Chapter 15 The Nightlife of Forest Animals

　　Mingmei stared at the sunlight streaming in from the tree hollow. Her stomach had already begun to rumble uncontrollably.

　　These past two nights, she had experienced firsthand what "a gathering of demons" meant. The "nightlife" of these forest animals was truly something else.

　　There was "singing," "disco dancing," and even parkour.

　　Last night alone, the tree she was in was rammed six times by two unknown behemoths in a "dance-off," shaking Mingmei so much she wanted to shout, "Stop fighting!"

　　Of course, she could only manage to scream "Aaah!"

　　After that, some beast even used the tree trunk as a scratching post, rubbing its massive body against it. Mingmei didn't know if the bark fell off, but she was completely sleepless!

　　“Hiss~~”

　　One bite of the wild fruit she picked yesterday made her face contort for a good while.

　　She had plucked this fruit from the branches of this tree during a moment of scouting yesterday evening. She had even observed it for a while, seeing animals eat it.

　　At least, it should be non-toxic.

　　It was just terribly unpalatable.

　　Incredibly sour and astringent, eating it only made her stomach growl even louder.

　　Today, no matter what, she had to leave this dense forest.

　　Last night, the beasts' vibrant "nightlife" kept her awake all night, so she spent the night crafting equipment for herself.

　　This giant tree had countless vines clinging to it. Mingmei collected a lot of them yesterday. Considering that clothes made of leaves were somewhat unreliable, and she didn't have shoes, these vines would be very useful.

　　She peeled off the tough, soft outer layer of the vines, revealing the resilient, flexible inner core, which could be torn into thin strands.

　　Mingmei tied the torn strands directly around her waist, wrapping the leaves tightly around her body, which suddenly boosted her sense of security.

　　Now she wouldn't have to worry about some grazing creature munching away her clothes with one bite _(：3」∠)_

　　With the remaining vines, Mingmei improvised a pair of vine-skin shoes that resembled plastic bags for her legs.

　　Then, relying on the rough tree bark, comparable to a whetstone, she ground and rubbed the surface of the vines until she twisted them into "thin hemp ropes."

　　Under the clear moonlight, Mingmei worked non-stop, weaving the hemp rope and vine core together into a net bag, which she thoughtfully lined with large leaves.

　　This became her current escape pack.

　　After finishing all this, Mingmei quickly received 2 more points because she had learned to make tools.

　　Looking at the 13/1699 recorded on her wrist, Mingmei could only sigh at how difficult life was.

　　None of the surviving players had it easy!

　　Putting the remaining wild fruit into the net bag, Mingmei carried it on her back and left the tree hollow at the top of the giant tree that had sheltered her for two days. She needed to find companions.

　　Otherwise, even if she survived to the end, the game would still be a failure.

　　[Congratulations to the player for understanding the "importance of teamwork," +1 point.]

　　Mingmei, who had just been chased by a daytime predator for two *li*, was hiding in the hollow of a decaying tree trunk, catching her breath. She couldn't help but think that if everyone were together, they might even be able to fight back.

　　Then she expanded on this idea, imagining the scene of everyone living together in the future. To her surprise, this also earned her points!

　　After waiting for a while and hearing no movement outside, Mingmei was about to peek out and continue on her way when she suddenly heard hurried footsteps not far away.

　　Startled, Mingmei immediately retracted her probing *jiojio* (foot), pulled her head back, and peeked through a crack in the tree bark in the direction of the sound.

　　She saw four familiar faces running frantically.

　　Hu Yue, Lu Xiaoyao, Li Yuan, and Lu Gui were being relentlessly pursued by a group of small carnivorous dinosaurs.

　　The dinosaurs weren't very big, standing only about 1.3-1.4 meters tall, but there were so many of them that Lu Xiaoyao and the others were being chased so wretchedly.

　　"Save me, save me, save me… ah!"

　　Lu Gui was the first to leap onto a tree trunk more than two meters high that lay across their path. He turned back and grabbed his sister, pulling her up.

　　After the two stabilized themselves, they hurriedly pulled Hu Yue and Li Yuan up. The four of them used this high ground to stab the sharpened ends of their wooden sticks into the most vulnerable eyes of the dinosaurs behind them!

　　Mingmei could tell from their practiced movements that this wasn't their first encounter with these creatures.

　　“Aww!”

　　After suffering repeated pain and setbacks, the dinosaur pack seemed to realize that the four in front of them were not to be trifled with. They surrounded them for nearly half an hour before reluctantly leaving.

　　“Ah!”

　　With the crisis averted, Mingmei finally showed herself. However, unable to speak, she could only make two sounds to signal her presence.

　　Lu Xiaoyao saw her at a glance, her eyes lighting up with excitement. She rushed up to Mingmei and excitedly shouted "Mm! Ming!" for a long time.

　　It seemed Lu Xiaoyao could only say a few words. No wonder she couldn't even manage a complete "Help!" when she was being chased.

　　“Aaah~”

　　Lu Xiaoyao stood next to Mingmei, and from the onomatopoeia she made and the gestures she used, Mingmei roughly understood what she was asking.

　　Was she alone?

　　“Mm.” Mingmei held up one finger, then pointed to the dense forest behind her, indicating that she had come out of the depths of the forest alone.

　　Sure enough, after she gestured, the others couldn't help but give her a thumbs up.

　　[Elementary sign language, +1~]

　　Just as Mingmei was gesticulating and communicating with Lu Gui and the others for a long time, on her way back with them, a notification about her score increase came from the system.

　　Mingmei: ?

　　……

　　“Ming, aaah!”

　　Just as Mingmei was being drawn in by this strange scoring mechanism, Lu Xiaoyao and the others had brought her to a cave. Even during the day, it was still dark and shadowy, making it difficult to see clearly inside.

　　“Ah?”

　　Compared to Lu Xiaoyao and the others, who could vaguely utter single words, Mingmei still couldn't say anything. Looking at her surroundings, she desperately wanted to ask something.

　　For example, fire.

　　Or how many people were here.

　　Not to mention Mingmei's desire to speak, Lu Xiaoyao and the others had been suffocating for days. They couldn't speak, and if they tried to write, their hands would cramp up, preventing them from writing anything. It was a completely speechless situation.

　　Was this game really trapping them as cavemen?

　　Now, seeing Mingmei's eyes filled with anxiety, Lu Xiaoyao gestured and "aahed" while Mingmei "mmmed" and gestured. After a long exchange, they stared at each other blankly.

　　Mingmei & Lu Xiaoyao: Just, what exactly are you saying (answering)?!

　　Just then, a gleam of light from the depths of the cave drew all of Mingmei's attention. Then, Mu Chen's voice calling "Meimei" made her turn her head sharply in the direction of the voice.

　　She saw Mu Chen holding a torch. The moment he saw Mingmei, he dropped a pile of fish he had just scooped out of a pool in the depths of the cave.

　　He stretched out his arms and stood firmly in place, catching Mingmei, who had immediately rushed toward him, without taking a single step back.

　　“Meimei, miss.”

　　He had already decided that he would pack up and go out to find people tomorrow, but Mingmei had come to him.

　　“Miss!”

　　Instantly, the word "miss," representing longing, came from her mouth.

　　Whether it was because she realized she could speak or because she was happy to see Mu Chen, or both, her eyes were only on Mu Chen at that moment, her gaze radiant, making the onlookers feel very complicated for a moment.

　　Onlookers: Ah! So many fish.