Chapter 217: First Sighting |
Following Qin Ziwen to the settlement.
Tao Fu happened to see the completely processed, all flesh and tissue removed skeletons of two Tarbosaurs at the edge of the settlement.
In the sky, pterosaurs circled, a few bold ones landing on the dragon heads to peck at the empty eye sockets.
As Tao Fu approached, the pterosaurs were startled and flew away.
Tao Fu squatted on the ground, his rough, large hand gently stroking the bones of the two tyrannosaurs.
His fingertips slid over the thick bones. Tao Fu stood on tiptoe, using his hand to test and feel them, then continuously tapped them to confirm their hardness.
Finally, a smile appeared on his face. He quickly turned back, found Qin Ziwen, and said, "Master, I wonder if these two skeletons have any other use?"
Qin Ziwen looked at the empty skeletons placed on the open ground not far away. The flesh, muscle, skin, and membranes on them had all been scraped clean, leaving only some hollow bones. Some people might be planning to take them back to make a big bone broth.
He shook his head.
Qin Ziwen agreed, "Sure, you can take them back and try making it."
Hearing this, Tao Fu was delighted. After asking the Master for some people, he took them to dismantle the bones.
On the open ground not far away, everyone set up a large pot over the ground.
The pot was boiling with fresh, bright red Tarbosaur meat.
The taste of Tarbosaur meat was a bit like chicken, but more chewy, even firmer than beef.
Little Black One, held in his arms, smelled the meat's aroma and couldn't wait to poke its head out.
Qin Ziwen held it tighter. "You can't eat this. Xiao Wu, bring some Raptor meat over."
Qin Ziwu ran over holding a basin of Raptor meat. Looking at the pet in his brother's arms, Qin Ziwu couldn't help but take a few extra glances. "Huh? It looks so familiar. Is this a Tarbosaurus?!"
"Right, this is the one hatched from the egg brought back from the nest."
Qin Ziwu's eyes lit up with joy. "It actually really hatched!"
He squatted down and offered the fresh meat in his hand. "Good baby, let big brother take a look."
Little Black One took the meat with its two small claws and then focused entirely on eating, automatically ignoring all sounds from the outside world.
Afterwards, Qin Ziwen called Tao Fu over to enjoy the food together.
He, Qin Ziwu, and a group from the core hunting team sat in a circle, everyone eating meat together.
Everyone noticed the new member at Qin Ziwen's feet—Little Black One.
Then, Qin Ziwen briefly explained the task required for his breakthrough to Superhuman: he needed to conduct a hunt, and the stronger the target within his capability, the better.
Cao Biansheng said, "Guild Leader, does it need to be a solo hunt by you? I think the Raptors in the oasis are pretty good."
"It's not a solo hunt by me. Du Yu and the Crowned Eagle can assist." Qin Ziwen shook his head.
Cao Biansheng changed his tune. "Then there are many more options available."
Cao Biansheng gave me a sidelong glance.
Seeing this, Cao Biansheng chuckled and quickly begged for mercy. "Guild Leader, I was just joking earlier. Since Instructor Du and the Crowned Eagle can take action, then what is there to consider? Whoever is the strongest in this oasis, we go after them!"
"I want to hunt a Giant Rock Dragon."
The atmosphere at the scene froze. Cao Biansheng hesitated. "But Guild Leader, it seems we haven't found any trace of the Giant Rock Dragon yet."
Yuan Ming nodded. "Right, we've already killed two Tarbosaurs, but there's really not a single trace of this Giant Rock Dragon. It's like a hidden map boss in old games, hidden way too well."
"It's fine. If we really can't find it, hunting other animals is the same. But for now, everyone, be careful during hunts not to accidentally complete the tasks on the Hunting Ladder."
"Don't worry, I'll pass down the instructions."
After lunch, everyone went about their respective duties and began working.
The three hundred people were divided into large and small teams for gathering, hunting, exploring, and transporting water.
Each team worked in an orderly manner.
Two whole days passed. This oasis was basically turned upside down, including the bottom of the central lake, whose conditions were basically figured out.
There were no particularly large aquatic creatures in the lake, at most a school of giant catfish over two meters long at the lake bottom.
Other than that, the oasis had no underground caves or hidden passages.
Currently, the existing large animal herds, besides the Hadrosaurs, Paraceratheriums, and Gobi Desert Ankylosaurs, were the Desert Raptors scattered in various parts of the oasis.
Du Yu said, "This area has basically been thoroughly searched. For now, no trace of the Giant Rock Dragon has been found in the oasis. Master, I suspect the Giant Rock Dragon might not live in this area."
"Not in the oasis?" Qin Ziwen frowned. Judging from the picture on the Hunting Ladder, the Giant Rock Dragon's size shouldn't be too small.
With that kind of size, if it had lived there, it would definitely leave traces.
Du Yu shook his head. "With its size, if it were in the oasis, it would absolutely leave some clues. But currently, there are none at all. So I suspect either there's a second oasis in this Gobi Desert, or it's not in an oasis but somewhere farther away."
"Do you have any guesses?"
Du Yu turned his head, looking north towards the small river that continuously injected life into the oasis, and voiced his guess. "Master, there likely aren't any other oases nearby. Otherwise, these animals wouldn't all migrate here. So, I guess it might possibly be upstream along the river."
Qin Ziwu said, "Brother, I actually have an idea too. From the name, Giant Rock Dragon, this thing likely lives underground or in caves. Is it possible it doesn't rely on an oasis but is sleeping somewhere in a cave or sand dune?"
"No, it's most likely in an oasis. No matter how much it sleeps, it still needs to eat! It can't possibly eat rocks!" Qin Ziwen shook his head.
Saying this, he paused. "Then we'll search upstream along the river!"
Next, Du Yu rode the Crowned Eagle, exploring upstream along the river north of the oasis.
At the same time, Qin Ziwu also led some members to investigate upstream along the river.
Finally, on the third day, news regarding the Giant Rock Dragon was obtained!
It wasn't in the oasis, nor was it upstream along the river.
This information was brought back by the team shuttling between the residential complex to transport water.
At the bottom of the Great Rift Valley south of the residential complex, someone discovered an underground karst cave. Inside the underground karst cave, someone claimed to have personally seen a giant monster living underground!
Qin Ziwen didn't dare delay. He immediately rode the Crowned Eagle, taking Du Yu with him to return to the residential complex first.
"The one who discovered this karst cave is a student from our Student Council. While searching for prey in the southern Great Rift Valley, he accidentally found an area of soil that was soaked and damp. Suspecting there might be a spring underneath, he dug up the soil and found a large natural fissure. After crawling in, he discovered the underground space was huge, and there were even animal sounds inside."
Luo Gang introduced that student to Qin Ziwen.