Chapter 192

There was no path on the island; the two basically walked in by stepping on things, and fortunately the vegetation wasn't too dense, so a few steps were enough to get through.

Having reached the coconut tree, Ye Cheng looked up; his hanging heart finally died—he realized he couldn't climb it, no need to think further.

Xiao Hu took off his clothes, somehow made a loop, tied it around his hands, encircled the coconut tree, and started climbing up.

And he wasn't slow—he climbed pretty fast.

"Damn! I didn't expect you to have this skill." Ye Cheng shouted, head tilted back.

"Brother, step back a bit later, or you'll get smashed to death."

"Get lost, you jinx."

That said, Ye Cheng still obediently stepped a few paces back—this thing is no joke; dropping such a heavy coconut could kill or cripple you.

Just after taking a few steps, Ye Cheng heard a crisp crack underfoot; he looked down and saw he had stepped on something.

It was a large blue object, over twenty centimeters long, shaped like a big spider.

Ye Cheng's earlier step had cracked its shell; he kicked it over, and its legs splayed out—clearly it was dead.

Ye Cheng crouched for a closer look; it was a coconut crab, a valuable creature, and he hadn't expected to find one here.

The coconut crab is the largest terrestrial hermit crab and also the largest living terrestrial arthropod. Its overall shape resembles that of a hermit crab, just a larger version that carries its own shell.

Actually, from Ye Cheng's aesthetic standpoint, this thing really is rather ugly.

An adult coconut crab has a hard shell, can grow up to one meter long and weigh as much as six kilograms; its color changes with the island environment—some are blue, but most are brown, and it looks like a giant spider.

The coconut crab has a pair of strong chelae capable of exerting about 3,300 newtons of grip force, enough to split a coconut directly; the left chela is usually larger, used for breaking shells, while the right is slimmer and used for fine manipulation.

It mainly feeds on coconuts, fruit, carrion, and small animals (such as seabirds and other crabs), can climb coconut trees, and uses its chelae to break the shell and eat the flesh.

Because it especially likes coconuts, it usually lives in the rock crevices beneath coconut trees.

From a practical standpoint, the coconut crab's meat is firm and springy, with a rich flavor, a faint coconut-milk aroma, and a clean sweetness; its abdomen is fatty, its roe is richly flavored, and it tastes superb when steamed with eggs.

Because it is relatively rare and has a distinctive texture, it sells for a high price on the market—about a thousand per catty—and is still hard to find.

【Note: In some regions, catching coconut crabs is restricted or prohibited.】

He hadn't expected to find such high-end goods in this coconut grove, and Ye Cheng's interest was instantly sparked.

"Brother, I'm throwing it—watch out!" came Xiao Hu's shout from above.

Ye Cheng quickly looked up; Xiao Hu had already reached the top, holding a shaken‑loose coconut, about to throw it down.

"Throw it to the middle, aim!" Ye Cheng shouted, cupping his hands like a megaphone.

Xiao Hu nodded, tossed the coconut toward the middle of the grove—*thud*—it smashed onto the ground.

"Get a few more; we'll need them later," Ye Cheng called again.

We'll need the coconuts later to deal with the coconut crab; we can't skimp.

"Got it."

Xiao Hu acknowledged, then began shaking the trunk wildly; Ye Cheng, watching from below, felt uneasy—what if the tall, slender trunk snapped?

Fortunately Ye Cheng's worry didn't come true; soon Xiao Hu had plucked all the fruit from that coconut tree—eight in total.

After picking the coconuts, Xiao Hu slid down the trunk like a monkey.

"Brother, why collect so many? Planning to bring them home to eat?" Xiao Hu pointed at the pile; normally people eat at most two, but we have eight.

"Look what this is," Ye Cheng said, lifting the dead coconut crab.

"A coconut crab! We've struck it rich," Xiao Hu exclaimed, recognizing it at a glance.

"Whether we strike it rich depends on these," Ye Cheng said, pointing to the coconuts on the ground.

Generally, coconut crabs hide well, so they are usually lured out with baited traps.

The two found a few smaller coconuts, smashed them open, then took two slender sticks, sharpened one end, and impaled the split coconut halves on them.

With the bait ready, Ye Cheng walked around the coconut grove, found a few holes, and placed the sticks near the entrances.

The fresh coconut scent alone can draw the crab out; although coconut crabs can climb trees, no matter how strong they are they can't scale a hill on a single stick like Xiao Hu can.

So once lured out, it will circle beneath the stick, waiting to be caught.

They set up sixteen traps in total; how many they'll harvest is up to fate.

After finishing, the two carried the coconuts back to the beach; the water tank and snakeskin bag were still there, and they sat down to smash coconuts and eat.

Each had two; the sweet coconut water and flesh filled them—Ye Cheng felt a bit full, so they didn't need any dry rations.

Xiao Hu wiped his mouth, handed Ye Cheng a cigarette, and said, "Brother, go check if there are any coconut crabs."

"It's still early; let's go do a bit of shore‑gathering, then take a quick look before we leave."

We just set the bait—there's no way a crab would be that eager already.

Having eaten and drunk their fill, the two continued walking along the beach.

This side of the beach is mainly shallow pools; the little ones hold nothing, so they had to move to a larger pool.

They found one and, as before, drained it first, then felt around for fish.

But this time it wasn't as good as before; after over an hour they caught only a few fish, some paddle crabs, and a dogfish showed up again—seems they've been lucky with sharks lately.

After finishing, Ye Cheng checked the time—it was already 3 p. m.

They had an appointment with Wang Defa at 4 p. m., leaving them an hour.

"Come on, Xiao Hu, let's go see if the coconut crab traps have yielded anything."

Carrying an empty water tank, the two returned along the same route to the coconut grove and inspected each trap.

(Coconut crabs are normally active at night; after baiting they should come in the evening, but for plot reasons we've moved it to daytime.)

At the first spot, nothing was under the stick, but the stick itself was lively—several hermit crabs had climbed onto the coconut and were happily munching.

"Nothing, Brother," Xiao Hu said, a little disappointed.

"If there's none, we'll take these little guys back—can't come for nothing." Ye Cheng reached in and pulled out the greedy hermit crabs.

The second spot was similar—two hermit crabs on top, with a few more down below about to climb up.