Chapter 27: What Are You Thinking? Just Eat It!

Ever since he first discovered this fissure cave, Zhou Xu had already formed a judgment: it must have been created by tectonic movement and later occupied by the giant spider as its lair.

Although it was daytime and the weather was quite pleasant, with sunlight that could be described as bright, the interior of the fissure cave remained pitch black. Leveraging the ability of his "Eye of Insight," Zhou Xu stood outside and conducted an initial observation.

After confirming there were no threats inside, he signaled for two tribe members to keep guard at the entrance, then instructed everyone to light torches and venture deep into the cavern. Thanks to his innate talent, the vision of his tribe members had been correspondingly enhanced, including their ability to see in relatively dim environments. Now, with the illumination of the torches, they could clearly see the interior of the cave.

It was almost entirely filled with dense, tangled spiderwebs. For the sake of convenience, Zhou Xu had initially intended to clear them all out, but after a moment's thought, he changed his mind.

"Just find an edge and open a path for us to pass through. Leave the rest of the webs; they can serve as traps for our prey and save us a lot of effort."

The tribe members, of course, had no objections to Zhou Xu's instructions. Based on a rough estimate, the spider's lair was only about a dozen meters deep. After breaking through the thick barrier of the web array, the group soon reached the deepest part. The space inside was reasonably spacious but in a state of utter disarray. A nauseating, foul stench filled the entire chamber, making their complexions turn ashen.

"Everyone, spread out and search. Let's speed things up."

Following his order, the tribe members moved into action. Zhou Xu, naturally, did not remain idle; holding a torch, he meticulously inspected every inch of the ground. However, the smell was so overwhelming that, to increase efficiency and get out quickly, he activated his True Word again.

[Eye of Insight]

In that instant, his field of vision was fully opened. As his gaze swept across the floor, a black stone—which, at first glance, seemed no different from the surrounding rocks—caught his eye. Without much hesitation, Zhou Xu walked over and bent down to pick it up. Under the gaze of his "Eye of Insight," he could clearly discern that this rock possessed a texture distinct from the others. In fact, it wasn't just visual; the tactile sensation through the friction of his fingers was also different, leaving a residue on his fingertips.

[This is...]

As if realizing something, Zhou Xu’s heart began to race.

"Everyone, pay attention!" he called out, holding up the black stone. "Collect as many of these black stones as you can find."

Although they did not yet know why their leader wanted these black stones, they had learned a rule of thumb over this period: regardless of what their leader asked them to do, following his instructions was always the right move. Once they had gathered most of the black stones, Zhou Xu led the way out of the fissure cave. Having used his "Eye of Insight," he had already determined there was nothing else of value for the time being.

With his bark bag filled with black stones, Zhou Xu hurried back to the tribe. To his surprise, even while he was still some distance from the camp, he was completely engulfed by the sounds of cheering erupting from within! The dismembered body of the giant spider, which was being carried back to the tribe in pieces, told him the reason why. As victors in the battle against the giant spider, Zhou Xu and his tribe members were entitled to the most enthusiastic celebration. This battle not only ensured the safety of all tribe members but also provided them with a hearty feast!

In the past, Zhou Xu would never have considered eating such a thing. But now... what was he thinking? Eat the damn thing!

Bathed in the fervent cheers of his tribe, Zhou Xu was welcomed into the camp. He set down the bark bag full of stones, deftly took one out, and tossed it into the nearby campfire. He didn't give it another thought, instead walking over to inspect the carcass of the giant spider being processed. This was the first time he had ever seen such a massive spider. Unfortunately, it didn't have much meat in its abdomen, but the eight legs exceeded his expectations. At a glance, they reminded him of king crab legs. Just the thought of it made his mouth water. Regardless of whether it was delicious, in this era, being able to eat a full meal was a great luxury.

This made everyone in the tribe look forward to dinner. Fei Que was clearly just as expectant, but his thoughts went a bit further than the others.

"Leader, should we save some of the food for storage?"

At a moment when everyone was thinking about a feast, Fei Que’s ability to resist the temptation and think about long-term storage showed that he could maintain a calm and rational mind even under these circumstances. In a way, it was a display of strong willpower, which made Zhou Xu hold him in even higher regard.

"The meat of this giant spider probably won't keep well. We'll play it by ear and finish it in two or three days. As for storing food, we can start by preserving the rats we caught today." As he spoke, Zhou Xu beckoned to Fei Que. "Come with me."

Taking Fei Que along, Zhou Xu walked quickly to the side. By now, the rats had already been cleaned. Picking one up, he began rubbing salt onto it. "Just like this—rub the salt in, then use this twine to string them together and hang them on that frame. Be careful not to let them get wet..."

Finding salt right away had saved him a lot of trouble, as it allowed him to preserve food by making salted meat. As long as they could store enough food, they would feel much more confident in whatever they did next. The process of making salted meat was not technically difficult.

After handing the rest of the tasks over to Fei Que, Zhou Xu stepped back toward the campfire. After all this activity, the stone he had tossed in earlier had been burning for quite some time. He picked up a branch used to stir the fire, carefully pried the stone out, and took a look. A smile blossomed on his face.

"This really is coal! There is a coal mine beneath this Black Forest!"