The following morning, Bayu woke beneath the roots of a gigantic tree, his body feeling far lighter than it had the day before.
The wounds on his hands and legs were still visible, but the pain had decreased dramatically. He rolled his shoulders, stretched his fingers, then stood while observing the forest covered in a thin layer of mist.
The world outside his hiding place was still just as dangerous as before.
But after receiving the Eden-0 serum, something had changed in the way his body responded to the environment.
He could hear leaves shifting far beyond the trees.
He could smell water coming from the direction of the valley.
He could even sense subtle changes in temperature that he would never have noticed before.
However, these enhancements did not change the reality that he still had no food, no permanent shelter, and no reliable way to defend himself if another predator appeared.
"Today's priorities: find water, find food, then build a better shelter."
Bayu spoke to himself as he activated the Temporal Displacement Unit.
He lowered the device's power consumption to biological analysis mode and activated the navigation indicator toward the water source detected the previous day.
"I don't need to find anything extraordinary. I just need to survive one more day."
He inspected the small knife he had recovered from the Eden-0 facility, then tucked it into his waistband before leaving the shelter beneath the roots.
This time, he didn't move recklessly.
After yesterday's experience, Bayu was beginning to understand that every sound, scent, and footprint in the forest could be a clue indicating whether an area was safe—or whether it was a predator's hunting ground.
The journey toward the water source took almost an hour because Bayu had to change direction several times to avoid enormous footprints found in the muddy ground.
Throughout the journey, the analysis device continued operating in passive scanning mode.
Whenever Bayu pointed the device at a particular plant, biological information appeared on the screen.
One plant caught his attention.
It was a low-growing shrub with elongated leaves and clusters of round, dark-red berries growing between its branches.
Bayu picked one using the tip of his knife and activated the scanner.
BIOLOGICAL IDENTIFICATION
COMMON DESIGNATION: RAVENBERRY
ESTIMATED PERIOD: LATE JURASSIC
EDIBILITY: SAFE
TOXICITY: 0.3%
ENERGY VALUE: HIGH
PROTEIN: LOW
CARBOHYDRATE: HIGH
BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS: DETECTED
Bayu raised an eyebrow.
Normally, the device only displayed nutritional content and safety levels.
But this time, an additional section appeared—one he had never seen before.
ADAPTIVE VALUE
MUSCLE RECOVERY: +0.4%
CELLULAR STRESS RESISTANCE: +0.2%
Bayu stared at the screen for several seconds.
"So it's not just food."
He scanned the berry again.
The results remained unchanged.
Bayu finally took a small bite.
It tasted slightly sour, followed by a lingering sweetness on his tongue, almost like a mixture of berries and unripe grapes.
There was no strange sensation.
No burning.
No dizziness.
Several minutes later, the analysis device issued another notification.
CONSUMPTION CONFIRMED
NUTRIENT ABSORPTION: NORMAL
ADAPTIVE COMPOUND ABSORPTION: 3%
Bayu smiled faintly.
"So food here can actually strengthen the body."
He immediately stored several berries inside an emergency pouch.
But the longer he used the device, the more strange things he discovered.
Near a small river, Bayu found a plant with a thick trunk and fan-shaped leaves resembling an ancient ginkgo-like species.
The analysis device identified it as Ginkora, a local species that did not exist in the modern database.
Its seeds contained high levels of fat and minerals, while the fleshy part of the fruit was safe to eat after being cleaned.
Not far from there, he found a short plant resembling a cycad, with a large reddish-brown cone.
Bayu named it Karkadus, inspired by its hard, thorny appearance.
The scan showed that its seeds were unsafe to consume directly because they contained neurotoxic compounds.
However, after undergoing a specific soaking and heating process, the toxin levels could be reduced to within safe limits.
Bayu nodded as he read the instructions appearing on the screen.
PROCESSING REQUIRED
1. REMOVE OUTER SHELL
2. WASH
3. SOAK: 6–8 HOURS
4. BOIL: 30 MINUTES
5. DISCARD WATER
He stared at the screen.
"The device even knows how to process them."
And that wasn't all.
When Bayu found long plant fibers growing near the river, the device automatically displayed their possible uses.
MATERIAL ANALYSIS
FIBER STRENGTH: MODERATE
RECOMMENDED USE: ROPE / BINDING / SIMPLE NET
Then a small icon appeared.
CRAFTING GUIDE AVAILABLE
Bayu tapped it.
A simple diagram appeared on the screen.
BASIC ROPE
REQUIRED MATERIAL: 3× GINKORA FIBER
PROCESS: TWIST → BRAID → SECURE
Bayu stared at the device in disbelief.
"So now you're a survival manual too?"
He followed the instructions and began separating the plant fibers.
His first attempt was terrible.
The rope was too loose and immediately unraveled when he pulled on it.
The second attempt was slightly better.
On the third attempt, he finally managed to produce a simple rope strong enough to be useful.
Bayu looked at his creation.
"Not bad."
He then stored several bundles of fiber for later use.
By noon, he finally reached the water source.
The river wasn't particularly wide, but the current flowed rapidly between the rocks.
Bayu crouched down and used the analysis device to examine the water.
WATER QUALITY: ACCEPTABLE
PATHOGEN DENSITY: LOW
PURIFICATION: RECOMMENDED
Bayu didn't drink it immediately.
He filled one of the containers from his field kit, then followed the simple instructions to filter and boil the water.
Afterward, he began observing the surface of the river.
Something moved.
Bayu crouched lower.
Something darted between the rocks.
He reached for his knife.
Waited.
Then the creature emerged.
A fish.
But its size nearly made Bayu lose his balance.
It was almost one meter long, with a broad body roughly the size of a large turtle.
Its scales shimmered beneath the sunlight, while its jaws were lined with rows of tiny teeth.
Bayu stepped backward.
"If that's a small fish..."
He stared at the river.
"...I don't want to know what the big ones look like."
The fish swam past him.
Bayu tried to catch it with his bare hands.
Failure.
He tried using the rope.
Another failure.
On his third attempt, the fish slammed into his leg and sent Bayu tumbling into the river.
"Hey!"
Bayu surfaced with an irritated expression.
The fish was already gone.
For almost an hour afterward, Bayu tried various methods to catch the fish.
None of them worked.
Eventually, he managed to catch only a few smaller fish, each roughly half the length of his arm.
But compared to the modern fauna he was familiar with, even the "small" fish in this river seemed ridiculously large.
He constructed a simple trap using Ginkora fibers and several branches.
Several hours later, he finally got results.
Two small fish had been caught.
Bayu carried them onto the shore and scanned them.
SPECIES: UNKNOWN
CLASS: PRIMITIVE FISH
EDIBILITY: SAFE
NUTRITIONAL VALUE: HIGH
ADAPTIVE VALUE: LOW
Bayu felt slightly disappointed when he read the final line.
"At least they're edible."
He cooked the fish using a metal container from the field kit.
No seasoning.
No salt.
Just fish meat roasted until thoroughly cooked.
The taste was simple.
But to Bayu, it felt like the best meal he had ever eaten.
After eating, he checked the analysis device again.
Apparently, the device also recorded subtle physiological changes caused by the food he consumed.
NUTRIENT ABSORPTION COMPLETE
ADAPTIVE ENHANCEMENT: 0.1%
BRAIN FUNCTION: ENHANCED
NEURAL PROCESSING SPEED: +0.6%
REACTION TIME: +1.3%
MEMORY RETENTION: +2.8%
SENSORY PROCESSING: +2.4%
COGNITIVE EFFICIENCY: +1.7%
Bayu nodded.
"So the serum unlocks the body's adaptive potential, while certain foods help the body develop further."
That conclusion immediately set his mind racing.
If that was true, then he didn't need to search for as much food as possible.
He needed to find the right food.
And that changed his entire survival strategy.
By late afternoon, Bayu returned toward his shelter.
He gathered dry branches, plant fibers, strips of bark, and several stones that the analysis device identified as containing specific mineral compositions.
He then opened the crafting guide function.
SURVIVAL TOOL AVAILABLE
FIRE STARTER
REQUIRED:
2× DRY WOOD
1× FIBER
2× HARD STONE
ASSEMBLY DIFFICULTY: MODERATE
Bayu stared at the materials in front of him.
"All right."
He began experimenting.
The first stone struck the second.
Nothing happened.
He tried again.
Still nothing.
Another attempt produced only a few tiny fragments.
Bayu sighed.
His hands were beginning to ache.
"If this were modern times, I'd just press a lighter..."
He looked around at the forest.
"...now I have to learn how to be a caveman."
He tried again.
Afternoon slowly turned into dusk.
The first spark finally appeared.
Bayu immediately brought the dry fibers closer.
They didn't ignite.
The second attempt produced smoke.
He blew gently.
The smoke grew thicker.
Then a tiny red ember appeared.
Bayu froze.
Fire.
It was incredibly small.
Barely alive.
He added more dry fibers and carefully blew on the ember.
The orange glow slowly grew brighter.
Bayu broke into a wide smile.
"Yes."
His first successful fire burned beneath the roots of the giant tree.
Bayu sat in front of it, watching the flames dance.
For the first time, he had something resembling a home.
He had water.
Food.
Fire.
And an analysis device that could still recharge using sunlight.
But the peace didn't last long.
Bayu reopened the biological data he had collected throughout the day.
He checked the Ravenberry.
Then the Ginkora.
Then the Karkadus.
They all shared something in common.
ANOMALOUS BIOACTIVE COMPOUND DETECTED
Bayu frowned.
He opened the modern Earth database and compared it with the scan results.
There were no matches.
Even the molecular structures of some of the compounds didn't correspond to any evolutionary patterns he knew.
Bayu enlarged the genetic data.
Then he discovered something even stranger.
The mutations weren't limited to plants.
The fish he had caught displayed similar patterns.
So did several microorganisms found in the water.
Bayu slowly leaned back against the tree root.
"So it's not just the dinosaurs..."
He stared at the screen.
The entire ecosystem had changed.
Whether it was caused by the Eden-0 accident, a side effect of temporal displacement, or something that had happened long before Bayu arrived in this world, life here had evolved along a completely different path.
And if those changes really had been caused by Project Eden-0...
then perhaps something far greater had been released into this prehistoric biosphere.
Bayu was about to open the deeper data when the device suddenly beeped.
NEW BIOLOGICAL SIGNATURE DETECTED
Bayu immediately sat upright.
A red dot appeared on the map.
It wasn't far away.
Only about eight hundred meters from his shelter.
Bayu zoomed in.
The signal's estimated size continued increasing.
MASS ESTIMATION: 4,800–6,200 KG
Bayu swallowed.
"Six tons...?"
He stared into the dark forest ahead.
Then the system provided additional information.
SPECIES MATCH: 0%
GENETIC CLASSIFICATION: UNKNOWN
ADAPTIVE VALUE: EXTREMELY HIGH
Bayu slowly shut off the screen.
The small fire in front of him was still burning.
But for the first time, its light didn't make him feel safe.
Instead, it made him realize that something out there might be able to see his position clearly.
A branch snapped in the distance.
Then came a heavy footstep.
DUM.
Bayu tightened his grip on the small knife.
Another step.
DUM.
Bayu stared into the darkness between the trees.
The analysis device in his hand vibrated again.
PREDATOR APPROACHING.
Then one final line appeared.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: DO NOT ENGAGE.
Bayu stared at the words.
For the first time since obtaining the Eden-0 serum, he desperately hoped his analysis device was wrong.