Chapter 17

First, pluck the bird feathers... Cloudy couldn't describe it. She had never killed a chicken or a fish before, only witnessing how vendors handled them at the market, already transformed into meat cuts and poultry. Is the feeling of plucking feathers from a just-dead bird different from one that has been dead for a long time?

She hoped it was, because now she couldn't seem to remove those feathers no matter what she did. The slick roots were tightly embedded, and her unease made her grip fluctuate several times while plucking, as if she were doing some unfamiliar craft.

The whole process was excruciating; she even touched the bird's wound while handling the feathers, a large bloody hole she had just pierced with a wooden spear. The blood inside the hole and around it had turned a deep color, almost nearing black, and started to show a gel-like consistency. Cloudy frowned and looked away.

Should she drain the blood? Pour it out directly from the hole or...? No, she remembered back when she returned home for Chinese New Year, blood was drained while the animal was still alive, a cut made at the neck, and then it was poured out from there...

In her fluster, the poor bird in Cloudy's hands felt like a broken Rubik's cube, as she turned it over and over for over half an hour without finding a solution.

However, in this process, Cloudy slowly calmed down. More accurately, rather than calm, her current mood was closer to a numb self-disgust. She wasn't a saint but instinctively repelled everything that had just happened. She knew she couldn't refuse to do it just because she disliked it in this environment, but she couldn't help but feel repulsed, like some sort of allergic reaction.

Handling the prey went very smoothly, aside from Cloudy's unease and clumsiness. Remembering Titus' actions... that guy with his large, rough hands, like a grindstone, a few rubs and the bird was plucked clean.

She could only scratch her head here. Fortunately, after a while of fumbling, she slowly discovered some tricks. The bird's skin was very tight, and the feathers were hard to pluck. She took a nearby stone, pressed it firmly on the prey, and pounded it. After this treatment, the feathers became easier to remove.

While plucking, Cloudy was very careful. She felt that the bird's down and long feathers would be useful, so she handled it with extra care, which also consumed a lot of time.

Half an hour passed, and she had only finished half of it; by now, the sky had started to darken. Cloudy hadn't even eaten a single bite of the bird meat she had caught herself.

She couldn't afford to dawdle any longer. She steeled herself and began to speed up the handling of the prey... After thoroughly cleaning the feathers, that numb emotion also faded significantly. She couldn't tear the prey's body with her own strength, so she had to rely on the pointed end of the wooden spear.

Aiming at the neck, she inserted the spear halfway at its base, then pulled down with force. If she could ignore the flowing blood and organs that followed, as well as the bones slowly popping out like a spider web from the pink flesh... then this process was no different from unzipping a zipper.
The blood was cleaned up, and the organs were all taken out and placed aside.

Cloudy meticulously cleaned the bones of the bird, shaved them neatly, and set them aside. The meat was roughly cut into large pieces, wrapped in clean leaves, and placed inside the fence. After arranging the edible and usable parts, she began to deal with the strong-smelling organs and the patch of soil thoroughly soaked in blood.

The blood-soaked soil was dug out first, cleaned as much as possible. During this process, Cloudy also used mud to scrub off the blood on her hands. She kneaded the dug-out bloody mud into a large lump. Cloudy stood up with the lump of mud, carried it to the side of the white rocks where the pit for filth was located, and tossed it in. She then fetched some fresh soil from nearby and filled the pit with a layer, covering the filth.

"..." Speaking of which, this filth pit was almost at its limit, with things piling up inside. Cloudy had dug it very, very deep at the time, almost close to two meters, resembling an inverted cone. Every time she poured filth inside, she would cover it with a layer of clean soil or stones, somewhat similar to how animals cover their excrement.

After using it for so many days, the pit was now only half a meter deep. She needed to find time to completely fill up this old pit with mud and stones, then search for a new place to dig a new filth pit.

Because this time she threw in the extremely smelly blood-soaked mud, Cloudy used twice the usual amount of soil and stones to cover it up.

After dealing with the blood clots, Cloudy picked up a few small stones nearby and took them back. Next, she had to deal with the organs, in addition to her own set of organs, there was also the one Titus had previously hunted.

Should she discard them or eat them raw? Cloudy looked at the two piles of bird organs that couldn't be described in words. She couldn't help but think of... stir-fried giblets with chili, I miss you, stir-fried giblets.

She looked at the organs with mixed feelings. Besides eating them, these extremely pungent things could definitely be used as bait. Unfortunately, Cloudy didn't have a way to seal and preserve them. She didn't want to leave these things near the cave, essentially sending out an invitation to all carnivorous beasts saying, "Come eat me when you're hungry" as soon as night fell.

Same old method, Cloudy wrapped the organs in tree leaves, securely tied them with vines, and took them to the tree at the foot of the hill. Cloudy carried the bundle of organs wrapped in leaves, climbed to the highest point where the branches forked, and hung the bundle in a chosen spot.

If they were eaten, it would be a gift to nature. If not, she would worry about what to do with them tomorrow! Although she thought this way, Cloudy knew they would most likely be eaten because the smell was just too strong. After climbing down the tree, she could still faintly smell the bloody odor.

Forget it, let's just eat them... She couldn't stomach the taste raw.

Cloudy ran back to the cave, devoured half of the bird while it was still fresh, and left the rest.
Inside the cave, the food is still wrapped in leaves, ready for tomorrow's nutritious breakfast!

Today, Cloudy accomplished a lot and felt very satisfied. As the day hasn't completely turned dark yet, the horizon is painted with several colors by the orange light - blue, pink, orange, and light yellow, blending together like a delicious beverage. Sitting outside the fence with fruits in hand, leaning against a raised grass bundle, Cloudy hums a tune while enjoying the sunset.

The fence and wooden door were completed today. Titus introduced her to many foods in the rainforest and showed her a new, more convenient water source. The biggest progress was in hunting, although not entirely pleasant, after work, Cloudy managed to relax.

She also learned more of the local language and got along well with Titus. Days are no longer as dry and dull as before; she can find her own food and craft weapons to catch it.

The basic cycle of survival is now established, and she can start making fire and exploring tomorrow.

Sitting outside the fence until the last hint of twilight disappears, the sky gradually covered by a veil of stars. The surroundings quiet down, the wind rustling through the grassy lawn, bringing a comforting sound to the ears.

Before long, the chirping of insects becomes lively, reminding Cloudy it's time to retreat back into the cave. However, today... she doesn't feel like going back to sleep in the cave so early, perhaps because she ate a lot of meat and doesn't feel very sleepy.

She continues sitting outside the fence, holding the wooden spear, gazing at the green slope at night. With each wave of insect sounds, the moon finally emerges slowly from the clouds in the distance, casting a cold white moonlight. Having been outside since sunset, Cloudy's eyes quickly adjust to the darkness, aided by the bright moonlight tonight, providing clear visibility, even down to the grassy plains below the green slope.

It's like a blurry canvas down there, with darker colors, but the wind-stirred waves can be seen. It feels intriguing; in the past, she used to fear the arrival of night, but now, she's not as afraid. She believes she will eventually need to accept the unfamiliar nights here; today, she'll try to stay outside a bit longer.

Not long after, Cloudy hears strange footsteps behind her and immediately jumps up, hurrying back into the cave and closing the door.

Let's wait a few more days to get used to the darkness! It's getting late today. Cloudy curls up on the grass mat inside the cave, squirms a bit, and peacefully closes her eyes.

With good food and drink these days, Cloudy sleeps very comfortably. Nightmares have turned into some inexplicably strange dreams.

"Cloudy, you're back?" Titus stands at her home's doorstep for some reason, the real home's doorstep, with the brown fingerprint lock gate. After opening the door, there's a blue small doormat inside, with a drawing of a cat serving tea and water. "What do you want to eat? Want some dumplings?"

"Hey, you're so annoying, I already ate outside." Waving off Titus, she walks inside, plops down on the sofa, and starts munching on potato chips.
At this moment, the phone rang, and when she answered, there was a loud chirping sound of insects, very noisy. She frowned and hung up the phone, continuing to play the game. Suddenly, several elderly ladies and gentlemen wearing watermelon bug culture shirts appeared outside the balcony, carrying bags to catch the subway.

Cloudy, who was playing the game, had already realized that she was dreaming. She looked towards the front door, where Titus was still standing, smiling at her. "What do you want to eat?"

"..." Cloudy woke up sweating, feeling that her understanding of Titus was becoming more accurate. Whether in reality or in dreams, Titus had undoubtedly become her food delivery fairy. Last time she dreamt of Titus holding up a fish and shouting, 'Do you want some hot and sour fish soup?'

Would the next time be pizza and fried chicken? Cloudy pinched the corner of her eye and headed towards the cave outside. The morning breeze, humid and carrying a fresh plant scent, had spread all over the green slope.

Cloudy stood outside, stretching her limbs in the wind, doing a set of gymnastics she had made up herself, then started eating breakfast. After drinking some water, she finished the half-eaten bird from yesterday.

"Ugh..." After just one night, the raw bird meat already had a strong bloody smell. Luckily, there wasn't much left, so Cloudy quickly finished it, drank a lot of water, and then started nibbling on roots and stems to get rid of the unpleasant taste.

After breakfast, she first checked the dirty organs tied to the tree. As expected, the package had disappeared without a trace, and there were some remnants of tree leaves and vines used to wrap the organs under the tree. Such a strong-smelling thing was really hard to preserve.

After the check, Cloudy didn't return to the cave. She brought a wooden spear and some tools for convenience, like small stones and a bone knife, as well as some dry food. Today, she was planning to explore near the rainforest and then return to the huge skeleton wreckage to see if she could bring back more bone fragments.

On the way to the skeleton wreckage, she collected some wildflowers that she hadn't seen in a while, chewing on them as snacks. The fragrant and slightly sweet taste of the petals and flower buds relaxed her tongue. Her mood became increasingly pleasant, and Cloudy was bouncing along the way.

Collecting the bones went smoothly, and she found several bone fragments in the wreckage that could be used for modifications. At the same time, Cloudy also wanted to dig up some of those fat worms buried in the soil. However, after squatting on the ground and digging through the mud for a while, she couldn't find those plump worms.

Had they grown into adult insects in just two or three days? Wasn't that too fast? Cloudy didn't give up and almost turned over all the soil covered by the wreckage, but besides some broken deep brown thin insect cocoons, she found nothing.

During her search, Cloudy also noticed a lot of animal feces in the area, although most of it was already dried out. She put the bone fragments in her waist bag and left the wreckage.

At this point, she was very close to the border between the rainforest and the herb area, with a new water source just about a kilometer east from the wreckage.
Cloudy toyed with the wooden spear in her hand, what to say? Should she be bold today and lightly explore the edge of the rainforest? Since she had come this far, from here back to the cave, and then to the bush area, the sun was about to set.

Without much hesitation, she started walking eastward, not immediately closing the distance between herself and the rainforest, but maintaining a certain distance like a satellite, moving forward in parallel. As she advanced, she observed the state of the rainforest edge.

There were hardly any signs of animals in the edge zone, only occasional insects poking their heads out from beneath the large bottom plants, waving their unclear antennae a few times before slowly disappearing. The trees forming the edge were not yet thick enough, the thickest ones might be like ordinary yew trees, with a large spacing between them, allowing a glimpse of the rainforest through the gaps in the trunks.

Sunlight broke through the canopy, casting dappled light that danced on the tree trunks and thick green moss. Cloudy felt like she was seeing emerald gems through the rough stone.

Perhaps drawn by the beauty of the dappled light and greenery, Cloudy tightened her grip on the spear and moved a bit closer.