Enemies Are All Nourishment for My Fungi..

Chapter 84: Chapter 84: Hunting with Sister Da Ma (2)
 

The chatter of everyone on the trailer, coming through the walkie-talkies on their persons, filled the cab, where Ye Nai kept her foot on the gas without letting up. She refused to believe that the strength of a mere creature could surpass her tractor.

Luckily, the thing that had latched onto her car was severed under the attack of the Gold Element team member and the sniper’s bullets. Ye Nai felt the vehicle loosen, floored the gas pedal, and hurriedly made her escape.

As she fled, the spores were left behind, and the fungus that grew wildly with just a bit of water dragged the thing hiding in the waterweeds into the space.

Damn, it turned out to be a giant frog, no smaller than the spider they fought last time. It was only because of the lush waterweeds that its form was concealed. The culprit for grabbing her tire must have been its tongue, rough with bumps, huge bulging eyes like gongs, and sturdy legs, reminding Ye Nai of bullfrogs from historical films, unsure if this pair of frog legs were edible or not.

The fungus methodically decomposed the giant frog; Ye Nai waited patiently to see what clean meat would be left.

People’s babbling continued over the walkie-talkies.

“I think that thing from before was definitely the tongue.”

“What kind of animal has such a tongue?”

“A frog?”

“A frog? Can you eat it?”

“Such a long tongue, such strong power, if it’s a frog, it must be huge too.”

“Its tongue was severed, and it didn’t chase after us?”

“Is losing its tongue a severe injury?”

“Shall we hunt one later?”

“Regardless of whether it’s edible, we need to kill one to take back as a specimen.”

“Right, let’s kill a few more then.”

Ye Nai truly found joy in listening, thinking these teammates of hers were even crazier than she was.

“I think if we’re going to hunt in the wetlands, it’s best to come in on a caterpillar track vehicle,” Ye Nai seriously suggested to Sister Da Ma.

“I was thinking the same thing.”

“Are we set on hunting that frog? Should I look for it while I drive?”

“Hunting’s not urgent, we should find a place to camp for tonight first. It’s already evening, and if the thing that grabbed the car was indeed a giant frog, it’s too dangerous for us to be near the water.”

Sister Da Ma picked up the walkie-talkie and gave the same instructions to the team members.

Ye Nai drove the car to a new route, guided by the fungus, into a patch of soft mud, and onto a patch of relatively hard ground—open enough to set up tents for the whole team.

While it was still light out, team members set up an outdoor power supply and computers to begin desk work, importing the drone-captured images into the computer for analysis and recording.

Sister Da Ma and several team members had been making route notes on their way, which they gave to one person to integrate into a hand-drawn map.

Having multiple people take notes was to fill in details; if only one person did the recording along the way, it was inevitable that things would be missed.

Ye Nai helped the logistics team members set up the dining table and food. It was still early for dinner, so it was a good time to have some fruit and snacks for afternoon tea.

Naturally, a large number of superpower spores were released to build a defensive perimeter around the camp, then to search for those plants and animals. Anything found was marked, dragged into the Space for decomposition, and carefully not piled together but kept separate, to see what would be left by tomorrow morning.

A night of peace passed without incident. As expected, only a pair of meaty, substantial legs remained of the giant frog from yesterday, the white flesh brimming with tempting flavors, calling out to be eaten.

The skin had also remained, though it’s filled with ugly bumps and potentially pus-poisoned, it must be valuable since it was preserved. However, just to be cautious, Ye Nai still placed it in a corner on its own, not thrown into the trailer for skins.

The rest of the animals, mostly avian, left behind a high proportion of clean meat—full wings, bodies, and legs—but no bones, just clean meat ready to be washed, cut into pieces, and cooked.

It’s said that the proportion of meat obtained from Otherworld wild boars is quite high, with up to one-third viable for harvesting. Compared to this, the poultry class still has the highest ratio.

Additionally, there was a heap of eggs, which had different patterns on their shells, indicating they came from various bird species.

Ye Nai immediately commanded the fungus in the grass to gather some dry grass into her Space, and while the main combat team members were discussing hunting strategies, she stayed in her tent and quickly wove a crude and loose basket to hold the eggs.

In such cold weather, there were still waterfowl laying eggs. It was uncertain whether these were unfertilized like chicken or duck eggs, or genuinely fertilized with life. Regardless, she did not investigate and would leave it to Sister Da Ma after the hunt.

At last, when packing up the tents to set off, Sister Da Ma and her team had come to a conclusion.

Ye Nai still drove the tractor to take them back to the marshland from the day before, dropping off team members to fight. Her only responsibility was to drive the vehicle to pick up people and things.

Soon, the whole team set off.

With a night’s setup of fungus, Ye Nai was very clear about which animals hid in the aquatic plants by the water. Driving carefully, she reached a spot where there were giant frogs.

“Is this place okay? The aquatic plants are dense, and it’s easy for animals to make nests here,” she asked.

“It’s fine. Watch out for your safety,” came the response.

Upon Sister Da Ma’s order from the walkie-talkie, the team members disembarked, ready for battle.

Ye Nai drove away, positioning the vehicle to wait for their return.

The Fire Element team member threw out a few sparks, and the dry grass caught fire instantly, causing a large blaze that scattered the hiding animals.

A massive giant frog revealed itself. Instead of running towards the water, it angrily lashed out with its long tongue, which cracked like a whip and made a sonic boom as it snapped.

“Wow, yesterday’s was indeed a giant frog.”

“It’s a big sucker.”

“Wonder if it’s edible.”

“Earth Element, Fire Element, trap it.”

The Earth and Fire Element team members exerted their strength, one churning up the mud beneath the frog to firmly glue its lower half in place, and the small flames from the Fire Element were responsible for drying up the moisture.

The giant frog felt uncomfortable and struggled fiercely. As it moved, the mud shell on its body plopped off.

Just then, the sniper who had been ready took two shots in rapid succession, one hitting the eye and the other targeting the head.

The bullet aimed at the head bounced off, but the one that hit the eye burst into a large spray of blood.

With a croak, the giant frog fell backward, splashing a large wave of water, its whip-like tongue limply hanging by its mouth.

Throughout the entire process, Ye Nai didn’t lift a finger.

If she had intervened, making the animal die too quickly could mislead the whole team into thinking that giant frogs were easy to kill.

Wouldn’t that be a disaster?

Therefore, her plan was merely to take them to places with prey, plant superpower spores in them to prevent serious injuries, and otherwise not interfere at all.

“Is it dead?”

“Go check.”

“Its skin has great elasticity, be careful.”

“I’ll do it. Plaster it with mud. If it’s alive, it will definitely struggle.”

It was the Earth Element team member who acted, flipping mud all over the giant frog. The group waited another three to five minutes, and seeing no movement, they then cautiously advanced in a tactical formation to inspect.