Chapter 76

The terrain near the settlement of Cloudy is quite familiar. Within a radius of two hundred meters around the settlement, there is no dense vegetation, only clusters of low shrubs and many piles of discarded materials. After climbing over the wall, she maneuvered through the shrubs and debris piles, trying to conceal her presence as much as possible.

Upon entering the rainforest, instead of heading deeper into it, she chose to climb up a tree, finding a hiding spot among the dense branches and leaves. Through the gaps between the leaves, she observed the direction of the settlement.

First, she looked towards the cliff. Many locals had disappeared, either climbing to the top of the cliff or possibly hiding in some unknown caves within the cliff. The only two remaining outside were two hunters crouching on a lookout platform. Due to the distance, it was unclear what their purpose was for staying on the platform. Perhaps they were observing the situation in the distance, ready to inform their hidden compatriots at a moment's notice?

She hoped that the Matriarchs had hidden with the newborns. Cloudy shifted her gaze, adjusted her posture slightly, bending her legs closer to her chest, leaning her upper body forward, and firmly gripping a branch above her head. Once she ensured her body was stable, Cloudy began to move slowly towards the front, reaching the foremost part of the branch.

She estimated her position to be about three kilometers from the settlement gate, giving her a broad view of the surroundings, but detailed observation was challenging. Moving objects could still be barely seen... The problem was that she couldn't see anyone moving now or hear the previous piercing roars.

Where did everyone go?

All she could hear was the dense chirping of insects and birds in the rainforest, along with the rustling of leaves as the wind blew through. It was so noisy... Could it be a bit quieter? Cloudy frowned, leaning forward as if this action could help her catch Titus's voice. Once hidden in the tree, she calmed down completely, with only thoughts of Titus in her mind.

She knew Titus was capable and wouldn't be in danger, but she couldn't help worrying, especially with the situation being so unclear. Was it an enemy attack or a dangerous wild animal? In reality, both were equally dangerous, but Cloudy harbored an unknown fear towards hostile settlements, stemming from the last time she was nearly killed by strangers after the end of the rainy season. She just hoped it wasn't an enemy attack... If it really was, besides hiding, what else could she do now?

After a few minutes of contemplation, Cloudy decided to make a defensive weapon. She broke off a branch about the length of her arm nearby, then used her hands to manipulate the broken end of the branch, trying to sharpen it within her ability range. While preparing a small wooden spear, she kept observing other trees.

The vines were growing vigorously, extending along the branches to other trees after reaching a certain height. Many trees were interconnected by "tree bridges" woven from vines, and occasionally, thicker branches crossed each other. Visually, it seemed... walkable.

Could she move along the dense branches and vine routes to get closer to the settlement gate to observe the situation? If she
With caution, she thought she might not be discovered. Just as she was contemplating, she heard the piercing roar again; although the sound was somewhat distorted, Cloudy immediately recognized it.

It was Titus's roar, a beastly howl that made her chest tighten. She gripped her not-so-sharp wooden spear, widened her eyes, and cautiously peered in the direction of the sound. It seemed to be a bit west of the settlement gate.

Upon hearing Titus's voice, Cloudy wasn't sure whether to feel relieved or nervous. However, without much time for contemplation, her body moved on its own accord, moving deftly like a sloth from vine to vine, steadily making her way to another tree.

The howling continued, with Titus's voice mixed with others. The sound seemed to hook Cloudy like a fish, pulling her forward relentlessly.

She crept along the line where trees met, initially feeling fear when staring down at the ten-meter-high ground, but quickly getting accustomed to it, even daring to leap to the next branch.

After about twenty trees, Cloudy reached the west side of the settlement, with a segment of the settlement still ahead from where the sound was coming. However, she couldn't move forward anymore because there was no more "tree bridge" ahead. Should she return to the ground? She lay on the branch, looking down; as she moved, she unconsciously seemed to have climbed higher, now about fifteen meters above the ground.

Going back to the ground would certainly be foolish; encountering locals there would leave her defenseless. Perhaps there was a chance to maneuver at a higher vantage point. Without much thought, Cloudy looked up and indeed spotted a dense tree bridge further up.

Well, she might not be able to climb rocks, but climbing trees was doable. Holding the spear in her mouth, she continued to climb upward. Adrenaline seemed to be kicking in, making her move faster than before, with her hands and feet feeling no fatigue, mechanically navigating the tree canopy, seeking places to grip and step.

In less than ten minutes, she reached a layer of trees twenty meters above the ground, where the sunlight was more abundant, allowing for plenty of places to step on with the lush foliage and vines. Cloudy adjusted her breathing, stabilizing herself on a branch; the wind was slightly stronger up high, causing the branches to sway occasionally.

Her feet nearly slipped a few times; was this some sort of acrobatics? Cloudy panted heavily, leaning against the main trunk, arms wrapped around it, legs spread on the branch. Climbing didn't feel tiring, but upon reaching the top, she felt her heart pounding under strain.

After resting for a few minutes, Cloudy resumed her journey forward. With increased height came stronger winds; she chose to move forward with her entire body pressed against the branches or vines, resembling a terrifying shape from a distance.

"..." She tried to focus only on what lay ahead, avoiding the thought that she could fall to her death at any moment.

Amidst the tense and thrilling movement, a noise could be heard below the tree bridge.
The hurried footsteps made her stop and curl up as much as possible, cautiously peering downward.

They were not locals but several small, frantic bipedal dinosaurs scrambling for an escape route, fleeing from where the roars were coming from. Cloudy waited for a few minutes, making sure nothing else was running towards her before continuing forward.

From then on, whenever there was no path ahead, Cloudy would climb higher, and if there was no way up, she would descend to find a route. After a while, she became completely familiar with the terrain, moving through the trees like a monkey. The journey through the treetops lasted for about an hour. When she reached the settlement to the west, her faint worries were confirmed.

She was at a height of about 20 meters and could clearly see the chaos on the ground - skulls, limbs, and entrails scattered in the bushes. She had seen such a scene before, Titus's "masterpiece" left on the green slope. Cloudy bravely looked down a few more times but still couldn't identify whose bodies they were. She just hoped it wasn't one of the hunters from the settlement.

Beasts wouldn't tear prey apart like this; it was definitely an attack. Realizing this, Cloudy felt her legs go weak. She now felt ridiculous holding her small wooden spear; to the wild people, wasn't it just a toothpick? She clutched her toothpick tightly, afraid to move.

What to do? Her mind went blank after hearing Titus's voice, like a sailor losing his senses upon hearing the sirens' song, only to snap out of it and find herself in the center of the battlefield.

What can a modern person with a stick do here? Not just her legs, now her whole upper body was trembling. She had traveled here, learned many construction skills, even hunting techniques... but fighting hand-to-hand with the locals, even if she wanted to learn, was it possible? If she really wanted to learn, she could only jump down now and be reborn on the spot, becoming a strong hunter like Titus.

"......%...#!!!!" As Cloudy trembled, there was movement on the ground. She hunched her neck, only daring to peek down with her left eye. A sturdy local was sprinting towards the settlement's wooden wall not far away, but Cloudy didn't even see where they had appeared from; it was as if they had suddenly appeared in the bushes.

The unfamiliar wild person was fast, running recklessly, but another person chasing after them was even faster, and they soon engaged in a fierce struggle.

This was Cloudy's first time witnessing humans fighting, yes, fighting. Not like the one-sided slaughter when Titus saved her before, but two evenly matched individuals relentlessly tearing into each other.

She couldn't bear to watch anymore; she wanted to look away, but her neck was frozen. It felt like her brain had split into two parts, one trembling at the bottom, while the other told her that this was knowledge she needed to learn. They would start by tearing each other's ears off because that was the softest part... Cloudy felt like she was going mad.
Their way of fighting was almost like that of wild beasts, with their bulging veins and huge hands continuously striking the opponent's head, and when finding an opening, they would tear into the body with their mouths, treating the skin as easily shredable paper in their hands. Soon, the man who caught up had brutally ended the life of another person.

After the fight, Cloudy also realized that the victorious side was the hunters from the settlement. This made her slightly relieved. Should she call out to him and ask where Titus was? She felt anxious, momentarily unable to steady herself, swaying the tree branch a few times. However, this slight abnormal sound still reached the hunter's ears.

The hunter warily looked up to observe above. Cloudy was afraid he might throw something at her, so she had to quickly stick her head out: "It's me!"

"Cloudy?" The hunter, panting heavily, was very surprised. "Cloudy? Titus's Cloudy?"

"Yes, I'm Titus's Cloudy...! Are you injured? Where's Titus? Where is Titus?"

Upon hearing Cloudy inquire about Titus's condition, the hunter growled out a mix of sorrow and pain, "Titus was taken by them!"