Chapter 389: Chapter 322: The Revival of Prehistoric Life Is Not Just About the Animals_2

Otherwise, those survivors in the camp who tried to domesticate ancient creatures wouldn’t have repeatedly failed, since most creatures, as long as they are trained from a young age, can basically be domesticated into livestock.

And this accidental discovery of an ancient creature’s nest and its young had all the members of the Hunting Team gobsmacked.

Despite their frequent excursions to hunt ancient creatures, just like the situation mentioned before, these creatures were akin to the monsters in games; even if one were to kill all the monsters in this area.

But given enough time, the monsters in this region would respawn.

Hence, their hunting was primarily confined to certain fixed areas, for two simple reasons; first, they were familiar with the terrain, and second, because the designated areas wouldn’t have large ancient creatures they couldn’t handle.

This was precisely why they were so surprised to find a den and young of ancient creatures in an environment they knew too well.

If it were just the dens and young of these ancient creatures, it wouldn’t have been much of an issue; after all, they had been hunting outside in the wilderness for so long, the presence of a few more young creatures wasn’t a problem for them.

However, what truly frightened them was that the wilderness now had not just more dens and young ancient creatures but also many plants they didn’t recognize.

Unlike most harmless plants before the catastrophe, at least one-third of the plant species in the wilderness now could harm survivors.

While some plants would not actively harm survivors, there were a very few that would automatically attack nearby survivors.

The most common were the vines clinging to the roots of giant trees. As grass and other plants grew on the ground, these vines hid within the grass like venomous snakes.

Not only would these vines actively attack members of the Hunting Team, but they also possessed the ability to learn.

The members of the Hunting Teams only used ropes to set traps for hunting small ancient creatures, yet somehow these newly emerged vines had learned to create the same kind of traps.

The vines hidden in the grass had replicated the way humans hunted small ancient creatures and set the same traps on the trails often used by the Hunting Teams.

In the beginning, when members of the Hunting Teams stepped on the traps and got caught, they didn’t notice anything unusual, thinking the traps were set by other teams, so they didn’t pay much attention and just called their teammates to rescue them.

Once or twice seemed normal, but as it happened more frequently, most of the Hunting Team members started to be more cautious.

Nevertheless, because the vines lurked in the grass, it was hard to see the ground clearly unless it was completely cleared.

Some prudent Hunting Teams, upon discovering this, immediately returned to the city and reported the abnormal situation in the wilderness to the camp.

Other teams, with a come-what-may attitude, disregarded the dangers of the wilderness and brazenly continued toward the areas they knew well to carry on with their hunt.

Only when they ventured further did they realise the vines seemed to have grown much smarter. They didn’t just trap a member of the Hunting Team right away like the previous vines had done, but waited until all the members of the Hunting Team had entered a dense trap zone before they started pulling the traps and caught the entire team in one fell swoop.

It was only when the whole Hunting Team was dangling in mid-air that they realized something was amiss. Fortunately, the members of these Hunting Teams not only had knives, but even the least skilled among them was a Martial Artist of the Body Tempering Realm.

So, when they found themselves hanging like the others, they didn’t panic but calmly collected themselves and cut the vine ties around their legs with their knives.

What they hadn’t anticipated was that, just as they used a knife to cut the vines tied around their legs and they fell from midair to the ground, the vines on the ground immediately trapped them once more, before hoisting them back up into the air.

And this was not an isolated incident. Most of the Hunting Team members, like that one, although they successfully saved themselves, were similarly bound by the ground vines as soon as they hit the ground, only to be suspended in the air again.

Only a few Martial Artists from the Inner Breath Realm, or those who were luckier and had no vines under them, managed to escape from the predicament.

When those Hunting Team members who successfully escaped tried to rescue their comrades, suddenly countless vines dropped from the sky like willow branches, quickly enveloping the team members dangling midair, cocooning them like spiders’ prey.

In just a matter of seconds, those Hunting Team members suspended by the vines were tightly wrapped up by the vines descending from the sky.

Before those on the ground, who had escaped, could even think of ways to rescue the others, those wrapped up by the vines fell down from the sky like bait.

Facing their companions on the ground not far ahead, most did not step forward to rescue them; instead, many instinctively stepped back a few paces.

Those with a bit of sense knew that, though their comrades had already fallen to the ground, the area ahead was filled with traps. If they rushed to save them, they wouldn’t only fail to free their teammates, but they themselves could also fall into an inescapable situation.

So, faced with this, many hesitated briefly before turning away and leaving.

They knew that once they left this place, those teammates used as bait virtually lost any chance of survival. But even so, they had to harden their hearts.

In the face of such a situation, the outcome was already certain. All they could do now was to return to the camp to report the situation and see if the camp would arrange for someone else to come for the rescue.

If their teammates were fortunate enough to survive until the rescue team arrived, then that was for the best. If not... that was just their bad luck.

Other than plant traps like the vines that actively hunted the Hunting Team members, there was another thing that, much like the vines, initially went unnoticed until its presence made everyone’s spine chill.

These were randomly appearing sinkholes in the ground, looking indistinguishable from the normal surface, except that stepping on them was like stepping into puddles, causing one to sink straight down.

However, falling into a normal puddle would at most result in wet footwear, whereas the depth of these sinkholes was unfathomable. Many Hunting Team members, not watching their step into a sinkhole, would hear a ’plop’ sound as they instantly disappeared into the void without a trace.

Even if someone lay on the ground to reach into the sinkholes, they were not only bottomless but also developed a mysterious suction force, pulling in any team member who reached in to save someone.

Many ended up being sucked headfirst into the sinkholes as they attempted to reach in to save others.

If it was just that, though somewhat eerie, the team members could simply be vigilant and avoid the sinkholes, which weren’t a threat as long as no one stepped into them or reached inside.

But what truly terrified the experienced Hunting Team members was the fact that the location of the sinkholes was not fixed; often a sinkhole present in a spot today could move to another location the next day.

Moreover, given the nature of the sinkholes, the Hunting Team members couldn’t tie themselves together with a safety rope like a mountaineering team would.

If they did, the suction power of the sinkholes might drag the entire Hunting Team into them.

Therefore, compared to the vines from which they might be saved by their teammates, the randomly appearing sinkholes on the ground were far more terrifying to the members of the Hunting Team.