Zhang Heng wasn't too surprised, mainly because he knew that this was just a game. In theory, he wouldn't be too surprised to find Winnie the Pooh in the depths of the forest.
But for now, Zhang Heng had to admit that everything around him was incredibly realistic. If it weren't for the extra 24 hours that caused a major problem with the game duration, he probably wouldn't have found any bugs at all.
Other than the houses and stoneware, the two also found a small lake next to them, about a hectare in size. Bell scooped up the water and tasted it. "It's drinkable. This is a freshwater lake. No wonder they built their village nearby."
Zhang Heng's attention was drawn to something poking out of the mud by the lake.
"This tribe … do they already have the skill to smelt metal?"
Zhang Heng pulled the thing out and found that it was a piece of rusted iron. It seemed to have been installed on a piece of wood, but the wood was now rusted beyond recognition.
Zhang Heng studied it and found that he couldn't figure out what it was used for.
Bell wasn't omnipotent, and he also didn't know what this thing was used for. "Judging from their skill level, they should still be in the Stone Age, so this iron probably doesn't belong to them."
It was getting late, and the two didn't go any further. Instead, they found a place nearby to start a fire and cook.
As they got closer to the end of their journey, Zhang Heng's mood was a little complicated.
Over the past year or so, he had relied on the thought of going to the center of the island to support himself in practicing archery and maintaining his training. It had almost become his body's instinct, but to say that he really cared about what was there, it couldn't really be said.
In this regard, Zhang Heng sometimes envied Ed, Bell, and the others. They could comfort themselves that maybe there would be a ship docking tomorrow, or something in the center of the island that could help them get home. But as a player, Zhang Heng knew very well that he couldn't go anywhere if he didn't run out of time.
At the thought of unraveling the mystery tomorrow, his heart was filled with excitement. After all, it was something he had been thinking about for a year. But more than that, he was at a loss.
What was he going to rely on to survive after this was over?
Fortunately, four-fifths of the time had passed. Even if he couldn't find a new goal in the remaining hundred or so days, he should be able to grit his teeth and get through it.
On the third morning, Zhang Heng woke up early, but when he opened his eyes, he found that Bell was up even earlier.
"Morning, Zhang." The explorer greeted him excitedly. "I just walked around the lake. Guess what I found?"
"Uh … a new breakfast?"
"That's true. I did catch a catfish for a change. But other than that, I found something else." Bell placed two rusty balls on Zhang Heng's palm.
"What is this? Marbles? "
"These are bullets," Bell said.
"How do you fire a solid bullet?" Zhang Heng was not a fan of weapons, but he still knew the basics. Modern weapons relied on the ignition of gunpowder in the bullet to propel and fire. Without gunpowder, nothing could be fired.
"Do you remember what you found at the lake? I know what it is." The explorer said excitedly. "A matchlock. In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, this weapon was widely used in Europe. The gunpowder and bullets were loaded separately and ignited with a matchlock. It was a time when the black slave trade was booming. The natives who lived here were probably attacked by slave hunters, and all of them were captured and sold to the farmers."
This speculation was reasonable and in line with what they saw. Zhang Heng had already decided to accept it. But half a day later, when the two arrived at the center of the island, they saw the building that looked like an altar and the piles of bones on it. Zhang Heng asked the explorer beside him, "Were the European slave hunters of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries this cruel?"
"… This was not done by the slave hunters. It was a bloody and dark era. As far as I know, slave traders did kill those who dared to resist when they captured black slaves to deter others. Some also killed those who were too old or too young to be transported."
Bell walked up to the altar and picked up a skull. "But this … doesn't seem like their style."
"If it wasn't the slave hunters who killed the natives on the island, then who killed them? Could it be themselves?" Zhang Heng's casual words stunned both of them.
Upon closer inspection, the architectural style of the altar was very similar to the ruins they encountered by the lake.
"Well, the slave hunters came to the island, and seeing that they were no match for them, the natives ran to this altar and ended their own lives … This doesn't make sense."
Bell walked to the pile of bones in the center of the altar, squatted down, and wiped the dust off the stone slab with his hand. "There is something else here. It's a totem. It's a creature with the upper body of a human and the lower body of a snake. It looks like the god that the natives worship."
Zhang Heng was a little disappointed. Although he did not care too much about what was in the center of the island, he was still disappointed to find out that it was an indigenous ruin that was useless to him.
After all, this was something he had prepared for a whole year. It was a thrilling journey, and he was almost swallowed by the python. In the end, all he found was a pile of bones and an altar.
But seeing that Bell seemed to be very interested in the pile of things, he did not rush him.
Both of them had plenty of food and water. They hadn't even finished half of the food they brought with them. Along the way, Bale hunted quite a number of "wild animals". Although most of them looked a little unpalatable, they tasted surprisingly good.
Zhang Heng was considering if he should go straight through the forest to the other side of the island and walk along the coastline back to where he lived.
However, at this moment, a black shadow suddenly sprang out from behind the altar, pouncing on the Explorer above.
Zhang Heng was taken aback. This time, he didn't need Bell's explanation to recognize what it was.
Jaguar, the king of the tropical rainforest. Its size and appearance resembled a tiger. It had sharp teeth and claws, and could easily kill caimans. It was a large predator at the top of the food chain.
But Bell's reaction was fast. The explorer rolled on the ground, dodging the beast's thunderous attack, and then pulled out the knife at his waist.
Zhang Heng quickly took out the bow and arrow behind him, but then another jaguar jumped out.
This time, Bell's expression changed.
No way?! Zhang Heng was shocked. There were still four days until the explorer's plot kill. Could these jaguars have gotten the wrong script by appearing so early?
However, there was no time for him to think too much. Bell was in a precarious situation, and no matter how powerful he was, there was no way he could deal with two jaguars alone. He nocked an arrow and shot at the second jaguar.
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