Qin Ziwen strode over to a reef near the water’s edge.

At his feet, a palm-sized sea crab with reddish-brown stripes was startled by the sudden intruder. Its round body froze, and it raised its large pincers in defense.

A large hand descended and scooped it up.

"What kind of crab is this?"

Hearing the President’s question, Wang Yun hopped over from an angle behind him.

He leaned in for a look. "President, that’s a red-lined moon crab. Back home, some people keep them as ornamental pets. They don’t have much meat; they’re not good for eating."

Qin Ziwen turned it over in his hands. "Not much meat, but what about for bait?"

"It’d be perfect for bait. These crabs have a strong, fishy smell," Wang Yun said with a laugh.

"ARGH!" Someone nearby cried out in pain.

The man staggered, nearly falling. He dropped to one knee, almost getting dragged into the water.

Qin Ziwen turned at the sound and saw the man’s hand clamped in the grip of a grayish-brown "rock."

The man was clinging to the reef with one hand and had a foot hooked around another rock, while his left hand was caught by the "rock."

A closer look revealed it wasn’t a rock at all.

It was clearly a crab, shaped like a piece of the reef and as large as a washbasin.

The crab’s pincers were massive and covered in sharp barbs.

Seeing people gather around, the crab released its grip and tried to scuttle into the sea.

Just then, a Long Spear shot out, hooked one of the crab’s legs, and flicked upward.

It sent the crab flying half a meter into the air.

CLACK!

The rock crab landed on the reef and rolled onto its back. Its eight legs waved in the air as it struggled to right itself.

Then Qin Ziwu rushed over, pinned it down, and grabbed both of its large pincers.

’This thing is pretty unusual,’ Qin Ziwen thought. He’d never seen one before.

Its carapace was covered in what looked like stones, perfectly matching the color of the surrounding reef, and it was quite large.

He cast Insight.

[Ordinary Rock Crab: Two Stars]

’A washbasin-sized rock crab is only Two Stars? Then a High Stars one must be even bigger.’

’It seems that even apart from the creatures on the Hunting Celestial List, the ordinary animals on this Island are no simple matter.’

"AHHH—" The man who’d been bitten was clutching his hand, howling in agony.

Blood gushed from his hand as if from an open faucet.

"Let me see." Qin Ziwen walked over.

He saw that the man not only had a massive gash across his palm, but the bones on the back of his hand were visibly crushed.

’He was lucky the rock crab let go when it did. A moment later, and his hand might have been completely severed.’

"Where’s the doctor?!"

Zhao Pu rushed over. He took one look at the wound and the man howling in pain, then said decisively, "I need two people to help me get him up. We need to disinfect this immediately. If it gets infected with flesh-eating bacteria, we’ll have to amputate."

Qin Ziwen watched them help the injured man away before turning his attention back to the surroundings.

’This archipelago is fraught with danger.’

’Even an ordinary animal can be a deadly killer if you’re not careful.’

Qin Ziwu pried the carapace off the rock crab. He had assumed the stones on its back were part of its shell’s camouflage, but upon opening it, he found they were actual reef stones that had been glued to the shell.

Once the shell was off, the crab’s soft, snow-white meat was exposed.

"There’s quite a lot of meat."

The island wasn’t very large. A quick walk around the perimeter of their Gated Community’s outer wall was all it took to scout the whole thing.

"If we rely on this island for hunting, there isn’t nearly enough space for everyone in our community," Qin Ziwen concluded.

’To really get things moving, we have to build boats. We either hunt at sea or travel to the other islands.’

’But the islands are separated by open water, and there’s no telling what’s hiding beneath the surface. Swimming across would be too dangerous, so we have to build boats.’

No matter how he looked at it, it all came back to two words: build boats!

’This map might be an even more difficult starting point than the Gobi Desert.’

’The rival Gated Community is already developing and hunting on a large island, while we’re still trapped on this tiny one.’

After scouting the area, Qin Ziwen returned to the Gated Community and found Zhao Pu. "The man who got injured earlier... he’s one of ours from the Qin Alliance, right? I think I’ve seen him before."

"Yes, he’s from the building next to ours." 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Qin Ziwen nodded. "How’s he doing now?"

"I’ve disinfected the wound and had him drink some of the Healing Spring, which stopped the bleeding. But two of his metacarpal bones are broken. I’ve reset and bandaged them, but his long-term recovery will depend on his own constitution."

"What about the Healing Spring?"

Zhao Pu answered succinctly, "The Healing Spring can treat external wounds. A broken bone in the hand is considered an external wound."

"Get him some more. We should try to prevent any permanent damage."

"Yes."

Building 8, Unit 1, Apartment 701.

The atmosphere in the room was heavy.

The man sat by the window, his splinted right hand resting on his knee. He stared out the window with a dazed expression.

"Why were you in such a rush to go down to the sea? You see one crab and you just *have* to get your hands on it. Well, look at you now. Your hand’s so messed up you can’t even get it wet."

His wife’s complaints were like needles stabbing into his heart. The man unconsciously clenched the hem of his shirt with his left hand. He wanted to explain that it was because she was pregnant; he just wanted to catch a crab to make a nourishing meal for her.

’I didn’t mean to get hurt...’ he thought. ’The reef was just so slippery. I lost my footing, and that’s when the crab got me.’

But the words died on his lips.

’There’s no point in saying anything now.’

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.

A knock came from the door.

His wife went to open the door. "Dr. Zhao."

"Where is Kuai Zhang?" came Zhao Pu’s voice.

"He’s sitting over there."

Kuai Zhang turned his head at the sound, his expression still vacant.

"Dr. Zhao... my hand... how long will it take to heal?" Though he already knew the answer, Kuai Zhang couldn’t help but ask, a sliver of desperate hope in his voice.

"A week at most."

Zhao Pu’s words were like a godsend. Kuai Zhang looked up in disbelief. "But... when you were bandaging it earlier, you said..."

"That was then, this is now," Zhao Pu said with a smile. "The President specifically asked about you and had me bring you some Spiritual Spring."

He held up the clear water bottle in his hand.

It was filled with Healing Spring.

Kuai Zhang knew about the Healing Spring. He’d drunk some after the crab bit him, and it had quickly stopped the bleeding and greatly dulled the pain.

He knew it was precious.

But he was just an ordinary person. ’How could an ordinary person like me deserve something so valuable?’

His lips trembled and his eyes welled up. "Thank the President for me... and thank you, Dr. Zhao."

Kuai Zhang’s wife was overcome with emotion as well. For a family, having the primary provider injured was like having their main pillar of support collapse.

Especially since she had just found out she was pregnant a week ago.

Amid the couple’s repeated thanks, Zhao Pu turned and left.

As dusk fell, the Gated Community grew quiet.

Bright moonlight shone on the surface of the sea. As the night wore on, the tide began to recede.

The water level dropped inch by inch, revealing reefs glistening from their time spent submerged.

Between the reefs, a long, narrow isthmus appeared, leading toward the far side of the opposite island.

Like the spine of a great whale, seawater streamed down its sides, revealing a clear path to the opposite island.

...

...