Lying in wait

The stench of blood spread across the water's surface, and a layer of pale red foam drifted slowly towards the center of the river.

Lu Heng stood at the edge of the riverbank, gripping his long sword, his boots sinking into the blood-soaked sand. The blade pointed diagonally at the ground, water stains mixed with dark blood forming fine streaks on the edge. He was waiting.

Waiting for what I expect to come.

He knew that the smell of blood spreads faster in water than on land. But ten minutes passed, and the river surface remained flat, without even a decent splash. Only a group of palm-sized fish, gray-backed and white-bellied, without any rank or name, swarmed into the bloody foam, scrambling for food, their tails slapping the water's surface with a crackling sound.

Not a single one came.

Lu Heng glanced across the river and understood.

This body of water is the fixed territory of that giant otter and the Bronze Giant-Toothed Crocodile. The two top predators have long been entrenched here, and their intimidation has long been etched into every stream of this river. Other aquatic beasts are not unaware of the danger, but they dare not come. To tread here is to die; the rule is very simple.

He scratched his head, his gaze falling on the dark red patch in the middle of the river that had not yet dispersed, and a question arose in his mind.

Giant Otter are social animals, that much is certain. But he wasn't so sure about crocodiles. Documentaries rarely show them; some are found in groups, while others are solitary individuals occupying a section of the river. Was that Bronze- Giant-Toothed Crocodile guarding its territory alone, or was it part of a group, with its companions hiding deeper within?

He never forced himself to think about things he couldn't understand. With no monsters coming his way, continuing to waste time was just a waste of energy. Lu Heng stood up, dusted off his hands, and was about to leave when his gaze fell back to his feet.

The small fish were still fighting over it. The blood foam was so faint it was almost invisible, but they still wouldn't disperse. They even started tearing at the bits of flesh floating in the water, jostling and bumping into each other fiercely.

Lu Heng frowned.

It's not that I find it annoying—it's just that these things have gathered here and made such a commotion, so it's a good opportunity to test the waters with these small fry.

He raised his right hand, palm down.

The intense heat surged from within him, flowing down his arm and into the shallows. The heatwave spread across the water's surface, without any flames, only a layer of visible, distorted ripples.

" Zi--"

The surface water temperature rose sharply, and a small patch of white steam rose. The two or three small fish, each weighing about half a pound, didn't even jump; their bellies turned white instantly, and they floated on the surface.

That's all for now.

The river was too large and the current too fast. The high temperature only scalded the thin surface layer, while the bottom remained icy cold and motionless. Lu Heng withdrew his hand and weighed it: In open water, the killing range of this Talent was reduced by at least 70% compared to land. It could only be used as a close-range weapon. Expecting it to scald an entire area of water was unrealistic.

He was about to scoop the dead fish out when the commotion underwater made him stop in his tracks.

As soon as the dead fish settled on the surface, the remaining fish at the bottom of the water went berserk.

A swarm of fish, several times larger than before, surged up from the depths, crowding onto the floating corpse and devouring their own kind more than twice as fast as when they were fighting over blood and gore. The fish churned and churned, their ferocity as if they were fighting for the last bit of food to survive.

Lu Heng subconsciously took half a step back, placed his left hand on the hilt of the knife, and stared down at the murky bottom of the water.

Nothing bigger followed. The fish scrambled for a while, then dispersed, and the river returned to calm.

He stared at the water for a few seconds, then slowly released the handle of the knife.

The rules in the water and on land are completely different. Things in the water are more ferocious and greedy, and danger is always lurking under your feet. From now on, whenever you go into the water or act near water, you must be extremely vigilant.

"From now on, when I go into the water, what's under my feet is more dangerous than what's above my head."

Lu Heng bent down and scooped up the scalded fish one by one, shook off the water, and stuffed them into the storage bag at his waist. The fish were still warm, and the fishy smell was mixed with the smell of half-cooked meat, which was not exactly pleasant.

There was nothing left to linger on. He took one last look at the middle of the river, turned and left the riverbank, retracing his steps back the way he had come.

The Shelter door closed behind me, the sound of the lock clicking echoing in the empty room.

Lu Heng tossed the extra live fish into the Wristband's breeding pond, watching them swim into the depths of the water plants before his shoulders, which had been tense for half a day, finally relaxed. He weighed the dead fish in his hand, and his stomach growled at just the right moment.

Extra meal.

He didn't dwell on the cooking method; grilling was the easiest way. He was also too lazy to do it himself—with a thought, the Puppet silently slid out from the corner, took the fish, scaled it, removed the gills, and gutted it, its movements so swift and skillful that it didn't seem like Puppet at all.

Lu Heng sat leaning against the edge of the bed, watching the Puppet put the prepared fish on the charcoal fire. He grabbed a handful of vegetables from his supplies, threw them into the pot, added water, and slowly cooked them by the fire.

When the aroma of meat and vegetables wafted up, he realized that he hadn't eaten or drunk anything all day.

The Puppet handed him the golden-brown roasted fish. He took it and took a bite; it was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, cooked better than he could have done himself. The dried vegetable soup had little flavor, but the hot soup warmed him up as it entered his stomach.

He ate very slowly, unusually not thinking about the next battle or the next crisis.

After finishing his meal, Lu Heng handed the bowl and chopsticks to the Puppet to clean up, then leaned back on the edge of the bed and rubbed his temples.

After his tense nerves relaxed, exhaustion belatedly washed over him. But he didn't rush to sleep.

Take out the treasure chest that the Wolf Pack had previously offered as tribute.

One Bronze Tier and three Black Iron Tier lay there quietly, their surfaces shimmering with a faint metallic sheen.

Lu Heng stared at them for two seconds, then sat up straight.

"Play the big one first."

He reached out and pressed the lock on the Bronze-Tier Treasure Chest, applying pressure with his fingertips.

With a soft "click," the box lid popped open, revealing three items lying quietly inside. The attribute panels popped up almost simultaneously.

[Black Armor Shoes]

Rank: Bronze Tier

Category: Footwear

Description: The boots are covered with fine black armor patterns, which greatly reduces the loss of force transmission when stepping on the ground, significantly enhancing the power of "Stomp" type skills. The armor patterns also provide protection, preventing the feet from being damaged by backlash in complex terrain and head-on collisions.

Lu Heng's eyes lit up.

Stomp – his most frequently used method of generating power in close combat. He had always had a problem: the moment the power entered the ground, the recoil would first make his own feet numb, and when he kicked a target with thick skin and flesh, it was always his own bones that suffered.

These shoes perfectly compensate for this shortcoming.

He picked up the shoe and weighed it in his hand; it felt heavy. He continued looking down.

[Black Feather Hat]

Rank: Bronze Tier

Category: Headgear

Description: The brim of the hat is woven with large bird down feathers. When worn, it can conceal one's own aura and disguise the fluctuations of one's aura as those of a large bird. It has a good concealment effect against olfactory and sensory detection.

Lu Heng's finger paused on the brim of his hat for a moment.

Disguising himself as a bird—if he had gotten this earlier, he wouldn't have needed to fight in several previous encounters; he could have simply walked past the edge of the monsters' detection range.

Good stuff. Two pieces of equipment, one offensive and one defensive, exactly what he needs right now.

He picked up the last item.

It was a small packet of seeds, with a crooked onion pattern printed on the paper bag, and a circle of crooked short lines drawn around the onion, like rays of light.

[Sun Onion seeds]

Category: Food · Seeds

Description: Can be planted. Maturity cycle is ten days. The Sun Onion that grow have a mild fire attribute. Eating them can provide a slight increase in strength and dispel cold from the body.

Lu Heng turned the seed over and examined it, his brow twitching almost imperceptibly.

Plants that increase abilities?

However, he didn't dwell on it much. Ten days to mature is a long time, but it's worth the wait.

He turned to look at the Furniture Puppet waiting to be used, and pointed at the seed.

"I've taken it to the Planting Room. Find a suitable spot with good sunlight, and water it regularly."

The Puppet nodded mechanically, took the seed, and turned to walk towards the open space in the corner of the room.

Lu Heng watched as it crouched down and began turning over the soil, then looked away and reached out to pat the remaining three Black Iron Chest.

After opening the three boxes one by one, they contained normal items: tools, weapons, and clothes, scattered all over the floor.

Lu Heng scanned it once.

To be honest, these things are basically useless to him now.

But he still took a clean cloth, wiped the weapons clean, and neatly stacked them, along with the tools and clothes, in a corner of the warehouse, categorizing them by type.

Even if you don't need them, keep them safe. Who knows where they might end up in the future? These things might come in handy someday, or you might be able to exchange them for something else.

After doing all this, he leaned back against the bed and let out a long breath.

The equipment was replenished, the food rations were replenished, and even a backup plan was added.

Lu Heng lay down and closed his eyes.

Tomorrow, disaster will strike.