Wilderness Survival with Druid System-Chapter 389 - 58: Fishing

Side-necked turtle?

Chen Wen looked at the name of the turtle egg and recalled the related information.

Side-necked turtles are a type of turtle, but unlike their relatives that can retract their heads into their shells.

Side-necked turtles cannot completely retract their necks into their shells.

Therefore, when they encounter danger, they will tilt their heads sideways close to their bodies.

This is also the origin of their name.

However, Chen Wen remembered a piece of information he saw before coming here; side-necked turtles are gregarious.

Looks like there are quite a few turtles in that swamp!

Next time, I can thoroughly search it again.

Chen Wen thought and chose the side-necked turtle’s [Walk as on Flat Ground].

Currently, the swamp terrain is quite restrictive, and easing some of those restrictions would be best.

After choosing the trait for the side-necked turtle, there was also the trait for his old friend cassava.

[Plunder the natural creation - cassava!]

[Plundering... Plundering complete!]

[Please choose one of the following three traits]

[Shaded (Blue): When you stay out of the sun for a long time and remain in the shade, growth slows down and health deteriorates]

[Note: Sunbathing feels warm and caring~ — Cassava]

[Adaptable (Purple): You can adapt to various types of land, and when you arrive at a new place, you experience no acclimatization issues. If it’s land you’re already accustomed to, your survival ability is enhanced]

[Note: Acclimatization issues? Totally adaptable! — Cassava]

[Poisonous Body (Purple): Your body has a certain level of toxicity from top to bottom; carnivorous animals will sense the signals from your body and are more likely to give up hunting you. However, you’ll be poisoned for at least one hour every night, duration influenced by your physique]

[Note: I don’t understand; why is my whole body toxic and yet humans eat me? Even as one of the six major crops? — Cassava]

[Please make a choice or forfeit within one minute! If overdue, the first trait will be automatically selected!]

The traits of cassava are quite interesting.

The [Poisonous Body] trait can reduce the likelihood of being hunted by carnivorous animals.

But the side effect of being poisoned for at least an hour every night is something Chen Wen absolutely cannot accept.

Therefore, Chen Wen chose [Adaptable].

Adapting to new environments is a challenge every survivor has to face.

Every time Chen Wen arrives at a survival site in advance, it’s to reduce the impact of acclimatization issues on himself.

After finishing the trait selection, Chen Wen calmed himself down.

Today’s tasks are relatively simple: continue to inspect the fishing traps and then make some small tools in the shelter.

Currently, Chen Wen wants to make a bowl and a spoon.

With an axe, making these small tools is not difficult.

Moreover, he has learned some carpentry skills from Gan Tieshan, who comes from a woodworking background, and later he also read some books on crafting at the association.

Now is a perfect time to experiment.

Apart from making little gadgets, Chen Wen also plans to rub the juice of the belladonna berries on the caltrop.

This task is not difficult.

He picked up a handful of leaves to use as a brush to apply the juice on the caltrop.

A day passed.

By the next morning, Chen Wen’s poisonous caltrop, bowl, and spoon were all completed.

At the camp, Chen Wen pondered for a moment and found that there wasn’t much left to do.

Plus, the hippo’s injury had stabilized.

The previous idea of using the hippo for fishing resurfaced in Chen Wen’s mind.

So, after finishing his meal.

Chen Wen went to the riverside and discussed fishing with the hippo.

...

"Me? Fish?"

With increasing intelligence, the gradually more composed hippo was stunned, looking at Chen Wen.

It seemed unexpected to get assigned this job.

It was like Li Yunlong applying for jobs and ending up being hired by a cotton clothing factory.

It felt somewhat like misusing the hippo.

Chen Wen nodded, not giving the hippo a chance to continue speaking: "Don’t worry, since I’m letting you do this, I have my reasons. Moreover, this task is not dangerous, and you can complete it quite safely." 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Wait for my signal, then drive the fish."

The hippo sulked in the water, expressing its dissatisfaction by snorting.

It wasn’t afraid of danger, it just felt that fishing didn’t seem like something it should be doing.

But it still chose to follow Chen Wen’s advice.

...

Chen Wen returned to where he first caught the catfish.

The river channel extending from here clearly showed that the water level of the Kuanduo River was declining.

The section of the river that once extended seventeen or eighteen meters had dried up to only about seven or eight meters.

Chen Wen dismantled the earthen dam that was blocking the water level and used the axe as a shovel to dig out some silt to deepen the channel.

After completing this, Chen Wen raised his spear and signaled to the hippo.

"As I said, stir the water flow underwater and drive them towards this side; give it a try! If it fails, it’s alright."

The hippo snorted a response, then dived back into the river.

....

Under the murky river water, the hippo’s shortsighted eyes scanned its surroundings.

At the same time, it used its sense of the water’s movement to search for the location of the fish schools.

About half a minute later, the hippo found the fish school near the riverbed.

After hesitating momentarily, it started using the method taught by Chen Wen, vigorously swinging its four short legs to stir the water.

The tilapia school sensed the change in the water flow.

Their simple brains didn’t have time to ponder the deeper meaning of the hippo’s actions.

But they knew clearly that something was happening below the water!

The school instinctively fled in the opposite direction.

But this was exactly what Chen Wen intended.

Watching the fish school swim from the deep water to the shallow water, Chen Wen’s eyes lit up.

He was holding his spear, waiting for the hippo to drive the fish to the shallow area so he could spear them.

However, just as the fish school was about to reach the shore, they suddenly turned.

They swam along the riverbank towards the sides.

The light in Chen Wen’s eyes gradually faded away.

"How was it? Successful?"

With a splash, the hippo emerged from the water, meeting Chen Wen’s gaze.

Well, it failed.

The hippo felt it was its issue that led to the failure, so it seemed a bit dejected.

However, Chen Wen waved his hand, letting the hippo not dwell on it.

"This time it was my misjudgment of the fish school’s route of action. It seems that tilapia really dislike shallow water areas; well, I’ve got an idea."

Chen Wen let the hippo continue waiting for the signal underwater.

Meanwhile, he took off his shirt, tying the cuffs and collar tightly.

Using the hippo to drive the tilapia to the channel and then spearing them with the javelin wasn’t practical.

The tilapia’s aversion to shallow waters was more intense than Chen Wen had anticipated.

Therefore, Chen Wen planned to use a method from his childhood to catch the tilapia.

Simply put, he would turn his shirt into a net bag.

Lay in wait, and when the hippo herded the tilapia over, scoop them up.

The water would flow out through the gaps in the shirt, while the tilapia would be left behind.

During his childhood, Chen Wen often received a mix of scolding from his parents for catching fish this way.

But more often, it was him and his father being reprimanded by his mother, followed by the whole family teaming up to deal with the caught fish.

Finally, they would add fresh crucian carp with red dates to a soup.

The next morning, they’d coat the pickled fish in batter, frying it to a golden brown.

Thus, as he once again picked up this skill from childhood, he felt a twinge of nostalgia.