Chapter 84

This might be the first time Titus didn't immediately respond to her. Cloudy knew it wasn't because he was still cognitively impaired from the poisoning, but simply because he didn't know how to answer.

Titus didn't want to hurt her feelings, but he also couldn't leave the settlement. He could only stare at her blankly.

It was also her fault, just because she suddenly gained her freedom and returned to the rainforest, she became a bit arrogant. She impulsively made such an untimely request to Titus. It could be said that she didn't consider any consequences. Cloudy, feeling a bit embarrassed, avoided eye contact with Titus and said, "I was just talking casually, Titus, you don't have to answer."

Titus was still a bit confused. When Cloudy was anxious, she would say a lot of things, but because her pronunciation was not yet proficient, he needed some time to understand some words. Just now, he could only roughly understand what Cloudy said as: "I want to leave the settlement, will you come with me? You'll be safe, and I'll be safe."

Because Cloudy spoke with a very serious expression, Titus didn't know how to respond for a moment. Just when he was troubled, Cloudy suddenly came over and hugged his head, starting to gently stroke it. "Forget what I just said, I was just... not sure how to do better."

"Cloudy has already done better." He lifted his head in Cloudy's soft embrace. "You don't like staying in the settlement either, right? Those days when I saw you helping with things, I thought you were happy."

Doing things and living in a relatively safe environment was indeed joyful, but the thought of "Titus possibly dying suddenly while hunting outside" was too terrifying for her. Now, the external hunting hadn't even started, and he was already captured by the enemy.

Cloudy thought carefully and felt this wasn't something to delve into deeply right now. They were still 50 meters above the ground on a platform in the rainforest. Whatever they discussed, they needed to leave here first. "Are you strong enough now to go back to the settlement?"

Titus nodded, but when he tried to stand up, his legs gave way, and he knelt down with a thud.

"…?" He widened his eyes as if he had experienced something unimaginable. "Cloudy, my legs have no strength."

Cloudy hurried over, pinching Titus's thigh hard, lifting the flesh up by three centimeters. "Does it hurt? Can you feel the pain?"

"It hurts a lot!!!"

Well, not losing sensation, maybe just a side effect. Cloudy let go and gently touched the spot she pinched. "I think you might need a day of rest before you can travel. The reason Titus was able to fight so fiercely yesterday might have been due to being stimulated, with adrenaline surging, which gave strength to his limbs that should have been paralyzed. But after a night's rest, his body has calmed down, and some...
"Strange symptoms began to appear.

'Cloudy... What should I do? Just like before, I need you to take care of me. I feel sad, I am the hunter,' Titus lay on the ground looking helpless, dirty and vulnerable.

In theory, Titus was the stronger one and didn't need her care and worry. Could she trust that Titus's strong metabolism could detoxify him even though he hadn't eaten anything?

'Even as a hunter, you can be taken care of. I'm not from the settlement. Just consider me a hunter too,' Cloudy patted Titus's head. 'I want to go find you something to eat, but I don't know what plants or animals are safe to eat here.'

Although she wanted to go find something for Titus to eat, the height of their location made it difficult to descend. Cloudy swallowed nervously, looking at the various plants surrounding them at this height, the only thing she could possibly catch... were insects.

Cloudy never imagined she would ask Titus such a question one day: 'Here, what insects can I find for us to eat?'

At the mention of insects, the wild man who had been lying dejected on the ground suddenly perked up, his ears pricked with excitement. 'I'm hungry when I hear you mention insects! I want to eat roasted insects!'

There was no luxury for that. Cloudy bit her lip, thinking of jerky and sweet green caterpillar eggs, but at this time of year, those eggs must have turned into insects...

The current environment was indeed a good place to catch insects. While listening to Titus explain which insects to catch and which not to, Cloudy had already seen several busy shadows quickly scurrying away to higher ground to avoid them. Were they insects? Or perhaps small animals.

In addition to insects, Titus also pointed out some moss-like plants that could be picked and eaten. The moss here was no longer just a thin layer of green fluff; it had grown into large fern-like plants, brightly colored and growing in large patches on tree trunks or branches. Titus explained, 'You can peel off a large piece of moss. Not only can you eat it, but there are many insects hidden in the soil it clings to. If they are larvae, even better.'

Since the platform where Cloudy was had no edible resources, she had to climb upwards. Titus was very worried about this and tried to stand up several times to follow Cloudy up the tree, but he ended up collapsing each time due to weak legs. He could only watch as Cloudy climbed higher on the tree trunk, 'Cloudy! Be careful! Remember what I told you, don't touch certain insects!'

'I remember! Don't worry, hurry up and find a way to pee!!'

Titus's face wrinkled again, up to now he hadn't fully grasped everything that was happening in front of him. He was captured? Cloudy rushed into the rainforest alone to save him? He felt powerless all over."
Titus couldn't hold it in?

It's truly unbelievable for Titus, who has spent so many hunting seasons trekking through the rainforest.

"..." Thinking seemed futile as Titus hugged his stomach, focusing on... hoping to relieve himself before Cloudy returned.

Unfortunately, even as Cloudy panted back, he still felt nothing, making him speak to Cloudy with a lack of confidence, "Cloudy, I've failed again."

"It's okay, let's check out the food first." Exhausted, Cloudy had just climbed at least 20 meters upwards to the second platform. She had fashioned a makeshift bag out of leaves and vines to hold the things she collected.

While climbing up, she saw many brightly colored, slender bugs scurrying around. They weren't large but had vivid colors - the things Titus warned not to touch. After reaching the third platform, Cloudy found the moss Titus mentioned. Their roots were deeply embedded in the bark, making them hard to pull out.

But...

"Look, there are so many." Cloudy took out a handful of pale, chubby larvae from her bag. Each was about half the width of three fingers, with a clean, round body slightly stained with mud, yet their shiny skin sparkled in the sunlight.

She placed these chubby babies in front of Titus, watching his eyes widen in surprise, which made her smile too.

Cloudy thought she would scream when she pulled out the moss and saw these disgusting larvae brought up with the roots, but she unexpectedly felt a sense of satisfaction akin to harvesting potatoes. No matter which clump of moss she pulled, there would always be one or two fat worms underneath.

"Cloudy, you're amazing!!"

Watching Titus munching on bugs without feeling repulsed, Cloudy felt a sense of accomplishment, akin to feeding pigs. After receiving praise from Titus, her nose was practically in the air.