Hunting Instinct

[The history of mankind is a history of hunting]

[For the people of the wilderness, hunting represents food, energy, wealth, and extraordinary power]

[Those wilderness hunters lay dormant for months, perhaps just for a moment of hunting]

[As a member of the team, you keenly discovered that in addition to those roaming monsters, there are even more dangerous things in this wasteland]

[Tonight, you will also join the hunt]

"It's a wasteland, and it's a quest that involves wandering in the wild. According to the description, the [Saint's Remains] also walk on the land, so there's a high chance that we'll encounter the [Saint's Remains] in this quest."

Lu Ban read the task description and analyzed it with his chin in his hand.

"But there are two problems. First, as an ordinary person, I don't have the means to fight against large monsters. The beasts in the wasteland are too dangerous for me."

"Also, the enemies in the mission description are not just monsters. There may also be PVP between people. I love peace so much, this is not good, not good."

He decided to keep it as a backup. If the third mission was not related to the island, then he would choose this mission and try his luck.

At worst, you can spend some silence points to get some heavy weapons, which can be considered an investment and there is hope for the future.

Lu Ban thought of Trist's pistol, a high-powered weapon that looked impressive at first glance. He didn't know where he got it from.

Gathering his thoughts, Lu Ban looked at the third painting.

This painting has no frame, and seems to be painted on a piece of wood. It depicts layers of waves, as well as monsters and ships hidden in the waves, in a unique style. It is not beautiful, but it is not ugly either. It seems to have some unique charm.

【Hyakunin Isshu】

[The Poetry Festival held every three years is a cultural event on the island]

[People from different islands and regions will gather on Uta Island to exchange art]

[However, this year's poetry festival is a little different]

[The huge puppet suspended in the air, the pale gray fog that makes it difficult to breathe, and the missing artist all tell of the weirdness]

[“Communication first, life second!”]

"Pale grey fog, could it be the sigh of the Uncertain Mist?"

Lu Ban analyzed the text.

"As for the Poetry Festival, as the name suggests, it's a grand event where everyone drinks, writes poems and exchanges ideas, right? But it seems that something went wrong with this festival. The mission goal may be to investigate the cause, and maybe even survive until the end of the festival."

He already had the plan, and now he is just confirming it further.

"This time, the mission seems to be related to art or something like that?"

Lu Ban realized it later.

If hunting can be considered the art of killing, then indeed, all three tasks are about artists.

"Don't rush to make a choice, just take a single shot first."

He glanced at the countdown and knew he had to make a choice within ten days.

"That is to say, if the flow of time in the foreign land is slow enough, I can wander around there for several days and still be able to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival when I come back?"

Lu Ban thought of the snow-skin salted egg yolk mooncakes and his mouth was watering.

He took off his clothes as usual and went to the bathroom.

"By the way, come with me. If anything happens to me, remember to give me first aid."

Before Lu Ban closed the bathroom door, he said to his air friend.

He opened the system panel and exchanged [Knowledge of a Madman].

The appearance of this [Knowledge of a Madman] is different from the previous ones.

Although the previous ones were in strange shapes, they were all bones after all, calcium carbonate, uh, something similar to calcium carbonate. But this time, what appeared in Lu Ban's hand was not a human skull, but some kind of black hard shell like plastic.

The feel of it made Lu Ban realize that this might be some kind of chitinous shell, which is mostly found on insects on Earth.

Without much emotion, Lu Ban crushed the skull.

The hard shell shattered and seeped into Lu Ban's body from every pore like mist.

His eyes rolled back and his whole body twitched violently.

Green branches kept sprouting from under Lu Ban's skin, trying to break through the skin. At his throat, the shark gill-like wound kept opening and closing, grabbing oxygen from the air.

Lu Ban felt that his limbs no longer belonged to him. His bones softened as if they were thrown into highly corrosive acid. In his mind, he was like butter in an oven, going limp, melting, and losing his human form.

At the same time, countless whispers accompanied by the whistling wind washed over Lu Ban's brain again and again.

"...Meat, more meat, make a trap, lure them over, and then, hehehehe..."

"...See those holes? You wonder what's in them? Every night, those monsters will crawl out of the holes. If you're lucky, you'll die before being eaten..."

"...Those monsters are just like those carved by gods with all their malice, full of evil, blasphemy, madness, those sharp claws, those sharp teeth, now I just hope that I have never seen them..."

"...Don't be fooled by the fact that these guys are ugly and look disgusting, but when you have been starving in the wilderness for a week, hey, these are simply the perfect delicacy..."

"...Have you heard the rumor? This desert is alive. It will wait for an opportunity to devour any living thing that clings to it. In front of it, all living things are equal..."

Puff——

On Lu Ban's arms, those restless vines pierced the skin and grew wildly. He was soon covered by ivy-like branches and fell to the floor of the bathroom, motionless, even his breathing stopped.

One minute, two minutes, three minutes, Lu Ban still didn't make any move.

Lu Ban in the mirror looked timidly at the ground and glanced at the drain.

The hair from the drain slowly spread out, but could not touch Lu Ban's body.

The shadows at the doorway grew thicker, and even the bathroom door began to crackle.

Lu Ban still had no breathing and no heartbeat, as if he was already dead.

Suddenly, his chest caved in unnaturally. The compression stimulated his lungs, and the dysfunctional organs began to function again.

"ha--"

The pupils of Lu Ban's white eyes suddenly showed, and he took a deep breath.

"I almost died. Doesn't this [Knowledge of Madmen] reset the damage every time it's used?"

He felt it was a bit of a scam.

If this continues, if I don’t get something to save my life, I might die when I draw a card.

The branches on its body drooped down. Lu Ban pulled up one of them, and the originally green branch quickly withered and turned into ashes.

"In fact, if there is sunlight, I should be able to come back to life after dying for five or ten minutes. In this case, next time I might consider going to an open-air swimming pool, basking in the sun while breathing in the water. This way I don't have to worry about cleaning."

He had a good idea.

"I wasn't very lucky this time. I drew the information about the wasteland. I'll find a swimming pool tomorrow and try again. I don't believe I won't draw the information about the island."

Lu Ban glanced at the empty mirror and wiped the remaining blood off his face.