The man didn’t know much beyond that.

His position in the Blood Words was low. Before being transported, he was a salesperson for a corporate management consulting firm in Hongding Mansion.

In simple terms, he made phone calls to sell financial products and insurance.

After being transported, he survived the most chaotic period in Hongding Mansion, tagging along with the main group until he ended up in the current area.

"You’ve eaten the meat, haven’t you?"

The man’s eyes darted away, and his Adam’s apple bobbed. "No," he said, his voice dry. "That stuff... I’ve never even touched it."

Qin Ziwen said nothing, his gaze falling to the man’s hands. The man subconsciously tried to hide them behind his back.

"But I’ve heard," Qin Ziwen said flatly, "that basically everyone who survived in this building has eaten it. I also saw the limbs hanging in that room. If you only ate it once, why is there still jerky being dried?" 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

The man’s face turned deathly pale. "They’re lying! I only had one bite, just that one time. I was starving, there was nothing to eat. It was eat or die... I threw up right after, really! I even threw up bile. I didn’t know, I..."

His words became more and more frantic, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead.

Qin Ziwen said calmly, "I’m a man of my word. I said I’d give you a quick death, and I will."

Realizing he was going to die today no matter what, the man couldn’t help but roar in fury, "So I ate a little meat! So what? Everyone did it! Why single me out?"

BANG!

A flash of crimson.

Qin Ziwen pulled back the handle of his axe.

Expressionless, he looked up at the sky.

The scene he had witnessed inside the building flashed through his mind.

It wasn’t that he’d never seen a dead body, but this was the first time he’d seen people treated like livestock, butchered for food.

An act like this crossed a fundamental line of human decency.

"Let’s go, Beaked Eagle. We’re heading back for now." Qin Ziwen glanced back at the foot of the mountain before soaring into the sky on the Beaked Eagle.

In the Urban Village, Yang Long was instructing his people to keep a close watch on the surroundings.

The fire at Hongding Mansion had been too sudden. He sensed something was amiss, so he had brought his men to the shipyard the moment the fire broke out.

As he looked up, he happened to catch sight of the Beaked Eagle in the sky.

He also saw the faint outline of a person on the eagle’s back. He froze for a moment, then it hit him. He slapped his thigh hard.

"Something’s not right!"

...

Qin Ziwen’s expression grew serious as he thought about what he had seen.

First, the Urban Village had an Advanced Building, the shipyard. Fortunately, he already possessed the Ghost Ship Dock. In terms of Level, the Ghost Ship Dock was 3 Levels higher than their building.

The speed of shipbuilding wasn’t the most pressing issue at the moment.

What truly made his heart clench was something he had glimpsed in the Urban Village.

Though it was only a fleeting glance, he was certain he hadn’t been mistaken. The silhouette mounted on the wall was clearly a Heavy Crossbow.

Having a Car-Mounted Crossbow himself, he knew exactly how dangerous a Heavy Crossbow could be.

He just didn’t know what level of quality their Heavy Crossbow was—its range, destructive power, and reload speed, for example.

At this stage, neither he nor the Beaked Eagle could withstand a direct hit from a Heavy Crossbow.

With such a powerful weapon in their possession, he would have to be extremely careful from now on.

Returning to his Home, Qin Ziwen immediately summoned Jia Liangcai and Du Yu to report his findings.

After hearing the account, Du Yu said, "My Lord! You must never again go on such a reckless reconnaissance mission yourself. Leave the scouting to your subordinates."

Jia Liangcai deeply agreed, stroking his beard. "My Lord, you are our backbone. A person of your importance should not court danger. Risky matters should indeed be left to Instructor Du."

Qin Ziwen nodded in understanding. "I appreciate your concern. However, if a new ’Node’ needs to be opened, I still have to be the one to do it."

Because only he could open the Nodes.

He paused, his tone turning serious. "Now that we’ve confirmed the enemy possesses a dangerous weapon like the Heavy Crossbow, all of us must be on high alert. Our operational plans will have to be adjusted accordingly. I don’t want any casualties."

After giving his instructions, Qin Ziwen was about to head to the dock to check on its progress when Jia Liangcai spoke again. "My Lord, there is one more thing. Teacher Wei Zhaohua recently discovered a type of plant in the reef area by the sea. He calls it ’Sea Grapes.’ In my humble opinion, this plant might fit your previous requirements for a ’candidate plant.’"

Qin Ziwen thought for a moment and recalled.

When he had obtained the "Plant Breakthrough Card," he had mentioned to Jia Liangcai that they needed to find a common plant with an extremely high fruit yield and a large individual size to be a candidate for upgrading into an Extraordinary Plant.

A high yield meant that even if the individual effect was weak, it could be overcome with sheer numbers.

A large size usually indicated stronger Life Energy and adaptability in the natural world.

Although it was the first time he’d heard the name, the term "Sea Grapes" suggested it was an aquatic plant. If it could be successfully upgraded to an Extraordinary Plant, its derived abilities would likely be related to water or the ocean.

Its value in the current area would be even higher.

"Take me to see it," Qin Ziwen said.

He followed Jia Liangcai to Wei Zhaohua’s home, expecting to see the Sea Grapes, only to be told they were still in the sea...

Wei Zhaohua explained a bit sheepishly, "Chief, the Sea Grapes... they’re still growing in the sea. They’re a bit large, and since they’re marine plants, it wasn’t convenient for me to bring them back."

"Grapes that live in the sea?" Qin Ziwen was curious.

Wei Zhaohua explained, "Chief, its full name isn’t Sea Grapes; that’s just a common name. Its scientific name is *Caulerpa lentillifera*. It’s called ’Sea Grapes’ because its air bladders look a lot like grapes. It’s actually a type of edible algae, and the entire plant is edible."