Day Seventy-One: Rebuilding the Homeland (Part Seven) An Additional Chapter for "Rising Clouds in Serenity"

This is a strange creature! It stared at me with fierce eyes, and I felt a twinge of fear. My hand had already drawn the gun at my waist. The safety was off, and with my left hand, I also pulled out the fire axe. Though it was small, it looked fierce. Perhaps noticing my weapons, it grew angry, opening its mouth to reveal sharp teeth. It stood only a few dozen centimeters tall, its body marked by two colors—a ring of white fur atop its head and along its back, with the rest of its body covered in dark gray-black fur.

It seemed to have singled me out, advancing step by step. The pistol was already aimed at it. If it came within five meters, I might have to shoot... or at least swing the axe. It showed no fear at all. On this island, apart from wild boars, there was little I feared. Most animals would retreat at the sight of me, but this little creature seemed determined, walking straight toward me.

Six meters left. Enough—I decided to take the initiative.

But just then, it suddenly turned its head. Following its gaze, I saw a snake. While I was facing off with this reckless little beast, an uninvited guest had arrived. Its scales gleamed with vibrant colors, and its sharp triangular head marked it as a venomous serpent.

Remarkably, the little creature abandoned its confrontation with me and moved toward the snake. The snake was two meters long, while the small animal resembled a skunk, yet it dared to approach? No wonder it wanted to fight me—it was courting death. It seemed even these small animals sought opportunities for suicide.

The snake appeared uninterested in the skunk-like creature, quickening its slither, perhaps annoyed. Yet the little beast was relentless, speeding up to charge. Watching this, I couldn’t help but laugh aloud. I’d seen cautious animals before but never one so stubborn, attacking repeatedly.

They met. I wasn’t about to miss such an entertaining scene and didn’t even pause to collect pebbles. I wanted to witness this audacious little creature’s self-destructive act.

The snake grew angry. The little beast’s days were numbered. The serpent coiled, its head raised high, tongue flicking venomously. Even from this distance, a chill ran down my spine.

This was a venomous snake; one bite would be fatal. Yet the little creature, foolish and fearless, bared its teeth and lunged. I was stunned by its stupidity—truly a newborn calf unafraid of the tiger—showing no regard for its small size. A venomous snake? It dared to attack? Sure enough, the snake bit down.

“Alas, it’s over,” I muttered. That skunk-like thing’s brain must be mush. I crouched to pick up some pebbles, wondering if this stupid animal was depressed. How such a brainless creature survived on this island was beyond me.

Only after finishing my gathering did my thoughts still. Raising the basket to leave, I decided to glance back at the scene of the snake devouring the skunk-like beast.

“Holy crap!” I swore.

That glance nearly made me drop the vine basket again. My mind filled with question marks.

Reality was the exact opposite of what I imagined! If I hadn’t seen it myself, I wouldn’t have believed what unfolded before my eyes.

My mouth hung agape—maybe big enough to fit a goose egg.

What had I seen?

That skunk-like creature wasn’t dead! In the ten minutes or so I spent collecting stones, it had already eaten half the snake! Yes, eaten it!

It was still eating, tearing and chewing swiftly, occasionally shooting me a fierce sideways glance, warning and challenging me.

“But I saw it get bitten by the venomous snake! Could it be that it wasn’t venomous? Impossible! What’s going on? And how did it so easily dispatch such a snake?” Questions raced through my mind, yet the creature seemed truly angry now. It stopped eating and growled in my direction, clearly furious—as if warning me to leave or face its charge.

Fine, I didn’t want to engage in a pointless fight. Judging by its appearance, it probably wasn’t edible anyway. Its look didn’t inspire any appetite.

To be able to kill and devour a snake that quickly, and not fear its venomous bite—if I ever encountered such a creature again, I’d have to be cautious. A quick analysis told me it was fiercer than my little black dog. Even against a large non-venomous snake, my dog might prevail, but this creature was different. I recalled the dense, sharp teeth it had bared—it was clearly no pushover.

Why had it singled me out today? Did it really see me as food? But such a small creature could hardly threaten me.

...

Back at the treehouse, these thoughts finally subsided. Enough. Next time I’d be more careful around such creatures.

The pebbles were soon laid out, and after a few trips, the ground beneath the lower level of the treehouse was fully covered. The whole structure instantly gained a touch of sophistication, resembling a special marble mosaic of river stones. Now, when it rained, I wouldn’t have to worry about mud.

I left drainage channels along the edges of the four walls on the lower level. So long as the roof wasn’t torn off, flooding wouldn’t be an issue.

With time still on my side, I planned to stroll down to the beach. The sun hadn’t set yet—maybe it was just four in the afternoon, certainly before six.

The beach was close, and often the debris washed ashore contained useful items. If only I could find a waterproof tarp, that would be perfect. I’d been thinking of a plan but hadn’t found the time.

Only during low tide could I carry it out. Next time, I aimed to use stones and pebbles to craft a simple semicircular barrier on the shore, trapping small fish, shrimp, and octopuses brought in and out by the tides, making it easier to collect them repeatedly.

Hopefully, a low tide would come soon.

Unfortunately, there was no low tide today—instead, the tide rose a bit. The baby sea turtles hadn’t hatched yet, and some nesting sites were submerged. I wondered if the hatchlings would survive.

As I walked off the beach, a few floating pieces of debris caught my attention nearby.