To reduce the sensitivity of these small fish, I covered the space between the two V-shaped areas with a large amount of thin branches and leaves left over from cutting down the bushes.
This creates a shaded area beneath the water's surface, greatly increasing the fish's sense of security.
Having done all that, I went back to shore, put my shoes back on, and called out.
"Top, come with me to go fishing. Let's try something different today."
"Squeak..."
Hearing my call, Top ran to my side and followed me upstream.
Actually, my family has used this strategy before when hunting. It's about having a sure thing as a backup plan before trying something more challenging.
This is a way to increase hunting efficiency; even if the challenging task fails, the remaining, more reliable one will ensure that you don't leave empty-handed.
My most reliable insurance right now is my family's fishing skills. Now I can go upstream with tools like blowguns to hunt.
If I manage to hunt some prey, I can take the waterway back and drive all the fish into the maze downstream. This way, I can use the time spent traveling back and forth to reap two rewards.
Going upstream, perhaps due to the psychological effect of having taken out insurance, my luck seemed to improve. This time, I walked along the water's edge and spotted my first prey not far away.
This is an average-sized adult heron. It is intently watching the fish in the water, sometimes stretching out its long legs to stir the surface of the water, and sometimes taking the initiative to snatch a small fish in its mouth.
My gaze was just as focused as the heron's, but I was staring intently at the heron itself, not the water.
I slowly raised the blowgun in my hand, the dark tube pointing directly at the heron still engrossed in its fishing game on the water's surface.
It's not right for you to be so addicted to games all the time. Let me give you a little lesson: stand still and don't move around.
After I took aim, I blew a sharp breath, and the dart flew like a whirlwind. Soon, the heron accidentally fell into the water and instantly fell into a state of slumber.
The current carried the heron down to my feet. I reached out and picked it up. The heron was neither too big nor too small; it was a passable prey.
After collecting the heron, I continued walking, but before long, something appeared ahead that startled me once again—it was another bird.
Moreover, it's an unusual bird. Although it's a bird, it has wings but can't fly, and because of its size, it's not necessarily able to run very fast.
This bird looks similar to an ostrich, but adults are much larger, growing to over three meters tall and weighing over 500 kilograms.
The only difference between it and an ostrich is that an ostrich has a bald neck, while its neck is covered with needle-like feathers.
This bird is called the moa, and it lived about three million years ago. It was one of the highest birds, with degenerated wings, and relied on two legs to walk.
They are gentle by nature, eat grass and fruit, and are a highly desirable prey that predators would covet day and night.
The moa in front of me is not yet an adult; it weighs only a little over 100 pounds.
This size is just right! My eyes are practically burning with desire. This kind of prey is quick to process, and the meat will be enough for Top and me to eat for several days.
Today's luck seems to be on a roller coaster; it started off uneventfully, but then a huge thing came along.
But I soon realized that the roller coaster hadn't reached its climax yet; what I was seeing now was just a small wave.
Seeing the moa drinking water by the stream, I was just about to switch the blowgun and put the crossbow on.
Top looked at the sky and suddenly started squeaking.
At that moment, a piercing whistling sound came from the sky, like the sound of a meteorite about to hit the ground.
Looking up at the sky, I was horrified. A giant eagle with a wingspan of over four meters was swooping down towards me.
The dark gray wingspan looked like a dark cloud hanging over my head.
I've seen eagles before, but I've never seen one this big before. This eagle, with a wingspan of over four meters, must weigh at least fifty or sixty kilograms.
The only eagle that can be this size is the Haast's giant eagle! A top aerial predator that lived in the same era as the moa.
Despite being much smaller than the moa, the Haast's eagle is so fierce that it would instill fear in most animals on the ground.
The Haast's Eagle could crush this moa, which weighs over 100 pounds, with a single talon. Even a larger adult moa, weighing over 500 pounds, wouldn't withstand the Haast's Eagle's swooping, accelerated attack.
At that moment, the moa seemed to sense the danger and quickly ran towards me.
"Holy crap! So this is just me getting all the hate?"
Seeing this, I dared not hunt anymore and ran away as fast as I could.
As I ran, I silently prayed in my heart. "I'm all bones and my flesh is sour, please don't eat me! If you want to eat someone, eat that bird instead, I won't fight you for it."
Although the moa wasn't very fast, it was still about as fast as me. So my back was exposed to the Haast's giant eagle's view.
My scalp tingled, and I could feel the wind whistling past my ears. It wasn't from running too fast, but from the sound of a Haast eagle's wings rubbing against the air as it swooped down.
Seeing the giant eagle about to strike, I quickly crouched down to protect my head. The moa had just passed by me when, in that instant, I felt the Haast's eagle's talons almost graz my body as it swooped down on the moa in front of me.
Like all birds of prey, the Haast's eagle uses the momentum of its dive to extend its sharp talons and grab the head of a moa running forward.
I didn't dare to look up while crouching on the ground. I heard a sound of bones breaking from less than a meter behind me. That moa, which wasn't even an adult yet, didn't need to be an adult anymore.
The Haast giant eagle probably wouldn't be impressed by my size; how much meat could be in this skinny body?
It didn't even glance at me again. After delivering a fatal blow, the giant eagle took off on the spot, carrying the moa weighing over 100 pounds.
From the moment of the kill to the moment of taking off again, the entire sequence of movements was fluid and seamless.
Seeing the giant eagle ignoring my takeoff, I wanted to fire a golden particle bullet at it and let it taste what the wickedness of the world was like.
But considering they let me go, I'm not the kind of person who's heartless. The most important thing is that I'm worried that the sound of gunfire spreading in unknown areas might attract some strange animals to my location.
For example, those giant ants from my hometown weren't afraid of gunshots at all; instead, they mistook the violently shaking creature for a super-sized prey.
Back home, it's alright, at least I know the terrain well. But if I encounter a group of them here, I wouldn't even know which way to run.
I still feel very lucky, but this stroke of luck is about to end, and today may be the last time.
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