I’d heard of towering trees, but towering bamboo… I’d seen it for the first time with my own eyes.

Zhang Shuguang tilted his head back, mouth half-open, his neck stiffening before he snapped back to reality.

Row upon row of colossal bamboo formed a vast forest, rustling with the swaying of leaves. Seeing his astonished expression, Li, standing beside Yu and Li, chuckled teasingly, “Why so shocked? When I heard you ask about bamboo, I thought you’d seen it before!”

Yu, slightly older and more composed than they were, chuckled as well. “Shuguang, haven’t you seen the bamboos you’ve seen like this?”

Zhang Shuguang’s mouth twitched. He thought to himself: The bamboos I’ve seen were perfectly normal! Who knew the bamboos in your place could grow like this!

He waved his hand dismissively, clearly unwilling to discuss it further. “How are we supposed to haul this back?”

He’d originally planned to cut down a single bamboo stalk to haul back. Now, dragging this monstrous giant bamboo home? That was just ridiculous!

If he had that kind of strength, he’d be out hunting instead!

Yu and Li shrugged helplessly. There was nothing they could do.

Had they not dug up so many potatoes, hauling a bamboo stalk back might have been feasible.

But they’d dug up so many potatoes. Leaving them behind was out of the question. For them, food was the priority—this bamboo wasn’t essential.

Zhang Shuguang understood this too, so he didn’t ask for their help.

He drew the fishbone knife from his waist and tapped the tip against the bamboo twice, noticing only faint scratches on the surface.

“Damn hard.”

Yu: “Bamboo is tough and inedible. We usually don’t bother cutting it.” He genuinely couldn’t fathom why Zhang Shuguang wanted the bamboo—it was too long, too rigid, and not edible. There was simply no point in cutting it.

Zhang Shuguang said nothing. He took a deep breath and swung the knife. With a sharp crack, the fishbone knife embedded itself into the bamboo, stuck fast.

His face flushed with embarrassment. Gritting his teeth, he tried to pull the knife out, but it wouldn’t budge.

How humiliating!

Even in such an embarrassing situation, he had to keep his face straight, not letting anyone see his awkwardness!

Originally, Li almost chuckled at the sight, but noticing Zhang Shuguang’s intense, serious expression, he swallowed the laughter back.

Somehow, laughing now felt wrong.

Zhang Shuguang glanced around, found a large rock, and began smashing it against the base of the bamboo.

Clang, clang, clang. After pounding for a while, the bamboo finally tilted—but didn’t break.

“Um… let me help you pound it?” Yu saw him panting from exhaustion and couldn’t bear to watch. “Sit down and rest for a bit. You can take over later.”

Zhang Shuguang thanked him, plopped down on the ground, and gulped down water. He was genuinely exhausted, his hands red and sore.

Li also came over to help. The three of them took turns smashing through three large rocks before the bamboo finally snapped.

With a thud, the giant bamboo crashed to the ground.

Zhang Shuguang ignored the fishbone knife embedded in the bamboo. Instead, he picked a sharp, manageable piece from the pile of broken stones. He scraped off the bamboo leaves, leaving only a bare, sturdy bamboo pole.

He still had the task of making a hoe in mind. All he needed was to attach this stone to the bamboo and bind it securely with vines.

With this in mind, he picked up the stone and began striking the bamboo joint again. This time, he didn’t target the thick base but walked far out to the very top, chipping off the thinnest few segments.

“What are you making with this?” Li asked curiously, watching his work.

Zhang Shuguang placed the stone on the ground and swung the bamboo joint down hard against it.

Clang, clang, clang—the stone embedded itself completely into the bamboo joint, locked in place. He wrapped the vine around it several times for reinforcement, then tested it on the ground. It worked surprisingly well. “This is a hoe for turning the soil. Once the heat dissipates from that plot, we can turn it over and plant vegetables.”

Li’s eyes gleamed with admiration. “Shuguang, you know so much!” Even the oldest Shaman in the tribe didn’t possess Shuguang’s breadth of knowledge!

Yu felt Zhang Shuguang was working for nothing. They weren’t strangers to farming, but the harvests were meager—far less efficient than gathering wild plants.

Zhang Shuguang understood their perspective. This world was vast and abundant, yet sparsely populated. Even medium-sized tribes like the Cliffside Tribe were separated by great distances, numbering only four or five hundred people at most—let alone the smaller tribes. Given that they could gather edible plants whenever they ventured out, farming naturally seemed like a pointless endeavor.

Moreover, given their approach—simply transplanting wild greens to new spots without watering or fertilizing, relying solely on nature’s whims—even if they did plant crops, the harvest would be meager.

Zhang Shuguang didn’t mind their current skepticism. Once he successfully grew vegetables, these people would see the benefits. Then, they’d naturally join the farming ranks.

After completing the hoe and hearing the task completion prompt, Zhang Shuguang was overjoyed despite his exhaustion. Full of energy, he said to Li and Yu, “There’s still some time before dark. I want to check out that pond over there and catch a few fish to make dried fish.”

“Fish? They’re full of bones, have little meat, and smell fishy—not tasty at all.” Li frowned, objecting first. “Don’t go. We already have so much stuff; we won’t be able to carry it all back.”

Yu nodded in agreement. “Right. If you want to catch fish, wait until you’re well-rested.” He was still preoccupied with the matter of fire.

Zhang Shuguang pursed his lips. He really didn’t want to give up on the dried fish task. Today’s cabbage planting was already impossible to finish. If he couldn’t complete the dried fish task, too, then all his hard work today would earn him very little reward. Besides, he also wanted to find a place to plant the lotus seeds first. Maybe by summer, he could harvest quite a few lotus seeds.

He pondered for a moment before asking, “Is the pond far from here?”

“Not too far,” Yu sighed, seeing his determination. “Why don’t I send Li to accompany you? I’ll carry the potatoes back for you both.”

Zhang Shuguang nodded with delight. “Thanks, Yu. Once I finish the dried fish, I’ll bring you a few to try.”

Yu waved it off with a smile. “Just make sure you come back early. It gets dangerous after dark.”

Zhang Shuguang glanced at Li for a moment. Seeing no objection from him, he assured Yu, “We won’t be too late. You can count on it.”

Li patted his chest emphatically. “I’ll keep an eye on him. If he doesn’t come back, I’ll drag him back myself.”

Yu chuckled, slapping Li’s shoulder. “Alright then. Just make sure you don’t go any further upstream.”

“Got it. We definitely won’t go upstream.” Only after Zhang Shuguang gave his repeated assurances did Yu take several water skins and leave first.

Watching him go, Zhang Shuguang bent down to pick up two bamboo sticks he’d just whittled with a stone. He stripped off the leaves, then gave them a sharp flick. The whistling sound suggested they’d be sturdy. He grinned with satisfaction. “I’ll use these for fishing later!”

With that, he shrugged off the puzzled stares and reentered the bamboo grove. Moments later, he emerged with mud-covered hands and several long, thick earthworms in tow.

“I’ve noticed that in this world’s setting, all flora and fauna are significantly larger than in the real world. These earthworms are as thick as fingers!“ To put it in perspective, if earthworms in the real world are size S, then the ones in this beast world are size XXXL.

He muttered this complaint to Xiao Cai in his mind. Every plant and animal he’d encountered these past two days seemed to have been amplified.

Xiao Cai: “Master, have you come to terms with the fact that you might not be able to return to the real world?”

Zhang Shuguang paused his finger-pinching motion and gave a faint nod.

He was well aware that returning was likely impossible. Even when he’d brushed off Xiao Cai earlier, claiming he wasn’t afraid of losing control or turbulent currents, it had been nothing but empty words.

To put it plainly, the sheer force of being knocked flying and crashing to the ground meant he couldn’t possibly survive. Even if he somehow became a vegetable, he had no idea how long it would take to earn enough points to redeem the time-travel device. By then, his body would likely be long dead.

A slight pang of disappointment flashed through him, but he rallied almost immediately.

He was fortunate, at least to be alive in another world. Though he had nothing now, as long as he lived and remembered who he was, that was enough.

Zhang Shuguang had a bright, sunny disposition. His disappointment lasted only seconds before he cheered up again.

“Xiao Cai, if I can’t complete the cabbage planting task today, does that mean I won’t get the extra drop reward?”

Xiao Cai: “Yes, Master. Actually, you can complete the task in a different way.”

Zhang Shuguang froze. “How do I cheat?”

Xiao Cai: “…Master, please don’t put it so bluntly. If the system detects me assisting you in cheating, I’ll be penalized with point deductions.”

Zhang Shuguang scratched his chin, forgetting his hands were covered in mud—several smudges now marred his chin. He placed several large earthworms onto a big leaf he’d plucked nearby, wrapping them up. “Xiao Cai, I get what you mean.”

Xiao Cai: “Master, do your best!”

Zhang Shuguang handed the leaf bundle to Li and said, “Wait a moment. I’ll dig up a few more earthworms.”

Li looked down and asked, “Need help?”

“No, it’ll be quick. You can find a bamboo stick—we’ll go fishing together later.” After speaking, Zhang Shuguang turned and entered the bamboo grove. Then, in his mind, he instructed Xiao Cai: “Give me thirty cabbage seeds.”

Xiao Cai: “Master, you’re so clever!”

Zhang Shuguang chuckled softly. He realized he’d been overthinking it—the task only required planting cabbage, not specifying where. He could sow the seeds here first, then transplant them to the field once they sprout.

Thirty cabbage seeds were few. Zhang Shuguang planted them in the shallow holes where he’d dug for earthworms earlier, then dug up a dozen more worms.

“Let’s go fishing!”

Holding a bamboo rod in one hand and a bag of worms in the other, Zhang Shuguang followed excitedly toward the pond.

Whether today’s mission succeeded depended entirely on how well he fished in the next hour. He was confident in his angling skills! He also planned to toss a few lotus seeds into the water, leaving them to fend for themselves in this shallow pond.