Zhang Shuguang gathered dry branches and grass like an ant moving house. Seeing his busyness, the energetic Xiong Kui and Xi San joined in. They didn’t bother collecting twigs; instead, they kicked over dead trees with their feet and hauled them back.

Stunned, Zhang Shuguang marveled once more: these Beastmen might lack in other areas, but their strength was undeniable.

Four fallen trees were set aside. Xi San, ever the diligent one, used his stone axe to chop them into firewood.

Zhang Shuguang propped the stone bucket on several rocks, then lit a fire beneath it, feeding it with wood.

The salt boiling method was the simplest, though its only drawback was the time-consuming nature.

Especially with the stone pot’s slow heat conduction, he spent nearly an hour just watching the seawater bubble and steam inside.

Ding~

Xiao Cai: “Master, a random task has dropped.”

Zhang Shuguang, whose eyelids had been drooping from staring at the pot, instantly perked up. He hurriedly asked, “What kind of random quest?”

Xiao Cai: “A timed quest. Please feed everyone present within three hours.”

Zhang Shuguang’s eyelids twitched. He glanced at the leader, now a giant black bear basking on the beach, then at the massive rhino—its gray-white snout resembling a small hill, crowned with a single, sharp horn…

Feeding them all? I’d probably break my arms trying.

“What’s the reward?” If it were just a measly bit of power and points, he might as well give up now.

Xiao Cai: “Fifteen minutes of ad-free video viewing.”

Zhang Shuguang didn’t hesitate: “I’ll take it!” All he had to do was feed them. Facing the sea, how much seafood could he possibly want? He just needed to go catch and dig for it!

Xiao Cai: “Understood, Master. Randomized mission countdown: 2 hours, 59 minutes, 58 seconds.”

Zhang Shuguang stood up from the sand, brushing grains off his legs. “I’m off to dig up some food.” He’d just observed the tide slowly receding, leaving behind vast mudflats and dozens of tidal pools of varying sizes. Though he’d never gone tide pooling before, that didn’t dampen his enthusiasm to try.

Never having done it didn’t mean he hadn’t watched videos. Besides cloud-feeding cats, the short videos he watched most were DIY crafts and live streams of beach foraging. After all, for someone who’d never lived by the sea, the unknown was the most alluring.

Watching those beach foragers dig up all kinds of seafood from the sand, Zhang Shuguang got excited right along with them—he’d even tipped them before!

After these past two days, Zhang Shuguang had gained confidence in his practical skills. Digging up something edible from the beach or puddles was no problem at all. Plus, the locals here weren’t big on seafood, so beneath this stretch of mudflats, he was certain to find a treasure trove waiting to be uncovered.

The more he thought about it, the more excited he became. Zhang Shuguang’s eyes gleamed with determination. Clutching the largest fishbone knife (the one Mang Jiu had sharpened earlier) and slinging his leather bag over his shoulder, he dashed toward the sea with boundless enthusiasm.

Then, with one step, he sank into the soggy sand.

His smile froze. He looked down at his new shoes…

My shoes! They’re dirty! They’re filthy!

My heart… It’s bleeding!

Wu Ming watched the figure frozen in the muddy sand and burst out laughing. “Shuguang, take off whatever’s on your feet.”

Zhang Shuguang pouted, slipped off his straw sandals, and walked to a small puddle. He bent down to wash them, stirring the once-clear water until it turned murky. Then he discovered the creature hiding inside.

Eight legs, two huge claws, clawing wildly, covered in black mud. If he hadn’t disturbed it while washing his shoes, this creature would have been perfectly disguised as a rock.

Zhang Shuguang held his palm up to compare it with the mud-covered crab. To his delight, the creature was as wide as two of his palms!

A crab like this must weigh at least five or six jin.

“Xi San, come help me!” Those two massive claws looked terrifying—one careless move and they could snap a finger clean off!

Knowing he couldn’t handle it himself, Zhang Shuguang called for backup. “Get me two thick bamboo sticks!”

Xi San heard the commotion and stood up, shifting into human form and wrapping his animal-skin skirt around his waist. He grabbed two thick branches and strode over. “What’s up?”

Zhang Shuguang crouched by the puddle, one straw sandal in hand, pointing downward. “Um… get it out of there.”

Xi San didn’t move, eyeing him skeptically. “Isn’t that a rock?” He’d clearly heard the other man mention looking for food earlier.

Zhang Shuguang’s face twitched. “It’s a crab! The meat is delicious. Quick, get it out!”

Xi San grunted in acknowledgment, plunging both branches into the water. Squeeze!

He caught it, but couldn’t pull it up. The crab’s massive claws snapped the branches clean off!

Zhang Shuguang felt a chill run down his spine. Thank goodness he hadn’t used his hands—otherwise, he’d probably be missing a finger by now!

“That fierce?” Xi San hadn’t expected this outcome either. He immediately tossed the twigs onto the sand and plunged his hand into the water.

Zhang Shuguang yelped, “Careful!”

Xi San moved swiftly and steadily. Dodging the two flailing claws, he grabbed the crab by one leg and flipped it upside down, yanking the giant creature out of the water and tossing it aside.

The crab scrambled away on land. Xi San raised his foot and stomped down. A crisp crack echoed.

Zhang Shuguang watched speechless as Xi San lifted his foot. The crab wasn’t moving anymore, but its shell was already cracked.

He looked up at Xi San and chuckled awkwardly, “Brother Xi San, next time could you not stomp so hard? Dead crabs aren’t fresh anymore.”

Xi San nodded. “First time catching one. I’ll know better next time. But is this thing actually edible?” Covered in hard shells and sharp spines, it looked like a monster.

Zhang Shuguang poked the crab with a stick, confirming it was truly dead before daring to pick it up and rinse it in the water. “I’ll roast one for you to try. You’ll see how good it is.”

Xi San raised an eyebrow. Seeing Zhang Shuguang walk back with the crab, he followed.

The crab that seemed huge to Zhang Shuguang was barely enough to fill a beastman’s teeth. Plus, it didn’t have much meat, and you had to smash the shell to get to it—a bit of a hassle.

But the taste was actually pretty good, and it had a natural saltiness.

Zhang Shuguang snapped off a crab leg and handed it to the Shaman, keeping one for himself while distributing the rest to Xi San and Xiong Kui.

“Tastes pretty good,” Xiong Kui muttered impatiently, spitting out the shell and chewing the rest down whole.

Zhang Shuguang watched with admiration—what strong teeth! He couldn’t even crack the shells with his own bite; he needed a rock to smash them open.

Xi San ate with equal gusto. When he finished, he said, “Go catch some more. This time I know how to do it.”

“If you smash off their claws, they’re no threat. They usually lurk in puddles or under rocks.” Zhang Shuguang tossed the crab shell into the fire as fuel, then peered into the stone bucket of seawater. Seeing it hadn’t evaporated much, he sighed, “Guess this water won’t boil dry until the sun sets.”

Wu Ming had actually come to believe Zhang Shuguang’s claim about salt production. After all, that crab had tasted distinctly salty, proving seawater truly contained salt.

“I’ll go find more food,” Zhang Shuguang told Xiong Kui. “Keep the fire going strong.”

Xiong Kui nodded. “Go ahead. I’ll watch the fire.”

Reassured, Zhang Shuguang headed out with Xi San to gather seafood.

Xi San specialized in hunting large crabs. Having developed his own method. Holding a thick wooden stick, he’d tap any suspected crab-like object beneath the sand. If it didn’t move, it was a rock; if it shifted, it was a crab. He’d then deliver two swift blows to break the claws before grabbing it barehanded. Captured crabs went into the leather bag carried by Zhang Shuguang, though the claws weren’t wasted either.

Zhang Shuguang, barefoot on the sand, spotted small holes and dug with his stick. About two out of three times, he unearthed various shellfish.

Ding~

Xiao Cai: “Master, mission time: 2 hours, 8 minutes, 33 seconds.”

Zhang Shuguang glanced at the large pile of shellfish he’d dug up. It didn’t seem quite enough, but it would suffice for cooking and eating first.

Xi San had also filled a large bag with crabs. Returning to the fire, Zhang Shuguang checked the seawater left in the stone bucket and was pleasantly surprised to find a third of it had already evaporated.

He considered for a moment before saying to Xiong Kui, “We can pour the water from both buckets into one to boil. We’ll use the other bucket to cook the seafood.”

Xiong Kui nodded, gripping the wooden handles on both sides of the stone bucket to pour the water into the other one. “Cook with seawater?”

Zhang Shuguang shook his head. Cooking with seawater would likely make the seafood too salty to eat. “I recall a pond over there. Let’s use that water instead. I can rinse these off while we’re at it.”

Upon hearing this, Xi San shed his animal hide cloak, transforming into a full-sized rhinoceros. He then seized the stone bucket in his mouth.

Zhang Shuguang gazed up at the towering back and sighed helplessly, “Brother Xi San, you’re too tall. I can’t climb up.”

Xi San lowered himself. Xiong Kui reached out, hooked his arms under Zhang Shuguang’s armpits, and lifted him up—the posture resembling someone carrying a child.

Zhang Shuguang flushed crimson with embarrassment. This was utterly humiliating!

Xi San stood up, carrying Zhang Shuguang on his back as he trotted toward the watering hole.

Xiong Kui turned to ask Wu Ming, who sat nearby, “Wu, do you think boiling seawater like this can actually produce salt?”

Wu Ming nodded. “Yes. I trust him.”

If he didn’t have absolute confidence, why would he have called them all here to watch?

On the other side, Lang Qing looked at Mang Jiu, still maintaining his giant python form, then glanced at the ten giant boar beasts beside him—strangled, beaten to death, or bitten to death. His eyes and heart were filled with utter speechlessness.

Mang Jiu flicked his purplish-black serpentine tongue, silent and aloof.

Mang Qi, now restored to human form, quipped, “Is this your idea of revenge?” It was clearly his own gluttony that had prevented him from transforming, yet Mang Jiu blamed the giant boar beasts for being too fat and strong, taking it out on them instead.

Mang Jiu turned his massive serpent head away. Ignore it, ignore it—like a turtle chanting sutras.

Mang Qi rolled her eyes at him and said to Lang Qing, “Let’s send a batch of the prey back to the tribe first. Leaving it here might attract larger predators.”

Lang Qing agreed. After discussing with Mang Yue, they assigned five people to transport the first batch of prey back.

At the Cliff Shore Tribe, a young male Sub-Beastman arrived before Mang Jiu’s cave. He paced nervously at the entrance several times before peering inside.

“Meow?” Nai Dou stood inside the cave, tilting his head. His large golden eyes brimmed with confusion and wariness.

Who are you?