Chapter 155: The Wise Harpy Eagle (2)

Our Apartment Complex Transmigrated… Again

"Where did you hunt these dinosaurs? Can you share the location?" a college student next to them asked.

His companion's expression changed slightly, and he quickly and secretly tugged at his classmate's sleeve.

Qin Ziwen replied casually, "I just happened to find them. I didn't specifically remember the location."

"Oh, okay. That's a shame," the inquiring student said regretfully, nodding. Then he asked again, "By the way, we caught some scorpions. Can we trade scorpions with you for a dinosaur?"

Qin Ziwen's gaze fell on the small bucket in their hands, which was made from a large plastic water bottle. It was densely packed with black scorpions. These scorpions were quite large, their black carapaces gleaming with an oily sheen under the sunlight.

"Are these scorpions poisonous?" Qin Ziwen raised an eyebrow.

"Don't know, we didn't let them sting us," the student said, his eyes filled with innocence.

"Scorpions in the Gobi Desert are mostly poisonous, just with varying degrees of toxicity," Wang Yun walked over, observing carefully, then suddenly leaned his body back.

"Fat-tailed scorpions?!"

Looking at these college students who had simply stuffed the scorpions into plastic buckets, he felt a throbbing in his temples. "You guys really have no fear."

These students had a kind of carefree attitude, as if they didn't care about life or death and were ready to fight if challenged. "We're not afraid! No matter how poisonous it is, if it doesn't sting you, then it's not poisonous!"

Another person nearby chimed in, "Yeah, we wandered around all morning and caught nothing. Since we're already here, we have to bring something back. These scorpions are quite fun, they can even squirt water."

"That's squirting venom, damn it!" Wang Yun couldn't help but complain. "These things have fat, thick tails. Their venom sacs hold three to four times the volume of a regular scorpion. Be careful, don't get the sprayed venom in your eyes, or the consequences will be severe."

"Haha, thanks for the reminder, bro. Actually, we all know," a college student nearby said with a mischievous grin, pointing to a tall boy beside him. "Old Six here used to keep some reptiles as pets in the dorm. He had a fat-tailed scorpion before."

Qin Ziwen walked over and asked, "How toxic is this scorpion?"

"Highly toxic," Wang Yun said, then added after a moment's thought, "Can kill a person."

Qin Ziwen said, "Alright. This bucket, we can trade a dinosaur for it."

"We have thirteen in here, you know."

Qin Ziwen said, "But this is a dinosaur. You can't eat these scorpions if you take them back, and processing them is troublesome. If you get stung, you don't even have an antidote. This dinosaur is rare. If you take it back, you'll be the coolest guys around. Plus, the meat is edible. Think about it."

After some private discussion among the students, they agreed to the trade.

They happily left, carrying a Mononykus.

Qin Ziwen looked at the people behind him. "Who among you knows how to handle these scorpions? Try not to kill them; we need to extract venom continuously."

"Me!" "Sir, I know a little."

Wang Yun and Du Yu both responded.

"Good, then I'll leave it to you."

Qin Ziwen handed the plastic bottle containing the scorpions to them.

......

Returning to their residence.

Placing the Mononykus carcass on the ground, Qin Ziwen asked Chen Pi if the pelts of these Mononykus were useful.

Chen Pi felt the Mononykus's skin. "It's a bit like bird feathers, but finer than bird feathers."

He tried cutting off a small piece, felt the thin fur, and shook his head. "Sir, this pelt is somewhat thin. It definitely won't work for making leather armor. For daily warmth, it's also lacking. But the fur color is vibrant and beautiful. It would be suitable for making luxury goods to sell to those nobles."

Qin Ziwen felt somewhat disappointed. The residential complex currently focused mostly on practicality. Who would buy something flashy but impractical?

But after all, it was dinosaur pelt. It would be a shame to just throw it away.

Qin Ziwen asked Chen Pi, "If you were to process all of them, roughly how long would it take?"

Chen Pi said, "Reporting to you, sir. Although the prey is small, the skin is thin. A slight mistake can easily damage it. For me to skin and debone all twenty-two of these prey, it would take at least two to three days."

Chen Pi cautiously weighed his words. "Sir, the previously skinned hides also need processing. I'm really a bit overwhelmed working alone. Could we add some more helpers?"

"You don't mind passing on your livelihood skills?"

Chen Pi smiled bitterly. "The work of a skinner is dirty and hard. Few are willing to learn it. If someone wants to learn, I am willing to teach."

"Alright, I'll find you some apprentices," Qin Ziwen nodded.

On the other side, after Shi Hu and Zhang Meng returned, they plunged headfirst into the Archery Workshop to continue making bows.

During the day, they went out hunting with the others. Although there were more people, the bow-making work was also delayed.

Currently, there were only three people in Home who knew how to make bows.

Du Yu, Shi Hu, and Zhang Meng.

Having Du Yu make bows would be a waste of his combat prowess.

Li Tieshan was a blacksmith, but because his physical fitness was stronger than the average person's, he sometimes acted as a combat member.

After much thought, three words flashed in Qin Ziwen's mind – It's too chaotic!

At this moment, he suddenly realized that this might be a common flaw of many newly formed small teams. Many members "wear multiple hats," with unclear division of labor.

He rubbed his temples, but his mind grew clearer the more he thought about it.

Only after experiencing it personally could things he didn't fully understand before transform into genuine insights at this moment.

Knowledge gained from books is ultimately shallow; to truly grasp something, one must practice it personally.

After pondering for a moment, Qin Ziwen summoned Deng Guang and Zhao Pu to inquire about the team's current recruitment situation.

Deng Guang was a bit puzzled. Why ask about this suddenly? "Captain, after you mentioned it yesterday, two more families came to ask me about the situation last night. I registered them as you instructed. Both are residents from the neighboring Unit 1."

Qin Ziwen asked, "How many people are in their households?"

Deng Guang smiled awkwardly. "Forgot to ask. I'll go ask them later."

Zhao Pu, sitting nearby, listened to their conversation and couldn't help but smile. He spoke up, "Captain, because our team's performance has been quite impressive these past two days, plus the news of you obtaining the Residential Complex Ranking first place has spread, many people in the complex privately refer to us as the 'Qin Alliance.'

Also, yesterday we hunted the Giant Hyaenodon King, which boosted our prestige significantly. In the eyes of many residents now, although we aren't as large-scale as the Alliance, we excel in being elite and capable of killing beasts. Some residents are already inquiring about how to join the Qin Alliance."

Hearing the term "Qin Alliance," Qin Ziwen felt it was a bit strange, mainly because his own surname was Qin.

But if he were to think of a more suitable name, he couldn't come up with one right away.

He said to the two of them, "I plan to make the team's division of labor clearer. For going out hunting, we'll form a dedicated hunting team. The logistics department will focus solely on logistics."

"Captain, which areas count as logistics?" Zhao Pu asked.

"Blacksmith, leatherworker, bowyer. Currently, only these three departments. There will be dedicated artisans responsible for teaching skills. There will be more departments later. For example, the tanned leather from the leatherworker can be used to make leather armor. The person responsible for that part of the process would be an armorer.

Including carpenters. We currently lack talent in that area. Which of you can make contact with Huang Tao's Carpenter's Hut? Ideally, we could poach that old carpenter."

Zhao Pu said, "Captain, that might be a bit difficult. From what I understand, that carpenter is considered a technical partner. He directly takes a share of the profits over at Huang Tao's place."

Deng Guang expressed some concern. "Captain, I'm worried that someone might come to steal the skills, learn the techniques, and then just run off."

Qin Ziwen shook his head. "That's unavoidable. But we can control the core technologies. Those we recruit will be ordinary members. They can first be responsible for some tedious, time-consuming processes that aren't highly technical. Only core members who are recognized can learn some key techniques."

At this point, he paused, then added, "Of course, if someone is truly determined to steal, it's also unavoidable. The real key is still the building level. As long as the building level is higher, the competitiveness of the finished product will be stronger. Let's have free activity this afternoon. We'll hold a meeting tonight. Doctor Zhao, go notify the other members of the team, and then compile a list of those willing to join our... Qin Alliance."

"Alright, Captain," Zhao Pu and Deng Guang got up and left.

Qin Ziwen sat on the sofa, checking for omissions and thinking about any areas he hadn't considered thoroughly or that needed improvement.

First was the contribution aspect. Since hunting and logistics were separated, the contribution mechanism needed to be more complete.

Including during hunting, individual contributions needed to be more clear and specific.

Previously, there was only the Alliance. If we expanded blindly, it would lead to conflict with the Alliance.

But now the student alliance had been introduced. As everyone knows, a triangle is the most stable shape.

So, we could consider expanding our scale.

"Knock, knock, knock."

A knocking sound came from outside the door.

Qin Ziwu went to open the door. Pan Congning stood outside. "President Qin, are you available this afternoon? Teacher Luo has something he'd like to discuss with you and President Zou."

Qin Ziwen thought for a moment. "What time?"

"Six o'clock in the afternoon," Pan Congning said, curiously glancing inside the room as she spoke, especially at the Crowned Eagle wandering in the living room.

"Alright, I'll be there on time," Qin Ziwen nodded calmly.

Pan Congning nodded politely, then turned and went downstairs.

Sitting on the sofa, Qin Ziwen beckoned to the Crowned Eagle. When it came over, he took the phone from under its neck.

The phone was very hot and wouldn't turn on no matter what.

After plugging it in to charge, he realized it was just out of battery.

After turning it on, he checked the recorded video content.

After the Crowned Eagle took off, it chased after the direction the Hadrosaurs had left.

That group of Hadrosaurs walked toward the Gobi Desert ridge east of the residential complex, entering through one of the fissures.

After entering the fissure, these Hadrosaurs continued heading east. They didn't stay long within this ridge but continued eastward beyond the ridge.

The Crowned Eagle rested on a shady slope for quite a while. From the shaking of the camera, it seemed to be looking around at something.

A moment later, it took off toward the sky. After leaving the neighboring ridge, it continued flying east. After flying for about half an hour, a huge lake appeared in the camera's view, like a sapphire inlaid in the Gobi Desert.

The outer area of the lake was covered with dense trees. Further away, a winding small river flowed into the lake from the east. On both banks of the small river, vegetation was abundant.

From the camera, many animals could be seen resting by the lakeside.

Inside the lake, two long-necked dinosaurs were slowly walking.

This place was clearly a life-giving oasis within the Gobi Desert Plain.

After discovering the oasis, the Crowned Eagle turned around and headed directly back. Not long after, the video abruptly stopped, probably because it ran out of battery and automatically shut down.

"No wonder you were so tired. You flew so far," Qin Ziwen got up, went to the fish pond, scooped out a large Crucian Carp, grabbed it by the tail, and tossed it in front of the Crowned Eagle.

Being able to eat a fresh, large Crucian Carp on such a hot day was simply as refreshing as eating ice cream in summer. The Crowned Eagle happily shook its head.

"But you, kid, are quite clever!"

In the video, what surprised Qin Ziwen the most was the Crowned Eagle's intelligence. That group of Hadrosaurs wasn't moving very fast.

The Crowned Eagle didn't continue waiting for them. Instead, it continued flying in the direction they were heading, flying ahead of them to search for the oasis.

This wasn't just completing a task; it represented the Crowned Eagle's ability to think independently and apply knowledge flexibly.

This level of cleverness exceeded his expectations.

Then, based on the time recorded in the Crowned Eagle's video and its approximate speed, Qin Ziwen calculated that the oasis was roughly thirty to forty kilometers away from them!

Without a mount, relying solely on legs and carrying equipment, it would probably take over fifteen hours of walking.

One day was definitely not enough; they would certainly have to spend the night outside.

Considering the need to maintain energy and combat strength, getting from the residential complex to the oasis would take at least 2-3 days.

Adding the time spent hunting and lying in ambush at the oasis, a single operation would probably take close to a week!

Thinking about this, Qin Ziwen felt it was quite difficult.

However, if the Crowned Eagle could ascend another star, perhaps it could carry a person.

Then, riding the Crowned Eagle, they could easily go and return on the same day.

"The Motivational Words are here~" Qin Ziwu came out from the Tavern's kitchen, holding a large basin of fragrant Mononykus meat soup!

"Brother, time for lunch!" Qin Ziwu placed the large basin on the table. The skinned, deboned, and processed Mononykus meat rose and fell in the thick broth.

A layer of golden oil droplets floated on the surface.

"This stuff actually looks a bit like chicken soup," Qin Ziwen was somewhat surprised. He sniffed it and noticed a faint medicinal aroma inside.

"Doctor Qian added a bit of Medicinal Herbs for flavor," Qin Ziwu scooped a bowl for his older brother. "Taste it for saltiness. If it's not salty enough, I'll go add more salt."

Qin Ziwen picked up the bowl, gently blew on it, then took a small sip.

The soup was delicious, with just the right amount of salt.

"No need to add salt," Qin Ziwen commented.

"Haha, good then," Qin Ziwu laughed, then said to Liu San, "Grandpa Liu, there's more soup in the kitchen. Go scoop some yourselves!"

While eating, Qin Ziwu was enthusiastic. "Brother, you know what? This Mononykus meat actually tastes pretty good! Can we catch those remaining young Mononykus and raise them ourselves? Then we could eat them often."

His words were an eye-opener. Qin Ziwen's first reaction to his younger brother's suggestion was that it was absurd. How could... how could dinosaurs be raised!

Qin Ziwen pondered it carefully and felt that it might actually be feasible.

Just treat it like raising a bunch of slightly larger chickens.

But he just didn't know if they would gain weight quickly.

......