After dividing the meat using a scale at home, I went downstairs to complete the transaction.
The instant noodles brought by the man with upturned eyes for trading were the classic bagged pickled pepper beef flavor.
Looking at the familiar packaging, Qin Ziwen felt a wave of nostalgia. When he was studying, he used to love this flavor of instant noodles. Back then, he was still growing and had a big appetite—one packet was never enough, so he would buy an additional chicken mushroom flavor packet and cook them together.
Mixing the seasoning packets from both flavors actually tasted pretty good.
But perhaps because he had eaten too many instant noodles, after entering university, he rarely ate them anymore, except for occasionally having some spicy chicken noodles.
Glancing at the sky, Qin Ziwen said to Deng Wen, "Xiao Wen, go call your dad. We need to go set the fish traps."
"Mm-hmm."
A short while later, Deng Guang and Deng Wen came downstairs together.
Just as they reached the south gate, a disheveled and ragged group was limping back.
Qin Ziwen immediately recognized Wang Yun at the front.
Compared to his confident demeanor during their last meeting, Wang Yun now had messy hair covered with small twigs and broken leaves, his clothes were torn, his pant legs were covered with burrs, and there was a scratch on his face.
It wasn't just him—most of the people behind him looked similarly rough.
"Brother Wang." Qin Ziwen stepped forward and put a hand on Wang Yun's shoulder.
Returning to the familiar residential complex, Wang Yun, who had been tense the whole time, finally relaxed. His body slumped as he leaned against Qin Ziwen.
Qin Ziwen asked with concern, "What did you run into?"
Wang Yun forced a smile, but it looked uglier than crying.
Patting the back of Qin Ziwen's hand, Wang Yun said, "Brother, if you're going to the grassland to the west, you have to be careful. A pack of over twenty wolves has arrived there. Those wolves are even bigger than Alaskan malamutes."
After catching his breath, Wang Yun straightened up, sighed, thanked Qin Ziwen, and slowly walked away.
After taking a few steps, he turned back. "By the way, I caught two more rabbits that you wanted last time. Let's talk about it later—I need to go rest first."
Most of the others who had returned with Wang Yun kept their heads down and spoke little, the atmosphere heavy and oppressive.
Watching them leave, Qin Ziwen glanced behind them—the forest shadows were dense and dark.
"Let's go."
No matter what, they still had to do what needed to be done.
As the sky gradually darkened, there were basically no people outside the residential complex.
Along the way, Qin Ziwen and the others were very cautious, not only guarding against possible crocodiles in the river but also observing the surrounding bushes.
They followed the river downstream for several dozen meters, arriving at the backwater eddy where they had fished during the day.
Deng Guang threw the tiger fish entrails into two fish traps. There was a rope on the side of each trap; he tied the ropes to trees on the bank, then deployed the traps in the river, covering their surfaces with a layer of dead branches and weeds for camouflage.
After finishing, the two returned.
Deng Guang said in a low voice, "Let's come earlier tomorrow, preferably leaving around five in the morning. If we're late, there might be more people."
"Alright, we'll leave early tomorrow then." Qin Ziwen understood his meaning—around five in the morning, when the sky was just beginning to lighten, not many people would be out.
At that time, whether collecting the traps or the fish catch, it would be more discreet. If they waited until it was brighter, there was no guarantee others wouldn't see them.
After returning home in the residential complex, Qin Ziwen took the fresh tiger fish from the cellar and cut three jin of fish meat. After thinking for a moment, he also brought a band-aid, then went to Building 1, Unit 1, Apartment 801.
Wang Yun's wife, Lin Yi, opened the door. As soon as he entered, Qin Ziwen smelled strong smoke in the living room.
Wang Yun stubbed out his cigarette, stood up from the sofa, and forced a smile. "Have a seat. We've run out of fruit at home, so there's nothing to offer you. Sorry for the poor hospitality."
Qin Ziwen sat beside Wang Yun, placed the bag of meat on the table, then took the band-aid from his pocket and put it in front of him. "You're injured on your face, so I brought you a band-aid. Don't let the wound get infected."
A flicker of emotion passed through Wang Yun's eyes. Without standing on ceremony, he said, "Thanks."
Then he sighed. "Last time you said you could continue trading if there were extra live rabbits, so I set more traps. When I checked today, I happened to catch two female rabbits. I originally saw a muntjac and wanted to try hunting it, but we had the bad luck of running into a wolf pack. Our team lost three people."
Qin Ziwen recalled that when he saw Wang Yun in the afternoon, there did seem to be fewer people behind him than last time.
Wang Yun called out, "Wife, bring out those two rabbits from the bathroom."
Lin Yi brought out a cardboard box from the bathroom containing a gray rabbit and a white rabbit.
Judging by their size, they were slightly smaller than the two rabbits from last time, but their condition was still quite lively.
Qin Ziwen said, "Brother Wang, the bag has fish I caught today—probably tiger fish. You should eat it soon, otherwise it'll get fishy if stored too long."
Wang Yun was taken aback. "Tiger fish?"
He turned to look at the bag, then let out a long sigh. "This damn place really has everything. Tiger fish are social animals—you should try not to go into the water.
Many animals here are generally larger than those on Earth. For now, these beasts are still manageable. As long as we're careful and cautious, surviving shouldn't be too difficult. But if one day, medieval or even prehistoric giant beasts suddenly appear, that would be a real disaster."
After a pause, Wang Yun said, "Brother Qin, I plan to temporarily avoid going west tomorrow. That area is too far from the residential complex. If we encounter the wolf pack again, we might not make it back in time. I plan to explore the north and east sides of the complex these next couple of days and draw a simple map. Do you want to join me?"
Qin Ziwen thought about it and felt that this kind of exploration carried significant risks. If they really encountered large beasts, relying on that compound bow wouldn't be safe—actual combat was different from shooting at stationary targets.
So he shook his head and politely declined. "I want to take advantage of the fact that there aren't many people fishing right now to catch more fish."
Although Wang Yun felt somewhat disappointed, he respected Qin Ziwen's choice.
Qin Ziwen carried the box home and put the two rabbits into the beast cage.
Looking at the four wild rabbits in the cage, he couldn't help but feel a sense of accomplishment.
He already had four now—how far could forty, or even four hundred, be?
The night passed without incident.
Early the next morning, after waking up, the first thing Qin Ziwen did was check yesterday's daily settlement.
"You have successfully survived safely in the wilderness for the seventh day. Today you caught a tiger fish through angling and expanded your rabbit breeding group. Comprehensive score: 13 points"
"Rewards obtained: [Recruitment Card] Common·Tame Adult Crowned Eagle1, Fish Trap3"
Looking at the rewards, Qin Ziwen's heart raced.
Another type of card he had never seen before had appeared—the Recruitment Card.
Indeed, the scope of cards wasn't limited to inanimate objects; there were also Recruitment Cards that could obtain living creatures.
But soon he thought of a problem: if a crowned eagle suddenly appeared at home, how should he explain it if others saw it?
Considering this issue, Qin Ziwen couldn't help but frown. This wasn't like the building cards and resource cards that could be hidden at home.
If he recruited it, it should naturally serve its purpose. Otherwise, just keeping it hidden at home would only waste food for nothing. It would be better to store the card, which would save food.
......