Chapter 23: Desperate and Reckless

Many of the clay bowls in the batch had cracked during firing, but Zhou Xu didn't mind; as long as they could hold water, a few cracks were acceptable.

Once the kiln cooled, Zhou Xu had Butterfly help him move the bowls to the lakeside, where he simply rinsed them with water. During this process, he confirmed that the bowls were perfectly capable of holding liquid. For Zhou Xu, who had been prepared for failure on his first attempt, this was an immense and pleasant surprise.

Upon reflection, he realized that compared to the primitive humans of the Neolithic Age, his understanding of kiln construction was certainly more advanced. If they could fire pottery, how could he possibly fail? In truth, as long as the standards were kept low—focusing solely on utility rather than aesthetics, symmetry, or cracks—the success rate of this batch was quite impressive.

After washing the bowls, Zhou Xu felt an urgent desire to start making clay jars, even though it was already approaching evening. "Butterfly, come here. From now on, this will be your primary task."

Zhou Xu was confident that with Butterfly’s nimble hands, she would produce better jars than he ever could. He provided her with a sample and shared some of his limited knowledge about pottery, offering advice on things to watch out for. For now, only Butterfly needed to focus on pottery; having too many people involved would only overwhelm his small kiln.

As for other manual labor in the tribe, there was no immediate need to weave more hunting baskets or bark bags. The existing ones were durable, and a reserve supply had already been prepared. The rest of the tribe had been assigned new tasks: polishing stone axes and stone projectiles, and weaving large carrying baskets. The stone axes and projectiles were standard, while the large baskets were intended for the slingers to carry their ammunition.

That day, a drizzling rain began to fall, which was bad news for the tribe. The rats had all hidden away, making it nearly impossible for the hunting party to find prey. Consequently, the tribe’s food supply became critical, and they were forced to return to chewing on bark and roots as emergency rations. For Dashan and the others, such days were routine; there was nothing unusual about it.

In fact, they had never before experienced a period where they could eat every day, let alone have meat with every meal, as they had in the past few days. That, to them, was the real anomaly.

Zhou Xu, however, was different. As someone who had once eaten three meals a day, he had not felt full a single time since he arrived in this world. Now, with no real food at all, he felt dizzy and faint from hunger. He forced himself to chew on the bark and roots—one couldn't simply starve to death—but to him, it tasted like wax.

He had hoped the rain would stop by midday, allowing them to hunt for the rest of the afternoon, but the drizzle proved persistent, showing no signs of letting up. Trying to adjust his mindset, he reasoned that after all the hard labor, a forced day of rest might actually be a good thing.

The rainfall also served as a source of fresh water. They set out all the fired clay bowls to collect it, ensuring that at least they would have plenty to drink that day. The rain didn't stop until late at night. After a day of rest, the tribe was revitalized and, fueled by a craving for food, threw themselves into a new day of hunting.

Zhou Xu led Dashan and the others into the Black Forest to prepare for the hunt of the giant spider. After careful deliberation, he had decided to set the stage for the battle within these woods; the open, barren ground was too dangerous, and their fragile bodies required the cover of trees to ensure their safety.

"See this tree? When the time comes, you can dodge sideways behind the trunk..." Zhou Xu gestured in the Black Forest, explaining his tactical arrangements. It was difficult for them to grasp these concepts back at the camp, but once on-site, they understood exactly what was expected of them when he demonstrated it.

Still, there was much for Dashan and the others to remember, and Zhou Xu had to account for every contingency. Thinking of the monster’s appearance, he knew this would be a life-or-death struggle; he dared not be the least bit careless.

While they were busy preparing, a tribe member suddenly came sprinting toward them from deep within the forest, looking panicked. The moment Zhou Xu saw the figure, a sense of foreboding washed over him. He had placed that member outside the cave specifically to keep watch on the spider.

"It—it’s bad! The giant spider has come out of the cave!" The terror in the man’s voice was unmistakable.

In truth, they didn't need the warning; they could already see it. The massive, monstrous shape of the spider had entered their field of vision. Zhou Xu, having seen the creature before, managed to keep his composure, but Dashan and the others were clearly terrified, their bodies locking up in fear. No matter how well Zhou Xu had described the horror of the spider, the reality was far more profound.

"Is... is this the spider monster the leader spoke of?!"

The sudden appearance of the spider completely derailed Zhou Xu’s plan. He wasn't ready for this.

"Scatter! Quickly, scatter!"

There was no time to think; the spider was already upon them. Despite its massive, vehicle-sized frame, it moved with an agility that exceeded his worst expectations. In the face of death, the group scrambled to escape.

*Damn it, we’re in too deep now; we have to fight!*

Driven to the edge, Zhou Xu felt a surge of desperate aggression. Seeing an opportunity as the spider lunged toward another side, he scrambled to organize Dashan and the others. They whirled their slings, launching an attack at the beast.

In this life-or-death moment, facing the imminent threat of the giant spider, many faltered, but Dashan held his ground. After spinning his sling at high speed, he hurled the projectile with all his might.

"Hit it!!!"