「Before long, it was noon.」
CRACK!
RUSTLE...!
On the mountainside, Cheng Zongyang used a tree to break his downhill momentum, all while running for his life toward the marketplace cabin below.
Not far behind him, a gigantic python was plowing through everything in its path as it chased him. Dead leaves flew, loose stones tumbled, and trees trembled in its wake.
Its body, as thick as a water bucket and over twenty meters long, was terrifying!
Drenched in sweat, Cheng Zongyang ignored the wound on his back. He didn't dare pause for a second, using the large trees to help him race down the mountain.
But his left hand clutched a plant, and he had no intention of letting it go.
'Almost there!' Cheng Zongyang's eyes lit up as he saw the marketplace cabin appear below him.
THUD!!
ROAR...!
Cheng Zongyang tricked the massive python with another feint, and it crashed headlong into a giant tree that would have taken several people to encircle. The impact shook the branches, sending leaves raining down.
The crumpled python uncoiled, reoriented itself, and with a roar from its massive, blood-red maw, it shot forward again!
'I'm almost there!' Cheng Zongyang's face filled with excitement as he saw the marketplace cabin getting closer and closer.
'Cabin, I'm counting on you!'
Behind him, the python moved with incredible speed, closing in on him once more.
Staring at the fast-running, two-legged creature, the python's eyes filled with an increasingly crazed killing intent and hatred.
The next moment, it opened its maw—wide enough to swallow a leopard whole—and lunged at Cheng Zongyang!
'Shit!'
Cheng Zongyang didn't look back, but his years of hunting experience, combined with the scent and rush of air behind him, told him the situation was critical.
There were no large trees around him to use for leverage. The instant the python opened its bloodthirsty maw to strike, Cheng Zongyang, his hair standing on end, leaped without hesitation. He threw himself straight down the slope, abandoning any attempt to run.
The python's massive jaws followed Cheng Zongyang's leap, its own body launching into the air in pursuit.
But just as Cheng Zongyang began to fall, the python bit down on empty air with a loud SNAP!
THUD!
Cheng Zongyang slammed into the ground!
The impact jarred him, making him feel sick. In the heat of the moment, he hadn't been able to perform a proper roll to absorb the landing.
However, the steepness of the slope sent his body tumbling down several times before he finally managed to stop himself with his hands and feet.
With no time to think, he ignored the churning in his gut. He kicked off hard with his right foot, sending dirt flying, and shot toward the cabin, now less than a hundred meters away!
ROAR!!
The python, having launched itself into the air, crashed back to the ground with immense force from its own momentum and began tumbling down the mountain as well.
Only then did Cheng Zongyang dare to look back, just in time to see the giant python tumbling down the slope.
The terrain around the marketplace cabin was also sloped, but it wasn't particularly steep.
However, what happened to the python was not what Cheng Zongyang expected.
Because he had cut down all the trees near the cabin the previous night, there was nothing to stop it. The python's momentum was too great, and it couldn't find anything to stop its fall.
A ridiculous scene unfolded...
Standing at the cabin door, Cheng Zongyang simply watched as the giant python tumbled right past him and down the mountain.
There was no stopping it.
He couldn't resist taking a look and saw that the python had finally been brought to a halt by some trees, its body draped awkwardly across them.
'Now, if that had been a cliff, it would've been really interesting,' Cheng Zongyang thought. He glanced at the plant in his hand, chuckled, and turned to enter the cabin.
A short while later, the giant python returned, making its way right up to the cabin door.
Its forked tongue flicked in and out, sensing Cheng Zongyang's scent. Confirming its target was inside, it immediately began ramming the wooden door.
Inside, Cheng Zongyang sat on the wooden bed, not feeling the least bit nervous.
The marketplace cabin was a safe house. It wouldn't just be safe from the python outside; it would probably survive an earthquake.
Listening to the THUDDING sounds from outside, Cheng Zongyang paid them no mind.
He reached back to touch his back and finally felt a sharp, stinging pain.
His palm came away covered in blood.
He'd gotten the wound after using a diversion to snatch the Medicinal Material from the python's nest. The snake had discovered him and given chase, eventually striking him with its tail. The blow sent him flying into a dead tree trunk, and a sharp piece of wood had gashed his back.
The cut was quite long and deep.
If it hadn't been for last night's medicinal bath, which had significantly enhanced his physical strength, he probably wouldn't have been so nimble.
'I should heal first,' Cheng Zongyang thought, lying down on the old wooden bed.
"Heal," he said aloud.
Instantly, a prompt box appeared before him:
[External injuries detected. Injury Level: Low.
Minor organ trauma detected. Injury Level: Low.
Healing requires 10 Points. Proceed with treatment?]
'These injuries only cost ten Points?'
Cheng Zongyang was surprised. He thought the 56 Points he had accumulated from hunting all morning wouldn't be enough.
"Yes."
The next moment, a green light enveloped Cheng Zongyang.
Cheng Zongyang immediately felt a tingling, itching sensation on his back as the pain rapidly faded.
At the same time, the discomfort inside his body vanished.
In less than three minutes, the light faded, and the treatment was complete.
Cheng Zongyang sat up and felt his back. It was smooth and unblemished, as if he had never been injured at all.
'This is ridiculously powerful. A full recovery in three minutes! It's terrifying!' he marveled inwardly.
'In the future, even if I'm seriously injured, as long as I have enough Points, I can probably be healed, right?'
'Looks like I can't spend all my Points. I need to keep some in reserve for emergencies.'
He pushed the thought aside and walked to the counter. Staring at the plant that had nearly gotten him killed, he was extremely curious about what kind of Medicinal Material it was.
At this thought, he glanced at the giant python still ramming its head against the window.
'The way it's acting so relentlessly... this must be something good.'
He hadn't expected such a massive creature to be living on this mountainside. It looked a bit like a Titan Python.
'It seems I've seriously underestimated the dangers of this Wilderness World!'
He hadn't even reached the summit before running into a barrier, and that barrier wasn't even close to the peak. This just went to show how astonishingly high this mountain must be.
Of course, this was all just his speculation.
He would only know for sure after he had enough money to expand his territory.
"Can you identify this?" Cheng Zongyang asked, holding up the plant.
A prompt box appeared before him:
[Identifying a non-quest item requires 1 Point. Do you wish to proceed?]
Cheng Zongyang summoned his Attribute Interface and glanced at his Points—
Points: 52
"Yes."
He didn't hesitate.
The next second, an information panel appeared over the plant in his hand—
[Snake Pattern Grass]
Description: A special perennial plant that grows in areas inhabited by snakes, absorbing nutrients related to them. Its fruit, the Snake Fruit, promotes growth in snakes. The leaves can be used as an antidote for snake venom, while the root is highly toxic.
Age: 98
Value: 300 Points/fruit
---
Reading the simple description, Cheng Zongyang's eyes lit up.
'A single fruit is worth three hundred Points!'
'What a huge score!'
Just then, the Snake Pattern Grass on the counter began to glow.
Cheng Zongyang stared, startled. A prompt had appeared over the Snake Pattern Grass:
[Snake Fruit is available for sale. Do you wish to sell?]
He glanced at the Snake Pattern Grass on the counter. Sure enough, there was a thumb-sized red fruit on it.
'But the marketplace cabin can automatically initiate a purchase for just this one part?'
'Is there something special about it?'
'Since it's useful for snakes, it's probably useless for humans, right?'
Besides, he had ripped the Snake Pattern Grass out by the roots, and the frantic escape had nearly destroyed it. It was almost unrecognizable. Luckily, the fruit was still intact.
After a moment's thought, he plucked the fruit and sold it.
The leaves could be used as an antidote for snake venom, so he decided to keep them.
People who ventured into the mountains were often bitten by snakes. If you were lucky, the snake wasn't venomous and you'd live. If you were unlucky and it was, dying from the poison was a common fate.
Having these leaves would be a good precaution.
As for the poisonous root, he could keep that as well. It might be useful for hunting.
To him, three hundred Points were far more important than a Snake Fruit that was only useful to snakes.