Chapter Sixty-Eight: The Red Light Column Air Drop (Part One)

Marshlands are perilous by nature, and even more so at night. To avoid the snakes and insects lurking within, Qin Fei deliberately took a longer route, skirting the edge of the swamp where the land rose and the ground was dry. He reached the outskirts of the mangrove forest.

By the light of the moon, he spotted a survivor lying on the ground not far away—a man. His eyes were shut tightly, and several small wounds on his body were still bleeding. Around him, a pack of small, bright-eyed dinosaurs circled and darted about, their movements restless. Judging by the marks, it was clear these creatures had inflicted his injuries.

Qin Fei’s expression turned wary. He had no intention of approaching the man, nor did he plan to seize any items that might fall from the corpse. Instead, he motioned for Big Nose to retreat a few steps. The dinosaurs surrounding the fallen man were not to be trifled with.

These diminutive dinosaurs were a pack of Compsognathus, denizens of the mangroves. For any survivor, a swarm of Compsognathus was extremely dangerous. In some respects, they were even more terrifying than raptors or some of the larger carnivorous dinosaurs.

First of all, Compsognathus moved with astonishing speed, and their small size made them nearly impossible to hit, even with firearms. Secondly, though their bite force and fighting ability were weak, their attacks delivered a deadly toxin. This venom was not potent enough to affect most of the larger dinosaurs, but it was more than sufficient to bring down a grown man—often with a single bite.

Fortunately for Qin Fei, he was mounted atop Big Nose. The Compsognathus, seeing the towering Oligocene elephant, recognized it as far too large to be prey, and kept their distance.

The unconscious man on the ground was clad head to toe in iron armor. The Compsognathus had managed to bite him through the gaps in his armor and render him unconscious, but they could not pierce the metal itself, and so could not kill him outright. All they could do was circle, waiting for an opportunity.

Qin Fei’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully. He pulled from his backpack the compound crossbow he had acquired earlier and fitted a steel bolt into the slot. Though he had no intention of approaching the man or the pack of Compsognathus, he knew this was an opportunity he could not ignore. Every rival eliminated was one less competitor.

He squeezed the trigger; the steel bolt flew out with a sharp twang. At such close range, and with the man lying motionless, the bolt pierced his iron helmet and struck his head with unerring precision.

A projection of the man’s photograph appeared in the sky above.

Survivors remaining on the island: thirteen or fewer.

A few seconds later, a pile of supplies spilled from the dead man's backpack. In the darkness, something caught Qin Fei’s eye—a massive bow-like weapon glowing with green light. The design was unmistakable.

A strange look crossed Qin Fei’s face. He had found another ancient artifact.

Ordinarily, with the darkness and the pack of Compsognathus nearby, he would never have risked retrieving the fallen items. But for an artifact, it was worth the gamble.

Qin Fei patted Big Nose’s flank, signaling for a charge toward the loot. Enduring several attacks from the Compsognathus, he managed to snatch up the artifact and hold it securely in his grasp. Using its glow, he quickly scanned the rest of the items on the ground. Finding nothing else of value, he fed Big Nose a stimulant and hastily departed.

[Ancient Artifact of Wisdom: In the depths of adversity, wisdom and cunning may reverse your fortunes.]

This time, Qin Fei had obtained the artifact of wisdom. Its resting place had been a mine at the base of the island’s volcano. Like the hunter’s artifact, it was one of the materials required to summon the ultimate creature, the Broodmother Spider.

Carefully avoiding the dangers that might lurk within the mangroves, Qin Fei reached a mountain dotted with open veins of ore. The ground was littered with copper, iron, and lead, and even the occasional crystal. Above, the red supply drop hovered.

He arrived just in time. The red beam atop the mountain had descended by four-fifths; it would touch down in about six minutes.

From the summit, he heard gunfire.

As he suspected, he was not the only one drawn by the red supply drop.

Moments after the shots rang out, the image of a survivor appeared in the night sky—another casualty. Qin Fei surmised the survivor had likely been killed by the gunshots from the mountaintop.

He held his shotgun across his chest, expression vigilant, eyes sharp as he surveyed his surroundings. Satisfied that no one was near, he planted two Y-shaped mutant plant traps along the mountain path. The slope was steep and treacherous; without ropes or climbing tools, ascending directly was nearly impossible. The path he trapped was the only practical way down.

With the traps set, Qin Fei and Big Nose concealed themselves behind a boulder. He was gambling that whoever retrieved the drop would descend the mountain along this path.

Not long after the survivor’s death, the red beam faded from the summit. Qin Fei, growing drowsy as he waited, was jolted awake by voices in the distance.

“Don’t rush, we’ll talk when we’re back.”

“All right, just hurry up!”

The conversation was muffled, the voices low, but Qin Fei judged there were two of them. After a brief exchange, silence returned, replaced by the sound of hurried footsteps drawing nearer.

Instantly alert, Qin Fei crouched in the shadows, watching.

Sure enough, two male survivors made their way down the path—one riding a raptor, the other jogging behind. Qin Fei frowned. Like himself, the other group had domesticated a dinosaur, and not just any dinosaur, but a formidable raptor. These two would be difficult opponents.

As they pressed on, several Y-shaped tendrils burst from the ground, ensnaring the raptor’s legs.

“What the hell is this?” the rider shouted, leaping from the raptor’s back as soon as he felt it trapped. More tendrils erupted, coiling around his limbs and pinning him to the ground.

Panic overtook him. “Help me! Hurry!” he cried to his companion.

Qin Fei’s heart leapt. His two Y-traps had worked, restraining both a raptor and a survivor. Now, he only needed to deal with the last man.

The second survivor drew a dagger, attempting to slice through the Y-plant’s tendrils. “So tough… I can’t cut through!”

The Y-plant’s tendrils were incredibly tough—fire was their only weakness. Even a blade could not sever them.

For the moment, the two were helplessly entangled.

At that instant, Big Nose, bearing its Oligocene elephant saddle, burst out from behind a nearby rock.