Chapter 29: The Potential of a Sharpshooter (Seeking Favorites)

Chapter 29: The Sharpshooter’s Potential (Please Bookmark)

Xu Yi lay prone atop a fallen tree trunk and soon fell asleep. Although he hadn’t traveled much today, he had spent considerable energy processing snake skins. Su Keke proved to be a very competent sentry; during her watch, she did nothing else but vigilantly scan the surroundings. Whenever there was a sound, she would carefully observe for a while.

The entire night passed without incident until Xu Yi awoke—several hours later—with no danger encountered. A few squirrels appeared during the night. Despite the absence of pine trees, these creatures did exist here, and they were much larger than the squirrels from his own world. Unfortunately, Su Keke had no weapons and could only throw small stones, which were too weak to take down such large squirrels. She didn’t even manage to hit any.

Before midnight, Xu Yi was already awake. Sleeping face down often led to vivid dreams, and he had just enjoyed a pleasant one: dining on lavish meals with Keke and Lu Ning, who had become his girlfriend. Upon waking, he noticed he had drooled a little.

“Keke, was there anything unusual during the night?” he asked after a moment’s pause. Returning now was impossible—they had to persevere together until the end. Even with a super-powered system, failing to survive would be a sign of utter incompetence.

“Daddy, there were squirrels! Several came by, but I didn’t hit any,” Su Keke said with regret, thinking such large squirrels would make a tasty meal.

“Squirrels here too?” Xu Yi smiled. “Alright, if they come again, I’ll find a way to catch them.” He gently ruffled her hair. After a few hours of sleep, he felt much more refreshed.

“They’re really big—much bigger than the ones back home,” Keke added, gesturing with her hands.

“Alright, you should go back to sleep now.” Xu Yi picked her up and placed her on the tree trunk.

“Can you sleep face down?” he asked, worried she might not be comfortable that way.

“I can,” she replied sweetly, immediately curling up like an adorable koala.

A wave of enthusiastic comments from Su Keke’s fans flooded in, but Xu Yi didn’t look; he knew they were praising her.

He noticed Keke had added enough firewood to the campfire, and the rabbit meat was properly placed. After thoroughly checking the surroundings—both ground and trees—he saw no animals or squirrels nearby.

He then headed toward the smoking area where the snake skins were curing. The fire there had weakened and needed more wood, as well as some fresh, damp leaves. Keke was already asleep; otherwise, Xu Yi wouldn’t have dared to leave at this hour, as she would surely be frightened. The jungle at night was far more terrifying than during the day. Even Xu Yi felt uneasy, let alone six-year-old Keke.

He quickly reached the smoking site and added firewood. Before approaching, he had used his X-ray vision to scan for danger and found nothing. After finishing, he hurried back.

Returning to Keke’s side brought him comfort. Sitting on the tree trunk, Xu Yi closed his eyes and attuned himself to the surroundings. His hearing had indeed improved; even faint sounds could be heard. Resting with eyes closed posed no problem.

[So annoying, Number One is sleeping again.]

[Keke kept watch so seriously for hours, and Number One wakes up only to go back to sleep? Then why make Keke stay up half the night?]

[If your eyes don’t work, you might as well donate them. Didn’t you see Number One’s ears moving? It’s pitch black in the jungle, no night vision, so he relies on hearing. Yet you still complain.]

[Miss, they’re blind. Even if you tell them, they won’t see. It’s late at night. Don’t be so angry; it’s bad for your health.]

Suddenly, Xu Yi grabbed his spear, opened his eyes, and hurled it.

“Squeak, squeak, squeak.”

Everyone heard an animal’s cry, not far off. The camera initially didn’t show it, so no one saw the target. Only when the tracking drone shifted did they realize Xu Yi’s spear had struck a mountain squirrel.

The screen filled with “666666” comments—an expression of awe. Xu Yi looked surprised. “I actually hit it?”

He lit a stick and walked toward the spear’s landing spot.

[Number One’s skills are amazing—he walked straight to it.]

[The real talent is the spear throw! Hitting a mountain squirrel by sound alone? It’s like cheating.]

[Number One, quickly share how you did it!]

Xu Yi ignored the comments and gripped the squirrel’s tail, pulling out the spear from its belly.

“Heh, looks like I do have the makings of a sharpshooter,” he boasted.

“This one’s a bit small,” he said with some disdain, then carried the squirrel back to the campfire.

At this temperature, the meat would spoil quickly unless roasted immediately. Xu Yi skinned and cleaned it before roasting.

“An uninvited midnight snack—not bad.”

He decided to sacrifice it to his stomach gods, knowing they still had rabbit meat for breakfast. What to eat for lunch tomorrow could wait until dawn.

After a while, the squirrel turned golden. He tore off a small leg and tasted it.

“Mmm, not bad—tender, juicy, and flavorful.”

“Ding. Consumed a water-seeking squirrel. Intuition for locating water sources has increased.”

Upon hearing the system’s prompt, Xu Yi felt a surge of excitement.

A water-seeking squirrel? Such a creature existed? Moreover, his instinct for finding water had improved—exactly what he needed most.

If he could locate water, life for him and Keke would become much easier. At least they wouldn’t have to push themselves so hard on the road.

As he ate, he pondered what this intuition might feel like. Searching his mind, he found no information about water-seeking instincts.

He suspected the system might be playing a trick on him. But even if so, there was nothing he could do. He couldn’t drag the system out to give it a good beating—it had no physical form.

(End of chapter)