CHAPTER 77: CHAPTER 29: FISHING ROD SCRAP

In the shrubbery.

A boar is lowering its head to gnaw at the roots and stems of the grass.

The tender roots are very high in water content.

For the boar, it’s quite a nice meal.

Just as the boar is happily enjoying this exquisite brunch.

In front of it, the shrubbery suddenly begins to rustle.

There’s movement!

Many days of outdoor living have revived some of the wild instincts in the boar’s genes.

It watches the bushes warily, abandoning its brunch.

Quickly, the noise grows louder.

The boar grunts a warning, trying to scare away whatever’s in the shrubbery.

But that thing’s target is very clear—it’s the boar!

A metal long spear gleaming with a cold light pierces through the shrubbery.

Then, out steps Yan Bian.

With stones clutched in his left hand and a long spear in his right, his eyes shimmer with danger as he stares intently at the boar.

The boar panics.

Its intelligence far exceeds that of a sheep.

It can sense the danger Yan Bian presents.

The boar turns and runs.

Seeing this, Yan Bian’s lips curl into a slight smile.

A boar is still just a boar, quite foolish.

Yan Bian doesn’t chase after it, instead trailing behind, continuously throwing stones to strike the boar’s sides, correcting its escape path.

Plan in motion!

In the shrubbery directly in the boar’s escape path, Chen Wen smiles slightly.

[Ambush (Green): You excel at ambushes, making you harder to detect when lying in wait]

Having triggered [Ambush], he seems to meld with the shrubbery.

The boar can’t detect Chen Wen at all!

Just as the boar is about to approach the front of the shrubbery.

[Spring Start (Blue): Allows you to explosively muster power and move quickly for a short period]

Chen Wen pushes off the ground with both feet, extending his right fist, launching forward at a blistering speed.

In the terrified wails of the boar, he hits it like a missile, too late for the boar to even stop.

Pincer attack, the human tactic!

Learn from this!

Chen Wen’s punch strikes the boar’s jaw, nearly dislocating it.

The boar emits a heartbreaking shriek, knocked to the ground by Chen Wen.

Upon landing, [Swift] activates for Chen Wen.

He almost ignores inertia, lunging again to press down directly on the boar’s body.

The boar struggles fiercely, with great strength.

But Chen Wen presses his knee against the boar’s scapula while holding its head down.

Rendering the boar’s upper body immobile.

The battle that started fast ends even faster.

Yan Bian hurries over, pulling out the prepared net rope from his bag.

"Tie the legs."

Chen Wen quickly instructs.

Yan Bian nods, tying up the boar’s still-struggling forelimbs with rope.

"Tie up the back legs too, this boar is quite strong."

Chen Wen grunts, saying with some difficulty.

"Boars are naturally strong; even fat pigs need a group of adults to hold down when being slaughtered."

Yan Bian says as he knots the rope securely.

"Done!"

Chen Wen exhales in relief.

He grins, releasing the boar.

Although the boar continues to struggle, with all four legs bound, its squirming is futile.

"Carry it back?"

Chen Wen asks.

"Let’s cut a bamboo stick and carry it back together."

...

South beach of the men’s island.

Zhang Hu silently drags a suitcase, soaked almost to the skin, the heavy suitcase leaving deep grooves in the sand behind him.

The contents of this suitcase, large stones, are meant to block the reef area.

Behind him, Lu Heng, bent over, uses a backpack to carry some medium-sized stones.

"I’m exhausted!"

Reaching the triangular reef area, Lu Heng drops his backpack to the sand, scattering grains all around.

Zhang Hu remains silent, dumping the stones onto the beach.

The stones have already accumulated into a small hill.

"This much should be enough, right?"

Lu Heng asks.

Zhang Hu shakes his head slightly, "I don’t know, should we ask Mr. Bai to take a look?"

"I’ll go call him, we should take a break... huh? Why is Mr. Bai coming over?"

Lu Heng just about to rise, pauses in surprise.

In sight, Bai Yachuan, carrying a fishing rod and bucket, approaches slowly.

But Bai Yachuan’s face looks grim.

Something happened!

Lu Heng frowns.

As he expected.

Bai Yachuan brings bad news: "The fishing rod... is ruined."

"What happened?"

Lu Heng gets angry. He glares and asks, "This fishing rod is our main food source! How did you mess it up?"

Bai Yachuan opens his mouth, mumbling, "While I was fishing, I probably didn’t lift the rod, and the line was pulled away, snapping on the reef under water."

"The hook is gone, the line is snapped."

Hearing this, Lu Heng’s resentment boils over: "Idiot! If you can’t fish, why pretend! You’re better off hauling stones with us! Damn it!"

"Chen Wen and the others never broke it after all this time! You just had to break it on your first try!"

"Didn’t Chen Wen show you how to fish? And you still managed to break the line? Are you a pig?"

Zhang Hu quickly pulls Lu Heng back to prevent the conflict from escalating.

Bai Yachuan, scolded, feels a bit frustrated.

But remembering that Chen Wen and Lv Guocheng used the rod for so long without issue, yet he broke it within half a day.

He sighs heavily: "My fault, I’ll apologize to everyone."

"Hmph!"

Seeing Bai Yachuan’s sincere attitude, Lu Heng snorts coldly but doesn’t push further.

He looks at the stone pile, having lost the will to work.

"Let’s head back."

Lu Heng says, picking up his backpack and leaving.

Zhang Hu opens his mouth, not knowing what to say.

He pats Bai Yachuan on the shoulder: "Mr. Bai, let’s head back, we’ll talk afterward."

...

Camp.

Seeing the field team return so early, Lv Guocheng knows there’s trouble.

Sure enough.

The news of the broken fishing rod frustrates everyone.

"Can it be fixed?"

Gan Tieshan asks Lv Guocheng.

"Difficult!"

With one word, he shoves the matter into a coffin.

Bai Yachuan sits by the campfire, his face showing embarrassment, annoyance, and mostly regret.

Sadly, life is not a rehearsal; failure cannot be undone.

Though nothing is said aloud, everyone harbors some grievances against Bai Yachuan.

"What do we do about the food next?"

Du Feng breaks the silence: "Should we find more people to collect seafood?"

Lv Guocheng shakes his head: "Seafood can fill the gaps, but it’s not sufficient as a staple. Let’s wait for Chen Wen to return and decide."

Chen Wen!

The name lifts everyone’s spirits.

Du Feng nods: "Indeed, we should follow Chen Wen’s lead; the guy has a knack for food!"

Lu Heng also joins the discussion: "Right, I feel Chen Wen is top-notch at finding food!"

"I agree."

Zhang Hu concurs.

"Then let’s wait for his return... speak of the devil, here he comes!"

At the sound from the forest, Lv Guocheng’s eyes brighten.

Bai Yachuan stands up nervously.

Chen Wen has returned!

Zhang Hu feels a bit glum: Devil? Where’s the devil? How could he be coming?

...

"Yahoo!"

Looking at the crowd in the camp, Chen Wen amazes: "Why is everyone standing? Did you know I brought back goodies for you?"

Behind him, Yan Bian sets down the bamboo, along with the pig on it: "Well, guys, your noses are sharp, did you sense we brought back some prime pork?"

Listening to their banter, everyone forces a smile.

"What’s going on?"

Chen Wen notices the odd atmosphere and Bai Yachuan’s discomfort, asking: "Come on, it can’t be a broken fishing rod, right?"

Almost guessed it!

Lv Guocheng straightforwardly replies: "Close enough, the line snapped, here’s what happened..."