Ita Era

Chapter 78 The Primitive Era (13)

Yu Yuan said, "First of all, let's be clear: we don't have any ropes or similar tools, so we can't go to the new camp. We have two options now. The first option is to migrate to the Su Ling Forest and use plants to defend against the wolves, but will that work? Why are there no animals in the Su Ling Forest? Can we really fight against the Walking Tree? Everything is unknown."

Yu Yuan said, "The second option is to hold the camp. We need food, firewood, and stones to make tools from the river. We may encounter extreme weather or be attacked by wolves or other wild animals."

Yu Yuan: "If we choose the second option, we need to cut down several sturdy trees this afternoon. Firstly, they can block the cave entrance for protection, and secondly, when we can't go out and run out of fuel, we can cut branches for fuel. To meet the second task, we need to find enough stones suitable for making tools."

Xiao Long said, "Let's split into two groups, one to cut down trees and the other to collect stones. What about food?" So far today, everyone except the reconnaissance team has only had some pig liver soup. As for the reconnaissance team, Su Su carried branches of bayberry trees and ate them the whole way, and Ding Shi didn't stand on ceremony either. Wang Meng was the most reserved; after all, as the leader, eating meat was a sign of strength. If there were no one else around, it would be fine, but Ding Shi was there, so he only ate a few bayberries.

Xiao Feng added, "We don't have enough wood for burning, and it won't last until tonight. We need to assign people to solve this problem."

The magician suggested, "As long as we don't cut down the trees, we still have time."

Clearly, everyone favored the option of holding the camp.

Aunt Zhang asked Su Su, "Su Su, when you were scouting the new camp, did you find any other routes that could lead to it?"

Su Su answered with certainty, "There is no other way but to rappel down." The new campsite was a place isolated from the outside world, like a small island in the sea.

Seeing that the conversation was about to go astray again, Yu Yuan clapped his hands to attract everyone's attention: "1 or 2, raise your hand if you support 2." Time was running out, and they couldn't afford to keep arguing.

After looking at each other for a while, everyone raised their hands. Compared to going to a completely unfamiliar forest with a strange ecology, staying at the campsite was obviously a more feasible option.

Ding raised his hand: "Can I go out for a walk? See if I can catch any small animals, and check the movements of wild animals in the surrounding area."

Yu Yuan: "Alone?"

Wang Meng raised his hand: "I'll go with him."

Ding Shi put his hand down: "Then I won't go, you go by yourself."

Wang Meng put his hand down: "Then forget it." Knowing Ding Shi as he did, Wang Meng was certain this guy was going to hog the food. Unfortunately, Wang Meng wasn't as quick-witted as Ding Shi; he couldn't figure out where hogging the food was. But since it was a three-person reconnaissance team, how could he possibly agree to someone trying to hog the food?

Ding raised his hand: "I request an investigation."

Wang Meng: "I'll accompany you."

Ding Shi angrily retorted, "Is this funny?"

Wang Meng: "It's quite fun."

Yu Yuan interrupted: "Next, we'll assign tasks..."

Ding Shi was assigned to the branch-cutting group, tasked with cutting branches, not trees, and then dragging them to the cave entrance to create an obstacle. Wang Meng was assigned to the fire group, tasked with collecting combustible firewood. Although there were ventilation openings in the cave ceiling, burning trees directly would produce smoke that could choke people. Su Su was assigned to the gathering group, still focusing on collecting bayberries and persimmons.

Seeing that no one was around, Ding Shi quickly arrived at Su Ling Forest following Su Su's markings. Then, following the bayberry seeds on the ground, he arrived near the walking tree that had dragged him away five minutes later.

Ding Shi walked to a flat area, swept away the withered branches and leaves, revealing a stone with traces of artificial carving. He had discovered this by chance after being tied up by the walking tree.

Roots sprouted from the ground, binding Ding Shi's left foot and dragging him away. Ding Shi wasn't in a hurry; he let the roots bind his limbs and tie him to the walking tree. Ding Shi snapped his fingers, and a willow-leaf throwing knife appeared in his hand. With a flick of his wrist, the blade severed the roots, then cut the roots binding him, easily freeing himself.

After being captured by the Walking Tree, Ding Shi had a question in his mind: they had walked through the Walking Tree Forest for five minutes and had close contact with the Walking Tree, so why was he attacked? Why was he only attacked once? Putting aside his handsome appearance, intelligence, and other internal and external advantages, Ding Shi could only think of one possibility: there was something wrong with his location.

To avoid Wang Meng discovering the location issue, Ding Shi, after being captured, did not attempt to escape on his own but instead waited for Su Su and Wang Meng to rescue him and get him away from the suspicious location.

Ding Shi swept away the fallen leaves and dirt from the stone, only to find it engraved with ? ?. He nearly coughed up blood.

In his anger, Ding Shi suddenly had a flash of inspiration. He tried to touch the characters with his hand and found two writings, which overjoyed him. Carefully examining them, Ding Shi recognized the two characters: illiterate. Ding Shi plopped down on the ground, wanting to protest against Ita's injustice, the hardships of fate, the erosion of time, and the darkness of the future.

Ding Shi called out, "Wang Meng, come out."

Wang Meng emerged from behind a tree a dozen meters away: "When did you find it?"

Ding Shi replied, "We discovered it a long time ago."

Wang Meng: "Then why are you still coming?"

Ding Shi said, "I'm not afraid of you." The subtext was, "At worst, I'll kill you." If the two fought to the death, Wang Meng would likely die nine times out of ten, while Ding Shi would likely perish. However, even if Ding Shi managed to kill Wang Meng, he wouldn't fare well; losing a few bones wouldn't be fair.

Wang Meng walked over, glanced at the stone, and frowned: "What is that?"

Ding asked in confusion, "You don't understand?"

Wang Meng looked at Ding Shi suspiciously: "You can understand it?"

Ding Shi remained calm and asked, "Does everyone see the original characters differently? What did you see?"

Wang Meng, not as cunning as Ding Shi, described it as follows: "The first character is a circle with an 'eight' character below it. The second character is a circle with an 'er' character below it. The third character is a half-circle with an 'er' character below it."

Ding Shi asked, "What do you mean?"

Wang Meng shook his head, looked at the stone from a different angle, and said, "If I knew the meaning, I wouldn't have told you." Wang Meng knew at first glance that he couldn't decipher the code. Since that was the case, he might as well let Ding Shi solve it, and then he could decide whether he could eat the meat or just drink the soup.

Ding Shi asked, "Should the three characters be together or separate?"

Wang Meng replied, "Separate them. No, you're illiterate. These are pictures, not words. Can't an illiterate person understand pictures?"

Ding Shimeng's pupils contracted. It was a picture, not words. He pretended nothing was wrong and said, "An illiterate person can't even read playing cards."

Wang Meng observed Ding Shi's expression suspiciously and said, "Then let's go."

Ding Shi said, "I want to go to Su Yi Forest by myself."

Wang Meng laughed: "Second brother, you know I won't let you run around alone. Why don't we cooperate and achieve a win-win situation?"

Ding Shi said, "The last person who cooperated with you in smuggling arms is still in the Atlantic Ocean, so don't play dumb with me." Wang Meng's intelligence wasn't enough to help him decipher the stone slab's code, but his experience and knowledge knew how to handle the problem.

Wang Meng asked, "So what do we do now?"

Ding Shi: "Back to camp."

Without hesitation, Ding Shi walked out of the woods, with Wang Meng following behind. Then, the two heard a low growl, similar to the growl of a dog guarding its food or the low, warning growl of a cat on guard.

Ding Shi, who was walking ahead, jumped up, grabbed a branch, and climbed up the tree quickly. Wang Meng was still unaware of the location of the deep sound when an adult saber-toothed tiger quickly ran to the tree, grabbed a branch, and climbed up the tree, chasing after Ding Shi.

At that time, Wang Meng had mixed feelings.

Good news, Ding Shi is doomed, because no human can climb trees better than a tiger.

The bad news is that after Ding Shi dies, he will most likely die as well.

(End of this chapter)