Chapter 97

"..."

Perhaps, she shouldn't have taken the detour in the first place.

Cloudy looked around in confusion, unfamiliar trees, unfamiliar shrubs, unfamiliar soil... She lowered her head to double-check the leaf map in her hand, then lifted it again to confirm her surroundings. Had she just walked a little to the east? Just to avoid those terrifying insect columns, she took a small detour?

How did she suddenly lose her way!

It wasn't exactly getting completely lost, she just couldn't find the route Titus had given her. If she couldn't get back on that path, she wouldn't be able to locate the traps set along the way. For this reason, Cloudy had just taken off everything on her body, climbed to the highest tree nearby, and barely made it to the highest branch she could stand on to look back. She could see the cliff on the side of the settlement, and herself... she had probably deviated from the original route by about a kilometer.

The most prudent way was actually to return to the gate of the settlement, which meant re-entering the rainforest from outside, but that would take more time. She wanted to check as many trap cages as possible. Going straight back to the original route was more challenging; she needed to walk while climbing trees to confirm her direction, which would be physically demanding.

What to do? Cloudy stood in place rubbing her chin. Should she go back to the settlement for today and come out again tomorrow? But wouldn't it be embarrassing for her to come out with so much equipment in such a hurry? Besides, Cloudy didn't want to go back to the settlement; she had been locked inside for many days and urgently needed to explore outside, to collect more things she hadn't seen before, especially fruits!

Decided not to go back, she decided to bury her head and return to the north. If she really got lost badly at night, she could return to the settlement. After all, she couldn't lose sight of the settlement; it was already in a high place, with a huge cliff nearby. As long as she climbed a tree, she could immediately find her way home.

After making her decision, Cloudy set off again. This time, entering the rainforest was different from the previous days. The sudden rise in temperature caused plants to grow explosively. The vegetation around the settlement was not supposed to be very dense, but now the density of the bushes was comparable to the depths of the rainforest. Most of the trees could no longer be seen, all covered by parasitic vines.

This environment was very dangerous. There might be poisonous animals lurking in the dense vegetation like a blanket. Cloudy walked very carefully with each step, extending her wooden spear to explore, while holding a knife in her free hand. If there was any slight noise around her, she would stop and listen intently, holding her breath.

After about three hundred intense and focused steps, Cloudy had her first discovery of the day. Half a minute earlier, she felt something slide under her foot, so without hesitation, she lifted her foot and stomped...

She caught a strange mud-brown creature, about half a forearm thick, looking like a snake, but with six evenly distributed small claws on its sides, no neck or tail to speak of... Its scales felt very flexible, with standard square-shaped scales. Its eyes were long and located on the top of its head, resembling a flounder.
Up, careful to look not just with one pair of eyes, there should be eyes where the nose should be as well.

This mud snake was stepped on by Cloudy, bursting its rear end, guts spilling all over. The smell was so strong that Cloudy dared not carry it on herself, so she bent down, preparing to dig the soil to bury it.

Halfway through digging the hole, Cloudy felt regretful; after all, this was still a piece of meat... After some hesitation, Cloudy evenly spread the loose soil she had dug out over the mud snake, much like preparing a roast chicken. Once the mud covered it entirely, she tore some leaves around and wrapped it again. After finishing, she added another layer of mud, followed by another layer of leaves.

After wrapping it up, Cloudy leaned in to sniff; the smell had diminished. Satisfied, she placed the mud snake in her hunting pocket and continued on her way.

Along the way, Cloudy tried using a bow and arrow to shoot down a large fruit from a tree. It took three arrows to finally dislodge the heavy fruit from the treetop. Walking over to pick up the fruit, the arrow had sunk in half an inch... Apart from her slightly off aim, the bow performed quite well in close-range shooting! She pulled out the wooden arrow, noting its weight; perhaps making lighter ones could lead to shooting even further.

The fruit was just for practice, and with its unpleasant sour smell oozing from the split, Cloudy casually tossed it aside. From then on, it was a spree; anything hanging on a tree, be it fruit or peculiar small animals, Cloudy would immediately draw her bow. Her enthusiasm for hunting was evident, hitting the target 2 out of 10 times was considered good, but she also had to frantically retrieve arrows as she didn't have enough. By now, half of her wooden arrows were damaged.

This was much more fun than wooden spears! She enjoyed playing with her bow and arrows so much that when she snapped out of it, she realized time had passed, and it was getting late. The light in the rainforest had noticeably dimmed; she had barely made it back to the north, the route Titus had marked for her.

Cloudy set her equipment down and climbed to the top of a tree again; it was around 4 PM. The settlement was roughly 10 kilometers away... She should be nearing the first trap location Titus had marked on the map, but due to deviating from the initial path, she might miss it. However, she wasn't worried; moving closer to the large lake would lead her to the second, third, and fourth trap locations. She wouldn't miss those.

The route wasn't a big issue, but time was running out. If she didn't return to the settlement soon, it would be dark. Despite practicing with her bow and arrow, she had little to show for it. Going back like this felt unsatisfying... Without much thought, Cloudy almost instantly decided to spend the night outside. She packed up and continued forward to find a suitable camping spot, carrying two days' worth of provisions.

Now, the weather is extremely hot, and by midnight, the rainforest would be very humid. Camping on the damp ground would result in waking up covered in sweat the next day. She hoped to find a flat area, a tree hollow, or a large rock before the sun set.
While Cloudy was lost in thought, she suddenly stumbled, her foot stepping into empty space.

"Uh...!" She managed to keep her mouth shut and not scream. The hole she stepped into wasn't large; her arms stretched out just enough to get stuck at the entrance. After she managed to climb out using her hands and feet, she looked back at the pit. It was a very regular-looking hole, with fallen leaves covering the surface. A small stick was stuck in the ground nearby, serving as a marker. She quickly took out her leaf map to check the surroundings... It seemed she had stumbled upon the first trap by sheer accident!

What surprised Cloudy even more was the sound coming from the pit, very faint. It sounded weak and muffled. She peered into the hole and saw an animal she had never seen before, with unusually large eyes, short and thick fur on its head in a light yellow-green color, and a dark green body.

The creature's head resembled that of a lemur, but it had no ears, or they were very tiny and pressed against its head. Its front paws were similar to dinosaur claws, and its hind legs were curled up, making them hard to distinguish. It was about the size of a teddy bear, with a large belly and a long tail, possibly a creature that hunted in the canopy.

The strange big-eyed monkey was now staring anxiously at Cloudy, too scared to make a sound.

Cloudy crouched at the entrance, staring straight at her prey. She didn't see any obvious wounds on the creature, assuming it had accidentally fallen into the trap. She didn't dare reach in to capture it recklessly, as the green monkey's front paws were very long, similar to a sloth's. Getting scratched by them would not be pleasant.

She adjusted her position to sit by the hole, laying out the bag she had prepared specifically for trapping wild animals, and then took out the mud snake she had caught earlier that morning. After scraping off the dirt covering the snake, a pungent smell immediately spread out, which the green monkey in the trap clearly noticed, emitting that strange sound again.

However, it didn't make any other moves and remained defensively crouched at the bottom of the pit. Cloudy picked up a chunk of meat and threw it into the trap to observe. When the meat landed on the green monkey, it startled and began frantically spinning around inside.

"Don't be scared, this is food," Cloudy said as she threw another piece of meat in. Since the creature reacted to the smell of the mud snake, it proved it was carnivorous. Just in case, Cloudy also threw in some leaves and dried fruits. After all the food was inside, Cloudy sat at the entrance patiently waiting, and the green monkey gradually calmed down, beginning to sniff the snake meat with its nose. About five minutes later, with its eyes still wide in fear, it started gnawing at the meat.

It was still in a frightened state... If she forcibly tried to pull it out with vines, it would likely be stressed. Cloudy decided to continue feeding this strange monkey, letting it get used to being fed and to her presence.

To prevent other predators from checking the trap at night, Cloudy built a makeshift cover over the trap hole with branches arranged in a cross shape, securing them with stones, and lightly covering them with leaves. She planned to find a suitable camping spot nearby to look after this rare catch of hers.

She chose a camping spot 10 meters away from the trap.
Under the distant trees, there are many tangled tree roots protruding from the muddy soil surface, barely isolating the damp soil. Cloudy covered the roots with tree leaves, then constructed a triangular tent frame using nearby collected branches, covered it with leaves, stacked a circle of stones outside, and finally tightly sealed the tent with mud and leaves to block out any odors.

After completing these tasks, the rainforest had already started to darken. She went to feed the green monkeys one last time before retreating into her own small tent. In reality, she dared not truly fall asleep, only dozing lightly with her eyes closed. Any noise outside the tent would make her alert, opening her eyes and gripping the dagger in her hand.

By the latter half of the night, she simply stopped trying to sleep, sitting with her knees hugged in the stuffy tent, simply resting with her eyes closed, the wooden spear held straight against the tent opening under her arm.

The night remained relatively calm, except for occasional terrifying rustling footsteps... When the light returned to the rainforest, Cloudy immediately put on her leaf cloak and returned to the trap, slowly lifting the cover placed on top to check on the monkeys.

The green monkey was still alive, and clearly still sleeping before she lifted the cover. It curled up again, wide-eyed, staring outside the hole. Cloudy dug out the remaining mud snakes from the ground and continued to feed the green monkeys.

She wasn't in a rush to leave; she could spend the next two days here. Food could be gathered from the surroundings, and the tent could be further upgraded for safety... In any case, she was determined to bring this ugly creature from the trap back to the settlement alive.