I became a god by treasure hunting after arriving 500 years early

A group of people ate and drank, feasting on nothing but camel meat, complemented with cactus meat as their staple food.

This mutated cactus was a specialty of their civilization, rich in starch and a viable staple food, with a decent taste as well.

Surrounded by a stone fire pit, the singing of women and children echoed in their ears.

"Da ya ya da ya ya..."

They were always easily contented. At least today was indeed one of the rare days when they could eat and drink their fill, while also enjoying the fruits presented by Lu Yuan.

As for what would happen tomorrow, they would think about it tomorrow.

Lu Yuan saw a few little rascals covered in dirt, barefoot, yet their eyes were quite spirited.

These kids were still quite adorable, and now that Lu Yuan was getting older, with extensive traveling under his belt, his thinking was not quite the same as before.

He grew fonder of youthful, energetic little ones.

He made faces at them, whistled, and then pulled out a small bag of glass marbles.

These were little things brought from the Rize Civilization, toys to play with when bored.

One daring child attempted to run over and manage to obtain a toy, giggled "kokoko" as it held a marble while showing off to its companions.

"Happy times, if one doesn't think about tomorrow..." Lu Yuan thought to himself.

Meanwhile, the men were discussing the monsters of Sky City.

And the bleak future.

The conversation took a markedly different turn.

The village elder, Sha Sanli, brought out a map made from camel hide: "Perched to the north of the city is a strange bird with red feathers."

"It's about five meters long, immensely strong, and can whip up red gales."

"It flies incredibly fast!"

"Once you're touched by that redness, you'll gradually melt into a puddle."

"That red bird is too powerful; it has occupied a large pool, and we are no match for it."

As he spoke, a look of distress crossed his face, and he gently shook his head.

Clearly, the village had experienced fatal accidents to have gathered such information.

Lu Yuan frowned once more.

Such widespread supernatural phenomena sounded like they could be... some Anomaly?

"It's probably not among the Demons and Ghosts, but rather a less dangerous Anomaly, else these Sha Li People couldn't have survived until now."

Of course, Anomalies, as incarnations of Ideal Rules, certainly warranted caution.

Without absolute necessity, Lu Yuan had no motivation to initiate an attack.

"I wonder if this strange bird can be tamed..."

He silently mused, "If it could be tamed, having a flying Anomaly would be greatly helpful."

"What else? What else is there? Just spill it all at once." Old Cat, sitting on a small stool, urged on.

Sha Sanli spoke again in a low voice, "There's also an indescribable creature."

"We call it Ghost fog, which only appears at night. It has hundreds of large, crimson eyes, and just one glance will result in possession by evil spirits, eventually leading to madness and death within nightmares."

The conversation grew increasingly mystical.

Unable to help it, Old Cat asked, "This Ghost fog, did you witness it with your own eyes?"

"No, no one who saw it stayed sane... It's the people from the neighboring village who told me."

Looking at the flickering flames, Lu Yuan fell into contemplation.

For these undeveloped civilizations, some things are nothing but exaggerated legends.

Not all of them needed to be believed.

"Anything else?"

"On the eastern side of the city, there is a group of gigantic... lizards..."

"They are about this size... with bright red skin, capable of breathing Flames, and have wings for short flights."

Sha Sanli compared sizes with a tricycle: "Swooping down, they snatch people away in an instant."

"Those lizards... they're twice as big as this... vehicle."

Listening to his explanation, Lu Yuan was struck with a thought.

Wasn't this the Extraordinary Creature, the Fire Lizard, he had dealt with before?

And now, the Fire Lizards of Sky City were not solitary but a whole flock that could fly!

"How many are there?"

"At least a hundred!!"

This number exceeded what The Sha Li Clan could handle.

Power, indeed power was so important...

For a mighty civilization, these lizards were precious Extraordinary Resources, worth more than any amount of money could buy.

For a weaker civilization, they were life-threatening devils.

Throughout the conversation, Lu Yuan made no promises.

He was but one man, and he could only do so much with his abilities.

He understood the concept of gratitude and grudges over rice; goodwill over measure.

His first meeting with The Sha Li Clan wasn't such that they had formed any deep bond.

Imposing mental shackles upon oneself was an unnecessary burden.

So, he gave no promises.

Sha Sanli then dug out another, larger map from a drawer: "Aside from that, there are too many weaker creatures, possibly several hundred..."

"Chicken Snakes, Quintons, Double-headed Crows, Vultures... all troublesome creatures you don't want to mess with."

"The key problem is, the water sources they occupy aren't too vast. Even if we manage to win by force, the water obtained wouldn't be sufficient for the village's long-term use."

The map was made from a fairly large piece of camel hide, about 2 square meters in size, comprehensively marking the distribution of the various monsters of Sky City.

Various symbols dotted it like mung beans, amounting to thousands, and in some places, simple images of the monsters were drawn... definitely the blood-and-sweat-tied crystallization of The Sha Li Clan's efforts.

Moreover, the reverse of the map depicted part of the underground water channels.

Though the sewers were crawling with Mother Worm and its progeny, it was also the easiest place to access water.