Chapter 70: The Swamp Mine

A long time had passed since the red pillar of light had descended. Gradually, day broke.

Unlike the settings in the game, the glider strapped to Qin Fei's back was not particularly fast in flight. In fact, the eagle pursuing him was gaining ground, threatening to overtake him.

While soaring in mid-air, Qin Fei glanced back over his shoulder. The survivor clutched in the eagle’s talons pulled a semi-automatic pistol from his backpack and aimed it in Qin Fei’s direction.

Trying to scare me? Qin Fei wasn’t especially frightened. At such a distance, with both parties airborne, it would be extremely difficult for the other man to land a shot. Still, Qin Fei, ever cautious with his life, thought twice and decided not to take the gamble. He didn’t want to risk being hit by a stray bullet.

Besides, the eagle’s speed was just enough to close the gap, and soon, he would be within striking range. With this in mind, Qin Fei angled his glider sharply and dove into the forest below, which lay beside a marsh.

This entire maneuver was witnessed by the two survivors hot on his trail.

“He’s landed,” said the man dangling from the eagle’s claws.

“Send the signal,” replied the other.

With that, the man produced a skyrocket from his backpack, lit the fuse, and launched it. The rocket burst overhead in a dazzling flare of light—clearly a signal to alert their three companions who lagged behind.

Their message sent, the two men remained airborne, circling above the woods on the eagle’s back. They had no intention of risking entry into the forest themselves; with only two of them, they could easily fall prey to Qin Fei’s traps. It was better to wait for the others to regroup and then attack together. For now, their only task was to patrol from above, making sure Qin Fei didn’t slip away unnoticed.

Once their companions and the Parasaurolophus arrived, they could use its tracking abilities to ferret Qin Fei out of hiding.

After touching down in the woods, Qin Fei discovered a cave. He recalled that there was indeed such a cave in the forest near the island marsh, and deep within it was an ancient artifact—Unity.

Because the cave lay so close to the marsh, both inside and outside, the place teemed with venomous snakes and poisonous insects. There had never been any need for Qin Fei to go looking for this cave, but by a twist of fate, he had stumbled upon it.

Within the forest, Qin Fei could see the eagle circling overhead, clearly keeping watch. There was no way out for him now. And with the enemy’s Parasaurolophus capable of tracking him, simply hiding among the trees would be futile—he would be found.

Bracing himself, Qin Fei slipped into the cave near the marsh. Yet, not far from the entrance, he paused. He was gambling that his pursuers would fail to spot this mineshaft. If they didn’t follow, there would be no need to risk venturing deeper.

About an hour later, just as Qin Fei was about to drift off, voices echoed from outside the cave. Instantly alert, he sprang up and hurriedly stowed Big Nose, still suffering from hypothermia, back into the cryo-chamber.

The conversation outside was distant—he could not make out what the group of five was saying, but that didn’t stop him from preparing. Qin Fei still had seven Y-plant traps in his backpack. He hurriedly set three of them along the only path through the cave.

He had waited until the enemy reached the entrance to set the traps for two reasons. First, according to his system interface, Y-plant traps could only survive a third as long in the cave as they did outside; setting them early would mean they’d wither quickly. Second, these traps could only ensnare the leading person—laying more was pointless. The rest of the group, seeing the first trapped, would simply trigger the others from a safe distance. Preemptively laying all the seeds would be a waste.

Having set his traps, Qin Fei retreated deeper into the cave.

The voices outside sounded again.

“What’s this?”

“Don’t go further—let’s destroy this thing first.”

From the sound of it, someone had triggered a Y-plant trap. Fearing more traps within, the group hesitated to pursue. This played right into Qin Fei’s hands—their hesitation bought him valuable time.

He intended to try crafting insect repellent, as in Ark.

He pulled some radishes, animal fur, a lemon, and a bit of tranquilizer from his backpack, mixing them by hand. Soon, a sticky, oddly scented paste formed in his palm.

[Insect Repellent: After applying this rough ointment, as long as you don’t attack or get too close, the cave’s poisonous snakes and insects will be unable to detect you.]

It really was insect repellent! He hadn’t expected to actually make it.

The recipe for insect repellent in Ark was simple, requiring only common materials. Even so, Qin Fei was likely the only one on the island who could craft it—only someone who had played Ark would know the formula. No one else would even know it existed.

This was the advantage of his foreknowledge of the game’s content and story.

Inside the cave, Y-plant traps only lasted a third as long. Qin Fei guessed that by now, the group of five outside was almost free from the traps’ hold.

He smeared the repellent over every part of his body and ventured deeper into the cave.

The darkness was profound. Wearing night vision goggles, Qin Fei picked his way forward, passing giant scorpions, oversized bats, massive spiders, and ancient millipedes—all venomous horrors. The dangers here were several times greater than those in the cave of the Hunter’s Artifact. Nearly every creature was huge and terrifying.

Yet, thanks to the insect repellent, none of them seemed to notice Qin Fei; they let him pass unmolested.

From behind came the distant crackle of gunfire—the five-man team must have entered the cave. They couldn’t craft insect repellent, but with enough ammunition and caution, they could blast their way through. Qin Fei had no choice but to press on, deeper into the darkness.

Hunched and alert, he crept further in.

With the Parasaurolophus’s help, his pursuers could be sure he was moving ever deeper. With everyone locked in deadly competition, now that they had the chance to kill Qin Fei in the mine, they would not let it slip away. Even if it cost them all their ammunition, killing him would be worth it.

Because the team had to constantly fight off venomous creatures, they advanced much more slowly than Qin Fei. He hurried deeper into the cave, the group in pursuit.

Before long, he reached the innermost chamber—a broad, man-made space with a broken bridge and steps carved into the stone. At the base of the steps was a bottomless pool.

Standing before the pool, Qin Fei carefully examined the cave walls. If his memory served him, somewhere on those walls was the entrance to the chamber containing the Unity artifact.