Chapter 19: Map permissions, hunt!

Map Authority?

Xu Xin's mind stirred, and a map appeared in his thoughts. Some areas were already lit up, while most areas remained dark.

Upon closer inspection, the illuminated areas were places he had previously visited, starting from his birthplace, forming an arc to the riverside, following along the river, and finally illuminating a large area around the lake.

The map showed all the places he had been to, with remarkable clarity. He could see the locations of the black bear cave, the lake, and his treehouse. The entire resource area emitted a faint, misty green light.

At the same time, across the entire map, both in illuminated and unilluminated areas, unevenly distributed red dots were scattered, and these red dots were moving.

"Are these red dots the beasts outside?" Xu Xin looked at the five red dots near his treehouse. One slightly larger red dot was surrounded by four smaller ones. He looked outside and indeed saw a black bear surrounded by four wolves.

He then looked towards the center of the lake, where a red dot as bright as the sun was emitting dazzling light, surrounded by numerous small red dots. This must be the giant anaconda.

Xu Xin looked up towards the anaconda, and what he saw made his pupils constrict.

The anaconda was still facing the direction of Xu Xin's treehouse, flicking its tongue. Its pitch-black eyes seemed to meet Xu Xin's gaze directly, gleaming with cold moonlight, sending chills down his spine.

Could it be that he had really been discovered by this giant anaconda? If so, he would have absolutely no chance of survival!

Before Xu Xin could finish lamenting, he saw the giant anaconda that had surfaced begin to move.

The enormous anaconda body emerged from the water, bringing a curtain of water like a waterfall, washing away the bloodstains on the shore. Xu Xin, who had eaten the red berries, could clearly see countless fish being carried into the air and then falling back into the water.

The giant anaconda opened its mouth towards Xu Xin's direction, flicking its tongue and making hissing sounds. Its enormous, abyss-like crimson mouth made Xu Xin feel as if it could swallow the entire treehouse in one bite.

Just as Xu Xin was clenching his teeth, his heart almost jumping out of his chest, the giant anaconda suddenly turned its head and plunged into the water. Its body formed an arch on the water surface, its rapidly moving form like a giant rotating wheel. Finally, its tail emerged and submerged, and the entire anaconda body disappeared from the surface, leaving only ripples on the water.

The map appeared in Xu Xin's mind, and at this moment, the dazzling red dot on the map gradually faded and disappeared, leaving only the smaller red dots chaotically swimming around the center of the lake.

"It can't be seen when it dives underwater? No, that's not right. The other small red dots are still visible. Could it be that this lake is very deep and connected to other places, and the giant anaconda has now gone elsewhere?"

When Xu Xin first saw this lake, he thought the center looked very deep, and now it seemed to be true. It was likely connected to another place, otherwise, how could such a huge anaconda hide and survive in a lake the size of a reservoir.

Whatever the situation, at least the giant anaconda was no longer watching Xu Xin's treehouse, and his tense mood relaxed a little.

"This ability I've gained is really powerful, directly marking the enemies' positions on the map. It's practically x-ray vision!"

Xu Xin discovered that not only could he see red dots on the areas of the map he had already illuminated, but he could also see red dots on the black unexplored areas. This was an extremely powerful ability; at least he wouldn't have to worry about being ambushed by beasts when exploring new areas.

Looking back, he noticed that one of the red dots near his treehouse had disappeared.

Xu Xin's eyes lit up as he thought of something and immediately looked down.

At this moment, one wolf had already fallen to the bear's claws, and the other three wolves, though covered in wounds, were still surrounding the black bear, growling softly. The hungry black bear, although it had killed one wolf, was also in a sorry state. Its entire body was covered in claw marks from the wolves, and even one of its eyes had been clawed out, truly becoming a "one-eyed bear."

After a standoff of nearly five minutes, both sides perhaps realized they had nothing to gain from each other and would only end up mutually wounded. After one wolf let out a howl, the remaining three wolves slowly backed away, then turned tail and ran.

Xu Xin looked at the map. Perhaps due to the battle between the black bear and the wolves, there were no other red dots around his treehouse except for the black bear. The bear, now covered in wounds, was turning its back to Xu Xin, enjoying this hard-earned meal.

Xu Xin admitted he was a bit tempted.

This black bear was very likely the one from the bear cave. Bears are solitary animals; only mother bears with cubs live together, and once the cubs grow up, they separate to live alone. In other words, there's usually only one adult black bear in a cave.

If this black bear was indeed the one from the bear cave, killing it here would be like removing a potential threat.

He gripped the stone spear tightly in his hand, deciding to take a gamble.

The black bear was just below the treetop, which meant Xu Xin could use the treehouse's ability to descend from above and directly stab the bear.

No sooner said than done.

Xu Xin gripped the stone spear tightly. To keep his mental state at its best, he ate a blue-quality orange that could invigorate his spirit. Instantly, his mental fatigue was swept away, and any lingering drowsiness disappeared without a trace.

Xu Xin took a deep breath, extended his left hand (the one not holding a weapon) towards the circular plate representing the door, and gripped the stone spear tightly.

Passing through the undulating door, with banyan tree roots wrapped around his waist, Xu Xin pointed the spear tip downwards, aiming at the back of the black bear's head below, silently counting down in his mind.

Three, two, one!

Under Xu Xin's control, he felt the roots around his waist loosen, and he plummeted towards the black bear at almost free-fall speed.

The feeling of weightlessness once again gave Xu Xin the thrill of bungee jumping in his original world, but he had no time to enjoy such sensations. Instead, his eyes were fixed on the black bear on the ground, gripping the stone spear tightly.

The black bear, with its back to Xu Xin, was enjoying the delicious wolf meat at that moment, completely unaware of Xu Xin's sudden descent from above. With a "squelch" sound, accompanied by the bear's agonized cry and groan, the stone spear violently pierced the back of the bear's skull. Bear blood splattered everywhere, and the black bear collapsed on the spot without even a chance to resist.

Xu Xin had succeeded in his first hunt.

And it was a black bear!

The entire stone spear passed through the back of the bear's skull and into the wolf carcass in front of it, killing the black bear instantly. Xu Xin tightened the roots around his waist just before he would have hit the ground, suffering no injury other than feeling a bit nauseous from the constriction.

He panted heavily, his eyes revealing a mix of reluctance and excitement.

As a child who grew up in the city, this was the first time he had killed an animal larger than an insect with his own hands. Naturally, he felt some discomfort, but this set of thrilling actions had caused his adrenaline to surge, giving him an incomparable sense of excitement.

"Sorry, Brother Bear, I really need the materials from your body." Xu Xin wiped the blood splattered on his face and silently muttered, controlling the banyan roots to grab the black bear carcass and the half-eaten wolf carcass, bringing them to the first floor.

He didn't want to bring these bloody things to the third floor where he slept.

The first floor was full of the wood he had chopped, but there was still room for these two animal carcasses. After all, it wasn't easy to fill up an entire 100 square meter area.

This black bear was very heavy, over 200 kilograms. Although it couldn't compare to its two big brothers, the polar bear and the brown bear, it was definitely a big fatty among black bears. Of course, the size of animals in this world couldn't be measured by the standards of the original world. Perhaps a 200-kilogram black bear wasn't anything special in this world.

Looking at the wolf beside it, one could see the difference. This grey wolf probably weighed close to 100 kilograms, and it was considered relatively small among the four. In the original world, the largest canine, the North American grey wolf, had an average male weight of only about 70 kilograms. This grey wolf was obviously a size larger than the wolves in the original world.

"It seems the beasts in this world are more dangerous than those in the original world. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why that voice repeatedly warned not to abandon the small treehouse. Without the protection of the small treehouse, the vast majority of people wouldn't be able to survive in such a dangerous environment." Xu Xin muttered to himself.

He first went to the synthesis table to make a boning knife. The original boning knife (white) required five stone blocks (white). Based on experience, Xu Xin used 4 stone blocks (green) and one stone block (blue), and sure enough, he created a boning knife (blue).

[Boning Knife (Blue): An exquisite small knife that can quickly dissect animal carcasses, with a chance to obtain blue-level and below materials. Durability 1000]

Indeed, one should use the best tools available; a sharp knife makes quick work.