Chapter 327: Power-generating Coconut Crab |
"You keep it for yourself. Are you settling in well here?" Qin Ziwen remembered Guo Xiaochun. Previously, he had been running an information consulting business in the residential complex. Later, as things went on, he had somehow joined the Qin Alliance at some point.
Because many of the original senior members within the alliance had their own jobs, they needed to promote from among the newcomers who joined later. They needed someone clever, capable of managing things, and good at communication.
In the end, Guo Xiaochun was selected.
Guo Xiaochun gave a meaningful look to the person beside him and eagerly pulled Qin Ziwen a few steps toward the house. "Guild Leader, I'm settling in fine here. It's just that the wind at night is a bit strong, but the houses are sturdy and have windproof film applied."
Just then, a chubby man came out of the house, holding an opaque plastic bag which he handed to Guo Xiaochun.
Guo Xiaochun took it and then passed it to Qin Ziwen.
Qin Ziwen didn't accept it. "You all aren't having it easy here either. Just take it back for registration later. These seafood items are collected based on type and quality. I'm just here to check on the situation."
The Guild Leader had refused twice, so Guo Xiaochun didn't bring it up again. He casually handed the bag back to the chubby man and invited, "Guild Leader, would you like to stay for dinner tonight?"
"Sure." Qin Ziwen didn't refuse this time.
Guo Xiaochun, standing nearby, shook his head. "No, we haven't even seen snakes on the island, actually. There are quite a few seabirds, and besides that, there are some small sea lizards. They're not big, pitch black, and ugly. No one has killed any to eat yet. I estimate this island shouldn't have much danger."
As soon as the words left his mouth, hurried footsteps came running from outside.
"Team Leader, it's bad! Two workers were clearing the environment on the island and got electrocuted unconscious by crabs in a tree!"
Guo Xiaochun's mouth fell open. He wanted to say something but stopped. He looked at the person who had barged in, wishing he could stuff him back outside.
I just finished giving the Guild Leader my guarantee, my words haven't even gone cold yet, and you come running over to undermine me, you bastard!
"Let's go take a look." Qin Ziwen's mind stirred. Crabs in a tree? Coconut crabs?
But coconut crabs that could electrocute people unconscious? That was the first time he'd heard of that.
At least, he'd never heard of such a thing on Earth. It was possibly some kind of evolved superhuman life form.
"Let's go, hurry and check it out!" Guo Xiaochun frantically grabbed the iron fork nearby, took two steps, thought about it, then put the iron fork down and picked up a dry, long wooden stick instead.
Calling over a dozen people, Guo Xiaochun led the team deeper into the island. Qin Ziwen followed within the group. He noticed the surrounding trees were somewhat sparse, and many of them were coconut trees.
However, the coconuts on the trees were mostly sparse and small in size, probably due to the variety.
"How big was the crab?" Guo Xiaochun, having calmed down somewhat, inquired about the situation.
"I don't know, but I heard it was quite big, much larger than a normal crab."
Hearing that the crab was quite big, Guo Xiaochun's steps halted. "As tall as a person?"
If it was really that big, then wouldn't their group going over there be like delivering themselves as cannon fodder?
"No, no, not that exaggerated. Maybe just about a meter long." The person who had come back with the message was a middle-aged man in his early forties, wearing a short-sleeved shirt, sun-protective sleeves on his arms, and a wide-brimmed straw hat on his head.
Hearing this, Guo Xiaochun finally relaxed.
Everyone hurried along, walking briskly for several hundred meters. They crossed over a small hillock, and the surrounding vegetation gradually became richer, with many shrubs appearing in the environment.
Not long after, Qin Ziwen saw two people lying on a small clearing among the trees ahead. It was unclear whether they were dead or just unconscious.
Two adult men beside them held long sticks, waving them continuously towards the front.
Directly opposite on the ground, a colorful coconut crab of considerable size was raising its two exaggeratedly large pincers, maintaining a vigilant posture.
Qin Ziwen threw an Insight at it.
[Common · Electric Coconut Crab: ☆☆☆☆]
After clearly seeing the panel, Qin Ziwen felt somewhat disappointed. He had initially thought he'd encountered another superhuman creature, but it turned out to be just a common beast.
An electric coconut crab, huh? Just like an electric eel that can discharge electricity.
This thing wasn't small. Not only did it have a pair of large pincers that could easily crack coconuts, but it could also discharge electricity. It counted as a common beast with relatively high danger.
But its weaknesses were also obvious. Its size wasn't enormous. Even though its shell was hard, it had limits. Using long-range attack methods, or using some insulating materials as weapons, could hunt it.
"Give me the stick." Qin Ziwen took the stick from Guo Xiaochun's hand and stepped forward two paces.
Seeing this, the Electric Coconut Crab quickly raised the large pincers in its... claws? The pincers were lifted high, maintaining a high state of alert.
"Whoosh—"
The stick's shadow streaked.
"Crack."
The stick snapped on the spot.
The Electric Coconut Crab's head also shattered with a 'bang' into a mess.
Red, yellow, white, green...
The pincers the coconut crab had raised fell limp.
The two men holding sticks on guard nearby couldn't believe it. They had also hit this coconut crab with sticks earlier, but it only had the opposite effect. The more they hit it, the higher the crab raised its head, like a stubborn mule.
To smash its head with one stick, how much strength would that take?
"Are these two men okay?"
"They just fainted."
Qin Ziwen said to Guo Xiaochun, "Carry them back later and check them thoroughly. Give all the subsidies they're entitled to, count it as a work-related injury. Tell all the brothers on the island to be careful. This thing isn't a superhuman beast. It's just a type of coconut crab that can generate electricity. If you see one, remember not to touch it with your hands, and don't let iron tools come into contact with it. You can throw stones or hit it with a dry wooden stick."
"Understood, Guild Leader." Guo Xiaochun hurriedly made a mental note.
Phew, phew. Judging by the Guild Leader's reaction, he didn't seem angry with him.
This made Guo Xiaochun secretly breathe a sigh of relief.
"You need to pay more attention to the resource development on the island." Qin Ziwen patted Guo Xiaochun's shoulder. As his position rose higher and he had more subordinates, Qin Ziwen could clearly feel his own energy becoming increasingly insufficient.
Often, he could only handle the overall planning of the general direction. The details below still relied on mid-level supervision and grassroots implementation.
"Guild Leader, everyone on the island is working quite hard. It's just... could we get a bit more support with fishing boats?" Guo Xiaochun shamelessly asked for more.
Qin Ziwen said, "The boats need to go out to sea for fishing. Every boat has its purpose."
Guo Xiaochun quickly added, "Not big boats, small ones will do. Just something convenient for casting nets and fishing in the near shore. There's a lake on the east side of the island. The environment is great, and the fish resources below are very abundant. When a boat goes over it, you can see schools of fish swimming in groups underwater. You couldn't fish them all out in a month."
"Let's go, take a look." Qin Ziwen had come this time precisely to inspect the richness of the island's resources. This island could also become a stepping stone for the next stage of material development. Although time was limited, and the remaining time might not allow for the full development of all islands in this archipelago, they could increase development efforts on the few key islands around that were convenient for fishing.
Taking advantage of the fact that there was still time in this current stage, they needed to work hard to scavenge more survival supplies. The next stage was the Underground Cave. Just hearing the name, one could imagine the supplies definitely wouldn't be abundant.