Recently, Chuck had vaguely guessed that the full moon might be linked to the Other Shore Trials, though he hadn't confirmed it yet.
Coincidentally, Jiang Qi's condition had stabilized, and her trust level reached the maximum of 100 points required to trigger a trial...
Looking at the moon overhead, Chuck's gaze grew thoughtful.
If so, it seemed he wouldn't sleep peacefully tonight.
But everything had two sides. If Jiang Qi successfully passed the Other Shore Trial, her exclusive bonus would upgrade, allowing her to store more time for the workbench queue during idle moments. This would save significant time in material production for future development plans.
Previous trials always caught Chuck off guard. Being mentally prepared this time should make it easier to handle.
However, things rarely go exactly as planned. Chuck returned to the fireplace, lay down on the messy blanket with the women, closed his eyes prepared...
And slept until he woke up naturally.
It was a morning like any other. Chuck crawled up from the floor. The room still smelled sweet and musky from last night's madness. The naked women around him were enticing.
Outside the pale green glass window, the sky was still dim, with only a hint of light on the horizon, as usual.
Savoring last night's sound sleep, Chuck was slightly surprised.
No trial triggered?
Jiang Qi slept soundly beside him, her delicate face peaceful, showing no signs of nightmares.
Since the trial didn't trigger, Chuck didn't dwell on it. He got up slowly, dressed, and pushed open the door, intending to do his usual morning exercise.
Suddenly, he felt something wrong behind him.
He turned abruptly and froze.
The early morning sky was indeed dim, the sun not yet risen. But today, the sun wasn't the only light in the sky.
An orange beam appeared in the sky behind Chuck, towards the volcano in the north of the island, overlapping perfectly with the faintly visible mountain peak.
The light's direction was completely different from the sun's, appearing without warning in the early morning. Its strange color confirmed it wasn't ordinary sunlight.
Chuck stared blankly at the scene, shocked. Valentina's voice sounded beside him as expected.
"Going together?"
Chuck didn't look back. After a moment of silence, he shook his head slowly.
"I'll go alone. We haven't prepared anything. It's not time to fight that big bird yet..."
"If you know we're unprepared, why go alone?"
Valentina frowned, clearly dissatisfied with Chuck's decision.
Chuck didn't waste words. He calmly withdrew his gaze, returned to the storage room, grabbed some food and water, took his halberd and knife, and stepped out. He instructed Valentina:
"When everyone wakes up, tell them I'll be back soon."
"No, I'm coming with you!"
Valentina wasn't a woman who followed blindly. Naturally, she insisted on her own idea.
Seeing her expression, Chuck realized this. He reached out and patted her shoulder.
"Relax. I'm just going to see what's happening. If there's any danger, I'll run immediately. I'm not reckless."
"..."
Chuck's words inevitably reminded Valentina of the day he was chased by the tiger, hanging by a thread. Her worry didn't lessen at all.
But Valentina also knew that no one could change this man's mind once he decided. Worrying was futile.
"If you don't come back, you know what will happen."
Valentina looked up, indescribable emotion flashing in her green eyes under silver bangs.
Chuck raised an eyebrow, thinking she was unusually talkative today. He nodded solemnly.
"Don't worry, I know."
As the pillar of the household, if something happened to him, Chuck knew how the women would react without thinking. Valentina was reminding him that his life no longer belonged only to him.
Unfortunately, she didn't know that when Chuck was alone, he had the most life-saving means.
So many that even if he wanted to die, it would take some effort.
...
Carrying his halberd and knife, traveling light, Chuck climbed the stone slope under the orange light overhead, heading towards the Red Stone Hills along the stone beach.
This trip to the volcano wasn't just to figure out the origin of the strange light. More importantly, it was for the top priority in his plan—finding the upstream water source for diversion.
Accomplishing these two tasks would make the trip a success.
But as Chuck advanced step by step, getting closer to the volcanic area, the orange light flickering in the morning sky became more obvious.
It looked as if the volcano's peak had pierced the sky, cracking irregular patterns like dry earth, flickering with orange-red light behind the clouds.
...Why orange-red?
It wasn't sunlight, different from the bright red of sunrise or sunset. It looked more like a tangerine or an orange, or...
Reaching the foot of the hills, Chuck, slowly approaching the volcano, suddenly stopped. He raised his hand abruptly, palm up. An oval orange crystal appeared in his palm.
It was the strange stone he found in the tiger's flesh a few days ago!
When Chuck first found it, it emitted a faint orange glow. Even the workbench described it as unremarkable, providing no information.
But this time, the moment Chuck took it out of his inventory, a light as bright as, or even brighter than, the one overhead shone from his palm!
Like a big light bulb.
Chuck hesitated slightly, then threw the stone onto the workbench. The synthesis prompt appeared the next moment.
[Orange Crystal: An activated orange crystal. Perhaps receiving some induction, emitting a bright and strange light.]
Induction?
Seeing this different description, Chuck began to vaguely guess the current anomaly.
The orange light above the volcano was likely related to this orange crystal, obtained from killing a Lord-Class beast on this island...
So was the light a reward?
Or... a new challenge?
Chuck put away the crystal. It was getting brighter and too blinding.
But it proved that the closer he got to the volcano, the closer he might be to the answer.
...
Ten minutes later, having climbed the hills and reached the black rock zone of the volcano again, Chuck took out a prepared cloth from his pocket and tied it over his face to slightly reduce the pungent sulfur smell in the air.
The crack-like light was almost directly above Chuck's head. Whether due to the brightening sky or the proximity of the orange crystal, the light intensified, faintly overshadowing the rising sun on the distant sea.
The ground beneath his feet became blacker and harder, covered with cracks of varying depths. Though no longer active, the temperature was a degree or two higher than the ground, but not sweltering.
The originally dark soil glowed orange under the light. However, Chuck's attention wasn't overhead.
He hadn't forgotten this was also a Lord-Class beast's territory.
Chuck lightened his steps, beginning to enter the island's central volcanic zone slowly and cautiously.
Not long after, Chuck found something surprising.
Amidst mist, a turbid pool about dozens of square meters appeared before him. The pungent smell peaked.
It was a sulfur hot spring!
Smooth black rocks surrounded the spring. A thin film of oil floated on the surface, revealing a faint yellow sheen. The water looked turbid, carrying hints of gray and orange, with occasional bubbles rising.
Chuck stood by the pool, slowly removing the cloth from his face, his frown relaxing.
After a short adaptation, the sulfur smell became less pungent, at least bearable.
He approached tentatively, squatting to dip his hand in the water. Joy appeared on his face.
The temperature was perfect—not scalding, but warm enough. The heat came not from lava but the residual heat inside the dormant volcano, heating this pool into a sulfur hot spring.
This was a treasure.
If he could eliminate the danger in this area, he could bring the women here for a good soak in the future.
Chuck had even heard that such natural sulfur hot springs had quite "practical" benefits for both men and women.
Just as he had this thought, as if in answer, a chilling sensation crawled up his spine.
"SCREE!!!"
Chuck looked up sharply. With a piercing shriek, the massive shadow appeared again without warning!
Incredibly wide wings spread to a chilling width. Backlit by the orange light overhead, it glided straight from the mountain peak ahead with scalp-numbing oppression!
Chuck didn't hesitate. He stood up instantly, sprinting towards a narrow col ahead.
Simple logic: two legs can't outrun four, let alone wings, especially with such a size gap.
When he first encountered the bird on the hills, luckily, he wasn't its target, and he hadn't entered the volcanic zone. Now deep in its territory, repeating old tricks would only end in being grabbed and pecked to death in its nest.
But Chuck didn't despair.
Just like his certainty when facing Valentina's worry, if he truly wanted to save his life, Chuck actually held a cheat-like trump card.
Momo's workbench exclusive bonus—A Maiden's Prayer!
When unobserved and absolutely safe, he could trigger a direct teleport home, instantly escaping danger. A god-tier life-saving skill.
Chuck had never abused this skill. Even carrying heavy loads near evening, far from home, he never used it to slack off. Only when first unlocked did he spend days figuring out its trigger and judgment rules.
Reason: Chuck didn't want to habitually use this life-saving skill as a daily commuting tool. He wanted to ensure that when he truly needed it to save his life, he wouldn't be staring at a cooldown timer while waiting to die.
So in this moment, Chuck's goal wasn't to run, but to hide from the bird's sight.
According to his rules, once he was out of any intelligent animal's sight for about 20-30 seconds, the workbench would judge him safe, allowing him to trigger the recall skill and escape!
With further enhanced stats, Chuck ran faster than before. His explosive power allowed him to accelerate to top speed instantly. Like an arrow from a bow, he sprinted towards the col ahead, facing the diving bird.
Fortunately, past the hot spring, the col wasn't far. Chuck reached the designated spot in less than ten seconds.
But just as he planned to find a rock or crevice to hide, the scene before him froze his gaze.
The col hidden in shadows wasn't a col, but a cave halfway up the volcano.
And crucially, right now, that supposedly dark cave, like the sky overhead and the crystal in his inventory...
Was glowing orange!