Section 32 Leather Shoes

There is resistance only when there is oppression, and there is motivation only when there is passion. Although the clan leader's order was really hard to accept, under the threat of reducing food quotas, the clansmen could only shake their heads helplessly and struggled to pick up the heavy objects they had thrown down from the ground. Lang ran forward slowly with staggering steps.

At the end of the day, except for some tribesmen with better physical fitness, although the rest of the people persisted in running the entire distance, none of them arrived at the stipulated time. What's more, several weaker women almost dragged their own heavy loads to the finish line.

"This kind of training will not end. You must keep practicing every day. I will supervise everyone and set an example. I just hope that everyone can understand that doing this will only benefit you, and there will be no harm."

Even Tianxiang himself didn't know how many people actually listened to these words. After all, although his brainwave energy is very powerful, it cannot explore people's inner world. However, one thing is for sure. Since Tianxiang also joined the ranks of running with heavy loads the next day, no one dared to complain about it.

Many people feel quite satisfied with the current situation of the ethnic group. However, Tianxiang, as the leader of the ethnic group, knew very well that talking about development by relying solely on this small ethnic group of less than 200 people was simply nonsense. An ancient saying goes well: "Unity is strength." Therefore, if your tribe wants to be strong, the only way is to gather and have more people.

But the problem is that to do so, we must have abundant material conditions as a basis. After all, compared with a tribe of 100 people, the amount of food, clothing, weapons, etc. required by a tribe of 1,000 people will be several times or even dozens of times higher than now. Without any material preparation, hasty expansion will only lead to the destruction of the tribe.

Ye Zhanfeng and Liu Rui deeply agree with this.

Tianxiang believes that if it is not winter now and the climate is very warm. Then I will definitely lead my tribe, like a group of the craziest woodchucks, in every corner of the ruins, desperately looking for all kinds of useful things. They'll hunt more bugs, get more felt, and find more weapons-making materials. Of course, more secrets of ancient humans will be discovered. All of this is just to accumulate necessary supplies.

The strengthening of the tribesmen's physical strength and the learning of knowledge are also necessary material reserves. Tianxiang believes that after this winter, his tribe will be the most powerful among all hunters. Even if the group expands in the future, these people will be able to stand alone and become their most capable subordinates.

But, all this takes time.

The days of waiting are hard and long. Daily lectures and exercises are nothing more than child's play for the energetic Tianxiang. Bored, he could only search out everything in the base to see if he could get new fun out of it.

Luckily he found something to pass the time with. A bundle of dark green leather scrolls fell into his sight.

It was the skin of a giant locust. A piece of inner skin peeled off from a giant locust after being hunted.

Like all bugs, giant locusts are covered with a thick layer of horny carapace. This is the best defensive armor that locusts have gradually evolved during their evolution. At the same time, the soft and thin cortex under the carapace has also been strengthened. Whether it is thickness or strength, it has increased significantly compared to the locust. After all, one is a beast and the other is an insect. The difference is self-evident.

Tianxiang gently picked up the giant locust skin in his hand. The texture of this thing is very good, it feels soft and has a certain degree of toughness. The thickness is also as much as half a centimeter. If you cut it with a dagger, you have to use considerable strength to remove a piece. As for the spear gun, if it wasn't polished very sharp and thrust out with all its strength, it might not be able to pierce it at all.

"Absolutely good materials cannot be wasted." Tianxiang defined the giant locust skin in his heart. At the same time, I was thinking quickly: What should I do with this roll of leather?

shoe! A term suddenly appeared in his mind.

Like clothes, shoes are also a very precious item in the dark world. Although many hunters have their own pair of shoes. But it was already dilapidated. Because they have only one source. Those are the ruins where ancient people once lived.

If a piece of metal is left for six hundred years, it will definitely become rusty. The same goes for shoes. Although some shoes are placed in a very good position and cannot be exposed to the sun or rain. But as time passes, the materials that make up the shoes themselves will gradually age. Therefore, even if you are lucky enough to find and obtain a complete pair of shoes, you will not be able to wear them for very long. As time goes by, many hunters can only use various methods to extend the life of the shoes on their feet.

Binding with rope and tying with cloth strips are quite common methods. Of course, some people think that instead of having a pair of extremely rotten shoes tied to the feet like a palm, it is more cost-effective to wrap them directly in a piece of strong thick cloth. As a result, many hunters appeared who wrapped their feet with pieces of cloth to replace the function of shoes.

There are many such people. More than half of the people in Tianxiang's tribe are like this. Although it is not very convenient to move in this way, it is still much better than walking barefoot among the broken rubble.

"That's it, use these skins to make a few pairs of shoes. Although the quantity is not much, it is better than nothing." Tianxiang made up his mind, excitedly picked up the bundle of giant locust skins thicker than his own waist, and dragged it to a By the fire surrounded by people.

Even though it's underground, it's still damp and cold. The locust skin was peeled off and set aside, so it was not completely dry. Although it feels a little hard, it is still somewhat soft overall. In this way, a group of tribesmen, under the leadership of Tianxiang, started a new job - tanning.

The ancients needed sulfur and other items to tan leather. Tianxiang doesn't have these things and can't get them at all. Therefore, he could only use the materials he had and the easiest way to create what he wanted according to his own understanding.

Beside the burning fire, there were a lot of still warm ashes. Use this stuff to completely soak the locust skin, and then rub it repeatedly to keep it soft. Repeat several times to dry out all the water with ashes. A piece of rough locust skin that can be folded at will without losing its toughness appears.

With leather, making shoes is naturally not a difficult task. Many women and elders in the tribe are good at sewing. Under Tianxiang's almost step-by-step guidance, the first pair of locust leather shoes finally came out. The activity of sewing shoes also had its first climax.

The women's hands are very skillful and the stitching edges are very fine. Although the appearance of the shoes is not very satisfactory. But no matter what, this is the first pair of leather shoes they made by hand. Best of all, it wears and is strong.

It should be admitted that this is a very good pair of leather shoes. Although, it looks a bit ugly.

A giant locust skin and thirty-two pairs of leather shoes. This is the total result after two busy days.

Although there were only thirty-two pairs, it was enough to make the entire group feel excited. After all, having a pair of sturdy and lightweight shoes means your feet will suffer less.

"Distribute these shoes." This was Zhan Feng's idea, and Liu Rui also agreed. Things are made to be used. If they are not used, what is the difference between them and waste.

But Tianxiang doesn't think so.

"We must distribute it, but how? To whom should we distribute it? There must be a criterion for judgment. There are only so many shoes, and it is of course impossible for everyone to distribute them. If it is not handled well, not only is this not a good thing, but On the contrary, it will bring new conflicts to the ethnic group. At that time, it will not be easy to clean up."

After thinking carefully, Tianxiang finally made up his mind.

"One month later, we will hold a weight-bearing long-distance running competition. The route is exactly the same as the current training venue. The first thirty-two people to reach the finish line will be rewarded with a pair of shoes each."

Since the day the news was announced, the entire ethnic group has started a crazy wave of competition. All spare time besides teaching is used by the tribesmen to train their ability to run with heavy loads. Except for the elderly who were prohibited from participating in training, everyone was running with a lot of heavy things on their backs. Everyone is cheering themselves up and cheering themselves up. That kind of fanatical energy even surprised Tianxiang himself.

"Competition will give you motivation, and rewards will give you vitality."

This is a sentence in an ancient book, and it is only today that Tianxiang finally understands the mystery.

A month later, the competition was held as scheduled. Tianxiang did not break his promise, and the thirty-two pairs of locust leather shoes were fairly distributed among the thirty-two winners. Looking at the envious eyes of others, these winners felt the pride and value of their existence for the first time. Those who did not win the prize were surprised to find that they were able to carry so many things on their backs and run the entire distance in such a short time. This was simply unimaginable before.

From then on, no one ever doubted the young patriarch's words. And the saying that "the clan leader's order is the most correct choice" gradually spread among the clan.

The snow is getting heavier and the weather is getting colder. The tribe's training was in full swing, and Tianxiang himself did not relax. He has given the "Tai Chi Atlas" that he has always treasured to him to Zhan Feng and Liu Rui, asking them to practice with him. At the same time, Tianxiang also conducts necessary meditation training every night. He wanted to see if his ability to perceive thoughts had been strengthened, and if there was any room for improvement.

For several days in a row, Tianxiang's thoughts could detect slight fluctuations outside the search range. Since the distance was beyond his control, Tianxiang could only vaguely sense that it was a weak biological activity energy. As for what it was, even he himself couldn't tell clearly.

But one thing is for sure, that thing is definitely not a bug. According to the habits of insects, they all build nests underground. The cold winter is a fatal threat to them. Therefore, throughout the winter, the bugs will not be out and about at all. But before the first snow falls, eat and drink enough, and curl up comfortably in your own warm little nest to sleep. Until the coming of spring the next year.

Since it's not a bug, it must be some other creature. After all, there have been numerous living things on Earth. Although the mysterious battle of destruction wiped out most of them, there are still some species with extremely vitality that survived.

Human beings are the best example of this.

But Tianxiang himself was not sure whether it was a human being. According to the ancient calendar, it is already January, the coldest day in the entire winter. Just yesterday, he had tried to step out of the base and pour a bowl of warm water into the clearing. In less than ten seconds, the water splashed on the ground had completely frozen into ice. Such coldness is definitely not something that a thinly-clad hunter can withstand. Therefore, Tianxiang's thoughts are not difficult to understand.

However, that mysterious fluctuation has been present for several days, and the time is also very fixed. Tianxiang was so disturbed that he couldn't calm down and meditate. He had an urge to go out and find out. He wanted to see what kind of creatures could wander around outside in such cold weather.

"Zhan Feng, Xia Dong, Shang Jianming, you guys, come out with me."

After briefly explaining the precautions to Liu Rui, Tianxiang stood up from the ground, walked to the fire, named a few people he trusted, and distributed combat uniforms. Lead them through the stairs at the back of the base to the second floor where weapons are stored.

Only Tianxiang, Zhan Feng, and Liu Rui knew about the existence of the arms secret room. Therefore, Tianxiang usually puts several boxes of bullets and weapons in the curator's room. This is done, on the one hand, for convenience. On the other hand, it is to reduce the possibility of the clan members knowing about the existence of the secret room.

Each person has an M5G43, plus a P104 pistol. There are also two black grenades. This is a must-have for every outing. However, at Zhan Feng's suggestion and request, he still changed to a G180S long-range sniper rifle. According to him, only a combination of distant and near firepower can inflict the heaviest blow to the enemy.

In this regard, Xia Dong and Shang Jianming, two people whose abilities were obviously stronger than those of the clan, did not have much to say. In their view, as long as it is the decision of the clan leader, it is always the most correct thing.

A layer of insect felt clothing and a combat uniform are the warm clothing for those who go out. Tianxiang tried it and it was enough. The two pieces of clothing are very warm and can completely resist the cold air.

Of course, they didn't forget to bring a few pieces of deliciously roasted jerky with them. Although they had already had a good meal before setting off, there might be times when they would be useful.

The four of them quietly walked out of the library door. This requires walking a short distance, but in Tianxiang's opinion, it is completely worth it. He didn't want outsiders to know where the entrance to the underground base was. Although it is already a freezing winter, almost no one goes out hunting anymore. But there are always exceptions to everything. It's never a bad thing to be careful.

cold! It's really cold! This was the first feeling after several people stepped out of the library. The cold wind mixed with snowflakes blew on the unprotected face, which was as painful as a knife. However, compared to the strong winds that roared past the ruins in the distance and made frightening sounds, the trouble caused by this small wind was really minimal.

Even though he was wearing enough clothes, Tianxiang still felt cold.

The snow on the ground is deep enough to reach the top of your knees when you step into it. On the one hand, this makes walking more difficult, and at the same time, it also increases the difficulty of identifying the surrounding environment. The heavy snow and dim sky almost completely obscured the inherent signs on the ground. Only from some piles of ruins higher than the snow could we vaguely determine our location.

As for the footprints left on the snow, they were completely lost in just a few minutes as the strong wind and snowflakes swept them away.

"Be careful, keep a close distance between each other, don't get separated." Tianxiang turned his head, turned his back to the blowing snowflakes, and shouted loudly to the three people behind him. Although his screams were quickly blown away by the strong wind, relying on the still discernible sound, the three people still understood his intentions. Follow his footsteps and trudge forward.

This is definitely not a redundant reminder. It is not uncommon news among hunters to get lost in the snow, unable to find their way home, and eventually freeze to death.

The four people walked for nearly thirty minutes over a distance of more than a thousand meters.

This is already the end point of Tianxiang's brainwave exploration. Of course, that refers to the underground base. Along the way, he kept letting out his thoughts and searching for every movement along the route. Finally, the current target was locked - the ruins more than 1,600 meters away from the base.

"It's humans, thirty-six of them."

This is the information explored by Sigan Energy. Judging from their movement range, they should be focusing on that ruin. Moreover, judging from its position, it seems that they are gathered together to keep warm.