Chapter 15: Natives
Jumping down from behind Bubu Wang, Su Xiao walked over to the pile of charcoal ash. The ash had already cooled completely, likely left behind a long time ago.
Scattered beside the ash were bones. The answer was self-evident: intelligent creatures had been active nearby.
Picking up a broken bone from the ground, Su Xiao saw a row of tooth marks on it. These marks were left by a creature with flat teeth, and its bite force was strong enough to even crush bones and suck out the marrow inside.
Knowing how to make fire to cook food, and judging by the tooth marks on the bones, which weren't caused by the same creature, there was a possibility of group living.
Su Xiao hesitated, wondering whether to track this creature. It might have food and clean fresh water.
Just as Su Xiao was thinking, a short, sharp scream came from deep within the valley.
The scream cut off abruptly as soon as it started. Without a doubt, the person who screamed had already lost their life.
"Bubu, chase after it."
Without food, Su Xiao couldn't hold out much longer. Rather than hiding and skulking, it was better to take a gamble.
Following the direction of the scream, Su Xiao quickly ran into the valley.
The vegetation in the valley was low, and he could see the situation ahead from a distance.
Su Xiao arrived near where the scream came from, but there were no other creatures around.
After searching nearby for a while, Su Xiao found a broken sword from a pile of bushes.
Picking up the broken sword, Su Xiao squinted. This was the remains of a Blue-quality weapon, meaning the one who screamed was a Contractor.
Not far from the broken sword, Su Xiao also saw a pool of blood.
There were faint signs of a struggle nearby. Su Xiao analyzed that a melee-type Contractor had fought an unknown enemy but was quickly defeated.
A few drops of blood trailing off into the distance appeared. Su Xiao hesitated for a moment, then quickly followed the blood trail.
At first, the blood was dense, but after a while, it became intermittent. Ten minutes later, the blood trail completely disappeared.
This was where Bubu Wang came in. The smell of blood was like a lighthouse in the darkness for Bubu Wang.
The tracking began. Following Bubu Wang's direction, Su Xiao moved forward.
What Su Xiao didn't know was that he was inadvertently heading outside the Red Soil Area. Once outside the Red Soil Area, although survival would still be difficult, it wouldn't be nearly this harsh.
Su Xiao stopped tracking the blood trail after an hour. He lay prone on a hillside, and in the distance, a tribe appeared.
That's right, a tribe. It was a small basin, with dozens of low, triangular wooden tents built in the center of the basin. The tents were covered with dry grass. A roughly carved dead tree stood in the center of the tribe, shaped like some kind of vine creature. This was likely a totem, indicating that this tribe had already developed a rudimentary civilization.
Dozens of humanoid upright creatures walked among the tents. These creatures resembled primitive humans, but their skin was blackish-red, their faces were daubed with different patterns, and some wore animal teeth through their noses.
Unlike primitive humans, these natives were tall. The shortest was about two meters, and the taller ones even reached two and a half meters.
"Duluka Bana (Unknown Language)."
"Bubu Bubu~ (Unknown Language)."
Bubu Wang, lying beside Su Xiao, pricked up its ears. It felt like someone had just called it.
"Idiot, lower your head."
Su Xiao pressed Bubu Wang's head into the grass. Bubu Wang ended up with a mouthful of grass. Already very hungry, Bubu Wang was surprised to find that eating grass wasn't a bad option.
Hungry, eat grass; craving, eat grasshoppers; thirsty, drink dew...
In the basin, two red-skinned natives were discussing something. The more they discussed, the more heated it became, until they were even shoving each other.
The reason for the conflict between the two natives was a blood-stained pair of jeans.
That pair of jeans was clearly not something this tribe could produce. Some Contractors had been captured by these natives, and Su Xiao could already see the captured Contractors—more than one.
Two bodies, with their heads severed and internal organs removed, were hung in front of a tent, apparently being air-dried for preservation.
Based on Su Xiao's guess, these two were Contractors, and the earlier scream might have come from them.
Not far from the two bodies was another Contractor. This one was still alive, but had several bloody, gaping holes in his body. However, he wouldn't die anytime soon.
This Contractor had been stripped naked, his face filled with despair, and his little brother fluttering in the wind.
This Contractor was doomed. His hands and feet were tied, and he was hung horizontally on a wooden spit.
For some reason, the more Su Xiao looked at him, the more familiar he seemed.
Ignoring the blood on his face, Su Xiao patted Bubu Wang's head. Wasn't this No-Parachute Bro?
After freezing together with Black Eagle and landing, he hadn't died? That was practically a miracle.
Su Xiao thought he was unlucky enough, but it seemed there was always someone worse off.
No-Parachute Bro was truly unlucky. Before entering the Survival Trial, due to a special contract, his emergency Paradise Coins had been completely drained.
Every time before entering a derivative world, Reincarnation Paradise would deduct 100 Paradise Coins for the Contractor to master the language.
No-Parachute Bro wouldn't make such a rookie mistake. It was just an accident. He had the honor of being the only one among the 500 Contractors without a parachute.
Being thrown out of the plane without a parachute was unlucky enough, but even worse, he was attacked mid-air.
No-Parachute Bro wasn't weak. Relying on his solid strength, he managed to break the ice layer just before landing and pinned Black Eagle beneath him.
Although he nearly died from the fall, No-Parachute Bro tenaciously survived. This moment was enough to move anyone.
Unfortunately, the misfortune didn't end. No-Parachute Bro landed with two other Contractors. The annoying part was that those two Contractors had a grudge against him.
The great escape began. Just as No-Parachute Bro was about to shake off the two Contractors, the red-skinned natives made a glorious appearance. That short, sharp scream was actually from No-Parachute Bro—a "roar" against the injustice of fate.
After that, things were simple. The three Contractors were defeated. Two died on the spot and were processed into dried rations. No-Parachute Bro was stripped naked and became the main course for the red-skinned natives' dinner tonight.
A red-skinned native was rummaging through a backpack near No-Parachute Bro. It was the backpack of the two dead Contractors.
The red-skinned native took out two small bottles from the backpack, sniffed them, and laughed. Inside were salt and chili powder. The native didn't recognize the chili powder, but it knew salt.
Seeing this, No-Parachute Bro nearly fainted from anger. How could those two bastards bring seasonings while trying to survive?
"Hey~."
No-Parachute Bro's voice was very weak. The red-skinned native looked at him.
"When you roast me tonight, go easy on the chili powder. I don't like that stuff."
The red-skinned native clearly didn't understand. It kicked No-Parachute Bro in the face.
These red-skinned natives gave off a sense of brutality and cruelty. They looked at all other creatures as if they were food, except for their own kind.
His request for less chili powder was denied, and No-Parachute Bro got kicked in the face.
Su Xiao saw all this. He didn't plan to rescue the guy, but he couldn't let these red-skinned natives go. The reason was simple: they had clean fresh water, which he had clearly seen earlier.
Peaceful communication was clearly impossible, so he would communicate with his blade.
Su Xiao lay prone on a hillside. Although his stomach was growling with hunger, he didn't move. It wasn't time yet.
Bubu Wang, who had been lying near Su Xiao, had disappeared without a trace. The passive skill [You Can't See Me] was in effect.
The sky was gradually darkening. Some natives who had been out hunting returned. Su Xiao made a preliminary count: there were 43 red-skinned natives in total.
These natives were a bit strange. They were all adult males, with no women or children.
This situation indicated one thing: this wasn't a large settlement of red-skinned natives. It might be a temporary camp for hunting expeditions.
Another possibility was that this tribe had been driven out of a larger tribe, with all the women taken away.
Su Xiao leaned towards the latter. Judging by the traces nearby, these red-skinned natives had been living in the area for at least a few months. A hunting expedition wouldn't last this long.