considering the miracles their chief had performed before, they still obeyed the order and hid nearby.

Honestly, Zhou Xu himself wasn't confident about this.

It wasn't just a question of whether the trap would catch any rats, but also whether the rats could even be eaten.

From his modern perspective, most rats carried viruses, and eating them was too risky.

But then he thought about it, the environment of this primitive world was different from the modern world.

Simply put, in this primitive world that leaned towards a completely natural ecosystem, there weren't as many bacteria and viruses. If these rats ate clean food, they would naturally be cleaner themselves.

[There are quite a few rats in this Black Forest, and it's unlikely anyone in this world has ever used this trap to catch them before. Perhaps they'll be easier to lure.]

At this moment, what Zhou Xu was doing in his mind was analyzing the situation, but wasn't he also trying to comfort himself?

In this desolate land, the amount of food they could obtain was extremely limited. If they couldn't catch anything, they would starve; there was no room for choice.

Just as he was thinking this, within his field of vision, Zhou Xu quickly spotted a rat appearing stealthily nearby.

[Speaking of which, my eyesight has improved significantly. I used to be slightly nearsighted, but after crossing over, even without glasses, I can see so clearly. My observation skills have also improved.]

[That rat hiding in the corner, I might not have noticed it before, but now I saw it at a glance. Not only has my field of vision expanded, but it has also become clearer.]

[Is this an enhancement that comes with the Eye of Insight? Even when not directly using this ability, my eyesight and observation skills are passively improving?]

There was no time to think further. The rat in the distance had clearly smelled the scent of the insect heads and entrails. After cautiously observing its surroundings, it scurried into the trap.

Just as it was about to grab the bait and start eating, Zhou Xu gently tugged the thin rope in his hand.

With the snapping of small branches, the basket immediately fell, covering the mouse within.

In that instant, the mouse was clearly startled and thrashed around inside the basket, causing the entire thing to shake.

The basket itself wasn't heavy, and the ground outside wasn't perfectly flat. With the mouse struggling violently inside, there was no guarantee it wouldn't escape.

Therefore, after trapping its prey, Zhou Xu moved swiftly. With a burst of power from his legs, he rushed forward and, to the astonished gasps of the tribe members, slammed his hand down to hold the violently shaking basket.

Clearly, none of them had expected that a mouse they couldn't catch even with all their effort would now willingly walk into their chief's basket.

In truth, if they thought about it carefully, the logic behind it wasn't impossible to understand.

But that didn't diminish the impact of that moment when the mouse walked right into the trap.

At that moment, it was as if they saw a new world opening up before them, slowly revealing itself.

An update has been delivered, with thanks to readers 'Dust Returns to Dust', 'Sending You a Little Chrysanthemum', and 'Gentle Breeze' for their rewards!