"The herbivores," Huang Tang whispered, "but getting stepped on would still turn you into a meat patty."
The three of them held their breath, waiting for the herd of Diplodocuses to move away before continuing forward.
Along the way, they discovered quite a few resources.
Steel, concrete, bricks, wood...
Some were in tree hollows, some in rock crevices, and some even next to a nest of dinosaur eggs.
Jiang Golan wanted to grab the steel near the dinosaur eggs, but Huang Tang pulled her back.
"Don't move."
He pointed to a spot not far away.
A massive Maiasaura was watching them, its eyes full of caution.
Huang Tang waved at it, signaling no harm.
The Maiasaura watched them for a moment, then lowered its head to continue tending to its eggs.
The three of them skirted around the area and continued their search.
A few hours later, Huang Tang took stock of their haul.
Steel ×480, concrete ×860, bricks ×420, glass ×70, wood ×90.
"Still a bit short," he said to Cai Lin. "We're 20 short on steel, 140 on concrete, 80 on bricks, 30 on glass, and 10 on wood. As for the blueprints... still haven't found them."
"The blueprints probably can only be found in treasure chests."
Cai Lin frowned.
The number of treasure chests was incredibly scarce; there might only be a few in an entire map.
But the [Jurassic World] they were in was vast, and they had only explored the tip of the iceberg!
Huang Tang checked the time; there was just over an hour left before the Any Door closed.
"Let's head back," he said. "We'll search on the way, and if we can't find it, we'll come back next time."
The three of them turned around and started heading back.
After about ten minutes, a voice suddenly called out from the woods nearby.
"Hey, wait up!"
The three immediately became alert, with Huang Tang pulling out a crossbow and positioning himself in front of the two women.
A man emerged from behind a tree.
He had a distinctive appearance.
A deep scar ran from the corner of his left eye to the corner of his mouth, as if slashed by a sharp weapon.
The scar hadn't fully healed, its dark red hue making him look both fierce and disheveled.
He raised his hands to show he meant no harm. "Don't worry! I'm alone, unarmed!"
Huang Tang didn't lower his crossbow. "What do you want?"
The scarred man glanced at the crossbow in Huang Tang's hand, then at the two women behind him, forcing a smile. "I've seen you guys wandering around here for a while. You have that ability to make dinosaurs retreat, right?" Visit novelping.com for the full chapter.
Huang Tang's heart skipped a beat.
Had this guy been watching them in secret?
"What do you mean?" he asked, keeping his expression neutral.
The scarred man took two steps forward, then stopped, pointing in a direction. "I know there's a treasure chest nearby, a silver one. But the place is too dangerous; I can't handle it alone. I want to team up with you."
"Where is it?"
"The Tyrannosaurus Rex's nest," the scarred man whispered. "There's a T-Rex guarding it. I have a way to get the chest out, but I need someone to distract the T-Rex. Your ability to make dinosaurs retreat is perfect for that."
Huang Tang was silent for a few seconds.
A silver chest?
That could be a great find, possibly containing the [Five-story Luxury Villa Blueprints] they needed!
"We can cooperate," he said, "but how do we split it?"
"Fifty-fifty," the scarred man suggested. "You distract the T-Rex, I'll grab the chest, and we'll split the contents evenly."
Cai Lin sneered. "What if you run off with the chest? We'd be left with nothing."
The scarred man was prepared for this. He pulled a backpack from his System Space and tossed it on the ground.
"Inside is all my resources and materials, as collateral," he said, opening the backpack for them to verify. "These are enough for me to upgrade to a Three-story Small Western-style Building. If I break the deal, they're yours."
Huang Tang looked at the pile of resources, then at the scarred man.
This guy... seemed sincere?
He glanced at Cai Lin.
Cai Lin shook her head slightly, signaling caution.
But Huang Tang had already made up his mind.
"Alright," he nodded. "Lead the way."
The scarred man sighed in relief, picked up the backpack, and handed it to Huang Tang, smiling amicably. "Don't worry, before I got into this survival game, I was a teacher."
"Hmm..."
Huang Tang put the backpack into his System Space and followed the scarred man with the two women.
After about twenty minutes, they reached an open area.
A massive nest sat at the base of a cliff, built with thick branches and mud, at least several meters in diameter.
Inside the nest, a Tyrannosaurus Rex lay sleeping.
Its enormous body rose and fell with each breath, occasionally snorting, the hot air making the surrounding vegetation sway.
Deep in the nest, a silver treasure chest lay quietly.
"That's the silver chest, I wasn't lying, right?" the scarred man whispered.
Huang Tang nodded and asked, "What's the plan?"
"You provoke the T-Rex, lead it away from the nest. Once it leaves, I'll sneak in and grab the chest," the scarred man explained. "After I get it, we'll meet up over at that hill."
Huang Tang looked in the direction he pointed and nodded.
"Let's start." Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
He had Cai Lin and Jiang Golan retreat to a safe distance, then approached the T-Rex's nest.
The scarred man quietly circled to the other side of the nest.
Huang Tang picked up a stone and hurled it at the nest.
The stone bounced off the T-Rex, but it didn't react.
He threw another, hitting its head.
The T-Rex's eyes snapped open, its massive eyeballs locking onto him.
"Roar—!!!"
A deafening roar erupted as the T-Rex stood up and charged at Huang Tang.
Huang Tang turned and ran, pulling out a card as he did.
Just as the T-Rex was about to catch up, he suddenly turned back, stomping his foot and shouting:
"Retreat! Retreat! Retreat!"
The T-Rex froze, then began to back away.
One step, two steps, three steps.
But as soon as it finished retreating, it lunged forward again.
Huang Tang continued to stomp:
"Retreat! Retreat! Retreat!"
The T-Rex retreated once more.
And so, Huang Tang ran while shouting, leading the T-Rex further away.
The scarred man seized the opportunity, darting into the nest and grabbing the silver chest before running off.
Huang Tang, while dealing with the T-Rex, kept an eye on the situation.
Seeing the scarred man with the chest, he felt relieved.
But then, the scarred man suddenly stopped.
Holding the chest, he turned around and gave Huang Tang a sinister smile.
Then he let out a sharp whistle.
Whoosh—!
Two figures emerged from the woods on either side.
A man and a woman, both armed with crossbows, aimed their arrows at Huang Tang and the women.
Cai Lin and Jiang Golan's faces turned pale, and they quickly ran to Huang Tang's side.
Huang Tang also stopped, continuing to stomp and shout "Retreat! Retreat! Retreat!" to keep the T-Rex at bay, while coldly looking at the scarred man:
"What do you mean by this?"
The scarred man laughed.
"Thanks, buddy. I'll be taking the chest, and as for you..." He shrugged, "you'll just have to die."