Man-portable weapons, as the name implies, are weapons that can be used by an ordinary infantryman.
Man-portable weapons generally fall into three major categories: melee weapons, firearms, and explosives.
The System's reward, the "Man-Portable Weapon Pack," suggested by its name that it contained more than one item. And Shi Ming's guess proved correct; in a corner of the system warehouse—over a dozen cubic meters in size—lay an assault pack.
Its satisfying weight gave Shi Ming a great sense of reward.
He opened it.
As expected, inside was a ninety-centimeter sharp saber, a pistol, and a bomb.
[Melee Weapon - Razor's Edge.]
[Model 92B-2037 Pistol, with 11 bullets.]
[Fated Death Remote-Detonated Bomb, 1.]
If he had brought any one of these items before the captain, it would have undoubtedly meant his death. But now, he wasn't afraid in the slightest. The system warehouse allowed him to carry these weapons with impunity, ready to give the captain an unexpected surprise.
The only remaining risk was the so-called control chip.
Until he could disable the chip's control, Shi Ming wouldn't confront the captain head-on.
'For now, I just have to lie low!'
He explored the depths of the island a little more, and on the way, he returned to the scar left by the Xuanwu to make some advance preparations. These preparations would play a significant role in his plans to come.
After that, he brushed the dust and dirt from his clothes and left.
As the leader of the slave "Vanguard Team," he needed to rendezvous with the other slaves around this time, just as planned.
'After a whole night, who knows how many of the other slaves are still alive.'
'But that genius who lit the bonfire is most likely a goner.'
...
The morning dew on the island was heavy, but fortunately, Shi Ming was highly adaptable. He made his way to the island's periphery and began searching for other survivors.
Before long, he made a discovery.
He found a crude hiding spot.
A large amount of damp earth was overturned, showing obvious signs of digging. It was a freshly dug pit, covered with a thick layer of branches and fallen leaves, with a Stone even placed on top to weigh it down.
This level of crude camouflage wouldn't fool any intelligent creature, but it was just enough to easily evade the attacks of the Bloodthirsty Moths.
Shi Ming tightened his grip on his dagger.
"Leader! It's me!"
A familiar voice called out from inside the pit.
Then, two people pushed aside the branches and emerged. It was the bald-headed slave and his younger brother.
"It's you."
Seeing Shi Ming, the two of them breathed a deep sigh of relief, looking as if they were about to kowtow to him.
"Leader, we will never forget that you saved our lives! We brothers will be sure to repay you!"
Both of them were covered in dirt, but it couldn't conceal the gratitude on their faces.
Shi Ming nodded to himself.
'These two brothers are honest guys.'
It was no wonder the brothers' reaction was so strong; they were still shaken. Last night, they had just finished digging the pit—not even having had time to dispose of the fresh dirt—when they heard the Bloodthirsty Moths approaching. In their panic, the two could only jump into the half-finished pit and create a simple barrier and camouflage with branches and leaves.
They never expected that even this would be enough to make those Fierce Moths give up in frustration.
Having spent the night in terror and narrowly escaping death, the gratitude in the brothers' hearts was beyond words.
It was only natural that they would show their willingness to follow him.
"By the way, that little vial you gave me... I dropped it during the fight. It's gone."
"Leader, what vial...?"
"Never mind..."
The group stopped discussing the topic, as if the conversation had never taken place and no vial had ever been mentioned.
The three of them began searching the island's periphery for more survivors.
Under Shi Ming's subtle guidance, the group arrived at the site of the extinguished bonfire.
There were the remains of a blackened fire, charred moth carcasses, and a few snow-white skeletons.
Shi Ming picked up the only moth carcass that was still reasonably intact. Looking at the grisly scene, he couldn't help but frown.
'This is beyond gruesome. It's like they were vaporized. No, wait, the skeletons are right there... picked so clean there isn't a shred of flesh left. They're cleaner than if they'd been soaked in strong acid!'
When the two brothers saw this, a wave of retrospective fear washed over them, and their gratitude toward Shi Ming deepened. If he hadn't reminded them to find a hiding place early on, their fate wouldn't have been much different from this.
"Leader, those terrifying things... they don't come out during the day, do they?"
The younger of the two slaves asked Shi Ming, his voice trembling.
He had never seen such a horrific scene before.
"They probably don't." Before Shi Ming could answer, a voice came from behind him.
Shi Ming turned around. It was another surviving slave. The man was lean but had a sharp air about him. A scar ran across his face, and his eyes held a cunning glint. Judging by his appearance alone, he was not someone to be trifled with.
The two brothers, however, ignored the scar-faced man, instead keeping their eyes on Shi Ming, as if they couldn't rest easy without his confirmation.
"They're nocturnal creatures. I saw their nest yesterday while I was scouting," Shi Ming said unhurriedly, his gaze on the Bloodthirsty Moth carcass on the ground.
"Oh? You actually saw their nest?"
The look in the scar-faced man's eyes changed.
"Heh, their nest is on the far west side of the island. There's a giant broodmother in there, much scarier-looking than this one. But they all sleep during the day, so they probably won't launch a large-scale attack."
Shi Ming had deliberately given the wrong direction and fabricated the existence of the broodmother.
He had been to the far west side of the island as well.
The terrain there was complex and the cliffs were difficult to climb, but there was nothing out of the ordinary.
"You actually dared to go to a place like that?"
The scar-faced man sounded incredulous.
"The captain's mission was to explore, so naturally, I had to give it my all. Besides, I even killed a few that were foolish enough to cross me."
Shi Ming took out his dagger.
The traces of Fierce Moth ichor still on the blade spoke for themselves.
The scar-faced man fell silent.
The group explored and searched for others, but unfortunately, they didn't find any more survivors. They did, however, find two more sets of skeletal remains.
The remains were in the same state as the others, the flesh gnawed completely clean by the Bloodthirsty Moths.
Five skeletons, four survivors. Of the nine slaves, less than half remained after a single night.
And these were the casualty numbers *with* Shi Ming's warning. No wonder even the official exploration teams were unwilling to scout New Island, insisting on using slaves as pathfinders instead.
Who wouldn't be terrified of a death rate like that?
...
When the appointed time to return to the ship arrived, the four of them prepared to head back to their original landing point.
Each of them was lost in their own thoughts along the way.
"Did you guys gather any intel?"
The scar-faced man asked, breaking the silence.
The bald-headed slave was about to answer, but his brother tugged on his arm, and he immediately shut his mouth.
"Nothing much beyond the island's ores and fruits. The biggest piece of intel is obviously these nocturnal Fierce Moths. You?" Shi Ming said, holding up the Bloodthirsty Moth carcass wrapped in leaves.
"This island isn't that big. The intel we all gathered is probably about the same," the scar-faced man said evasively.
"That's true."
Shi Ming smiled.
'This scar-faced man has been trying to pry information out of me from the start. His methods are just too clumsy.'