Shrew, I'm Hungry

Kapitel 1

Volume One: Tribes

Chapter 1 Starting a Fire

Wood Tribe (Repair)

A plant research team from Planet Z encountered a giant beast attack while searching for ancient artifacts in a dense forest.

The giant python was hundreds of feet long, and its enormous head, when it stood upright, could blot out the sky. It opened its blood-red maw, its forked tongue drawing a red arc in the air. Its fangs dripped purple venom as it teased its prey, leisurely slithering towards the edge of the cliff.

Shen Nong's face was stained with blood, and his clothes were torn by tree branches, hanging in strips. He was surrounded by a green light shield and was pushed to safety by a pair of old hands.

Shen Nong screamed in despair, "Teacher!"

Professor Shen Wenqing, a botanist with half-gray hair, stood a step away from the edge of the cliff, using his special ability to check Shen Nong's injuries. The green light shield flickered for a moment before stopping.

Seeing that Shen Nong had not suffered a fatal injury, he smiled with relief.

This child was an orphan; he found her in a dense forest, and even named her. His own son had died young, and his wife had divorced him. Since then, he had devoted himself to plant research, and Shen Nong was a gift from heaven.

Although the two always addressed each other as master and disciple, Shen Wenqing had long regarded Shen Nong as his own child in his heart.

But now that he's dying, he probably won't live to see his children grow up and start their own families.

Although there are regrets, I have no regrets.

As the giant python approached, Shen Nong frantically pounded on the light barrier. His teacher had taught him so much. He was both a teacher and a father figure, his only family in this world.

Shen Nong couldn't bear to watch the other person die before his eyes; he had to save Shen Wenqing.

We must save them no matter what.

Having made up her mind, Shen Nong stopped patting the protective light shield and instead focused her attention. After a moment, a warm current spread from her brain to her limbs and bones, and Shen Nong felt boundless vitality within her body.

Interstellar beings have evolved crystal cores in their brains, each with unique abilities. Shen Nong possesses wood-based powers, allowing her to manipulate plants for attack and growth, as well as perform simple healing.

His ability level is level six, with a maximum of level ten. Those with abilities above level five can self-destruct their spiritual core, but level five is a watershed moment. Furthermore, abilities will not evolve or improve after the age of sixty-five; the vast majority of people will remain at level four throughout their lives.

Shen Wenqing possesses a level five earth-type ability, and has not been able to surpass level five for decades. In a month, Shen Wenqing will turn sixty-five; his ability level is already set and will not change.

Shen Nong also suddenly evolved a few days ago. She originally planned to tell her teacher on her birthday after returning home, to give her a surprise.

During the fight, the teacher didn't pay attention to whether his superpowers changed; both of them were only concerned with escaping for their lives.

I never expected that the teacher would find out under such circumstances.

The immense vitality spurred the plants to grow wildly, and the ancient trees in the dense forest seemed to have a life of their own, waving their branches like well-trained soldiers, ready to pounce.

Shen Wenqing looked at Shen Nong in astonishment. A level six ability user at the age of 19, a rare genius.

Shen Wenqing was overjoyed, his happiness overflowing. He felt he could die without regrets. But the next moment, he could no longer smile, as the protective shield he had used to shield Shen Nong shattered under the immense pressure of the supernatural power.

Shen Nong was surrounded by a faint green light. Soft vines stretched out from the bottom of the cliff and wrapped around Shen Wenqing. Purple flowers grew on the vines and smelled exceptionally fragrant.

But Shen Wenqing was not in the mood to study the unknown plant at this moment. He realized that Shen Nong was self-destructing her spiritual core.

"Shen Nong, stop!"

Shen Nong couldn't stop, and Shen Wenqing knew it was impossible to stop. Once the spirit core chose to self-destruct, it couldn't stop until it was reduced to dust.

Those who lose their crystal core will die.

The python sensed the threat of death and, abandoning its previous playful attitude towards its prey, began to take the situation seriously.

Shen Nong manipulated the plants to fight it, but the giant python was no pushover either. It fought back fiercely, determined to make the arrogant two-legged beast understand that it was the overlord of this forest.

Purple venom soaked through the branches, and white smoke with an unpleasant odor rose up.

Shen Nong was merely a researcher and had never received combat training. He only managed to fight the battle-hardened giant python to a draw thanks to his powerful supernatural abilities.

The power of the crystal core was ultimately limited, and Shen Nong could not leave this threat unchecked. He took one last look at Shen Wenqing and bid him farewell silently. Then, with all his might, he controlled the plants to tightly bind the giant python and drag it off the cliff.

After the giant python plunged completely off the cliff, it used its tail to wrap around Shen Nong and drag her down with it.

The vines that had bound Shen Wenqing had loosened and receded below the cliff, leaving a few purple flowers scattered on the ground. The old man lay prostrate on the edge of the cliff, crying out, "My child, Nongnong, my child!"

The clouds and mist below the cliff obscured its base, and Shen Wenqing's mournful voice startled a flock of birds into flight.

——

Back when Shen Nong's country was still living on ancient Earth, there were two old sayings: one was "Saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda," and the other was "Good deeds are rewarded."

When Shen Nong crawled out of the pool of blood, he deeply felt that his ancestor was right and had not lied to him.

However, when his gaze met that of a group of people with hair like withered grass, naked, and with green patterns painted on their dark faces, Shen Nong fell into deep thought.

Did our ancestors really not lie to him?

"priest!"

After meeting his gaze, more than twenty men and women knelt down and called out to him with piety and excitement.

Shen Nong was somewhat surprised that he could understand what these people were saying. However, he had only seen similar records of the word "priest" in ancient books.

According to ancient records, "priests" were the "gods" of tribes in the primitive period of ancient Earth.

They are beings possessing divine power, capable of leading their tribe to survival and prosperity. They also hold immense prestige within the tribe and are considered its faith.

The surrounding area is lush and green, with trees and shrubs standing tall.

In the interstellar era, apart from the ancient forest, all plants in other places were created in research labs; there were no native plants.

However, no humans live in the ancient forests of interstellar space, and no one would call another "priest".

Shen Nong frowned at the strong stench of blood, then looked down and found herself on an altar. Ancient patterns, resembling some kind of magic circle, were drawn on the altar with copious amounts of blood.

Shen Nong had seen similar altars and magic arrays in ancient books. However, the ones here were much smaller and much simpler in construction.

It's called an altar, but it's actually just a simple polished stone big enough for a person to lie down on. Compared to ordinary stones, it's just that the edges are more rounded.

But a wooden branch was stuck in the edge of the stone, and a dried-up bull's head hung from the branch.

This is very similar to the altar described in the records.

These recorded objects all existed in the ancient times of the ancient Earth.

So, he didn't die, and he even traveled back to ancient times?

Shen Nong pinched her brow, mentally preparing herself for a while. Then she stood up from the altar and stepped down from the blood-stained altar.

The men and women kneeling on the ground quickly pulled their hands and feet back, afraid of blocking the priests' path, and they dared not raise their heads from beginning to end.

Shen Nong could tell that these primitive people were very afraid of him and didn't know why they regarded him as a tribal priest.

But that's not who he is! If his identity is discovered to be incorrect, he can't fight twenty people by himself.

Even though they were all skin and bones, they had the advantage of numbers.

He had read the records; primitive people did eat people! These primitive people in front of him were so thin, eating them would be the same as eating meat.

Shen Nong, who had intended to take advantage of the people's fear of him and make a quick escape, found her legs tightly held.

Shen Nong looked down and saw two thin men with prominent cheekbones and sunken eyes, their eyes filled with terror. Realizing what she had done, she quickly lowered her head and knelt down again, crying and saying, "Priest, don't abandon us, don't abandon the Mu tribe."

Just as Shen Nong was at a stalemate, he suddenly felt something hard against his chest. When he touched it, he found that it was a gun, a pistol, and a dagger that he had hidden in his inner pocket.

One on the left and one on the right, just right.

They conduct plant research, spending half their time in the lab and half their time in the field.

There are many wild animals in the wild, so everyone carries some knives and wooden guns for self-defense.

When Shen Nong first encountered the giant python, she used a wooden gun to shoot it.

However, his gun was only good for dealing with ordinary wild beasts, and it was no match for the giant interstellar beasts, failing to even break a single scale of the giant python.

He thought he had lost the gun in the panic, but he didn't expect that he would subconsciously put it back in his pocket.

Shen Nong now had weapons to defend herself, while these primitive people were all unarmed, their only weapons being the pebbles on the ground and the wood around the simple altar.

With her confidence restored, Shen Nong replied, "I am not your priestess; you have mistaken me for someone else."

After a moment of silence, the people of the Wood Tribe became agitated and offered various opinions.

Shen Nong only heard a slightly louder female voice at the very end say, "High Priest, you are our priest! You are the priest we summoned!"

Shen Nong looked at the blood-stained altar. Could it be that he was able to travel from another dimension because of their summoning?

...

Catgrass knew that today was the day the tribe summoned a priest using forbidden blood sacrifice magic, and that no one was allowed to approach the altar today, but he was really curious.

So he bent over and peered into the bushes outside the altar.

The altar was quite far away, and he couldn't see it clearly. He could only see that each of the adults in the tribe cut their palms and dripped blood onto the altar.

A deep crimson.

Accompanied by voices he couldn't understand, a person actually appeared on the altar.

priest.

Catgrass was so excited that he stood up immediately. Their tribe finally had a priest!

His excitement didn't last long before his gaze fell on a spot below, and his expression changed.

Cannibals!

The cannibals have come to hunt in the Wood Tribe again!

No, he needs to notify the hunting team quickly.

Catgrass took off running, its shadow flashing past the trees. As it approached the altar, it shouted, "Oh no! Oh no! The cannibals have come to hunt!"

The terrified boy went inside to take a look and finally saw what their priest looked like.

She was more beautiful than flowers and as white as clouds.

Catgrass had never seen anyone like this before.

Is this the priest?

The fear of the cannibals attacking the tribe slowly faded, and the boy knelt on the ground devoutly, calling out, "Priest!"

Shen Nong, who hadn't quite figured out what was going on, saw a thin boy run out from behind a huge leaf, and he naturally heard the boy shout something.