Chapter 90

Two insects with their heads smashed, a rodent with a crushed jaw... that was her harvest for the afternoon. The prey was piled under the large tree at the meeting point, just a few accomplishments that broke two bone spears and three makeshift wooden spears.

By the way, in the recent haphazard hunting action, Cloudy slightly sprained her foot, not serious, just uncomfortable, making it impossible for her to leap and run around. Now she could only sit under the tree, rubbing her ankle, with several hours until sunset. Titus wouldn't be back for a while, so she had to figure out how to pass the time here.

Should she be glad she didn't catch any large prey, or else the smell might attract strange things? But ultimately, such thoughts were somewhat self-aggrandizing... Cloudy propped up her face, looking at the broken wooden spears at her feet. From the beginning, she knew she wasn't skilled in hunting; capturing larger prey required tools, and they had to be sophisticated.

Primitive weapons like wooden spears, axes, and hammers couldn't enhance her hunting skills. The most suitable hunting weapon for her would definitely be a bow and arrow. She had some ideas about crafting the bow, but what about the bowstring? What were ancient bowstrings made of... animal tendons or hair?

Cloudy counted on her fingers the things she planned to make in the future... bow and arrow, hoe, hammer, warm house, warm clothing, charcoal house, planting, breeding. So many! How did she suddenly feel like she was back in the pioneering stage? Indeed, after entering the settlement, the overall living standard improved, subtly changing her requirements for tools.

When living on the Green Slope, her attitude towards furniture and tools was "having them or not is fine, as long as I'm alive." Living in the cave, her attitude towards furniture and tools was "as long as it works, give it a try." Coming to the settlement and having a better environment, this attitude gradually shifted to "wanting to make things convenient and useful, just like modern practical items. It would be even better if I could build a rocket to launch me back."

She was creating difficulties for herself... Cloudy chuckled to herself, planning to abandon unrealistic fantasies for now, and while Titus was away, she would make a few trap cages. There were plenty of materials on the ground to pass the time.

Trap cages were relatively simple tools. She had already figured out how to use plant thorns or fish bones to create a structure that would trap when triggered, although the success rate was low and not very secure... but leaving them in the wild for about ten days could yield some results. Sometimes small animals would be lured into the cage by bait, and as the cage door fell, the prey would frantically rush forward, breaking through branches to escape, but getting stuck between the branches was also common.

To increase the success rate, she would dig a not-too-deep hole and place the trap cage...
The young ones are put in the pit. Previously, Cloudy set traps to get food, but now she's trying to catch small animals suitable for breeding, preferably a pair - one male and one female... She's still dreaming too big.

After making two trap cages, Titus returned. He didn't seem too happy, and the reason was simple - he didn't find any decent prey. Cloudy had put a few small animals that barely filled his pocket, so today's harvest was quite meager.

"All of these, give them to Matriarch to distribute, we don't have any new food." He walked up to Cloudy, opened the bag with a swoosh, revealing some slightly smelly animal carcasses inside. "There's nothing around."

"My harvest isn't much either." Cloudy pointed to the ground by her feet. She wasn't as pessimistic as Titus; after all, she wasn't a hunter. The bits and pieces on the ground were enough for their meals for the day. Maybe not enough for Titus, but she was sure it was enough for her. "There are no big prey nearby. They've all left."

"Uh..." Titus sighed, sitting down next to Cloudy with a dejected look. He had gone very far to track prey but ended up empty-handed. "I should have brought back something big. The meat you made last night was delicious; we won't have much to eat tonight..."

Cloudy patted Titus' shoulder reassuringly. She knew the little one was upset about not catching any prey. "After the rainy season, food is scarce. There used to be animals, alive, near the settlement. Should we bring them back?"

"Don't kill the animals, bring them back." Cloudy's vocabulary was a bit limited, so she started to anxiously gesture with her hands. "Feed them, inside the settlement. And then, they stay alive." Thankfully, Titus was smart enough to quickly understand her fragmented expression. "Sometimes we do that; if we accidentally get wild animal cubs, we bring them back to raise."

As you can imagine, in the current environment and with the locals' limited knowledge of raising animals, even if they get precious wild animal cubs, they can't raise them properly. The cubs usually end up stressed and dying without their parents' protection, with the longest surviving for about 20 days.

Adult wild animals have stable vital signs, but it's hard to control them in the settlement, and it's very difficult to capture adult wild animals without harming them. In the jungle, a wounded wild animal is almost as good as dead.

"Cloudy wants to catch wild animals; it's very difficult."

Yes, everything is very difficult in this era. Because many things are the root of something taken for granted in the future. Cloudy continued to prop up her chin and look at Titus with a slight tilt of her head. "Have you ever succeeded?"

A look of confusion appeared in his double pupils, as if he was reminiscing. "I don't know, they all died in the end. We ate them."

That's how it is...

"Titus, I..."
"She knew it would be very difficult, but decided to give it a try anyway. Cloudy pushed the trap cage towards Titus. 'I want to use this to catch small prey. It's what I used to eat often in the caves, that small beast.'

Titus immediately recognized the creature Cloudy was describing, its fat was used by Cloudy to make delicious food.

'But I don't know where it roams. Maybe in caves and dark places...' She placed the cage on Titus's knee. Since Titus didn't go out hunting, and the settlement didn't bring back decent food, she suggested they do some research together. 'The prey must be unharmed, wrap the cage in leaves immediately after catching it, do not use your hands.'

Blocking the view and sunlight, avoiding contact with unfamiliar limbs can reduce the stress probability of the beast. Explaining the reasons behind this was complicated, she simply insisted that Titus do as she said. 'Let's go home together today and make many cages.'

Whatever Cloudy said, Titus naturally agreed. 'Does Cloudy's settlement capture live prey and raise them?'

'Yes.' Not only that, they even raise pigs in tall buildings... The thought of plump, white pigs made Cloudy's eyes slightly moist. She might have forgotten the taste of pork belly. 'In my settlement, it's not me who raises them. If I did, it might not succeed.'

Titus nodded as if he understood, then shook his head. 'Cloudy is different from others, Cloudy will succeed.'

'...Is that so.' She quietly shuffled closer to Titus, allowing their arms to touch. 'Titus is also different from others.'

'Yes! I am the best hunter in the settlement!'

But Titus immediately lowered his head after speaking. 'Not the best hunter today, but later...'

'Every day you are the best hunter.' Cloudy interrupted Titus, patting his strong arm. 'Because Titus is going to help me catch a lot of live prey, right?'

'Right!!'"