This Is What You Call a Bow!

"Are you sure you want to take on this arduous mission? The Jackalmen are powerful and extremely dangerous. If they discover your tracks, you'll lose your lives out there."

Lin Feng put on a serious expression.

"Absolutely! It's our honor to contribute to and sacrifice for the tribe!"

Da Qing declared righteously.

Who cared about sacrificing their lives?

Twenty-four hours later, they'd be heroes all over again!

"Very well. I'll leave the mission of investigating the Jackalmen Tribe to you!"

"Your primary task is to find out where the Jackalmen Tribe is located and roughly how many there are."

"Of course, more detailed information would be even better."

"Remember, avoid direct conflict with the Jackalmen as much as possible. You're still no match for those guys. You can be reborn, but in my eyes, your lives are still precious."

After Lin Feng finished speaking, he issued the mission to Da Qing and the other four.

The five of them couldn't help getting excited when they saw the mission appear on their task panels.

They'd guessed right: in this game, players could apply for missions and trigger them on their own!

"Don't worry, Chief. We guarantee we'll complete the mission!"

Filled with excitement, the five of them left the valley.

Each of them carried a stone spear, but none brought a bow.

Apparently, they didn't think the tribe's shoddy bows would be much use in a fight against the Jackalmen.

They weren't even very effective against pheasants and hares.

"Haha, I knew my analysis was right. You really can trigger missions yourself!"

Ranger, who was walking at the front, laughed smugly.

I really am a genius!

A gaming genius!

"This is a crucial discovery. It'll help us build an early-game advantage quickly and stand out from the other players."

Da Qing said.

While the other players were still doing the NPCs' daily hunting and gathering missions, they'd already received a mission to scout the Jackalmen Tribe.

The experience and Contribution Points rewards were far higher than those of the daily missions.

"I hope the other players don't figure this out too soon."

Ranger said.

Naturally, he wasn't about to generously share this discovery with the other players.

I figured it out through my own ability. Why should I tell you?

He even hoped they'd never figure it out, so his group could keep the advantage to themselves.

He was very optimistic about the game's prospects.

It was the only virtual reality game on the market, and its realism was close to one hundred percent. It would be downright unjust if it didn't become a hit.

The official website had also clearly stated that the closed beta was persistent, with no character wipes.

If they could build up enough of an advantage early on and make a name for themselves in the game, the future rewards were almost a given.

"You should all be careful, too. When talking with other players, don't mention this."

Ranger reminded his companions.

"Don't worry!"

"Got it!"

His companions all assured him.

"But why don't the items in this game have any stats? Or does this crude stone spear not even count as equipment?"

Tyrannosaurus Warrior said, looking at the stone spear in his hand.

"Maybe that's part of the effort to make the game realistic. Even the monsters don't have levels or health bars. We players only have a stats panel and a task panel—there's not even an equipment slot or an inventory."

Da Qing said.

"It's realistic, sure, but it's a little inconvenient."

Su Ziye sighed.

There wasn't even a system inventory. They had to carry everything themselves. She'd never seen such a bizarre game.

Couldn't the developers have added a system inventory to make things more convenient for players?

"The more game-like features there are, the less real the world feels. The developers are probably trying to find a balance between the two."

Ranger said.

Realism and gameplay were difficult to reconcile; one of them had to give way.

"By the way, where are we supposed to look for the Jackalmen Tribe?"

Shooting A Bit Like Kobe interrupted their discussion about the game's design and brought them back to the mission.

"Just keep heading northwest."

Da Qing pointed northwest.

"The Chief said the tribe migrated here from the northwest. Yesterday, when we were attacked by a Jackalman, it ran off in that direction, too. There's a very good chance the Jackalmen Tribe is that way."

Inside Gourd Valley.

Holding a bronze dagger in one hand, Liubai Dianmo carefully shaved down the middle of the bow stave.

The bronze dagger was a quest item the Chief had lent him after he accepted the bow-making mission. It was supposedly the only bronze tool in the tribe.

It wasn't very easy to handle, but it was still better than the stone knives made by chipping and grinding rocks.

The wood he'd used to make the bow was from a plant he'd found in the valley, one that looked a little like bamboo.

Unlike bamboo, its leaves were somewhat broader.

He didn't know what the plant was called, but that didn't matter. All he needed to know was that its stalks were excellent material for making bows.

Still, to make it easier to talk about, he'd given the plant a name: Broadleaf Bamboo.

For the bowstring, he'd used the sinew from the wild deer the Chief had hunted a couple of days earlier.

"It's finally done!"

Liubai Dianmo picked up the finished longbow and gave the string a test pull. A satisfied smile appeared on his face.

"Now this is what you call a bow!"

With more and more players around, Lin Feng no longer needed to go hunting himself. So he simply stood at the entrance to the cave, playing the part of a proper NPC.

He didn't have any work to do with his hands, but his mind was busy. Standing where he was, he kept thinking about the tribe's future development and how to manage the players better, so they could contribute their talents to the tribe.

As he was thinking, he spotted Liubai Dianmo in the distance, running over excitedly with a longbow held aloft.

His eyes lit up.

Had this little player already finished the bow-improvement mission?

"Honored Chief, I've finished improving the bow. Please take a look!"

Liubai Dianmo handed the longbow to Lin Feng, panting as he spoke.

Lin Feng took the bow and examined it carefully.

There was no need to test-fire it. Just from its shape, this bow was already far better than the tribe's shoddy longbows.

The bowstring on the longbow Liubai Dianmo had made was over a meter long and made of deer sinew. There was a groove in the middle of the bow stave to hold the arrow in place.

A piece of deer hide, not yet fully dried, had been wrapped around each of the bow stave's upper and lower thirds.

He tried pulling the string. It had plenty of tension.

"What are these two pieces of deer hide for?"

Lin Feng asked curiously.

"To make the bow more powerful and keep the stave from breaking."

Liubai Dianmo explained.

Don't underestimate those two pieces of deer hide. They could make the arrows fly faster and extend the longbow's lifespan.

"Very good."

Lin Feng nodded.

He didn't know how it worked, but it sounded impressive.

"Do you have any arrows?"

He asked.

"I do!"

Liubai Dianmo took several wooden arrows made from branches off his back and handed them to Lin Feng.

"I made these arrows for testing. I just sharpened the ends to use as arrowheads. When hunting, we can make arrowheads out of stones or bone fragments. They'll do more damage."

Liubai Dianmo said.

Lin Feng nodded, took the arrows, and nocked one against the bowstring.

He drew the bow and aimed at a large tree dozens of meters away, then let the arrow fly.

With a whoosh, the arrow became a blur as it shot into the distance.

It missed the tree by a hair, flew another twenty or thirty meters, and finally hit the ground.

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