Exploration

Just as they exited their cave area, Li Xian saw an area around a football field with many caves. He looked around in every direction, knowing that this is where he'd be staying for a while before these guys moved on to other areas.

All the caves are naturally formed, and some of them are quite big, just like the one that he came out of, while other caves are very small, just like a small creek big enough for one or two people to live.

He doesn't know whether these caves were formed by the lava that flowed, by the continuous chipping of water, or some other way he is unaware of. Most importantly, Li Xian doesn't even bother to ask such a question, even if the system is ready to explain.

The entire cave is under a mountain, which is in an enclosed curve, almost in a circle form. Except for one side, which appeared to be open, a thick forest can be seen with narrow paths that formed after a long period of a continuous flow of people.

But most of the trees around half the football field are completely cleared, enough to keep an eye on any danger that will come from the deep forest ahead. And they also use this place for their regular meetings, or to spend time casually, etc.

The mountain is quite steep, and it is nearly impossible for anyone to come from this side, especially in an era when there is no technology or proper equipment for mountain climbing.

"I will get you an extra portion today! So, you can die happily tomorrow." Ankara looked at Li Xian, and said, as though he knew this kid will surely die for sure.

He is the one who raised him from a young age, but he is also the one who knows him pretty well. Since the day he brought him to this band, he has provided him with food and shelter.

He even tried to train him as a hunter, but this kid doesn't have any aptitude for that, and also, this kid himself didn't put much effort in.

He then sent this kid to gather food with the scavenging team, but this kid is the one that always comes back without anything, as he always sleeps somewhere in the forest.

He kept up with this for so many years, even with the continuous complaints from many of his band members, especially the hunters, who are on equal status with him.

Of course, no one wants to freely give away an extra portion to a person who is not even making any effort, except for wasting their hard-earned 'money'.

Yesterday, one of the scouts found a particularly good 'game' which is not in a group with any other animals out there.

But that animal is quite aggressive, and taking it on head-on is especially difficult without many casualties, which they are desperately trying to reduce as their group size has already shrunk by 30% in the last few years.

So they devised a plan to send a person as bait, so they could then secretly make a sneak attack on it while the animal concentrated on attacking the 'bait'.

But all the hunters have two people in their minds, which will not cause much loss to their band, even if they both die, and it will even reduce the burden on them by quite a bit.

One of them is extremely hard-working, but he is too weak to become a hunter, and he also couldn't stay in the forest for longer periods of time because his stamina was too low, which made the amount of food he brought second to last.

Obviously, the last one is the one that they hate the most, but that kid has the support of one of the three main hunters, Ankara, and his brother, Lasang. which kind of restricted the other two main hunters for the past few years.

However, this time, the other two main hunters, as well as all other hunters, strongly suggested Li Xian as the bait. Ankara tried his best, along with Lasang, to plead for Li Xian, but the hunters directly took the issue to vote, and they unanimously voted against them.

But some of the other hunters proposed that two baits would be even better for the hunt, as they also wanted to get rid of the other guy.

Some hunters hesitated, while the main hunters knew the thoughts of these people, but they didn't say much against that, including Ankara. As he thought, that will give Li Xian a slight chance to survive if luck is on his side. But that guy doesn't have any hunter's support, and his parents are only scavengers, which made him an easy target.

Li Xian simply nodded his head, as he felt it was always good not to starve when you are about to undergo something that requires a lot of energy.

But his entire focus is on the people gathered around a cave, where the food is most likely stored. He slowly looked at their faces one by one to remember them, as they were very hard to differentiate.

Most of them have big noses, and many men have big builds, while the women are quite small compared to the men.

Seeing Li Xian nod his head, Ankara sighed before going to get their ration for the entire day.

"Stay here with the big brother big bowl. I will go and get our food."

Lasang said to the little kid, before looking at Li Xing, as though telling him to keep an eye on the child, before going away.

Li Xian couldn't care much about that, but he simply kept looking at the area, as he felt that it was good to embed the place where he was going to live into his memory.

But just as he is looking, a small hand suddenly holds his big hand, jolting him back from his exploration. He already knew who it was and slowly looked at the kid with surprise, as he or she didn't say anything to him till those big guys went away.

"Big brother!! Are you going to die tomorrow?" That little kid asked in a confusing manner, which kind of made Li Xian flare up, as this kid is saying it in such an obvious tone.

"No! But let me find out whether you are a girl or boy first..." Li Xian said, before bending down a bit, and lifting the loincloth of the kid. He then slowly stood up without any reaction under the confused and blinking eyes of the 'little girl'.

"But! Father said, that big brother bowl is going to die tomorrow, and after that, we all will get a lot of meat to eat."

That little girl said it in an innocent tone, but Li Xian felt quite sad for this guy, who is almost treated in exchange for some meat.

"Little girl! I'm not going to die tomorrow. But your father is probably right about the meat." Li Xian said, as he guessed, that this poor child's father is Lasang, while her mother may be dead.

"But big brother! I'm not a little girl... I'm a little bowl." That little girl said it innocently, as though she were correcting Li Xian.

Li Xian was stunned for a moment before bursting out laughing. This is the first time he felt that there were still innocent people left, which is not rare in this dark era where children will mature early.

Some of the people who are close to them couldn't help but look at Li Xian weirdly, but there is no pity in their eyes, which are kind of cold. Li Xian couldn't help but stop his laugh as he felt their cold stares and held the confused 'little bowl' hand as they waited for their 'guardians'.

Around fifteen minutes later, both of them came back. Without uttering another word, all of them made their way towards their cave, not bothering with the other people who were giving glances to Li Xian.

"Here! This is your food in two portions. I have also added a little from my portion, which will be enough for you to eat it till you are full at least two times."

Ankara said as he handed him some meat and some fruits that are packed in a big leaf that he has no idea about.

Li Xian took it and felt the meat itself should be around 2 kilograms, which is really enough for him to eat for the entire day, not to mention the fruits.

"Also! Tonight itself, we are going to the game location to check for a proper place to ambush it, when it concentrates on you or that other guy. And the hunt will also start around early in the morning tomorrow, so you better prepare for it, and if your luck is good, that beast will not chase you and concentrate on the other guy."

Ankara said slowly as he sat beside the fire again, this time with Lasang and the small bowl, completely ignoring Li Xian.