"Accurate! Excellent archery," Zhao Pu praised.
Qin Ziwen was modest, "I practiced before, but it was just shooting at stationary targets, nothing special."
He wasn't lying about having practiced—during university, one of his roommates' families had opened an archery range near the campus.
They usually went to help out part-time, and after work or when there were no customers, they could play for free.
"What's the draw weight of your compound bow?" Zhao Pu inquired.
"Fifty pounds," Qin Ziwen replied as he approached the tree. The Black Falcon lay on the ground among the dry leaves, its two legs twitching.
The arrow had pierced through its body, and the broadhead had torn a large wound in its abdomen. With heavy bleeding, it was clearly beyond saving.
Picking up the Black Falcon from the ground, Qin Ziwen noted its large size, almost comparable to the Crowned Eagle, though its claws and beak were shorter.
After one of their companions died, the remaining Black Falcons didn't dare to approach.
They only circled far away in the sky, watching them.
"Let's head up the mountain first. Protect your heads—don't waste time with these birds."
Everyone climbed up the slope, and the pitch-black cave finally came into view.
The Black Falcons circled high above; they seemed to fear this cave and didn't dare come closer.
Deng Guang laughed and cursed, "These birds are like guardian spirits of the altar, attacking us when we approach."
"This is the place. Everyone, be careful—there are still many bats inside the cave," Qin Ziwen said, looking up at the cave before them.
The cave was about six or seven meters high and over ten meters wide. It hadn't seemed very impressive in the video, but standing in front of it now, they realized the entrance was quite sizable.
Looking from the cave entrance toward the interior, they could see the altar deep inside. A small red dot of light was visible from afar, standing out distinctly in the dark cave.
"Is that the card...?" Zhao Pu murmured to himself. It was his first time seeing a card. He stood on tiptoe, craning his neck to peer inside.
The cave was pitch black, and he couldn't make out anything clearly, only a red dot in the depths.
Qin Ziwen estimated based on the previous video's duration, "It should be about a hundred meters away."
"I'll go," Deng Guang stepped forward, placing the items in his hand on the ground.
Seeing Qin Ziwen about to dissuade him, Deng Guang waved him off and said candidly, "How can I let you take the risk every time? You all wait here at the cave entrance to support me. You went last time—it's my turn now."
As he spoke, Deng Guang tugged at the leather jacket he was wearing, "Besides, this jacket is quite tough."
He took the flashlight from Qin Ziwen.
Deng Guang turned on the flashlight and shone it into the cave. The ground was covered with a thick layer of bat droppings.
As the beam moved upward, they could see huge bats hanging upside down from the ceiling, crowded together densely in a dark mass.
When the light hit them, the bats erupted into a chorus of cries.
"Squeak, squeak, squeak~"
Deng Guang took a deep breath and slowly walked inward.
Qin Ziwen and the others watched the beam of the flashlight gradually recede into the distance.
They held their breath until the beam overlapped with the card on the altar.
Then the beam turned and began retracing its path back.
"Brother, these bats look pretty big, like little dogs," Qin Ziwu pointed toward the cave ceiling.
Qin Ziwen said, "Remember the bats we saw the night we first crossed over?"
Qin Ziwu felt his throat go dry, "You don't think all of them in here are that big, do you?"
Qin Ziwen replied, "Not sure, but they seem similar."
As they spoke, the bat cries from the cave ceiling grew more frequent.
Zhao Pu wiped cold sweat from his forehead. There were truly a lot of bats here. If they all swarmed out to attack them, whether they'd be bitten to death was one thing, but more concerning was how many bacteria and viruses would be in all those wounds. As a medical student, the thought made him shudder.
"Caw! Caw!"
From above and behind them, the Black Falcons cried out.
Amid the falcons' calls, Deng Guang emerged from the cave holding the flashlight.
Seeing Qin Ziwen, he grinned and handed over the red card in his hand, "Got it out. This thing is a Function Card."
Taking the red card, Qin Ziwen received its name in his mind.
[Function Card] Insight.
......
"It's good that you're safe."
Jiang Dingguo comforted Li Yue, "Although your foot is injured, you're still here. As long as you're alive, there's hope. Since coming here, my legs haven't been working well, so I usually can only chat with the other old folks."
At this point, Jiang Dingguo sighed, "Ah, at the beginning, there were about ten familiar faces in our chatting group, but now only seven or eight remain."
Jiang Dingguo pointed with his cane toward Wei Zhaohua not far away, "That son-in-law of mine is steady and doesn't fool around. Although he can be a bit dull sometimes, he treats my daughter well—that's what reassures me. After her mother and I are gone, she'll still have someone who cares for her."
When people get old, they tend to talk more.
Jiang Dingguo gazed at the somewhat murky river water and mused, "Xiao Qin is also a good person. Since we have nothing else to do, these fish traps give us something easy to do. Sitting here all day, we can share some fish and shrimp. We old folks don't have big appetites—just a little fills us up."
Li Yue sat nearby listening quietly, holding a book on metal materials science that he was studying.
As they talked, a group of people approached from diagonally behind them. The most noticeable thing was that many in this group had long hair.
After arriving, these people directly surrounded the area, forming a circle.
Seeing the newcomers looked unfriendly, Jiang Dingguo stood up with his cane and walked up to the leader.
The leader scanned the group of elderly, weak, women, and children present, his expression calm.
Jiang Dingguo said with vigorous energy, "Who are you?"
"I'm here to find Qin Ziwen. I heard he's quite courageous—wielding a blade to kill thieves. I specifically came to pay him a visit. He's not here, is he?"
No one else spoke.
Seeing this, the leader chuckled lightly, "No need to be nervous. My name is Zou Jianghe—Zou as in leopard ears, Jianghe as in Yangtze River. You might not have heard of me, but you should all know about the seedling sales and burned soil activities from a while ago—I organized those."
"Currently, I've formed an alliance mutual aid society with fifty-seven neighboring households, dedicated to building an organization that can help more compatriots survive. Now I sincerely invite all capable neighbors to join us. I hope you can pass this message to Brother Qin Ziwen when he returns: tomorrow at 10 AM, we'll meet at the south gate of the residential complex. Of course, this is an invitation, not a threat."
Only after he and his group had gone far away did Xiao Meixue speak up, "I've heard of this mutual aid society. I heard they've recruited most residents from Building 2 and are making quite good progress."
Jiang Dingguo watched Zou Jianghe's retreating back, narrowing his eyes slightly, "If it truly can help most people in this entire complex survive, that would be a good thing. I just worry that it might be superficially righteous while actually engaging in disgraceful deeds."