Falling into the Cretaceous

Chapter 82 Ancient Black Insects

The forest surrounding the camp, now devoid of ferns and shrubs, directly exposed decaying leaves and soil soaked by rainwater, was releasing a pungent, rotten smell.

The bushes we harvested yesterday have already been eaten by the three dinosaurs. Now we either need to send someone out to harvest more bushes, or we need to ride out and let them eat their fill.

It might be faster to take the bushes out to eat than to harvest them, but being a "dragon-releasing child" is still very dangerous, and most people can't do it.

Shen Ye was also worried that the dinosaur would escape.

So he decided to personally take on the role of the dragon-releasing child.

However, he couldn't sit on three dinosaurs on one bottom, so he needed to bring a few more assistants with him.

Shen Ye didn't call out names, but let them sign up voluntarily. As it turned out, apart from a few core members, the others were really unwilling to do it.

Zhou Jian, Mike, and Sergey were willing.

Ever since Shen Ye lured away the bully dragon and saved them last time, they have wholeheartedly supported Shen Ye.

Ningbo also signed up, but Ning Yan was not too willing for him to do so. After all, it was too dangerous outside now, and it would be ridiculous for a child to go with him!

But Ningbo is very stubborn.

Ningbo broke free from Ning Yan's hand.

"Mom, I really want to go! I want to go with Brother Ye! I've never properly ridden a dragon before, and I'm part of the camp too! After Brother Ye conquers the tribe, I want to ride a pterosaur!" Ningbo said excitedly.

Ning Yan looked to Shen Ye for help.

Shen Ye felt that Ningbo should indeed go with him to experience this, since he was at an age where he should be learning skills and building courage.

In addition, riding a pterosaur is such a high-risk activity that few adults would be willing to do it, and a Quetzalcoatlus carrying an adult would probably get exhausted very quickly, so using children as pterosaur riders is the most suitable option.

If Ningbo were to ride an ordinary dinosaur now, and if he doesn't get seasick or vomit, he might still have a chance to become a pterosaur rider.

"Young man, I admire your courage, but whether you can go out requires the consent of your guardian."

Shen Ye said.

"Mom, please agree already!"

Ningbo pleaded with Ning Yan repeatedly, and Ning Yan, unable to resist his persistent entreaties, finally nodded.

"Then you must listen to Brother Ye and take good care of yourself," Ning Yan instructed.

"Mom, I understand!"

Ningbo was overjoyed and immediately climbed up to the tendon dragon that Shen Ye was riding. Instead of climbing up from the side net, he playfully climbed up behind the tendon dragon's super long tail and then walked towards the dragon's spine like walking on a log bridge.

Ningbo demonstrates exceptional balance.

This really surprised Shen Ye. It seems that he is indeed a sports prodigy, and he might really become a Pterodactyl Knight in the future.

He sat down behind Shen Ye, then touched the slingshot at his waist and the pebbles in his pocket, making sure he had all the gear he needed for hunting before he felt at ease.

"Walk!"

Like controlling a horse, Shen Ye pulled on the reins, making the tendon dragon turn north. There was a hill to the north, covered with many lush green bushes.

In addition, this hill is the highest in the area, and from there you should be able to see a great distance and more of the terrain to the north.

Perhaps those Homo sapiens lived somewhere to the north.

This trip involved three dragons and five people.

Shen Ye, Zhou Jian, Mike, Jack, and Ningbo.

Entering the damp, dense forest, the smell of decaying leaves became even stronger. After passing through the felled forest floor, we quickly entered a more pristine area.

The huge, fallen logs were covered with moss, large patches of black fungus, and other fungi whose names I couldn't even begin to guess.

If you're unsure whether it's safe to eat, of course you should choose not to eat it.

"Brother Ye, there are so many wood ear mushrooms! I should have called the harvesting team out!"

Zhou Jian looked at the unearthed ears and said excitedly.

As a native of Guangdong, Zhou Jian's love for wood ear mushrooms surpasses that of many people from other places. He quickly stopped the dragon boat, tied it up, and got off to pick wood ear mushrooms.

Shen Ye, Jack, and Mike also stopped.

Wood ear fungus, a gelatinous fungus, rarely leaves fossils. If Shen Ye hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't have believed that wood ear fungus actually existed in this era. Moreover, each piece was as big as a palm and very thick, like the skirt of a manta ray.

While they were picking wood ear mushrooms, the three dinosaurs also started eating them nearby.

Shen Ye did not dismount; as a gunman, he had to be constantly vigilant about his surroundings.

Ningbo walked directly on the dragon's spine, like walking on a balance beam, and even moved from one tendon dragon to another.

Shen Ye even wondered if he was a monkey reincarnated in his past life.

They had a great time in Ningbo.

A dozen minutes later, all the wood ear mushrooms in the surrounding area had been harvested.

Zhou Jian put them into a leather bag, which had previously been used to store tree pith.

Shen Ye never expected to bring a bag with him.

Zhou Jian is quite meticulous; I guess he relied on this boldness and attention to detail when he was trying to woo rich women.

In addition to picking wood ear mushrooms, Zhou Jian also picked tender fern leaves.

After climbing down the dragon's spine, Zhou Jian still felt reluctant to leave the large number of fungi around him.

"I really don't know if these mushrooms are edible; they look so tempting!"

Zhou Jian said with a look of a foodie.

Shen Ye also expressed his helplessness. This era did indeed have a rich variety of fungi, but as for whether they were edible, he really didn't know.

Unless we get information from the savages.

Even if savages could eat it, we modern people might not be able to.

"Don't try anything that's unsafe. In short, never try eating plants you're unsure about unless absolutely necessary."

.

Shen Ye said.

"good!"

Zhou Jian nodded, and they continued on their way.

Mike and Jack, having not slept well the night before, lay down on the dragon's spine one after the other, with the mother dragon following behind them.

Whenever they reached a place with abundant vegetation, they would stop and remove the wood from the dragons' mouths, allowing them to eat on the spot.

Later on, they simply stopped attaching the crossbar to their mouths and let them eat as they walked towards the north slope.

Like herding cattle, releasing dragons requires three or four hours of feeding time before they are full.

A few days ago, we harvested the surrounding bushes; otherwise, it would have been difficult to feed these guys.

Birds chirped and sang in the woods, and small animals could be seen darting about from time to time.

No other dangers were found along the way.

No traces or footprints of the Tyrannosaurus Rex were found.

It's unclear whether they went somewhere else or didn't come this way at all.

Two hours later, they finally reached the top of the hill.

However, the trees above block the view, making it difficult to see the lush forest terrain in the distance.

Shen Ye always carried a rope for climbing trees with him.

He handed the dinosaur over to Ningbo, then picked a cedar tree and started climbing it.

The damp cedar tree was not easy to climb, but Shen Ye still overcame the difficulties and climbed all the way to the top of the tree.

The wind is blowing loudly up here.

Shen Ye took out his binoculars and began to observe the terrain in the far northwest.

He discovered that the terrain in the northwest was flatter and the vegetation was more abundant. In some areas, large numbers of pterosaurs hovered overhead, possibly indicating the presence of lakes below.

There were definitely more herbivorous dinosaurs here than here.

But this also means that there are many other predatory dinosaurs over there.

If the savages wanted to survive there, it probably wouldn't be so easy, but they could use it as a huge hunting ground.

Of course, the savages began to learn how to fish efficiently, and the food in the wilderness was soon abandoned.

These wild men are now migrating towards the river, which means they have entered the early stages of river civilization. Moreover, judging from the side nets on the dinosaur saddles, these wild men have already invented nets and even used them to catch fish.

Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to keep the Quetzalcoatlus alive.

In the past, when Shen Ye read about these civilizations and histories in books, it was just a matter of a single sentence.

It might even evoke a romantic sense of the history of civilization's evolution.

However, when one truly becomes a witness to this history, and in this dangerous, barbaric, and backward era, one becomes a speck of dust in history, that sense of romance vanishes completely.

Feelings of helplessness, pain, loneliness, and fear constantly overwhelmed me.

He truly envied that future generations could walk around the campus and read about the beautiful evolution that others had created with blood and life in books.

Thinking about all this, Shen Ye found himself with tears welling up in his eyes without realizing it.

However, he quickly wiped away his tears.

Tears are the most useless thing in this era. He knows that no matter how difficult or bitter things are, he must live on with strength.

Because he is the leader, he cannot hide behind anyone and shed tears.

Shen Ye composed himself.

Slowly slide down this ancient cedar tree.

Zhou Jian entrusted the task of releasing the dragon to Mike, Jack, and Ningbo, while he searched for black fungus in the surrounding area, as it could be preserved for a long time after being dried.

Shen Ye remained on guard.

The three dinosaurs were very picky eaters, specializing in the tender shoots of shrubs and ferns.

We'd eat at one place for half an hour, then move on to another, enjoying the crisp, rain-soaked leaves one bite at a time.

Three hours later, the two dinosaurs and the Maiasaura had almost finished eating.

They were also very fortunate that they did not encounter any danger in the past three hours, except that they occasionally saw some West Clawed Dragons darting around in the forest.

They were probably out hunting, but unfortunately, these tall creatures were not their prey, so they had to move on to another location immediately.

They walked along the ridge toward the camp.

But as they walked, Jack noticed that Mike's foot was bleeding.

"Mike, why is your leg bleeding?"

Jack shouted, and Mike realized what was happening. He quickly lifted one of his legs and found that it was indeed bleeding.

Since he hadn't tied his legs up this time, he pulled up his casual pants to check, and what he saw shocked him.

His legs were covered with tiny black bean-like things.

"What the hell?! What is this thing?!"

Mike got goosebumps all over, picked one off with his hand and squeezed it hard, a large puddle of blood burst open and splattered onto his face.

Everyone turned around and looked at Mike's two calves covered with "black beans," and some even had trypophobia.