Community Traversal: I Have a Daily Rescue Kit

35: Special Item!

"A building card? Or is it a greenhouse where you can grow things?"

Su Chen's eyes lit up, and he became energetic.

In this world where life is at stake, if you could have a greenhouse at home to grow vegetables and be self-sufficient, why would you need to risk going out to find food every day?

This is practically a survival artifact!

He read the description on the card carefully and became even more excited: This thing can not only be grown, but it can also speed up and increase production!

With it, your survival level will definitely jump significantly!

Su Chen looked at the card over and over for a while before happily stuffing it into the innermost compartment of his backpack, zipping it up, and pressing it firmly.

But before he could even feel the excitement, he suddenly realized—he had almost forgotten that there was a real big shot behind him who was thinking about him!

"No, we can't stay here!"

Su Chen immediately turned around and started running like crazy again.

Although we can't see those wildly flailing tentacles right now, who knows if they're hiding in some shadows, quietly following us?

Run! We must keep running!

Su Chen's cautiousness would probably earn him a thumbs-up and a "tough guy" from the veteran fugitive world, who is known as "Han Paopao" (Han the Runner).

In this godforsaken place, being a little cowardly isn't shameful; survival is the only thing that matters.

After running for about ten minutes, I suddenly felt something was wrong with my feet.

The layer of dead leaves that used to make a "crunching" sound when stepped on is gone, replaced by a wet, soft, black mud. When you step on it, there's a "squeak" sound as you sink right in.

"Holy crap? A swamp?!"

Su Chen's heart sank. It was too late to stop. One of his feet sank in with a "plop," and the black mud instantly covered his calf. The mud was sticky and smelly, and it felt like countless hands were pulling him down from below. The more he moved, the deeper he sank.

"Damn, am I going to be defeated here?"

The thought made him struggle even harder.

In the face of life and death, Su Chen suddenly felt grateful for the survival shows he used to enjoy watching on short video platforms—Edward, Bear Grylls, and all sorts of masters' teaching methods flashed through his mind.

Especially Bear Grylls' quote: "When you encounter a swamp, don't thrash around. Lie flat and move slowly."

He instinctively wanted to do as he was told, but as soon as he leaned back, he realized that the suction of the black mud was incredibly strong, and even if he lay flat, he would probably sink to the bottom slowly.

"Never mind! I'll give it my all!"

Su Chen steeled his heart, exerted his strength in his waist and abdomen, and his enhanced power burst forth instantly, pulling the leg stuck in the mud out with a "pop"!

He was covered in black mud, and the stench made him feel nauseous, but he didn't care. He scrambled to a solid earthen slope and gasped for breath.

He brushed the mud off his body and looked at the swamp in front of him with lingering fear: one murky black puddle after another, floating with rotten water plants and fragments that were hard to identify, and sparse trees around him, their trunks covered with thick, dark green moss.

"Where did this come from...?" Su Chen scratched his head and looked around, but he didn't see any monsters.

On second thought, that white-clad demon was clearly intelligent. After chasing him for so long, he probably left because he was afraid the "meat stew at home" would burn and he felt it wasn't worth it.

Thinking about it this way, it seems we should "thank" our neighbors for their "selfless dedication"!

"Thank you so much to all the neighbors for your selfless help!"

Su Chen sighed and bowed silently in his heart.

Luckily, I stumbled upon her while she was cooking; otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to escape so easily.

He let out a long breath. Running for so long, even someone in excellent physical condition would be exhausted. Now, with this swamp as a barrier, he should be able to rest for a while.

But the problem is... which corner of the Black Forest is this? And where can we find the hunter's hut?

Su Chen had just sat down when he suddenly remembered the map he'd glimpsed in the demon's hut. He quickly pulled out the drone remote, pressed a few buttons, and brought up the local playback—thankfully, this drone was the latest high-tech model from Huaqiangbei, with offline storage! Otherwise, the previous drone would have been wasted.

He swiped his finger across the screen, zooming in on the map on the wall.

Details that were not clear before are now clearly visible on the 2K screen.

Su Chen immediately took out his phone and snapped a few photos of the remote control screen to save them. Then he squatted on the earthen slope, looking at the photos on his phone while comparing them with the surrounding terrain.

The more he looked, the wider his eyes widened, until finally he couldn't help but growl, "Holy crap! I actually found it!"

The map in the photo has several points marked in red; one of them is in this swampy area, and the pattern is a small wooden house with a slightly blurry cross next to it.

"The Witcher's Hut? Could this be it?"

Su Chen suddenly got excited.

His risky foray into the Black Forest was largely driven by his desire to find clues about the Witcher.

Although it's not 100% certain yet, we've come this far, so we have to go and see for ourselves.

He put away his phone and remote control, and carefully made his way forward along the edge of the swamp, following the directions indicated on the map.

However, the "natives" of the swamp are not very friendly.

Slippery black water snakes occasionally swam across the pool, while palm-sized black mosquitoes buzzed around his head.

The most annoying one is a strange fish—

"Whoosh!"

A dark shadow shot out from the mud like lightning, heading straight for Su Chen's face! He suddenly turned to the side, and the thing "thumped" and slammed into a nearby tree stump.

Upon closer inspection, it was a flying fish with sharp teeth, its entire head embedded two centimeters deep into the wood!

"So powerful?" Su Chen's expression turned serious, and he became extremely alert.

Just as I dodged this one, several more lunged at me from different angles, lunging to bite my ankles and calves.

"Get out of here!"

Su Chen reacted extremely quickly, wielding his red-tasseled spear in a flurry of motion, striking and flicking away the flying fish one by one. Later, he simply swung the spear in a wide arc, and with a series of "thud, thud" sounds, all the flying fish that rushed up became victims of his spear.

Once the wave of "suicide attacks" subsided, Su Chen accelerated and quickly left the area.

Although he had dealt with the strange fish, he was a little frustrated because after they died, they didn't drop any cards or even any materials.

"Looks like not every monster will 'drop loot'." Su Chen pouted, a little disappointed, but he didn't stop walking.

After following the map for another ten minutes or so, we finally saw the marked cabin in the middle of a slightly dry depression.

He first hid behind a big tree and observed from a distance.

The wooden house was even more dilapidated than the one the demon had stayed in. The wooden walls were dark and almost rotten, and half of the thatched roof had collapsed. The surrounding vegetable garden had long been abandoned, overgrown with waist-high weeds, and thick spider webs hung from the corners of the walls and under the eaves, indicating that no one had lived there for at least several decades.

Su Chen patiently watched for a while, and only after confirming that there was no movement did he slowly move over.

But just as I reached the edge of the abandoned vegetable garden, I suddenly felt something floating down from above.

He looked up abruptly, and a spider web the size of a palm was falling right at his face. In the middle of the web was a spider the size of a mung bean—on the back of that spider, there was a clear little human face! It had a nose and eyes, and it was so eerie that it sent chills down his spine!

"A human-faced spider?!" Su Chen quickly took a few steps back. The little spider wobbled and landed on the ground.

He seized the opportunity and stomped down hard.

With a soft "snap," a sticky sensation came from the soles of his feet. Su Chen suppressed his nausea and, not daring to be careless, used his red-tasseled spear to tear and puncture all the visible spider webs around him, making sure there were no other "faces" hiding there, before walking to the old wooden door of the cabin.

Looking at the broken lock on the door.

"This is it... Hopefully, no more demons will jump out of the house this time!"

Su Chen mentally prepared himself, took a deep breath, and reached out to push the door open.

He frowned as soon as his hand touched the door—it was too loose; the lock was practically useless.

"Squeak—creak—"

The wooden door made a screeching sound, and a large cloud of dust fell as the hinges turned. Su Chen covered his nose and took two steps back, waiting for the dust to settle before walking in with a flashlight.

The dust inside was so thick you could write on it. The floor was covered with withered leaves and pebbles, and there were many spider webs in the corners of the walls. A few spiders with human faces that had escaped the webs were rustling and crawling inside.

Su Chen frowned, then stepped on a few more and stomped them to death. He felt a pang of annoyance: If he had known about these things, he should have gotten a bottle of insecticide before setting off! Now he could only resort to physical exorcism, which was too disgusting.

"Sigh, if only I had a space device... I could bring in a refrigerator, let alone insecticide. Unlike now, I'm exhausted just carrying a little bit of stuff."

He shook his head, knowing that the idea was a bit far-fetched.

Space equipment?

That's a legendary artifact from a novel; it's not something you can easily get your hands on.

Holding a flashlight, Su Chen slowly inspected the house. The cabin had only one room, containing a broken wooden bed, a faded wardrobe, and a desk by the window.

He rummaged through the bed and wardrobe, finding only dust and useless junk.

Finally, he walked to the desk and gently brushed away the thick layer of dust that had accumulated on the surface.

Dust billowed up, and Su Chen coughed twice, choking on it.

Just then, the notification sound of the Homestead System rang clearly in his mind:

You have obtained a special item – the "Demon Hunter's Compendium"

Su Chen was taken aback and looked down.

After the dust was blown away, an old book with yellowed pages and thread binding lay quietly in the center of the desk.