Chapter 18 (1/2)

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Zhang Heng was not surprised mainly because he was aware that this was just a game and he would not have been surprised if they had found Winnie the Pooh in the forest.

But, at the moment, Zhang Heng could not deny that everything around him right now was so realistic. If it had not been for his extra twenty-four hours causing a major complication and lengthening the span of the game, he would not have detected any bug at all.

Other than the huts and stone tools, the pair also found a small, almost 1-hectare lake nearby. Bell tasted the water and said, “It’s drinkable. This is a freshwater lake. No wonder they built their village nearby.”

Zhang Heng’s eye, however, was drawn to something half-buried in the mud by the lake.

“This tribe… Did they already possess the skills to smelt metal?”

Zhang Heng pulled out the item and found that it was a piece of very rusty ironware. It appeared to have been attached to a piece of wood but the handle was beyond recognition.

Upon inspection, Zhang Heng found himself clueless as to what that item was.

Bell was not all-knowing: he did not know what the thing was used for either. So, he could only a.n.a.lyze. “From the look of the craftmans.h.i.+p, they are most probably still in the stone age era. This piece of metal may not have belonged to them.”

It was getting late so they did not continue further but found a place nearby and started a fire for cooking.

The closer they were to their destination, Zhang Feng found himself in a tangle of emotions.

For the past one year, he had relied on the objective of exploring the center of the island to keep himself working hard on improving his archery skills, and exercising to keep in shape until it became essentially almost like second nature to him. But to say that he was concerned about what was in there was not entirely true either.

In light of this, Zhang Heng often envied Ed, Bell and the guy in shorts. They could comfort themselves that perhaps tomorrow a s.h.i.+p would dock at the island, or perhaps there was something on the island that could bring them home. On the contrary, player Zhang Heng knew very well that unless the time was up, he was not going anywhere.

When he thought about how they were going to solve the mystery tomorrow, he was both emotional and excited—he had been thinking about this day for the past one year, after all—but most of all, he was at a loss.

Once this was over, what was he going to rely on to survive?

Thank goodness four-fifths of the time had already pa.s.sed, leaving only another hundred over days to go. Even if he did not have a goal to work towards, he should be able to bite the bullet and pull through.

On the third morning of the expedition, Zhang Heng rose early but when he opened his eyes, he saw that Bell was already up.

“Morning, Zhang,” the explorer greeted him excitedly. “I just took a walk around the lake again. Guess what I found?”

“Er… new breakfast?”

“That’s actually true. I caught a catfish so that we can have a change of flavors. But other than that, I also found something else.” Bell placed two rusty little b.a.l.l.s on Zhang Heng’s palm.

“What is this? Marbles?”

“This is a bullet.”