CHAPTER 500: CHAPTER 491: THE BIG BOSS 9

Sure enough, as soon as Yan Shuangshuang said it was the will of God, everyone stopped asking questions. In the hearts of the people of the Power Tribe, God is omnipotent, and it was perfectly normal for Yan Shuangshuang, as a Divine Favored, to receive guidance from God.

The primitive people’s thoughts are simple and direct. After Yan Shuangshuang said she had a way to find food with them, everyone immediately returned to the excitement of gathering salt fruit, gathering together and excitedly discussing how much salt fruit they had stored.

The men were talking about how they must store more game before the cold season this year, studying which game has more meat and is easier to hunt, and which game is delicious but cunning and hard to catch; they couldn’t stop talking about the topic of game.

The women surrounded Yu, who held the tribal book that recorded how to preserve food with salt, and studied how to marinate and store meat, imagining the good days when they wouldn’t have to starve this cold season.

In past cold seasons, the tribe always lost one or two weak people to the cold, and many more were frostbitten. The main reason was that everyone had no food in their stomachs and no salt. Without salt, there was no strength, and hunger weakened the body’s resistance, thus naturally diminishing everyone’s cold resistance.

Speaking of others, every cold season was the hardest for Yan Shuangshuang. During the cold season, she was almost always nestled in the arms of Ah Ma Grass and Father Tieh, relying on their body warmth to survive with difficulty.

Early in the morning, the Hunting Team once again took up their large backpacks and set off with Yan Shuangshuang to look for food. Leader Ben and Father Tie stood on either side of Yan Shuangshuang, close by to protect her.

In the Power Tribe, Ben and Tie are the most powerful warriors, and Yan Shuangshuang is an important Divine Favored who hasn’t yet grown up. Although the people of the Power Tribe believe that the Divine Favored must undergo more trials and battles, it should be within a controllable range; the tribe would never allow the hope-bearing Divine Favored to be in danger.

This time, upon leaving, Yan Shuangshuang was not as lucky as last time. Even moving away from the relatively safe woods outside the cave, Yan Shuangshuang didn’t see any edible plants again. A bit further ahead, there lay the truly perilous jungle!

This place had trees so tall that their tops could not be seen, with massive trees that a dozen primitive people could not encircle with their arms. Yan Shuangshuang didn’t recognize their species, but encountering such a lush and graceful giant tree outside was awe-inspiring and beautiful yet terrifying.

However, once inside the jungle, these giant trees connected, their canopies blocking out the sunlight, and the feeling wasn’t so wonderful. Surrounded by countless towering trees and a sky-darkening canopy, there was an unparalleled sense of oppression!

Once inside, the Hunting Team’s pace slowed, and everyone became extremely cautious. Each person held a wooden stick, using it to beat the grass ahead with every step to scare away blood-sucking insects and snakes.

After walking just a dozen steps, Yan Shuangshuang watched as seven or eight colorful snakes slithered by her. What terrified Yan Shuangshuang even more was that she saw an enormous giant serpent on a tree branch, its diameter reaching a meter, coiled on the thick branch, its length unknown!

The sudden sight of such a colossal creature made Yan Shuangshuang’s heart palpitate uncontrollably. Although she had survived in this Primitive World for over a decade and been reborn once, despite the harsh environment, she had lived under the protection of Ah Ma and Father, as if in a peaceful era. She had never seen such heart-shocking, terrifying scenes, nor had she ever seen living gigantic game!

It’s said that a dead tiger is like a sheep. No matter how terrifying a beast is, once it’s dead, it looks just so. But when they’re alive, they can bring you boundless fear!

Tie sensed his daughter’s fear, glanced up at the giant snake, and said to Yan Shuangshuang, "Shuangshuang, don’t be afraid. This is just an ordinary python, it’s not even venomous. Father can kill it easily. You’ve eaten python meat before, remember? There’s nothing to be afraid of."

Tie then struck a pose showing off his strength to reassure Yan Shuangshuang, though saying he could kill the python with one blow was an exaggeration. Yet if the Hunting Team worked together, the python certainly wouldn’t be a threat.

Yan Shuangshuang swallowed and managed a strained smile, more like a grimace. Of course, she knew this python was nothing to the warriors of the Hunting Team, not even the largest prey she had seen. But it was alive! Alive is different from dead, isn’t it!

However, despite her fear, Yan Shuangshuang didn’t think of running away or screaming in panic. Since she wanted to protect her Ah Fu and Ah Mu, she would have to face creatures more terrifying than this python sooner or later. If she was afraid now, how could she protect her Father and Mother!

Thus, even though Yan Shuangshuang’s legs were so scared they cramped, making it hard to walk, she forced herself to face the python. Under the encouragement and vigilance of Tie and Ben, she calmly walked beneath the serpent.

Fortunately, the python was afraid of humans and didn’t dare come down from the tree to attack the group. Although humans in this world aren’t the top of the food chain, their unique internal strength grants them formidable combat abilities. Humans are still considered strong predators in nature.

Additionally, humans live in groups, and when hunting, they all band together. While individually they might not be considered top predators, collectively their combat strength rivals some of the few top predators.

If the python had been on the ground, the Hunting Team would’ve rushed at it to turn it into food by now, but unfortunately, it was up in the tree.

Despite its large size, it moves with extreme agility. Humans can’t fight in trees, and before they could even get up, the python would be long gone.

So, seeing humans—the apex predator among groups—appear, the python, being part of the human diet, naturally dared not act recklessly. In fact, Yan Shuangshuang feared the python, but perhaps the python was even more afraid of them.

Sure enough, once the Hunting Team passed by the python, and it confirmed that everyone had their backs to it and couldn’t attack, it quickly climbed up the tree and disappeared, giving the impression of a lucky escape.

Looking back after passing, Yan Shuangshuang saw only the tip of the python’s tail and watched as it fled in panic. Her fear inexplicably lessened, and instead, a bold spirit arose within her heart.