From Robinson Crusoe

The water roared down from the top of the cliff, its murky flow creating a spray of droplets.

The deep pool below the cliff is still covered with a layer of green algae. The water surface, which is impacted by the mountain stream, ripples and pushes the nearby algae to move as if they were alive.

Not far from the center of the pool where the mountain stream crashes, the wild grass is as lush as when Chen Zhou first arrived here.

……

A thin mist floated around the pool after the rain, adding a touch of eeriness and mystery to the area.

This place is usually exceptionally quiet.

The water in the deep pool is stagnant and unsuitable for drinking. Moreover, the terrain around the pool is complex, overgrown with weeds, severely obstructing visibility, and there are also pythons active there.

Not to mention Chen Zhou and the natives, even wild animals in the forest were reluctant to approach.

However, today, this place is unusually lively.

……

Just as Chen Zhou received the news, the other side, having learned of it first, had already taken action on Sunday.

Six indigenous people followed behind Sunday, carrying farm tools such as pitchforks, shovels, sickles, and picks.

On Sunday, he still carried a long knife at his waist and a long spear on his back. While having the natives clear away the weeds, he observed the area around the deep pool with the eyes of an eagle.

The herding natives were the poorest of all the natives in terms of weaponry.

He gripped a long whip, his expression somewhat frightened. After bringing Sunday here, he was intimidated by the lush weeds and moved cautiously, as if he had been scared out of his wits.

……

"Is this where you saw the sheep being eaten?"

The indigenous people responsible for clearing the weeds swept down another patch of weeds, but still no unusual signs were seen on the muddy edge of the pond, which made Sunday increasingly doubt the reliability of the information about the herding indigenous people.

"This is it."

The herding natives answered.

His Mandarin sounded heavily accented with an indigenous accent.

While others were receiving further training at the factory construction site with Chen Zhou, he was herding sheep on the mountain.
While others frequently communicated in Chinese to reinforce their memory, he listened to the bleating of sheep and the mooing of cows on the mountain.

While others finished their Saturday homework, he slept soundly in the herding hut on the mountain.

Over time, his Chinese naturally deteriorated, and his level even declined compared to when he had not fully embraced animal husbandry.

……

After answering "Sunday," the herding native hesitated before adding another sentence.

"It may have already escaped..."

On Sunday, he glanced sideways at the herding native and felt an urge to kick him.

They made such a big fuss, made things so serious that even the "gods" sent someone to report it, and now they're acting like nothing matters. Are they kidding me?

"Keep looking!"

Not wanting to waste words with this dull-witted guy, Sunday thought he might have had his brain damaged from being frozen unconscious that day.

After letting the natives continue cutting grass and searching for clues, Sunday habitually glanced behind him.

Seeing that Chen Zhou had rushed over, a hint of joy appeared on his usually stern face, and he quickly went to greet him.

……

"A few sheep are missing?"

Was anyone injured?

How did you manage to drive the sheep here?

Upon arriving at the deep pool, Chen Zhou immediately posed three questions.

"Three sheep are missing: one half-grown sheep and two lambs. No one was injured."

On Sunday, he answered the first two questions, then pulled the herding native to his side and gestured for him to answer the last question.

The herding natives, who had been timid and hesitant just moments before, lit up with excitement the moment they saw Chen Zhou.

In his heart, who had been saved by Chen Zhou, there was only one "god" in the world, and that was Chen Zhou.

Neither the harsh, almost brutal Sundays nor the gentle Saturdays could give him this feeling; only Chen Zhou could be his pillar of support.

"The flock of sheep was led away by wild goats, so I chased after them and they ended up here."

The herding native pointed to the top of the cliff and continued to add to what he had seen and heard.

……

According to him, the flock of sheep became mixed up with the wild goat herd and it was difficult to separate them. He chased them all the way to the cliff and finally managed to separate the flock, only to find that several sheep were missing.

He initially thought some sheep had run away with the wild goat herd and was thinking about how to bring the few missing sheep back when he heard sheep bleating in the grass below the cliff in the distance.

The herding natives, unaware of the snakes near the deep pool, took a detour, descending the mountain through a gap in the cliff on the other side, and arrived at the deep pool.

He parted the tall weeds and followed the sound of sheep bleating, only to find a giant python strangling a sheep.

There are snakes on the islands of large tribes, but I've never seen one this big.

This enormous python terrified the nomadic herders.

He glanced at it hastily and only saw that the python had coiled around a sheep. He didn't even see if the sheep had gotten lost from the flock before dragging his weak legs and scrambling away from the grass.

Believing he had encountered the legendary "demon," and driven by fear, the herding natives immediately reported the incident to Sunday.

However, he exaggerated his description, saying the snake was about the size of a bull, which is why Sunday ended up carrying a gun.

Without a gun, no one knows how to deal with this monster.

In addition to carrying guns, to increase their chances of winning, Sunday also called on other natives and sent someone to inform Chen Zhou—

His pillar of support is also Chen Zhou.

……

With such a grand display, everyone was searching for the "cow-sized" monster, yet no one noticed the herding natives' heads bowing lower and lower—

After overcoming his panic, he actually wanted to say that the snake wasn't that big; it was at most a little thicker than a sheep, maybe even smaller.

But with the atmosphere already so tense, and fearing he would be whipped for lying, the herding native didn't dare tell the truth until he saw Chen Zhou, at which point he hesitantly revealed the truth.

……

When the herding natives were speaking, Sunday would stand beside them and add to their comments.

After all, the natives' speaking speed was so frustrating that Sunday, who was already impatient, was afraid they would drive him crazy if they spoke too slowly.

Therefore, the initial version Chen Zhou heard was also "a python as big as an ox".

Thinking everyone had seen such a huge python, Chen Zhou almost turned and ran away—

A python as thick as an ox, it could devour a person in one bite. Even if he had a gun, he wouldn't want to mess with this thing. A few sheep are just a few sheep; consider it a gift to it.

He then quickly realized—how could there be such a big snake in the world?
Keep in mind that this is not the Amazon rainforest, nor the primeval forests of Vietnam, but a small island. Putting aside everything else, the food alone would not be enough to satisfy the needs of a giant python.

Furthermore, even the 21st-century world record holder, the 11-meter-long reticulated python, was only about the same thickness as a human waist.

If there really were pythons as thick as oxen on the island, they would be at least 100 meters long. It's illogical that such a large animal could hide perfectly nearby without being discovered.

……

As it turned out, Chen Zhou's suspicions were quite valid. The herding natives quickly overturned their previous statement, correcting the python's thickness to that of a water bucket.

On Sunday, he was humiliated by the herding natives in the blink of an eye, and anger immediately flashed in his eyes. If Chen Zhou hadn't been there, he would have given the herding natives a good lashing. The herding natives' response was simply to "pretend they didn't see it"—

Anyway, he's already said it all, and all the commotion was because of his reckless talk. Now he can only continue to enjoy his last moments of impunity.

As for whether he'll get beaten later, he can only accept it; after all, he made a mistake.

……

After understanding the situation, Chen Zhou finally felt relieved.

"I can't beat a 100-meter-long python, but you're at most an eight or nine-meter-long snake, surely I can handle you?"

Taking over command from the natives on Sunday, Chen Zhou continued Sunday's orders, instructing the natives to use sickles to cut down all the grass along the edge of the deep pool.

With so many people around the pool at this time, the snake is unlikely to be able to directly harm anyone's life in a short time, but if someone is bitten by it unexpectedly, the injury will be quite serious.

Chen Zhou remembered that pythons, unlike venomous snakes, had many teeth in their mouths.

Small pythons are fine, but if such a large python bites the ankle artery and causes massive bleeding, even if someone is immediately sent back to the storage room to get hemostatic drugs, it won't save the life.

Therefore, it's best to be cautious and proceed slowly; sooner or later, we'll find traces left by the snake.

Moreover, after fishing for most of the day, I still haven't had the catch I wanted.

Hunting pythons is obviously more interesting than boring fishing.

……

The weeds along the pond were cleared away piece by piece, but the python was nowhere to be found.

This gave Chen Zhou a feeling similar to fishing—

The big fish always appeared and disappeared unpredictably, teasing him for a moment before retreating to the deep water, leaving him unable to see it or touch it, which made him feel frustrated.

But a snake is not a fish. A fish can stay submerged in water forever, but a snake cannot. Even if it hides in a deep pool, it will eventually have to come out to breathe. At that time, how could so many people not be able to catch it?

……

As darkness fell, a large patch of wild grass by the pool had been cut down. Chen Zhou estimated that he probably wouldn't be able to find the python anytime soon, so he went back to the cave dwelling and retrieved his Chen-style rifle.

When we find the python, he'll fire two shots, whether he can hit it or not. It's just for fun.

……

During the search for the python, Laifu became unusually uneasy. As he walked around the edge of the pool, he would always lower his head and sniff the mud on the ground, as if he were tracking the python's scent.

Several times, it tried to burrow into the bushes, but Chen Zhou called it back each time.

He wanted a foolproof hunt, not to lose his beloved dog's life for no reason. That python could swallow a half-grown goat whole, and killing Laifu in one bite would be a piece of cake for it. He dared not take that risk.

……

The "python hunting operation" lasted for nearly four hours. Just as Chen Zhou was preparing to head back and accept the losses, the natives who were cutting grass made a discovery.

He found several clumps of mud wrapped in wool at the base of the grass, and next to the mud was a very clear crawling track leading straight to the deep pool.

He ordered the natives to continue cutting grass along the crawling tracks.

Another ten minutes or so passed, and before the natives could utter a sound, Laifu, who was following Chen Zhou, began barking loudly towards the end of the crawling tracks, near the pool of water.

Lai Fu's loud shout put all the natives on edge. They gripped their weapons tightly, and those who were cutting grass stopped.

For a time, apart from the barking of dogs, the only sound by the pool was the sound of the mountain stream flowing into it.

In this noisy yet eerily quiet environment, Chen Zhou loaded the bullet into the chamber.

On the other side, Sunday was also preparing to shoot, but the preparation for his gun was much more complicated than that for Chen Zhou's gun.

……

Holding his rifle, Chen Zhou slowly walked to the side of the natives cutting grass at the front, following the long tracks left by the python.

Signaling to the natives not to stop cutting grass, Chen Zhou adopted an aiming stance, facing the direction in which Lai Fu was barking.

Clumps of wild grass fell down, and Chen Zhou faintly smelled a fishy odor, which made him feel uneasy.

In the most primitive times, when our ancestors hunted wild animals with wooden spears, they probably felt the same way.

Fear and excitement: a mixture of dread at the sight of the prey and the thrill of confronting the monster head-on.

Chen Zhou's heart rate soared, his finger twirling near the trigger—

He was very worried that he might accidentally shoot and kill the natives in front of him due to extreme mental stress.

Pythons don't move very fast, and they should be even slower after swallowing a sheep, giving the snake plenty of time to react.

……

Compared to Chen Zhou, the "leader" who had only fought a few "prepared battles" and had very few life-or-death struggles, Sunday appeared much calmer.

He calmly loaded the bullets, followed Chen Zhou steadily, looked ahead, held the gun with one hand and gripped the hilt of the knife at his waist with the other.

He prefers using melee weapons to mysterious and powerful firearms, a habit likely formed during his battles in Clash of Clans.

……

The further they went, the clearer the serpentine tracks became, and the deeper the mud and water accumulated on the ground, even reaching above the insteps of the foremost grass-cutting natives.

At this point, the traces of snakes slithering through and pushing against the roots of the grass, which had initially formed a tightly packed green wall, could be clearly seen.

Chen Zhou carefully examined the snake and confirmed that it was indeed as thick as a bucket, and a small one at that, as the herding natives had said. His tense mood immediately eased.

Although neither snakes the size of a large bucket nor those the size of a small bucket can withstand a single shot, smaller prey is ultimately easier to deal with, giving hunters more confidence.

……

The sun's rays touched the mountaintop, and light poured down from the cliff, transforming into countless golden threads that pierced through the grass.

The natives cut down another patch of grass, and suddenly the "green wall" in front of them disappeared, revealing a passage wide enough for one person.

Inside the passage were wild grasses that had been crushed and broken.

The grass stems and leaves spread on the muddy ground and soaked in the stagnant water, forming a dark brown-green path.

At the end of the path, Chen Zhou saw a section of a brightly colored snake.

Before he could get the grass-cutting natives out of the way and raise his gun to fire, Sunday, who had been by his side the whole time, rushed forward first.

……

Still holding a gun in one hand, Sunday drew a long knife with a "whoosh" in his other hand and strode forward like lightning towards the python.

Having just eaten, the python was resting comfortably at home due to the damp environment, feeling languid and relaxed. Little did it know that someone had been searching for it for nearly five hours to take its life.

……

On Sunday, he charged fast and fiercely, and the spear was more like a useless ornament to him; only the knife was his sharp tooth to take lives.

Stepping through the mud, the brave local boy rushed to the python in just a few steps.

The python lay twisted on the grass, its belly bearing a noticeable bulge—the undigested sheep.

The sudden arrival of Sunday startled the python, which quickly activated its stomach muscles in an attempt to vomit the sheep before it could fight or escape.

But it was too late.

Sunday moved so fast that even Chen Zhou, who was prepared, couldn't react in time, let alone it.

The long sword gleamed coldly, as if it were an extension of Sunday's arm.

With only a quick visual confirmation and relying on the instincts honed from previous combat with wooden swords, Sunday swung his longsword, swiftly striking the python's neck in a split second. (End of Chapter)