Chapter 212 - Chapter 212: Chapter 212: Patience (1/2)

Chapter 212: Chapter 212: Patience

Translator: 549690339

After nightfall, Xiang Kun didn’t recklessly start searching everywhere. Instead, he cleared an area of mud, broke off a tree branch, and used it to mark the territories where his exploration over the past three days and the smell had indicated the presence of that mutant’s “branches”.

Xiang Kun put himself in the perspective of that mutant, guessing its possible behavior and activity trail based on its known abilities.

Undoubtedly, those “branches” scattered all over the forest could assist the mutant in staying vigilant and hunting.

So theoretically, the areas with the most “branches” would be the ones where it mostly hunts or around its nest.

However, when it comes to hunting, given the appetite displayed by that mutant and the amount of blood it needs, it should typically hunt large animals or a large number of small animals. The distribution area shouldn’t be that small or concentrated in a particular area. Considering its hunting method, it should lure and swallow wild beasts with the help of plants like the red fruit, then easily kill them. It wouldn’t be challenging and wouldn’t require many “branches” to assist.

Therefore, the places where “branches” are concentrated are more likely to be near its nest.

Xiang Kun recalled the place where the red fruit appeared and attracted the leopard. The “branches” around there were denser compared to other areas.

Although he hadn’t discovered anything special in that area previously, it didn’t mean that his guess was wrong.

So, Xiang Kun wiped off the map drawn on the ground, put on his shoes and bow and arrow, and returned to the area where the red fruit had appeared.

For most people, it would be very difficult to distinguish directions in such a large forest without the help of equipment. However, Xiang Kun could easily find the roads he had taken, places he had visited, and his current position with the help of a few beads used to establish a “Super sensory contact” scattered in the mountain after entry and his superb memory and reasoning abilities.

Constantly switching between night vision mode and infrared imaging mode, Xiang Kun meticulously searched the area where the red fruit had appeared for three hours again, but still found nothing.

Perhaps the multiple “branches” here were just a coincidence and not deliberately arranged by the mutant creature?

Xiang Kun climbed a tall tree and looked around from the top, continuing to put himself in the shoes of the mutant and contemplating its possible behavior.

Then Xiang Kun remembered the form of the “Blue Spot” flying out of the cliff, and his experience when he explored the habitat of the Giant Owl, so he cast his gaze diagonally upwards.

Xiang Kun came down from the tree and started climbing the mountain, but he didn’t directly climb towards the top of his current mountain. Instead, he went to the other side. To reach there, he had to pass through this area where the red fruit had appeared.

Standing on a not-so-high cliff on the side of the mountain, Xiang Kun carefully distinguished and probed with his sense of smell and indeed detected a hint of the scent he was looking for.

He put his shoes on the top of the cliff and, with his quiver on his back, started descending.

There weren’t many rocks exposed on this cliff, most of it was covered by green plants and large swathes of various types of vines.

Xiang Kun, relying on his sense of smell, discovered some “branches” in one of the thickets of vines, and there were many snakes coiled around that area.

It was a cliff cave covered by vines and other green plants!

From this position, Xiang Kun could vaguely smell various scents emanating from the cave, including those of various plants, animals, and the peculiar odor of the mutant.

Xiang Kun was now eighty percent certain that this cave on the cliff was probably the nest of that mutant creature or one of the nests.

Many plans flashed through his mind, such as lurking nearby, waiting for the mutant creature to enter the cave, or even waiting until after it consumed blood to strike, trapping it in the cave, finding a way to capture it alive. Another option would be to hide nearby and unexpectedly shoot it with an arrow when it returned.

But these ideas were quickly dismissed by him because he knew that at this moment, the mutant creature would most likely know that he had found this cave.

That was the purpose of so many “branches” here.

Therefore, Xiang Kun decided to scout the cave first after thinking for a few seconds.

However, thinking of the trap he encountered earlier, Xiang Kun cautiously climbed back up, fetched his bow, nocked an arrow, and shot two arrows towards the vines at the entrance of the cave.

This time, no corrosive liquid appeared, and both arrows firmly stuck into the thickest vine.

Xiang Kun didn’t let his guard down. If that place really was the nest of the mutant, there might still be other traps or defense mechanisms.

He grabbed the vines and crevices in the rocks, cautiously and slowly moving in the direction of the cave.

The venomous snake coiled at the entrance of the cave also noticed Xiang Kun and one of them hissed at him as a warning.

Xiang Kun could tell that it was a venomous snake, but he wasn’t very worried. He didn’t take any action, but directly used “mental deterrence” on the snake that was warning him aggressively. All the snakes near the entrance of the cave immediately scattered and fled.

Xiang Kun found it a bit strange. At this time of year, most snakes in the mountains had already hibernated. Since his last entry into the mountain, he hadn’t encountered a single snake, but here he encountered a whole nest. Did it change their habits? Or do these snakes hibernate late?