"Honestly, I don't know either."
Valentina replied in a low voice, still dazed from their near-death experience.
Even with her battlefield experience, she had never encountered anything like this. It felt like dying, then suddenly being spared by the Reaper—time reversing or freezing just long enough for her to drag Chuck from certain death.
"When I went to save you, that thing just stood at the cave entrance, watching. It felt like..."
"Like what?"
Hearing her description, Chuck looked at her in surprise, waiting for details.
"Like... it was blocked by something."
Valentina's words froze Chuck on the spot.
Blocked?
Why did the tiger stop inside the cave, unable to step onto the shallows?
What was the difference between the shallows and the cave?
Could it be...
Chuck's eyes widened.
Combining past observations of the island's beasts, a startling hypothesis formed.
There were four survivor landing spots: the southern beach (Chuck & Julia), the eastern beach (Gu mother & daughter), the southwest bay (Kaede & Kaoru), and the cave shallows (Valentina).
To date, Chuck had never seen any beasts or large animal traces in these "spawn points." Even insects were rare.
While the harsh seaside environment was a factor, if the island operated like a survival game as Chuck suspected, these "spawn points" were essentially "low-risk, low-resource" Rookie Villages.
Coupled with another confirmed theory, the rules of beast activity became clear.
Normally, beasts stayed in their territory but would chase if attacked or provoked.
However, due to the asynchronous nature of survivors, this pursuit range was limited—they couldn't enter the spawn beaches where survivors first woke up.
Rookie Village Protection Mechanism!
Nowadays, Chuck habitually used game logic to explain the island's mysteries, and it often worked.
Even if it was just wishful thinking, as long as the logic held, he would use it.
Valentina's suggestion to escape via raft from the cave shallows, though executed poorly, accidentally saved Chuck's life.
If he had fled toward the jungle, his grave grass would be meters high by now.
"Don't overthink it if you can't figure it out. Weird shit happens here more often than I shave my pubes. You'll tire yourself out asking why."
Valentina, pragmatic as ever, dismissed the mystery. Seeing Chuck's face, her tension faded, and she nodded oddly at him.
"Though I dislike your analogy, you're right. Anyway, we won."
"Oh yeah."
Chuck raised his hand weakly for a high-five, then pushed himself up into a push-up position.
Tearing pain shot through his back.
"Don't move. I'll carry you back."
Seeing his grimace, Valentina offered softly, pity in her eyes.
Chuck shook his head and looked at her.
"I can't see it, only feel it. How bad is it?"
"Four claw marks. Quite severe. An ordinary person would be inflamed or immobile from pain by now."
Valentina's tone shifted slightly.
"But the bleeding stopped. It just looks scary, right?"
Chuck smirked, understanding her "you monster" look. He stood up straight and walked slowly toward the cave exit.
"Hey! Where are you going?!"
Seeing him walk out leisurely with a mangled, bloody back, Valentina froze, then chased after him, shouting.
"To get our spoils, of course."
"After all this trouble, nearly dying, skipping sex for days... it was all for this. No time to rest."
Finishing the coconut milk in one gulp, Chuck rolled his shoulders and headed north toward the swamp.
His pace quickened from slow to fast.
...
Forty minutes later. Lake Plains.
Unable to stop him, Valentina couldn't watch him bleed while walking.
She ran to a stream, tore her shirt into strips, washed them, and let them dry on her waist...
Then forced Chuck to the ground.
Cleaning the wound with water, she wrapped the cloth strips around his back, covering the slowly oozing wounds.
This made future treatment harder but was necessary to prevent infection in the hot, humid jungle filled with insects. Chuck's bleeding back was a feast for them.
Thanks to this, Chuck's injury didn't worsen by the time they reached the dry plains, though he looked listless from fatigue.
Scanning the peaceful lake with the monocular in the afternoon sun, Chuck quickly found the blood-soaked rock and the tiger lying prone on top, facing the setting sun, motionless.
Or rather, the tiger's corpse.
An indescribable relief filled Chuck. He handed the monocular to Valentina. Moments later, they exchanged looks of surprise and joy.
"It's dead! We did it! Damn, we killed a tiger!!"
Valentina clenched her fists, lips trembling. The achievement and relief of survival far exceeded killing the leopard.
Chuck was excited too, but mostly urgent.
The tiger was dead; the goal was achieved. But Jiang Qi was waiting, growing weaker by the minute.
He promised to cure her tonight. He would keep his word.
Crossing the plains outskirts with Valentina, they slowed, approaching the lake cautiously.
Though the tiger was dead, other threats might exist. Experience said it was unlikely, but caution was key given their exhaustion.
Fortunately, no threats appeared. They reached the lake, awed by the vibrant ecosystem.
Master Botanist perception triggered from multiple directions—resources Chuck had never sensed before.
Water buffalo, pheasants, deer, unknown birds... all around the lake, guarding their drinking spots leisurely.
Chuck scanned them, noted potential livestock, and withdrew his gaze.
No time for resource gathering or animals now.
The tiger was dead; the plains were his. He had plenty of time to patrol later.
Priority: Cure Jiang Qi.
"Give me a hand. I'm climbing up."
Reaching the bloody rock, the pungent metallic smell confirmed the tiger was deader than dead.
Valentina nodded, clasping her hands to boost him up the two-meter rock.
Face-to-face with the massive beast they killed, Chuck marveled again at its power.
A true monster.
If this wasn't "Lord-Class," Chuck didn't know what was.
Admiring it briefly, he moved to the other side, pulled the bolt from its eye, and used it as a lever to pry the 300kg carcass off the rock.
Thud.
Chuck climbed down carefully. Taking the knife from Valentina, they squatted on either side of the tiger without words, processing it quickly under the setting sun.
As said before, despite its power, the tiger was pure muscle, only slightly larger than the bear. Processing wasn't too hard.
The valuable tiger skin—important in both worlds—was carefully skinned. Valentina took it to the lake to wash and roll.
Next, the organs.
While she was gone, Chuck cut the chest fascia. As expected, intense light shone from the bloody depths.
Joyfully, he reached in, removed the glowing heart, and stored it.
Heart secured. The guarded [Other Shore Flowers] must be nearby. He hadn't looked yet, but killing the tiger meant another unimaginable stat boost!
Besides the heart, Chuck discarded only the digestive system, keeping liver, kidneys, and gall bladder in storage.
Finally, the main event—flesh and blood.
Gripping the bloody knife, Chuck opened the workbench Alchemy panel and retrieved a prepared clay pot from storage.
[Detected in Workbench: Energy Essence (1kg)]
Refining an Essence Potion required 1kg of Energy Essence and 100kg of Lord-Class Flesh.
Flesh meant blood and meat. Blood loss was significant, and removing skin/organs reduced weight further.
But 100kg was still easy to meet.
Chuck wielded the knife swiftly. Not for eating, so presentation didn't matter. Removing excess bone, he cut a large chunk of meat and threw it into the workbench.
[Detected in Workbench: Lord-Class Tiger Flesh (8kg)]
Confirmed Lord-Class!
Though officially certified, Chuck felt little surprise. The difficulty of the fight made it expected.
Chunk after chunk went in. The weight climbed rapidly. Under Chuck's precise control, it hit exactly 100kg.
The synthesis button lit up as expected.
[Detected: Energy Essence (1kg), Lord-Class Tiger Flesh (100kg)] [Synthesizable Special Rare Item: Essence Potion x1. Estimated Time: 1 Minute] [Synthesize?]