As soon as Xu Que opened his eyes, he was surrounded by a group of primitive people dressed in animal skins and carrying prey, who were watching him from a god-like perspective.
The chief slammed his staff, inlaid with an animal skull, into the ground. His people, chanting incantations, began a violent celebratory dance around Xu Que. The sturdy soles of their feet, hardened by years of wild growth, instantly kicked up clouds of dust. The scene was both terrifying and awe-inspiring.
Seeing himself being celebrated like prey, Xu Que panicked: "Dear brothers, sisters, uncles, and aunts, I've just recovered from my illness and am not suitable to be eaten raw... nor cooked... I'm good at massaging backs and scrubbing bodies, and even better at washing clothes and cooking. Keeping me will make you very happy! I promise that from now on, everyone will no longer eat raw meat and drink blood, and will no longer suffer from hunger..."
"Ding! The host's environment has been detected. The original exchange system has been activated and bound! Merging into this tribe grants +100 exchange coins, hunting with male members of the tribe grants +150 exchange coins, gathering with female members of the tribe grants +250 exchange coins, and helping a pregnant woman in the tribe deliver a baby grants +1500 exchange coins..."
"The host's primary task right now is to integrate into the tribe. Once that's done, you'll definitely get your exchange currency!"
Xu Que was so angered by the system's flippant words that he burst into laughter three times: "I'm almost inside these savages' bellies, and you, this useless system, are still making sarcastic remarks. Go to hell! Go cool off somewhere else!"
Suddenly, the celebrations from the primitive people stopped abruptly, and the tribal chief looked at Xu Que with hungry, bewildered, and curious eyes.
When Xu Que was stared at by the old witch with her face full of wrinkles, he felt extremely scared: his hair stood on end, his blood pressure soared, and his heart pounded wildly!
"Please, sister! Don't come any closer!" Xu Que was trembling uncontrollably.
The leader bent down and crouched down, carefully approaching Xu Que, and sniffed him from head to toe in the way animals identify food.
With fingers resembling eagle claws and sharp nails, he poked Xu Que's face, ruffled his hair, then stretched out his own arm to compare with Xu Que's arm before nodding to the left and right, saying something like, "This person is of the same ancestry as us and cannot be eaten," before getting up and leaving.
Watching the chief leave, the tribe members also carried their captured prey and hunting tools, and followed behind the chief toward the direction of the cave.
Xu Que's heart, which had been in his throat, immediately dropped to his stomach. He bowed to the heavens and cried three times, "Thank you, elder sister, for not eating!"
Watching the group of primitive people gradually disappear into the distance, and then looking around at my surroundings: an endless wasteland and sparse bushes.
Xu Que became uneasy again: "This environment is too dangerous! Night is falling, and I could be eaten by wild animals at any moment! After thinking it over, given our current predicament, it's safer to stay with these primitive people!"
"Hey! Wait for me!" Xu Que called out to the distance and then took off chasing after him.
At the cave entrance, the children and the tribal women who stayed behind to care for them eagerly awaited the return of the men who had gone out hunting. They hadn't eaten fresh meat for almost three months and were craving it terribly.
Before it got completely dark, the tribal chief summoned everyone and began distributing food.
Animal organs and blood should be reserved for children with poor teeth, the elderly, and the sick and disabled.
The torso and limbs were distributed to the young laborers in an orderly manner.
Xu Que quietly squatted three to five meters away from them, watching everything that was happening before his eyes.
Finally, the chief threw him a leg of lamb with its hoof still attached. Xu Que held the leg of lamb, looking at the savages around him who were eating their dinner with ravenous gusto, and for a moment he didn't know what to do.
"Ding! Congratulations on successfully integrating into the tribe! 100 exchange coins have been credited to your account! As this is your first time venturing into a primitive tribe, this system has decided to open a newcomer discount exchange shop for you! Don't miss it! Good luck!"
With a try-it-and-see attitude, Xu Que consciously controlled the opening of the newcomer discount redemption mall.
The original price of the airless, windproof lighter is 150 exchange coins, and the new user discount price is 50 exchange coins.
The stainless steel maintenance-free boning knife is originally priced at 200 exchange coins, but is now available at a new user discount price of 40 exchange coins.
Several wastewater purification tablets are available at a discounted price of only 1 exchange coin for new users.
Portable travel water bottle, new user discount price: 3 exchange coins.
...
Xu Que made tofu according to the price, taking pictures of everything he urgently needed at the moment.
After eating and drinking their fill, the primitive people would gather in twos and threes in the weeds outside the cave entrance, either scratching each other to pick off lice and connect with one another, or chasing and fighting while lying down to wait for hunger, living a comfortable and carefree life.
Xu Que took the portable travel water bottle out of the system's storage and filled it with water in a nearby stream.
He casually tossed a wastewater purification tablet into the kettle, shook it vigorously a few times, and after the tablet had completely dissolved, he straightened the strap, slung it over his shoulder, and went to the nearby pile of weeds to find some dry branches for barbecuing.
Xu Que used a boning knife to cut some weeds as a base, and then stacked the collected firewood into a cone shape.
He took out a windproof, no-fill lighter, lit it against the weeds, and the flames hissed and crackled along the dry branches.
The tribal chief, seeing the fireworks, jumped and gesticulated wildly as he chased after Xu Que.
“Oppa… Oppa Oppa…” The female leader pointed to the sky and stamped her feet, gesturing incessantly with her hands, her eyes filled with fear and anxiety.
After a moment of stunned silence, Xu Que suddenly realized and tentatively asked the chief, "You mean many years ago, one day, there was a sudden thunder and lightning in the sky, and several young men in the tribe were struck by lightning and instantly carbonized? Oppa, Oppa!"
Although the female leader did not understand words like "thunder and lightning" or "carbonization," she could roughly understand the meaning from Xu Que's actions and expressions.
"Oppa, Oppa!" The female leader nodded firmly.
"Uh! This isn't lightning, it's fire! h-uo-fire, the fire of flame, say it after me!"
The female chieftain and the surrounding tribal members read it aloud after Xu Que.
Immediately afterwards, Xu Que unscrewed the kettle lid, poured the water onto the fire, and the blazing flames were extinguished instantly.
"See? Water can put out fire! Don't be afraid, everyone. This fire is safe for us! As long as it is used properly, it will not bring disaster or loss to the tribe!" Xu Que spread his hands and said to the tribal chief and members who were gathered around the fire, still feeling lingering fear.
The onlookers were stunned by Xu Que's feat of starting and then extinguishing a fire. They gave him a thumbs up on the spot, and some even bowed down in worship, thinking he was a god who controlled fire!
As time went by, the aroma of roasted lamb leg began to fill the air.
Xu Que used his boning knife to make many more incisions on the half-cooked lamb leg, then sprinkled it with various all-natural green seasonings he found in the primeval forest: such as wild scallion segments, diced mushrooms, wild leeks, wild garlic, and wild horseradish with a similar spicy flavor.
Although the female leader was quite full, she couldn't help but swallow a couple of times as she looked at the crispy on the outside and tender on the inside roasted lamb leg with its sizzling oil.
Perhaps drawn by the aroma of roasted meat, a head popped out of the cave, staring intently at Xu Que, who was focused on roasting the meat.
When Xu Que inadvertently looked up at her, she nervously and shyly pulled her head back into the cave.
"Hey! The lamb leg is ready, come and eat! I'm a good person, I won't hurt you! Don't hide!" Xu Que held the roasted lamb leg in his hand, waving it and shouting with goodwill towards the cave entrance.
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