Raw materials were running low again, with only 1 stone, 1 iron, and 1 copper left.
After some thought, Qin Zhiyu took out wood to make planks, bundled them together with old clothes, and fashioned a simple shield.
Dressed in black, Qin Zhiyu blended completely into the night.
She tiptoed to a spot about 20 meters away from the cactus, where its dark silhouette was faintly visible standing in the darkness.
Carefully, she planted a torch in the soil—providing a bit of light without getting too close and risking an attack.
Cactus monsters typically fired their cactus thorns or hurled cactus fruits. Being hit by either was unpleasant, and some were even poisonous. She wasn’t sure if this cactus was toxic or not.
Thinking this, Qin Zhiyu took an axe from her bracelet, aimed at the middle of the cactus, and threw it like a javelin thrower.
This served two purposes: to inflict some damage and to test the cactus’s attack range.
After throwing the axe, Qin Zhiyu quickly drew her iron sword and held the shield in front of her.
With the sound of the axe sinking into flesh, she knew her aim was true—this strike would surely deal significant damage to the cactus.
“Whoosh—” A sharp whistling sound cut rapidly through the air.
Qin Zhiyu only heard a series of thuds against her shield as the cactus’s thorns embedded themselves into it. The assault lasted only about two seconds before stopping.
To be safe, Qin Zhiyu took a few steps back, still holding her shield. Looking at the thick, sturdy thorns deeply embedded in the wood—at least a centimeter deep—she inwardly marveled at how formidable this mini-boss was. If these dense thorns struck a human body, which was far less resilient than wood, they’d turn a person into a sieve in no time!
However, the cactus’s thorns were limited. If she threw a few more times, they might run out, greatly reducing the threat when she moved in close to hack at it.
With a plan in mind, Qin Zhiyu didn’t hesitate. She took out stone axes, stone swords, and the like, maintaining a steady rhythm as she hurled them at the cactus one after another. She waited for it to stop firing thorns before throwing the next weapon.
Back and forth it went until she had thrown four axes and a stone sword. By then, the cactus showed no reaction.
Seizing the opportunity, Qin Zhiyu rushed forward, hacking forcefully at the cactus’s two large, nearly circular pads.
Striking the cactus felt like chopping into dry wood—nothing like the smoothness of an ordinary cactus. Persistently, she swung over a dozen times before the cactus finally split.
It seemed that if she had come a few days later, even an iron sword might not have been enough to harm it. The growth ability of these mutated creatures was truly not to be underestimated.
In her previous timeline, during the early stages, resources in her sanctuary were scarce. Forced by survival needs, she ventured out to fight monsters and open treasure chests, gaining some resources. But these were far from enough to endure the remaining Heavenly Disasters.
Later, the harsh environment made it impossible for her to go outside, and her early preparations were insufficient, leading to a vicious cycle that continuously squeezed her pocket dimension.
Having barely survived the fourth Heavenly Disaster, she went straight to the Ruins upon emerging, still unsure what the Mutated Flora and Fauna and the Alien Races mentioned by others actually looked like.
Putting these thoughts aside, Qin Zhiyu looked at the now motionless Cactus, turned around to pick up the scattered tools, and illuminated the surrounding darkness with her torch.
It was a Red Iron Treasure Chest!
Given that the previous Bronze Treasure Chest had already yielded such coveted items, this Red Iron Treasure Chest naturally filled Qin Zhiyu with even greater anticipation.
Qin Zhiyu touched the massive Cactus to see if the system would respond, recalling how the vines she had killed earlier were recycled by the system and converted into Experience Points. She wondered if this could be collected as well.
After a while, the system showed no reaction, only adding 300 Experience Points when the Cactus was killed.
Qin Zhiyu stared at the Cactus, unsure how to handle this bulky thing. Without flesh and blood, it likely wouldn’t attract carnivorous animals, and it had no sap—dry and rough, it probably wouldn’t taste good.
She noticed the Cactus bore rings of fruit, plump and ripe, glowing a tempting crimson. Using her sword, she carefully pried the fruits loose and stored them in her bracelet.
Afterward, Qin Zhiyu headed to the back mountain with her torch to scout the terrain.
However, upon arriving, she found the area undeveloped, covered in dense forest with no discernible paths. Qin Zhiyu abandoned her scouting plans, as it was currently the Dark Day, and without a torch, visibility was nearly nonexistent, making exploration inconvenient.
Returning to the site of yesterday’s skirmish, Qin Zhiyu pushed through the thick grass on the right side, curious about where the bandits had come from.
There were only two possibilities: either they had been hiding in the woods unnoticed while she was chopping trees, then ascended the stairs to ambush her in advance, or there was a path behind the grass leading upward.
After investigating, Qin Zhiyu found no path behind the grass—only a gentle slope. Thus, it was almost certain the bandits had come up the stairs, masking their footsteps with the noise of her tree-chopping, all while the darkness obscured their movements.
Having reviewed yesterday’s events, Qin Zhiyu set out again, determined to survey the area within 500 meters of her mountain base.
She aimed to survey the surrounding territory after each Heavenly Disaster to prevent the emergence of any species beyond her control.
Stowing her shield and advancing with her Iron Sword and torch, she noted that a single torch burned for ten hours under normal conditions. Qin Zhiyu’s assessment was, “Products of the Heavenly Disasters are always top-notch.”
Checking the Two-Dimensional Map in her system, Qin Zhiyu had already surveyed the 500-meter radius over the past two days. She divided the area around her base into four quadrants based on the four corners of this radius.
By surveying each quadrant twice over the next two days, she could complete the exploration of all four areas.
After walking for a quarter of an hour, she reached the northwest edge. Standing at the boundary, Qin Zhiyu saw no immediate dangers in the torch-lit area and heard no unusual sounds, so she activated her detection skill.
【System: Detection complete. Two-Dimensional Map updated.】
【Jujube Python: A branch of the Python species, with smooth, tough skin ideal for crafting armor. Fond of red jujubes, hunters seeking it must first locate a Jujube Tree. Its weakness is…】
“Hiss…”
Just as Qin Zhiyu was reading this string of words, she heard the sound of a python’s hiss. The torchlight fell upon the silver giant python, its glossy scales reflecting an orange glow.
Before Qin Zhiyu could even counterattack, the seemingly clumsy but actually highly agile Jujube Python slithered swiftly to her feet.
“Ah!” She hastily dodged, but it was too late—the massive, icy serpent had already coiled around her waist. As the python tightened its grip, she felt as though her waist would snap. At that moment, the snake’s head began to slither upward toward her upper body…