"Bro, you might not believe it, but I’m serious. I think Black is even more ferocious now than its parents ever were." Qin Ziwu, riding his Dragon Scale Horse, turned to look at the massive creature beside him, his eyes full of admiration.
"I raised him, so of course I believe you." Qin Ziwen rode Red Hare. Two thick ropes were tied to Black’s legs, connecting it to the two Car-Mounted Crossbows trailing behind.
The wheels rolled, but Black’s pace didn’t slow in the slightest as it forged straight ahead.
"The Oasis is just ahead," Qin Ziwen said, gazing into the distance.
Suddenly, the Beaked Eagle scouting ahead flew back toward them, letting out a warning cry.
Black’s nostrils twitched, and it tossed its head.
"Hold on." Qin Ziwen halted the group and vaulted onto his Beaked Eagle. "I’ll go check what’s ahead."
He mounted the Beaked Eagle, which spread its wings and soared into the sky.
The world below him shrank.
The Oasis among the dunes ahead came into view.
The once-clear, sparkling lake was now murky, stained a bloody red.
On the shore, the carcasses of beasts were piled high as mountains.
Gurgling blood converged into small streams.
In the sky, Winged Dragons circled, opening their great maws to let out raucous cries.
’They’re all dead.’ Qin Ziwen’s pupils constricted.
’No wonder the Beaked Eagle suddenly turned back to warn us.’
’Judging by the state of the blood, they haven’t been dead for long. The killer is likely still nearby.’
He immediately rode the Beaked Eagle back to warn the group not to advance and to be on high alert, ready for battle.
"President, what happened up ahead?" Cao Biansheng asked, tightening his grip on his Silver Dragon.
Qin Ziwen said, "All the dinosaurs at the Oasis have been killed. They’re piled up together, and the blood hasn’t even clotted."
Cao Biansheng’s expression faltered.
It wasn’t just him; everyone else within earshot was also shocked.
The dinosaurs of the Oasis had all been hunted down, piled together, and the bodies were still fresh.
These factors combined pointed to two possibilities.
First, there was an apex predator with a vicious habit of slaughtering prey for sport, and it likely hadn’t gone far.
Second, intelligent beings were hunting dinosaurs on a massive scale. In this desolate Gobi Desert, that most likely meant rivals, and they also hadn’t gone far.
Either way, it was terrible news.
"Stay on high alert. I’m going to gather more intel," Qin Ziwen instructed before mounting his Beaked Eagle and taking to the sky again.
The terrain of the Gobi Desert was wide open with little cover. Around the Oasis, apart from underwater, there was almost nowhere to hide.
He was confident that with his Beaked Eagle’s sharp vision, he would be able to spot some clues.
Half an hour later, Qin Ziwen touched his sun-scorched hair, his eyes filled with doubt. ’Strange. Is there really nothing else alive out here? That can’t be right. I must have missed something...’
"KRAA~!"
A Winged Dragon flew past them from the side.
It seemed afraid of the Beaked Eagle, keeping its distance and only daring to steal a glance in their direction.
When Qin Ziwen turned to look at it, the frightened Winged Dragon quickly averted its gaze.
He understood.
’It’s the Winged Dragons!’
There were quite a few Winged Dragons circling in the sky—hundreds of them had gathered by now. They were the "hyenas" of the Gobi Desert; they would never pass up a free meal of carrion.
But despite being here for so long, not a single one had descended to feast on the corpses. That was definitely not normal.
After circling a few more times, the Beaked Eagle tentatively began to descend.
But suddenly, halfway down—just as the thick stench of blood reached Qin Ziwen’s nostrils—the Beaked Eagle shot back up, rapidly gaining altitude.
"SCREE!"
Qin Ziwen heard the tension in its cry.
The Beaked Eagle circled twice more, a confused rumble in its throat. It looked down again and began to descend once more.
This time, although Qin Ziwen could feel his mount’s body trembling slightly, it managed to land steadily on the ground.
Qin Ziwen smelled it too. Beneath the thick stench of blood was a faint, rank odor. It was an indescribably bizarre smell that made the hairs on his arms stand on end—a primal instinct, buried deep in his very genes, was screaming at him.
’There’s something here. A beast repellent? The droppings or urine of some fierce predator?’ Qin Ziwen scanned his surroundings. He had just spent a long time flying overhead and hadn’t seen a single living thing on the ground.
A suspicion began to form in his mind, but it seemed too coincidental.
So coincidental, it was almost frightening.
’But there are so many dinosaur corpses here. It would be a waste to just leave them.’
’Besides, I used up one of my backtracking chances to get back to the Gobi Map.’
’If I come away with nothing this time, the next backtrack won’t be for another seven days.’
’A complete waste of seven days.’
"SHRIEK~!" The Beaked Eagle suddenly cried out. Qin Ziwen rushed over to see what was wrong.
When he saw the familiar, deep-blue anchor insignia on the ground, his pupils constricted.
’That confirmed it!’
’It was definitely another Tuiyuan Home. But why didn’t they take the bodies? Why leave so many dinosaur corpses here at the Oasis?’
’Did they know I would come here?’
After getting a clear look at the deep-blue anchor insignia, he actually felt less nervous.
Sometimes, the most terrifying thing is the unknown.
Once the unknown was eliminated and the danger could be quantified,
the threat no longer seemed so great.
Qin Ziwen looked at an empty patch of ground nearby.
[Leave anchor insignia? Once placed, your next backtrack can activate at this location.]
"Confirm."
A deep black anchor insignia slowly materialized on the ground. The anchor slammed down, sending out ripples. As the ripples spread, a Bronze Gate automatically swung open.
Qin Ziwen stepped through the gate back to his Home and sought out Mogu for advice.
He hadn’t brought Mogu on this trip. It had been left behind at their Home in the Underworld to stand guard over the Gated Community and prevent any sneak attacks from the Fishmen.
After listening to Qin Ziwen’s account, Mogu mulled it over. "Master," it said, "perhaps they are cultivating some kind of Extraordinary Creature or Extraordinary Plant. I am inclined to believe it is the latter. Leaving the corpses behind is likely related to the growing conditions required by the plant. The slaughter of so many dinosaurs suggests it might be an Extraordinary Plant that requires a blood sacrifice."
Qin Ziwen mulled this over. ’Waiting for the Extraordinary Plant to mature is definitely not an option.’
’It would take far too long. The growth cycle is lengthy, and by the time it fully matures, the people who planted it will likely have returned. It would be too easy to run into them.’
’Our goal for this trip was to hunt dinosaurs. As it happens, someone else has already done all the hunting for us. All we have to do is haul away the corpses.’
’When you think about it, these guys are practically saints.’
’If we had to do this ourselves, without Mogu’s help, I’m not sure we could have hunted this much in a single day.’
"Thanks for the gift, buddy!" Qin Ziwen said with a sigh.
’Last time it was the Giant Rock Dragon, and now it’s all this dinosaur prey.’
’I’m almost starting to feel bad for constantly fleecing this top-ranked whale.’
’But thoughts were just thoughts. The dinosaur corpses still had to be moved.’
’Worst case, I’ll carve a few words into the ground. I’ll just say I’m ’borrowing’ all this!’
...
...