Chapter 170
“What the hell is that? And where'd you get into a fight? You look like shit.”
Still ignoring him, Yadong shuffled to the corner and rummaged through the fruit pouch. He pulled out a white fruit, bit into it to squeeze out the juice, and smeared it over the wounds on his torso and limbs.
Watching the whole thing, Han Yaseong couldn't help himself. He rubbed his eyes, sat up, grabbed another white fruit from the pouch, chewed it up, spat the pulp into his hand, and slathered it onto Yadong's wounded back.
“What the fuck did you fight, anyway? Some other beast?”
Kyarrung. Yadong growled, then fished out a green fruit from the pouch. Han Yaseong, having finished spreading the white fruit juice across Yadong's back, blinked in surprise. He'd definitely seen him grab a green one.
“Huh? You gonna eat that? Why? What's it for?”
Ignoring the question again, Yadong popped the green fruit into his mouth, chewed it a couple times, and swallowed it whole. No thorough mashing—just gulp.
“You swallowed it? Without chewing? Why?”
Bitter? It gave off a medicinal vibe. The green fruit had to be some kind of drug. Given Yadong's wounds, Han Yaseong guessed antibiotic—something to prevent infection. Or maybe anti-inflammatory, painkiller. Something like that.
Han Yaseong pulled a green fruit from the pouch and examined it in his palm. If it had medicinal properties like the white one—which healed wounds—this was probably anti-inflammatory, pain relief, or antibiotic, as suspected. He'd have to try it himself later to know for sure.
Yadong, wounds stinging and appetite shot, curled up in his dark corner and lay down. He looked utterly drained. No clue where he'd been or what he'd done to come back this beat-up and exhausted.
Han Yaseong eyed the jagged golden object Yadong had spat from his mouth, then picked it up. It was heavy—easily five kilos. Had to be solid gold.
But up close, it was intricately engraved. Not natural markings—deliberate, machined lines. Too precise for hand-carving. Machine-made, for sure.
“What the hell is this?”
Han Yaseong stared at Yadong in astonishment, but the beast was already out cold. Where the hell had he gotten this? And why?
Thinking back, it hit him: that morning, while roasting ostrich meat, he'd said something. If he found anything that made you insanely stronger, let him know. Something to beat those monsters.
Yadong had paused mid-bite. Like he knew something. But he hadn't spilled, so Han Yaseong let it drop. Then Yadong left the shelter... and came back with this. Not just carrying it—covered in fight scars. He'd gone through hell for it.
So Han Yaseong wondered: was this rectangular golden thing some insane power-up item? Why else would Yadong bust his ass and get hurt hauling it back?
“This thing's gotta be something special, right?”
With Yadong asleep, no answers. But it didn't feel ordinary. Machine-made. Which meant intelligent life—maybe aliens. Heart pounding, Han Yaseong buzzed with excitement. Real aliens? This elongated gold bar could be a spaceship key. With ruined temples around, who knew—a crashed ship, Atlantis-level ruins. Something useful, that's why Yadong fetched it. Maybe even the key to beating that giant ape...
Felt like scoring a major artifact. Details would have to wait till Yadong woke up.
Han Yaseong lay back down, staring at the gold bar. Intricate metaphysical patterns etched in precise lines—like some formula. What the hell was it for? Curiosity gnawed at him.
Next morning, Yadong—somewhat recovered—munched happily on boiled ostrich meat. Han Yaseong, up late pondering and tired, dragged himself up, sat, and took a few sips of water.
Yadong's minor wounds were mostly healed. Those fruits worked wonders.
Waiting till Yadong finished eating, Han Yaseong held out the gold-bar-like object.
“What's this for?”
Yadong licked his teeth clean, glanced at it, then bolted outside. Curious, Han Yaseong followed.
Yadong headed to the ruined temple site, scanned around, searching for a specific spot. Poking here, peering there, pacing back and forth... then stopped at one place. He dug at it with his paws a few times, left some marks, stepped back, and stared.
Clear message: dig here.
“Dig here?”
Yadong gave a vague nod. Han Yaseong checked the scratched dirt, tapped it with his foot. Rock-hard ground. No way by hand. Needed a pickaxe, shovel—but nothing like that here. Hadn't brought any from the other world.
He grabbed a sharp rock, hammered away. Futile. Barely scratched the surface. Proper tools required for this dirt.
“You really mean dig here?”
Yadong, skeptical-look confirmed, sauntered off casually. Like: job's done.
What the hell was buried? Spaceship entrance? Whatever— that gold bar had a purpose here. Yadong wouldn't pointlessly say dig.
Something underground, for sure. But no tools. Guess he'd head home, buy sturdy pick and shovel, come back.
Yadong figured he couldn't dig today, so bounced. Smart beast.
Still no clue where he'd snagged the gold bar.
Han Yaseong tabled the digging, washed at the stream. Needed to go home anyway—for tools. Bonus: grab gear, visit Senior Choi Yujin and Senior Euna along the way.
After washing, back at shelter—Yadong sprawled, curled up. Han Yaseong toweled his damp hair, casually asked:
“Where'd you get this?”
Holding out the gold bar, Yadong glanced, scowled. Pissed-off expression. Definitely fought other beasts for it.
Gyarrung! Yadong growled, scratched a rough map on the ground with his paw.
Too sloppy—no idea what it meant. Vaguely, a few hills crossed... nothing else.
Yadong's drawing sucked.
Han Yaseong grabbed a stick, demonstrated.
“Hey, to draw, don't just outline—hit the key features. The essentials. Makes it recognizable. Like this.”
Old web tutorials on comic drawing came in handy. Skills mediocre, but he could convey meaning. Taught Yadong.
Yadong stared at the dirt sketch, silent. Shocked. Used to seeing his reflection in water—drawn image hit like culture shock. Pride kept him from showing it, though. Gyarrung, then redrew.
Much better than his paw-scribble. Still with feet, but improved.
“This is a hill... and that's not Forest 0. Another forest?”
Studying Yadong's map: not Forest 0. Hills in another forest—left of Forest 0, hilly area.
As Han Yaseong pieced it, Yadong scratched more: vicious beasts. Not one or two—five or six. Smallish, but savage claws.
Yadong got mauled by those.