The Best of the Worst

"Please, just give me a sago palm. I'm begging you."

Zhang Ming craved the dried mustard-green flatbread from his hometown so badly that his mouth watered. He smeared mud over his body to keep the mosquitoes away, quietly gathered all sorts of strange plants, and kept a wary eye on his surroundings.

Still no land animals.

He spotted a few sea snakes, and plenty of fish in the sea.

In such unfamiliar territory, he didn't dare hunt recklessly.

Suddenly, his heart gave a heavy thump!

He had spotted...

A fiery red toad squatting on a tree root!

"Croak!"

Its vivid red skin and two enormous, bulging eyes made it clear that this was no creature to mess with. "Don't mess with me" might as well have been written across its face!

More importantly, the toad was enormous, just as he had come to expect. It was even bigger than he was.

"Croak!"

Its fiery red tongue shot out dozens of meters, effortlessly piercing a fish in the sea.

When a toad was bigger than a human and could shoot its tongue twenty-odd meters, Earth's reigning overlord, the "terrifying upright ape," felt immense pressure. His legs trembled, and all he wanted to do was run.

Good thing I was cautious and didn't make much noise.

Zhang Ming held his breath and tightened his grip on his spear. He wasn't sure whether it had noticed him, and he certainly didn't dare turn his back on an enemy.

Step by step, he quietly backed away.

The toad seemed to have sensed a threat nearby as well. It grew somewhat agitated, its huge cheeks puffing out from time to time. Its hind leg muscles tensed, and it stopped hunting fish.

Stay calm. In theory, toads can't see things that aren't moving.

Stay calm.

Zhang Ming backed away slowly, feeling his palms begin to sweat.

After more than ten minutes of this standoff, the toad finally lost patience and sprang high into the air with a bang.

That single leap took it forty meters up-as high as a ten-story building!

But the toad hadn't jumped toward Zhang Ming. It seemed to be fleeing in a hurry.

In that split second, a golden bolt of lightning shot out from another direction, sliced through the air, and viciously struck the red toad!

Crackle!

A sharp, acrid stench of burning filled the air.

The free-floating plasma made Zhang Ming's hair stand on end. His pupils dilated as he stared into the distance in disbelief.

The lightning had charred the red toad's skin, and it fell from midair.

A gigantic eel leaped out of the water, its overlapping scales gleaming gold in the sunlight as its massive, untamed body writhed in the air. Following a graceful arc, the golden eel caught the falling red toad in its jaws.

Then, with a splash, it plunged back underwater.

The Red Mangrove Forest fell quiet again. No one would have guessed that a battle between mutated creatures had just taken place here.

Time elapsed: one second.

Having witnessed the entire battle, Zhang Ming stood rooted to the spot.

It took him several minutes to recover.

He gave a bitter laugh. "So the red toad was facing off against the golden eel. I was just imagining I mattered..."

Zhang Ming now understood, profoundly, what it meant to be the best of the worst.

This Red Mangrove Forest was an Advanced Instance. Battles between these mutated creatures were practically clashes between gods. They leaped dozens of meters at a time and fought with dazzling superpowers like lightning and long tongues.

Victory or defeat was decided in an instant.

But, but... he really wanted to eat that toad, and that eel!

The power of high-voltage electricity...

It was... unbelievably powerful!

"If I had an ability like that, my chances of survival would shoot up."

Zhang Ming quietly withdrew from the Red Mangrove Forest, drenched in sweat yet itching to try his luck, exhilarated beyond measure.

A whole new world had opened before his eyes.

He no longer wanted a sago palm. All he could think about was how to kill the golden eel and obtain its ability.

Humans had risen to the top of Earth's food chain because they possessed greater intelligence than other creatures and had learned to use tools.

"Relying on brute force won't work."

Zhang Ming soon came up with several interesting ideas. But he only had one life, so he had to be cautious. He couldn't rush into anything.

"I'll go back and think it over."

Before leaving, he also scraped off some bark and roots and gathered plenty of unfamiliar plants. Perhaps some of them could be used as seasonings?

The guy in Mirage No. 16 had entered the jungle!

The entire country was thrown into a frenzy.

After playing it safe for a month, the guy in Zone 16 had once again done something utterly baffling.

Even Li Xianfeng and the others, who had been preparing to launch a satellite, paused their work and fixed their eyes on Mirage No. 16.

"He-why did he go into the Red Mangrove Forest?!"

"Could he have been... lured in by some kind of monster?"

"Surely not!"

Of the teams in the sixteen Mirages, thirteen had already perished.

Under the circumstances, Li Xianfeng and the others couldn't help worrying. Even their hair stood on end.

"What's going on? He should have plenty of food stockpiled..." Calls were answered and ended in rapid succession as numerous psychologists analyzed Zhang Ming's behavior through every clue they could find.

Their final conclusion was-loneliness.

Human needs advanced in stages. He had food, plentiful water, and a finished shelter. What came next? Was he supposed to hide in his shelter all day doing nothing, without any entertainment, and sleep whenever he finished eating?

Of course not.

"So perhaps he wants to find some ingredients and live a more civilized, comfortable life."

When that conclusion emerged, Li Xianfeng managed to breathe a small sigh of relief. He could understand Zhang Ming's actions, but he still felt anxious.

In the end, he could only offer himself some feeble comfort. "It's already a good thing he hasn't gone mad."

The Mirages didn't provide all-encompassing surveillance without blind spots. They were more like fixed cameras watching from a distance, leaving many details impossible to see.

As for what had actually happened in the jungle, there was simply no way to know.

Only after three hours, when people saw Zhang Ming reappear with mud all over his face and his entire body soaking wet, still picking various plants along the way, did they finally breathe a great sigh of relief.

Meanwhile, those following him back home also began a small discussion on the internet

with a flurry of comments.

"So he went to gather plants... What's wrong with eating crabs and coconuts?"

"Maybe he's eaten so much he wants to puke. Who could stand eating that every day? But crabs are so expensive now, hundreds of yuan per half kilo. I can't afford them at all!"

"Come on, he's eating mutated creatures. Those go for a hundred million yuan per half kilo on the black market, and you still can't find any for sale."

Seeing the guy in Zone 16 alive and kicking without any injuries, people across the country immediately lost interest and went back to their own lives.

The food lovers even launched into enthusiastic discussions, turning Zone 16 into an eating livestream.

"I'd actually like to see what other tasty things there are on that island. Watching him make coconut sugar every day is pretty satisfying."

"I want to watch him eat too! Even bugs would do!"