Chapter 233: Isthmus |
Qin Ziwen quickly walked to the reef near the sea surface.
At his feet, a palm-sized crab with reddish-brown stripes was startled by the sudden human intrusion. Its round body froze in place, raising its large pincers.
A large hand covered it, lifting it up.
"What kind of crab is this?"
Hearing the Guild Leader's inquiry, Wang Yun hopped over from the side.
He leaned in for a look. "Guild Leader, this is a Red-striped Dawn Crab. Some people in our country keep them as ornamental crabs. They don't have much meat and aren't tasty."
Qin Ziwen turned it over a few times. "Not much meat, but what about using it as bait?"
"Of course it can be used as bait. These sea crabs have a strong fishy smell." Wang Yun laughed heartily.
"Ah!" Someone nearby let out a scream.
Qin Ziwen looked towards the sound and saw the person's hand clamped by a grayish-brown "rock."
The person was holding onto a reef with one hand, hooking a rock with one foot, while his left hand was bitten by a rock.
Upon closer inspection, this was no rock at all.
It was clearly a crab that looked like a reef, but was actually as big as a washbasin.
This crab had very large pincers, covered with many barbs.
Seeing people gathering nearby, the crab released its grip, tumbling towards the seawater beside it.
Right at that moment, a spear suddenly thrust forward, hooking the crab's leg, flipping it upwards.
It directly flung the crab half a meter into the air.
Thud~
The Rock Reef Crab landed on the reef, rolled once, its eight limbs facing the sky, wobbling left and right, trying to flip over.
Then Qin Ziwu rushed over, pressed it down, and grabbed its two large pincers.
This thing was somewhat peculiar; Qin Ziwen hadn't seen it before.
Its back shell was covered with stones, similar in color to the surrounding reefs, and its size was not small either.
He threw out an Insight.
[Common · Rock Reef Crab: ☆☆]
This washbasin-sized Rock Reef Crab was actually only two stars. Wouldn't a high-star Rock Reef Crab be even bigger?
It seemed that apart from the animals on the Hunting Ladder, the ordinary animals in this island region were also not simple.
"Ah—" The person who had just been clamped was holding his hand, letting out a howl.
His hand was like a turned-on faucet, blood gushing out.
"Let me see." Qin Ziwen walked over.
He discovered that the person clamped by the Rock Reef Crab not only had a huge gash in his palm, but the bones on the back of his hand were also dented.
It was fortunate the Rock Reef Crab released its grip early. If it had been any later, the hand might have been completely severed.
"Where's the doctor?"
Zhao Pu hurried over, glanced at the injury, and at the wounded person who kept wailing in pain, and decisively said, "Two people, lend a hand, help him up. Disinfect it immediately. If it gets infected with flesh-eating bacteria, amputation will be the only option."
Watching the wounded person being helped up by several people, Qin Ziwen withdrew his gaze.
The sea islands were fraught with danger.
Even ordinary animals could become deadly killers with a single misstep.
Qin Ziwu pried open the back shell of this Rock Reef Crab. Originally thinking the stones on its back were camouflage on its shell, but after prying it open, he found these stones were genuine natural reef rocks, just stuck to the shell.
After prying open the shell, the Rock Reef Crab revealed its bottom layer of snow-white, soft, tender meat.
"There's quite a lot of meat."
The island reef wasn't large. Walking a circle around the residential complex's outer wall, they quickly finished exploring it.
"If we rely on the island reef for hunting, the territory isn't even enough for the people in our residential complex." Qin Ziwen concluded.
To liberate productivity, they must build ships, either to hunt at sea or to go to other surrounding islands.
But different islands were separated by a stretch of sea. Who knows what was hidden beneath the sea? Swimming across was highly dangerous, so they still had to build ships.
After turning it over and over, it finally came back to two words—shipbuilding!
This map might be an even more difficult start than the Gobi Desert.
The residential complex opposite was already developing and hunting on the large island, while they were still trapped on this residential complex.
After looking around, Qin Ziwen returned to the residential complex. He found Zhao Pu. "The one injured earlier was from our Qin Alliance, right? I remember seeing him."
"Yes, he's from Unit 1 in Building 8 next to us."
Qin Ziwen nodded. "How's the injury now?"
"Disinfection is already done. He drank some of the Healing Spring, and the bleeding has stopped. It's just that two metacarpal bones are broken. I performed reduction and bandaged it for him. As for the subsequent healing, it can only depend on his personal recovery."
"What about using the Healing Spring?"
Zhao Pu said succinctly, "The Healing Spring can treat external injuries. A fractured arm falls under the category of external injury."
"Get him some more. Try not to leave any sequelae."
"Yes."
Unit 701, Building 8.
The atmosphere in the room was heavy.
The man sat by the window, his right hand fixed with a splint resting flat on his knee, his gaze dazedly looking out the window.
"Why were you in such a hurry to go into the sea? You see a crab and your hand gets itchy, you can't help but grab it. Now look, your hand is injured like this, you can't even touch water."
His wife's complaints were like needles, piercing his heart. The man unconsciously gripped the hem of his clothes with his left hand. He wanted to explain that it was because after she got pregnant, he wanted to catch a crab to bring back and nourish her body.
He didn't mean to get injured either... It was just that the reef was too slippery, he lost his footing for a moment, and accidentally got his hand clamped by the crab.
But the words reached his lips, only to be swallowed back down.
Saying these things now was meaningless.
Knock, knock, knock.
A knocking sound came from the door.
The wife went to open it. "Doctor Zhao."
"Where's Zhang?" Zhao Pu's voice came through.
"He's sitting over there."
Zhang turned his head at the sound, his gaze somewhat dazed.
"Doctor Zhao, how long will it take for my hand to heal?" Although he already knew the answer, Zhang still held a sliver of hope.
"At most a week."
Zhao Pu's words were like sweet rain. Zhang raised his head in disbelief. "Earlier when you bandaged me, you said..."
"Earlier was earlier, now is now." Zhao Pu smiled. "The Guild Leader specifically asked about you and told me to bring you some of the spiritual spring."
As he spoke, he raised the transparent water bottle in his hand.
It was filled with Healing Spring.
Zhang knew about the Healing Spring. Earlier, after his palm was clamped by the crab and wouldn't stop bleeding, he drank some of this, and the bleeding quickly stopped, the pain also diminishing significantly.
He knew this was good stuff.
But he was just an ordinary person. How did an ordinary person deserve such good things?
His lips trembled slightly, Zhang's nose stung. "Thank you, Guild Leader. Thank you, Doctor Zhao."
Zhang's wife was also extremely excited. For a family, when the main labor force is injured, the pillar of support is half broken.
Especially since she had just tested positive for pregnancy with a test strip a week ago.
Amid the repeated thanks from the couple, Zhao Pu turned and left.
As the sky gradually darkened, the residential complex slowly fell into quietness.
The bright moonlight spilled onto the sea surface. In the latter half of the night, as time passed, the tide gradually receded.
The water level dropped inch by inch, revealing those reefs polished shiny by the seawater.
Beneath the reefs, a narrow, long isthmus led to the end of the opposite island.
Like the spine of a giant whale, streams of seawater retreated along both sides, revealing this smooth, broad road leading to the opposite island.
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