Chapter 102: The Great Mayfly of the Forest |
Returning to the living room, Qin Ziwen brought the hair dryer to the solar panel battery, dried his hair and body, then changed into a fresh set of clothes.
The Level 1 Tailor Shop required a 5*4 footprint, and there was no tailor available yet, so there was no rush to build it.
However, this fish pond could definitely be used to raise more fish. With the growth boost, the more fish raised, the faster they would breed.
Now was the time, while the residential complex was right next to the river with abundant fish resources, to raise more fish.
【Level 1 Fish Pond: Level 1 Fish Comfort, Level 1 Fish Growth Boost】
But wanting to purchase fish in large quantities was not something he could do alone, and relying solely on the Fish Trap to catch fish was too slow.
He still needed to figure out a way to buy live fish.
Having made up his mind, he called the Crowned Eagle over, planning to take it to the rooftop to see if the cards in the mountainside cave had refreshed.
On his way upstairs, he ran into Zhao Pu coming down.
Qin Ziwen chuckled, "Going to the rooftop?"
"Sure." Zhao Pu followed, and the two arrived at the rooftop. Qin Ziwen placed his phone into the Crowned Eagle's chest pouch, gave it some whispered instructions by its ear, and the eagle took flight into the sky.
Zhao Pu cast an envious glance at the Crowned Eagle's receding figure.
Such an intelligent pet, and it could fly too. It was the only one in the entire residential complex. With a phone placed in its chest pouch, it became an aerial scout—it was practically cheating.
Qin Ziwen asked, "Doctor Zhao, if I wanted to purchase some live fish within the complex, do you have any leads?"
"Live fish?" Zhao Pu's expression turned serious. "Mr. Qin, you might not be aware, but since yesterday, a strange type of insect has appeared in the river near the complex. These insects are very aggressive, attacking all kinds of creatures entering the water or underwater. Fewer people are going to the riverbank now."
"Insects in the water?" Qin Ziwen found the combination of these words a bit odd.
There were some aquatic insects in the water, but they were basically food for fish.
Zhao Pu said, "Yes, that's right. These insects are quite large, nearly a meter long. They look somewhat similar to mayfly larvae, entirely black, with two large mouthparts at the front. Someone killed one and left it at the complex entrance. I went to take a look; it is indeed a bit frightening."
Listening to Zhao Pu's description, for some reason, Qin Ziwen felt a sense of familiarity.
"I'll go take a look later." Qin Ziwen looked up. The Crowned Eagle's round trip wouldn't take too long; he'd wait for it to return on the rooftop first.
Not long after, the Crowned Eagle flew back.
Upon returning, the eagle kept calling out incessantly, its voice urgent, as if frightened by something.
Qin Ziwen quickly checked it over, finding no injuries or signs of a fight on its body.
"What's wrong?"
Hearing Qin Ziwen's voice, the Crowned Eagle buried its head in his chest, whimpering non-stop.
"Alright, alright, good boy, let me see." He gently patted its square head, took the phone, and checked the video recording.
After the Crowned Eagle flew into the sky, it encountered the Black Falcons again. However, this time the falcons had learned. They merely circled at a distance, not approaching. No conflict occurred between the two sides.
Subsequently, the Crowned Eagle arrived at the cave entrance, standing quietly, constantly adjusting its posture to allow the camera a clearer shot.
"Huh." Qin Ziwen saw three points of light flash briefly deep within the cave.
Apart from one white light, there were two points of golden-yellow light. The gray light from yesterday had disappeared.
It seemed that if the cards on the Altar weren't taken on the same day, new cards would refresh the next day.
But why were there three points of light this time?
He paused the video and selected 0.5x playback speed.
He discovered that the two golden-yellow points of light weren't too far apart, with the white light point located between them.
However, as he repeatedly dragged the progress bar for subsequent footage, he noticed from other angles that the golden-yellow light points didn't seem to overlap with the white one but were positioned further back.
Suddenly, the two golden-yellow light points disappeared for an instant. He frowned.
He paused, watched it several times, and a chill suddenly ran down his spine.
Holy crap, those look like eyes!
Qin Ziwen handed the phone to Zhao Pu for him to see.
Seeing Qin Ziwen's constantly changing expression, Zhao Pu grew curious too. After taking the phone and looking, his expression shifted from relaxed to frozen, and he finally turned to look at Qin Ziwen.
"Mr. Qin, this... seems like the eyes of some animal, doesn't it?"
"You think so too."
"Mainly the shape, and also, here, its head seemed to turn a little. The positions of these two golden light points shifted slightly. It seems to be looking outside the cave." Zhao Pu pointed out a key detail Qin Ziwen hadn't noticed.
Following Zhao Pu's indication and watching it several times, Qin Ziwen found it was indeed true.
The golden light points had moved slightly at a certain moment.
Turning to look at the Crowned Eagle and seeing the little guy trembling, Qin Ziwen finally understood why it was so nervous.
"Don't be afraid." That's what he said, but Qin Ziwen's heart sank.
Although the footage was dark, making it impossible to see exactly how large the owner of those eyes was, the Altar's position was roughly known. By comparing the interpupillary distance...
It could roughly be inferred that the being inside was absolutely the largest creature they had encountered since arriving in this mysterious forest.
This made him think of a creature described in the guide: the Stone Burrow Ancient Giant Toad, a long-lived toad species over two hundred years old.
It permanently resides in deep mountain caves, feeding on birds, beasts, and insects, with a particular fondness for insects. Its size increases with age. The older it gets, the more it prefers hibernation. It reaches adulthood at thirty years old. After adulthood, the average body length is 3.6-5.0 meters, shoulder width 1.7-2.2 meters, weight 1850-4000 kilograms.
Although he had never seen a live one, it was absolutely the largest creature he knew of.
But even the adult Stone Burrow Ancient Giant Toad in the guide wouldn't have such a wide interpupillary distance.
Thinking of the Stone Burrow Ancient Giant Toad, Qin Ziwen felt surprised inwardly. That mountainside cave did fit the survival environment for such a creature.
However, the mysterious presence deep in the cave was now awake and right beside the Altar. The danger of going to the Altar to retrieve cards had skyrocketed.
He wondered if their entry into the cave a few days ago had disturbed it.
But judging by the danger level, it was normal for a high-danger animal to inhabit the area near that advanced Altar.
After all, the giant Wild Boar and the male crocodile leader only dropped two ordinary cards when killed. That advanced Altar had both a Red Function Card and an Advanced Building Card. If the only threats were those not-very-aggressive Bats inside the cave and the Black Falcons outside, it really wouldn't match the Altar's high drop rate.
Qin Ziwen pondered inwardly, "But it's not a solution for it to keep guarding the Altar. I need to think of a way to try and lure it out."
Today's card was just a white Expansion Card, not a high priority.
He should focus on collecting more fish, vegetables, and plants first.
While cards were important, other things were also indispensable.
Zhao Pu said, "Mr. Qin, you want to purchase fish?"
Qin Ziwen nodded, "Yes. Didn't you say there's an insect corpse at the south gate? I'm going to go take a look."
First, he returned home to leave the Crowned Eagle there.
Then, walking with Zhao Pu and wearing a mask, he arrived at the south gate.
Many neighbors were gathered here, mostly wearing masks. Some stood for a few seconds, got a clear look at the insect, and quickly left.
"This insect is so ugly."
"Looks pretty fierce. Those mouthparts are so big; one bite would probably tear the flesh right off."
"More than just tear it off. You don't know, I heard this damn thing can even eat hippos, let alone people."
"Who knows what kind of insect this is?"
"Who could possibly know? This thing doesn't even exist on Earth."
"Huh, do you guys think this looks like a mayfly?"
"Mayfly? Don't those fly above water? This one doesn't even have wings."
"I mean mayfly larvae, the form before they grow wings."
Seizing a moment when there were fewer people, Qin Ziwen stepped forward, took a photo, and came back out.
After coming out, he checked the photo and was stunned. What a coincidence.
He might not recognize other animals, but he had just seen this thing the day before yesterday and had personally described it to Du Yu.
This was precisely the Forest Giant Mayfly recorded in the guide.
His impression of this insect was quite deep.
Because other guide animals only had one picture, but this thing oddly had two: one of its aquatic form and one of its winged adult form.
The aquatic form looked extremely similar to the insect in the photo.
......
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