Chapter 52: Big Cat

Bean Village.

When the elderly village chief woke up, an inexplicable sense of unease weighed on his mind.

It was clearly a quiet early winter night.

Sitting on the edge of his bed, holding the warm cotton quilt sent over by Chu Jiu earlier, the old man pondered in his heart whether there was something he had overlooked.

Was there a patch of land he forgot to plow before winter?

Was the large vat used for brewing soy sauce left uncovered?

Did anyone's wooden cabin have a draft that he failed to notice?

...No, that wasn't it.

The old man suddenly steadied himself against the bedside and stood up on the floor, the wrinkles on his face trembling repeatedly:

That low, barely audible rustling sound, that foul, rotting stench he hadn't smelled in such a long time...

It's monsters!

It's a monster stampede!

Monsters have broken into the village!

Standing right where he was, the old man burst out with unprecedented volume: "Aman!"

"Light the torches!"

"Go house to house and tell everyone, monster stampede! Get into the cellar!"

Old Zhao and Lin Wen arrived to help upon seeing the situation.

The village chief had suffered the worst injuries; a huge gash was torn across his right arm, and Irene was hurriedly bandaging it for him.

However, the village chief's spirit was exceptionally high:

"Move aside!"

"Get out of the way!"

Relying on Chu Jiu's miraculous items, they had actually managed to hold off the monsters!

Even though they were monsters, they still retained the most basic instinct to seek advantage and avoid harm, naturally steering clear of opponents far stronger than themselves.

These monsters rushing out of the forest, even the most aggressive ones like blood-skinned wolves or venom spiders, did not possess high intelligence.

After being blocked by the defense perimeter of the Pioneer Cabin, this group of monsters was like flying insects unable to recognize glass right in front of them. Instead of knowing to "take a detour," they charged and crashed forward repeatedly, determined to break open the seemingly invisible wall ahead.

Fortunately, the duration of such "large-scale monster stampedes" was said to not last very long. An hour should be enough to hold off this wave of monsters.

*

Twenty minutes had already passed since the little hamster returned to Bean Village.

Chu Jiu lay prone on Kababa's back, somewhat laboriously inquiring about what had happened tonight.

Could it be that someone stole honey? And that triggered the stampede?

Could it be that all the monsters in the Forgotten Forest had been cleaned out, and now they were replaced by the monsters of the Sunny Plateau?!

No matter what, the array deployed by Chu Jiu had a quite noticeable effect.

With the monsters blocked by the barrier, the villagers finally caught their breath.

They all knew that the elderly people in the village who had even more difficulty moving around, and the panicked children, needed time to hide in the cellars and take cover.

The only thing they could do right now was to buy as much time as possible.

Mr. Du, with reddened eyes, picked up stones from the ground, hurled them forward, and roared at the top of his lungs:

"We've finally started living a little better, our days finally have some hope, you damned monsters!!"

The villagers all recognized this miniature beast: it was Chu Jiu's pet capybara!

Seeing the giant cat approach the injured village chief, Reg was about to toss a fireball when he noticed the giant cat gently lifting its head and glancing in their direction.

That was the low growl unique to a majestic beast.

Reg recognized that sound very well.

In the carriage, Chu Jiu leaned against the wooden wall, his eyes tightly shut, his complexion deathly pale, only his lips trembling incessantly as he muttered indistinct words:

"Dig deeper... the things inside the box... must be dug out..."

A short distance away, Irene and the others were digging into the earth according to Chu Jiu's instructions.

Digging and digging, Chu Jiu felt that something was increasingly amiss.

The speed at which his spiritual energy was being consumed was actually several times faster than before!

A tremor ran through him.

Could it be...

If another wave of such difficult monsters came before the stampede ended...

Chu Jiu's little paws clenched tightly then loosened, loosened then clenched again, as he looked at the undulating patterns on the ground and the slippery, elongated bodies periodically emerging.

Earthworms!

The little hamster then cast his gaze toward those long shadows swimming as swiftly as serpents and burrowing into the earth like earthworms, and an illustrated identification card popped up right before his eyes:

【Gluttonous Earthworm: Possesses super slippery skin, extremely difficult to capture! Not only are they hard to catch, but they are also exceptionally ferocious with a magnificent appetite, capable of swallowing all obstacles in their path!】

At this moment, the system issued another sharp shriek:

【Rapid depletion of spiritual energy! Rapid depletion of spiritual energy!】

It felt as though something was draining the last remaining scraps of strength from his body.

The little hamster shook his ears while hovering in the air, barely stabilizing his posture. His little eyes sparkled brightly: he had an idea!

Now, the system only allowed the cultivation of one plot of farmland and one patch of forest. Chu Jiu quickly switched to the background interface, clicked on the existing "Farmland" and "Forest," and selected 【Close】.

【Closed. The host may reclaim land anew.】

With a single thought, Chu Jiu immediately designated a large patch of land right before his eyes as "Farmland."

"Hohourabbit, come reclaim the wasteland!" Chu Jiu clicked "Task Assignment"!

Receiving the command, the hohourabbit instantly transformed into a small white whirlwind, descending with a speed difficult to capture by the naked eye onto this patch of "land awaiting cultivation."

Chu Jiu had witnessed how hohourabits reclaimed wasteland:

"Roar roar roar roar you wet pieces of garbage, stop messing around in my farmland, all of you turn into fertilizer right now, roar roar roar roar!"

In an instant, all the "garbage in the soil" was dug up, and then processed according to the "nature of the garbage."

The inorganic materials that could not be recycled were all tossed aside—such as stones of all sizes.

As for the organic waste, it was all processed and piled neatly.

"Roar roar roar roar roar, tilling the soil, weeding, dumping garbage!" the hohourabbit shouted at the top of its lungs, spinning and rolling at high speed across the earth.

In an instant, all the "dirt garbage" was dug out and processed according to its properties.

It dropped several 【Insect-Catching Nets】: "These can block flying monsters!"

It dropped an 【Extra-Large Insect-Catching Net with Sticky Sludge】: "Spread this net out! This can tie down large monsters!"

Having said that, Chu Jiu dashed downward, first spreading the 【Sticky Sludge】 across the mandatory path of the monsters, and then setting up the 【Black Shield】, which was pieced together from 【Shield-Scale Fish Bone Fragments that can serve as brick and stone replacements】, inserting it into the soil like a folding screen. He signaled Kababa to stand firmly behind this incredibly sturdy shield.

After exchanging some communications with the bloodthirsty bees, Kababa gestured and translated: "Kababa stands there..."

Chu Jiu: "Hang them up and interrogate them about what they're actually here for."

He pulled out the fastest speed he possessed, using 【Sharpened Wood】 and 【Sharp Beast Teeth】 following the recipe comprehended from "The Hunter's Insights," to craft a 【Very Crude Animal Trapping Trap】.

He tossed this trap toward the edge of the forest and shouted loudly at Gururu: "Gururu, see that ugly trap? Go 'modify' it!"

This was Gururu's innate skill: Rational Modification.

As for himself, being a winged, flying little hamster, he naturally had to put on a gas mask, hover above the monsters, spray 【Big Laughter Potion that makes one laugh more painfully than crying】 onto their heads, and pour 【Toxins that cause unbearable, body-wide itching】 all over their bodies.

He handed dozens of bamboo tube explosives to Gururu: "Gururu, light the fuses and throw them right into the monsters' mouths!"

He also tossed a 【Temporary Megaphone】 improvised from bamboo strips and bones into the hohourabbit's paws: "Hohourabbit, go up that tree over there, face the monsters, and roar as loud as you can!"

In a flash, a black shield-like object dropped straight down, precisely blocking the path right in front of the spider!

That monster with legs nearly three meters long had a pair of appendages clicking and opening beside its mouthparts, and a black stinger suddenly shot out from its mouthparts, aiming directly at Old Du—

"Get away!"

Fortunately, Kababa spotted Chu Jiu falling to the ground and swiftly ran over, allowing the little hamster to climb onto its back.

Poor little 2 points of stamina caused Chu Jiu, who had一直 been flying in the air, to drop to the ground with a "plop," unable even to flap his wings.

At this moment, Chu Jiu needed other, more powerful and robust support.

He suddenly closed his eyes, forcefully visualizing the image of the Pioneer Cabin in his mind, and opened them again:

In an instant, his stamina value became 2 points, and his spiritual energy value transformed to 279.

The little canned cat looked up at the young boy. Its body was as cold as Chu Jiu's, unable to utter even a whimper.

The carriage contained only his little canned cat, anxiously pressing against his shoulder, continuously rubbing its cat face against his.

The little hamster called out again: "Guard this side well! I'm heading to the wasteland ahead!"

With that thought flashing through his mind, the system shrieked sharply once more:

【Current Spiritual Energy: 1 point】

Even though they were just ordinary people without special abilities, and they were all vulnerable elderly folks, women, and children!

He knew very well that compared to their heroic deeds, these injuries were practically nothing!

He would just use teleportation to return to the carriage afterward.

Chu Jiu thought to himself, his tiny arms subconsciously patting his own chubby cheeks as he anxiously looked downward:

"Don't mind what I look like right now, let's drive the monsters away together and save the village together!"

*

Flying in the air, Chu Jiu glanced at his spiritual energy value: only 30 points remained, which could last for about another 10 minutes.

Based on this rate of consumption, his triple-digit spiritual energy value could last for at most an hour.

Fortunately, seeing Chu Jiu fall to the ground, the three little friends rushed over without the slightest hesitation and shouted: "You're back!" "Chu Jiu is back!" "Where's the canned cat? Bring it along to help fight!"

Chu Jiu knew that it was entirely thanks to the three little ones fighting in the Pioneer Cabin area that they managed to forcefully withstand this wave of assaults and drastically reduce the number of monsters attacking Bean Village!

The three little friends were all safe and sound!

*

For a full 5 minutes, no new monsters appeared at the edge of the forest.

That giant creature, which had been brandishing its claws just moments before, instantly became completely unable to move!

Chu Jiu remained prone, speaking softly: "Keep digging... the things inside the box... must be dug out..."

With just a few digs, Irene dug out a black wooden box.

Several people exchanged glances, all indicating that they had never seen this box before.

At this moment, 20 minutes had already passed since the little hamster returned to Bean Village.

The eyelids stopped twitching slightly; the lips stopped quivering.

The eyelids no longer twitched slightly; the lips no longer parted and closed.

*