Chapter 63

Matriarch did indeed keep her word. Over the next three days, Cloudy was given the opportunity to fully acquaint herself with the settlement without any sudden interruptions. She had already familiarized herself with the terrain upon arrival at the settlement in the afternoon of the first day. The remaining time was spent working on refurbishing Titus's home.

At times, Titus would be called away by other hunters in the morning or afternoon, leaving Cloudy alone to tinker around the house. Following the prearranged plan, she first restored the tool table from the cave under Titus's window and neatly arranged her own small tools and materials on it.

Since the rainy season had passed, there was no need to close the windows and doors. The midday sun illuminated the entire house beautifully. Two larger wooden baskets were added indoors to hold Titus's odds and ends. They also cleaned the floor together, although Titus was somewhat resistant during the process as he didn't see the necessity of cleaning the floor. Nonetheless, Cloudy managed to persuade him to help.

Now the interior of the house was very tidy, with the bed, cabinets, wooden baskets, table, and two chairs all in place. The basic facilities were all set up, and Cloudy even cleared some grass in the outdoor space and moved bulky items like animal skins outside, while also constructing a larger stone kiln.

Early the next morning, Titus was called away by his tribe members. With nothing else to do, Cloudy had a simple meal from the leftovers in the house and then sat at the table tinkering with things. It was her fourth day in the settlement, and she anticipated someone would come looking for her soon.

As midday approached, Cloudy was summoned to the longhouse by a woman who appeared to be older. She was relatively short, standing just over 1.8 meters tall.

Her dark, rough hair was haphazardly tied back with brown vines, and she wore a thin animal skin garment that only covered certain areas, revealing prominent female features. In the center of these features was a small red dot, suggesting her name might be Wahben based on pronunciation.

This was Cloudy's first encounter with a young "woman" in the settlement, and she wasn't sure if she could use the term "woman" to refer to someone with similar features as her...

"On what task does Matriarch require my assistance today?" On the way to the longhouse, Cloudy tentatively engaged in conversation with Wahben. However, Wahben seemed very nervous, even more so than Cloudy, mumbling things she couldn't understand and avoiding eye contact.

Now, Cloudy faced two options: either remain silent and follow Wahben to the longhouse or actively engage in conversation to improve the impression.

"Don't be afraid. I'm not a monster." Cloudy reluctantly began conversing, hoping that if she were to stay in the settlement long-term, she would be able to at least establish some rapport with the locals.
"Getting along" impression.

"...But you're so ugly." Finally, Wahben said something she could understand, though the content was quite poignant. "When the rainy season came, I was inside the house too. It was terrifying, thought I was going to be killed by a monster."

Please, it was me who almost got killed back then. Cloudy's expression momentarily couldn't be controlled: "I was trying to help Titus at that time, not trying to scare you."

Perhaps realizing they could communicate smoothly, without any hostility in their words, Wahben visibly relaxed and started stealing glances at Cloudy's face, looking several times before saying, "Your eyes are really strange, can you see things?"

"Yes."

"Your ears are very short too, were they eaten halfway by a wild beast?"

"No, they've always been this short."

"You're very small, and your skin is very pale. Do you not usually get enough to eat?"

"I eat a lot usually, thanks to Titus."

"Can I touch you?"

"You can."

After saying that, Wahben stopped in her tracks. Cloudy noticed her ears perking up and her pupils narrowing, a sign of excitement, mixed with a little fear since they had only recently met. Cloudy felt that Wahben's excitement might also contain a hint of fear.

Wahben cautiously placed her hand on Cloudy's arm and rubbed it gently. Then she exclaimed, "So soft! Just like a newborn! You're so strange!"

Cloudy awkwardly chuckled a few times. Her arms had become much stronger since her arrival, but to these wild people, they still seemed soft. However, Wahben's attitude towards her had clearly shifted, and she was no longer as nervous as when they first met.

"Today, Matriarch wants you to meet the newborns." After enough touching, Wahben continued leading Cloudy towards the longhouse. "This rainy season is very bad, really bad. We've lost many newborns. The Matriarch and everyone are very sad."

...In this aspect, Cloudy did want to offer help, but being unmarried and childless herself, her knowledge of children was limited to those she saw during family gatherings. The children in the settlement should generally have good physical health, right? They just seemed to be especially sensitive to the cold, like Titus, who was already considered an adult and would struggle during the rainy season.

A few minutes later, Wahben and Cloudy arrived at the entrance of the longhouse. There weren't many people inside today, just four including Wahben and the Matriarch. At the entrance, they could faintly hear the murmurs of children.

"You're here, first, take a look at the newborns." The Matriarch asked Wahben to stand aside and then brought Cloudy to the innermost part of the longhouse. The stone platform from before had been removed and replaced with a super-sized baby nest made of animal skins and some softer-looking plants, holding eight huge babies inside.

They were truly enormous... Cloudy stood stunned next to the baby bed, peering inside up close for the first time.
The local children, these little things are very ugly, even uglier than monkeys, and their skin is very dark.

Was Titus also so ugly when he was born... she couldn't help but start to fantasize.

"These are the surviving children." The Matriarch looked worried, pacing back and forth next to Cloudy, "Soon, when the rainforest temperatures are at their highest, we will attract new newborns. I hope they all survive."

"They look healthy now." Cloudy, after observing, came to a conclusion that anyone with eyes could reach. She now felt a bit like she was in over her head, truly realizing she had no clue about babies. How did she ever have the audacity to think she could help them through the rainy season?

"You hold them." The Matriarch picked up one from the crib and handed it to Cloudy. The baby was as heavy as a rock and couldn't help but squirm. After holding him for a short while, Cloudy quickly put him back, "Are all the children who didn't survive because of the cold?"

The Matriarch nodded, "Fire, animal skins, everything for warmth has been done. If only they were as fearless of the rainy season as you are."

Next, Cloudy carefully inspected the newborns, "After the rainy season ends, they won't be afraid of the heat, right? Just like you." Today's weather was hot and humid, making Cloudy sticky all over, but these newborns still felt dry.

"No."

Apart from being heat-resistant and having huge bodies, these children had no differences from the modern infants Cloudy had seen. Their heads were very soft, probably because their skull hadn't fully developed yet, their limbs were curled, and they felt unusually soft to the touch.

"What do they eat?" After asking, Cloudy saw the Matriarch pointing to her own chest, like other mothers with female characteristics, "We will feed them. When they grow a bit more, they will eat the same food as us."

Cloudy fell into thought. Food wasn't a big issue in the settlement, even if it was scarce, they wouldn't let the children go hungry. So, the problem was purely genetic. The rainforest made these local people heat-resistant and strong. Warriors like Titus could even crush dinosaurs bare-handed, almost at the top of the food chain. Naturally, this would also come with a fatal flaw.

How do modern humans fill fatal flaws? Not through evolution, but through external tools. Run slowly? Create tires. Can't soar like birds in the sky? Create wings of steel.

The answer appeared before Cloudy's eyes. What could help these newborns get through the cold rainy season was her seemingly useless companion from the crossover, a portable women's down jacket!

The issue was that there was only one down jacket, but goose down... or bird down, that kind of thing, must surely exist in the vast rainforest. Cloudy started to get excited, she had been worried before.
"What's this? How could there not be a solution! She's a modern person!"

"I have an idea, but I need your help to gather materials." Cloudy clasped her hands together, rubbing them excitedly. "I need animal skins, soft but durable ones, and lots and lots of bird feathers."

Matriarch didn't expect Cloudy to come up with a solution so quickly. "Will these be helpful?"

"I can't be sure, but I want to give it a try first. There's still plenty of time before the next rainy season starts, so there must be a way." Besides imagining the materials for the down jacket, Cloudy also mentioned many other things that might be needed. Matriarch instructed the mother inside the house to inform the next group of hunters going out to gather what Cloudy needed.

Now, Cloudy just had to wait for the materials to arrive.

"I hope your plan works, friend of Tuna." After the other mothers left the room, Matriarch sat down next to the baby's crib, picked up a pile of plants from the ground, and began organizing them on her lap.

“Why do you call him Tuna? Yesterday I called him that, and he said I couldn't.” Cloudy, who had provided the list of materials, was now idle again. She squatted near Matriarch and started chatting with her. “Is Tuna also his name?”

"Tuna is my name, Titus is my child, so now only I can call him that."

"...” Cloudy's eyes widened.

Wait, Matriarch has the most authority in the settlement, like a village chief. So Titus is... the chief's son? A second bombshell of personal information since finding out Titus is 19 years old.

"Is he, is he your biological child?"

"Yes." Matriarch smiled proudly. "I have 9 children, and Titus is the most outstanding."

Nine children... Cloudy tried not to look too shocked. "Yes, Titus is indeed remarkable. But why can't I call him Tuna?"

Matriarch shook her head, handed some of the plants to Cloudy, and asked her to help instead of just watching. "Because you didn't give birth to him."

Indeed.

Cloudy awkwardly smiled and started helping Matriarch sort the plants. It seems she still hasn't quite grasped the subtle rules of interaction among the people in the settlement!