Zhang Han berated himself. He shouldn't have aimed for the hopper's unknown internal organs but underneath its neck, at its nerve cord or lower brain. He aimed downwards and shot again.
Pew-pew!
This time the hopper stilled. The legs curled inwards, a sign that told even the unlearned Zhang Han that it was dead for good. Greenish gunk seeped from the wound in its belly and neck.
Gross.
But Zhang Han was proud of himself for staying entirely calm. Then again, the creature didn't counter attack against him, so there was little reason to fear it.
As Zhang Han was about to put his gun back into his belt, there was a hard slap on his back that almost made him misfire. He swiveled his head only to see the grinning face of Vaien, both his tiger teeth showing.
"You have good aim! Honestly didn't expect you could do it that well. But hey I guess you have to be good at something."
"..."
Zhang Han was thoroughly unimpressed by the 'compliment'.
Vaien took a few steps backwards towards the big hopper and kicked it over playfully.
"I hate to break it to you, though, but these things are poisonous and can't be eaten."
...fuck. Vaien stared at the ground, his eyes flaring with frustration, even his cheeks took on a telling hint of red. He didn't know that. He should have asked Vaien if it was edible beforehand, but that guy didn't stop him from shooting either!
Vaien came back over laughing, but this time patted Zhang Han's shoulder lightly.
"Don't worry about it. I like the accurate and ruthless way in which you killed it. On the way back, I'll point out something else you can shoot...oh, is there limited ammo or something?"
Zhang Han straightened his back again, regaining his dignity. "There is a core cycling energy. They can last years, but the power lessens after a certain point."
"Great, then I can watch you use it again!" Vaien was like an excitable, curious cat. He swerved back onto the path while carrying the sack.
The weather had picked up in warmth, sunlight bearing down on them once they reached the forest edge. When they were back in the tall grasses Vaien pointed at something rustling off the path on the right. Zhang Han watched carefully and saw a little flash of brown feathers and an orange foot.
"Get that one. They taste great."
Zhang Han just nodded and crouched down with his laser gun raised. The creature that came into sight was what seemed to be an extremely fat and puffy bird with extra long feathers that poked out all over the top of its head. It also had a wide beak that made it look...well, dumb and silly.
It made a cluck-cluck-cluck noise as its beak idly pecked at a rock on the ground.
The rock rolled left and right, but the bird was unable to get it into its beak to eat.
"..." What the...whatever.
Zhang Han held his gun steady and fired off.
Pew-pew!
The fat bird was shot cleanly in the head and died instantly.
He almost felt bad for it this time. Sure, the hopper he shot had been eating just as innocently, but this bird was just...pitiful. It didn't even seem to have a brain in its skull.
Vaien, on the other hand, was thoroughly impressed. He gave a long whistle that carried undertones of respect and awe.
"Impressive."
"...??" Zhang Han wasn't tracking with the conversation. He began to doubt the man's intelligence. "Are you joking…?"
"Nah. Those birds are annoyingly good at avoiding grabs. The feathers on the top of their heads pick up tiny shifts in air and sound waves to alert them. Projectiles can get them, but usually are too slow."
"Huh," Zhang Han said, honestly intrigued.
So, his near silent laser gun that pierced through air while creating little disturbance was exactly what was necessary to kill one easily. Well, that could be counted as cheating since the animal hadn't adapted to such human-made devices.
But it nevertheless meant that he was useful.
He might be able to do more than he originally thought with modernized weapons. As of right now he didn't think it could manage to pierce the tough armor that some of the creatures he'd seen had. But he could make modifications and use the energy core in the blaster they'd gotten to make a kind of shot with higher piercing ability and power.
Zhang Han once again felt a powerful slap on his back.
"Good, really good!" Vaien said, his eyes alight with what appeared to be...ambition, appreciation, respect?
Zhang Han couldn't tell for sure what is was, but he felt that the way he was being looked at and treated was slightly shifted from before.
For one, Vaien's back slaps gave more of a 'bro' vibe.
And Zhang Han wasn't far off the mark in his understanding, either, because this was the first time Vaien truly realized that Zhang Han might be a competent person. That he could be worth more than a quick bang. And that made Vaien even more interested in Zhang Han. He wanted to see what other useful things this other-worlder knew. He wanted to see how far Zhang Han's potential could take him despite the frailness of his body.
"Let's head back," he said cheerily, half dragging Zhang Han along by the wrist. "You shooting with such a serious expression made me want to fuck again."
"..."
After just a few paces forward, Zhang Han sneakily pretended to stumble over a tree root, mentioning how hungry he was.
Vaien narrowed his eyes with suspicion, but relented.
"Fine," he said dryly. "We might as well eat first."
And that was how Zhang Han manipulated him.
The funny thing was that he wasn't that starving or anything, but just wanted to have a taste of the dumb looking bird and see how it tasted! There was a potential that he might become a foodie in the future if there were so many different things to try and they all tasted better than his nutrient bars and dried rations.
So, when they returned home, yesterday a giant flatfish had been grilling over orange flames, today it was a giant dumb-looking bird.
Zhang Han sniffed the air more than a few times, smelling fat and meatiness, then secretly calculated if it would taste better or worse than the flatfish...or perhaps so different that the two's flavors would be incomparable.
Yes, that would be great.
He watched as Vaien threw out his hand with some odd seasonings to dust over the chicken. He'd also methodically plucked off all the feathers on the bird earlier and removed the internal organs with his fingers acting as claws, something Zhang Han had never witnessed in person. It was an interesting process, and he'd watched with some morbid curiosity off to the side.
Vaien turned the bird over the flames so it would roast evenly. The fat on it began to melt and sizzle off, dripping down the tan meat delectably.
Zhang Han felt saliva forming in his mouth. Again. He could probably cook as well as Vaien if he learned it, too.
Honestly, although there was the accident with the giant snake, Zhang Han's mood had taken a turn upturn for the better. With his gun, he thought that if he modified it properly and made other weapons, he could have a chance at surviving out in this wilderness and at least being of some worth to Vaien. Plus he'd hunted those creatures on his own without relapsing into a panic attack.
And yeah sure there were big monstrosities like the Goliath Killer, but many of the species in the area also were harmless or non-aggressive. He can learn those that pose a threat's habits and ranges, then prepare accordingly.
So, all in all, it'd been a good day.
Vaien threw more salt onto the bird and said, "There. You can't say that I'm cruel now, can you? You wanted to eat this dumb thing so I'm cooking it for you, isn't that pretty fucking kind?"
Zhang Han stared at him before plastering on a thin smile. "Yeah, I appreciate it."
"Don't show me that fake smile," Vaien's red eyebrows twisted. "After all, you're the real insidious one around here. Getting my sweet care but don't even give a genuine smile in return."
Zhang Han just gave him a dead stare. Who's the insidious one? Aren't you being the most petty right now?? He finally decided to give a superficial reply.
"Well, I used to be a person who made treaties and talked with diplomats. A fake smile is key. You should hardly be surprised."
Vaien sneered. "Hmph, dumbass. Fake smiles and fancy words don't mean anything. It's all about power."
Zhang Han just shook his head.
Of course he knew that Vaien only valued power.
When he first picked up Zhang Han he didn't think much of him other than an interesting new toy. Only now that Zhang Han showed a bit of potential did he actually start talking to him with more of the casualness of a friend.
That was why he aimed to become as self-sufficient as possible.
Ah, but this time Zhang Han misunderstood Vaien's line of thinking.
In fact, Vaien sort of liked Zhang Han's reserved, yet bluntly sharp attitude. There was certainly no one else he knew that would talk to him like that besides his sister. Heck, it was probably because Zhang Han didn't know the extent of his identity, or maybe it was just his way of saying that 'Even if I made a sex deal with you, I'm not gonna grovel or act like a pansy'. Vaien liked that, too.
After about two hours the bird finished cooking.
It smelled as good...no, even better than the flatfish.