After some time had passed, Luo Feng knew that he needed to find food before he became even weaker than he already was. His body had gone too long without proper nourishment, and every second wasted would only make him slower and more vulnerable. The thought pressed heavy in his mind, almost like a death sentence waiting to be carried out if he delayed further. The gnawing emptiness in his belly was a constant, painful reminder of his precarious state.
"The cat."
He muttered it low, the words a gravelly whisper, his eyes narrowing to slits as he scanned the dim space beyond his refuge. Luo Feng was deeply cautious about coming out because the wildcat that had chased him before could still be nearby, its presence a ghost in the periphery of his senses. That frantic encounter had forced him into this unfamiliar territory, and he had no idea what kind of other dangers lingered in the shadows between the trees. But eventually, raw desperation overcame prudent hesitation. Hunger clawed at his stomach with sharp, insistent talons, and a primal instinct demanded action, screamed at him to move or perish.
Regaining his focus, pushing the swirling fears to the back of his mind, he slowly crawled out of the hollow, every muscle tight and deliberate, each scale shifting with controlled precision, his entire body ready to react to any sudden threat, to recoil back into the darkness at the slightest sign of danger.
Splat.
His body hit the damp ground with a soft, wet sound, his scales brushing against the cool, clinging mud. He lifted his head, his forked tongue flicking rapidly in the air as his golden, unblinking eyes scanned the surroundings with a methodical intensity. The forest smelled stronger after the rain, the scents earthy and sharp, a complex tapestry of wet bark, decaying leaves, and living greenery. Every shifting leaf and distant, muffled sound pressed against his heightened awareness, each one a potential signal to be decoded.
It was then he noticed the hollow he had been hiding in with a new perspective. Now that he was outside, he realized it was not a simple hole in the ground but a deep cavity formed within the trunk of a massive fallen tree. Its diameter was much larger than his body length, easily more than one meter across, a testament to the tree's former grandeur. As for its length, he could not judge it clearly from this angle, but it stretched far into the shadows, easily beyond fifteen meters, a long, dark tunnel of rotting wood. The fallen tree lay like a silent, decaying giant across the forest floor, its roots half buried in a thick carpet of emerald moss and dark mud.
The area itself was dense, almost suffocating with growth. Tall eucalyptus and pine trees rose around him like solemn sentinels, their trunks darkened and slick with moisture. Thick bushes pressed close together, their branches intertwined, filling every empty space with a wall of green. Very little light filtered down through the dense, multi-layered canopy, leaving the ground beneath in a perpetual, damp twilight.
On his right, however, he spotted something different, a break in the oppressive greenery. About a hundred meters away, the tight tree line gave way to an open meadow where only a few lonely shrubs dotted the land, their leaves glittering with captured rain. Beyond that meadow the terrain dipped gently, sloping downward in a smooth incline until it ended abruptly at a sheer cliff of gray, weathered stone. Even from here he could see its bare, rugged surface, cracked and harsh against the sky, with only a little tenacious moss clinging in the deep, shaded cracks.
Once a deep silence settled again, Luo Feng drew in a slow breath, his tongue flicking repeatedly, sampling the air for information. His thoughts turned singularly toward survival. He could not simply wander blindly, a fool tempting fate. A nest, a reliable hunting ground, a safe retreat these were not luxuries but absolute necessities. Yet he was too new to this area, a stranger in a strange land. He did not even know if this place could support him, if its bounty was sufficient for his needs.
He thought carefully, logically, about what made a nest suitable. Concealment was the first and most critical requirement. Predators should not be able to spot its entrance or reach him easily once inside. The space should not be too small, which would make movement and turning impossible, nor too large and open, which would leave multiple openings for enemies to strike from. The second requirement was practical sustenance. Without sufficient prey close at hand, no nest, no matter how well-hidden, could sustain him for long.
"I don't know how much prey is in this area. Whether it really has more food than the previous one."
With that thought lingering in his mind like a stubborn fog, Luo Feng decided to head closer to the meadow, using overhanging roots and thick clusters of leaves as cover. He slithered slowly, each movement cautious and measured, his body flowing over the uneven ground. Moisture clung to the blades of grass, chilling his scales with every brush. Although the temperature of the jungle was rising with the advancing day, the residual wetness cut into him sharply, a cold that seeped into his very bones.
Creak.
His entire body froze, muscles tightening into stone. He whipped his head toward the source of the sound, his eyes locking onto a cluster of swaying branches, his body coiled to strike or flee.
Flap.
A small, nondescript bird ruffled its brown wings, shaking a fine mist of water from its feathers before hopping to another branch with a chirp. It did not notice him, consumed with its own morning routine.
"Tch." Luo Feng hissed, low and annoyed at his own jumpiness, at the adrenaline that had coursed through him for nothing.
But his stomach growled again, the hollow, gurgling sound painfully loud in his own ears. Food was becoming urgent, a need that could no longer be ignored. Still, he knew better than to hunt blindly, to charge into the open without a plan. First he needed to understand this area, to learn its paths and its perils.
He spent the next hours exploring in a slow, meticulous pattern. His movements were slow and patient, keeping himself hidden beneath broad leaves and behind the bulk of moss-covered rocks. Within a radius of about three hundred meters, he mapped the environment in his mind, creating a mental chart of landmarks and resources. It disappointed him that he found no suitable new nest, no obvious replacement for the hollow in the log, but he also discovered something far more encouraging. This place was rich in prey, teeming with life.
Frogs clung to moist patches of soil, their throats pulsing. Mice darted in and out of hidden holes, their whiskers twitching. Lizards scuttled over sun-warmed rocks, tails poised for flight. Plump rabbits nibbled quietly at the tender underbrush. Birds of all sizes filled the branches overhead, their songs a constant chorus. Compared to the last place, this was a land of abundance. Yet danger always came with such plenty. He noted the presence of other predators as well, careful to mark their approximate ranges in his memory. He did not see the wildcat, which gave him a significant measure of relief, but he did not let down his guard for an instant.
Around him, life pulsed in countless tiny, intricate ways. Insects gathered in buzzing swarms around strange, vividly colored flowers, their iridescent wings catching brief flashes of filtered light. A sleek lizard darted across a mossy stone, catching a unsuspecting beetle in a flash of motion before disappearing into a crevice. A pale bird cried out harshly from a high branch before vanishing deeper into the green canopy.
Every sound had meaning, every movement a story. The steady, droning buzz of insects meant no immediate disturbance, signaling a moment of safety. A sudden, synchronized flight of birds from a single tree would mean a predator was on the move. Even an abrupt, deep silence itself could be a warning of something large and dangerous lurking just out of sight. Luo Feng sharpened every sense to a fine edge, letting the environment speak to him, learning its language.
Then he heard it, clear and distinct.
Croak.
The faint but unmistakable sound of a frog, a low, guttural call. He stilled completely, pressing his body flat against the trunk of a nearby tree, becoming just another line in the bark. His eyes narrowed, fixing their gaze through the lattice of brush and fern fronds.
There, not far ahead, on a flat stone surrounded by damp soil, a frog perched. Its skin glistened as though oiled, reflecting the dim light, and its body twitched nervously. Every so often it blinked those bulbous, black eyes and adjusted its powerful back legs. It was alert, watching for flies, but not enough to perceive the greater danger.
"Target: Red-spotted frog, amphibious, can provide 3 bio-energy points."
The voice rang in his head, its tone cold and clear, devoid of any emotion.
"Three points. Not bad."
Luo Feng's tongue flicked unconsciously, tasting the air, confirming the distance and the lack of other threats. His small, wiry muscles drew tight, coiling the energy of the strike into his lower body. Time seemed to slow and stretch as he locked in on the target. Droplets fell from leaves, insects droned, the frog shifted its weight. Then its wariness dulled for a critical second, its attention captured by a buzzing gnat. That was the moment.
He struck.
In a blur of motion, Luo Feng lunged forward, a scaled arrow loosed from a bow. Leaves scattered in his wake, the frog's eyes widened in shock, and his jaws clamped shut around its body with a wet, decisive crunch. The frog croaked frantically, a garbled sound of alarm, its powerful limbs flailing, its body thrashing violently against his unyielding hold.
This was where instinct met biology. His venom glands, still underdeveloped and weak at this early stage of his growth, released a trace of toxic saliva into the frog's wound. It was not a fast-acting, potent venom, not the kind that killed instantly. Instead it spread slowly, working its way into the frog's bloodstream, paralyzing muscles little by little, a gradual shutdown.
The frog's frantic kicks lost their strength as the venom took hold, the signals from its brain failing to reach its limbs. Its struggles grew weaker, its croaks more ragged and infrequent. Luo Feng held on tightly, his jaws locked in a vise-like grip, shaking his head in short, sharp bursts to disrupt the prey's momentum and keep control.
Several long minutes dragged by before the fight ended completely. The frog's limbs stiffened, its body going slack and heavy. The paralysis had done its work thoroughly. Only then did Luo Feng carefully adjust his bite, angle the prey properly headfirst, and begin the slow process of swallowing.
The distinct bulge of the frog's body slid down his throat, the skin leaving faint, sticky trails of slime on his scales. It filled his belly only slightly, easing the very worst of his hunger but not enough to provide any lasting satisfaction, merely a temporary respite.
Crack.
A dry branch snapped faintly somewhere ahead, deeper in the forest. Luo Feng froze again, his body rigid, all senses immediately redirecting outward. Something heavier than a bird had moved in the distance, far enough that he could not see it through the dense foliage but close enough that the sound pressed directly against his awareness, a clear intrusion.
He hesitated only briefly, weighing the risk. He had tested his luck enough for one hunt. His body was not yet strong enough, not nearly recovered enough, to confront bigger threats. It was wiser, far wiser, to retreat now with a small gain than to risk being caught exposed and sluggish.
With cautious, silent movements, he turned his body, abandoning the open area, and melted back toward the deeper cover of the trees, leaving the sunlit grassland behind, the image of the gray cliff face burning in his memory.