Chapter 21 Hunting

"Oh? Where's the food? How much food do we have in total?" Tianxiang turned to another topic.

"There's not much food left! The little bit of insect meat we got last time has been almost eaten in the past few days. If we don't replenish it, I'm afraid it will only take two more days before there will be no food left in the entire camp. Something to eat." At this point, the joy on the old man's face disappeared and was replaced by a look of solemnity and anxiety.

"How many people are currently able to participate in hunting?" Tianxiang continued his question.

"In addition to the elderly and children who are too old and weak to move, including me who can barely make up the number, there should be seventy-four people. However, most of them are women. As for the young and strong men , there are only six." Having said this, the old man looked at Tianxiang with some encouragement: "Tell me! What should we do?"

"I remember that you seem to know how to use a gun. Is that right?" After thinking for a long time with a frown, Tianxiang tilted his head to the old man and asked.

Liu Rui nodded.

"Then, this is yours." Tianxiang smiled slightly, took out the M5G43 that had been placed in the camp from behind, and handed it to the old man along with six full magazines: "Those who know how to use guns can't If you keep it, I can feel more at ease."

Immediately afterwards, Tianxiang took the P104 pistol and several equally full magazines that he had brought out from the library from his sister who was listening to him with wide eyes, and stuffed them into Ye who was staring at the submachine gun in the old man's hand. Zhan Feng's hand: "This is yours, you should be able to use it! Go out and get familiar with it later, just don't hurt any of your own people."

"As for the others, tell them to get ready to go. We'll go tomorrow after the hunt is over."

Tianxiang's last order surprised the old man: "Let's go? Where? Are we leaving here?"

"Not bad!" Tianxiang nodded: "It's not safe here, and there are relatively few food sources. I know a very good place, which is much safer. The most important thing is that there are weapons there, the weapons we need most urgently at the moment. "

A few hours later, when the timer on Tianxiang's wrist jumped to the early morning position, old man Liu Rui led seventy-three other hunters to the new clan leader.

Tianxiang looked at the uneven hunting team in front of him and couldn't help but sigh. Although he already knew the strength of this weak hunting group before. But now, when all the people who claimed to be "capable of participating in hunting" in Liu Rui's mouth were gathered in front of him, he was once again moved by this hunting team composed almost entirely of old people and women.

Because, in this team of seventy-four people, if you count them carefully, there are more than fifty people who are so old that they need to rely on spears and guns to move around. Of those who remained, except for six able-bodied men, the remainder consisted entirely of women. To make matters worse, all but seven of the dozen or so women looked strong. Others simply looked weak.

"You don't have to go." Without saying much, Tianxiang silently picked out the dozen or so people he liked from the team, and then said calmly to the remaining people: "You just stay in the camp and wait for us to come back! "

"We have the strength, we can fight!" An old man was anxious. He quickly held the spear in his hand, rushed to Tianxiang in a few steps, and shouted breathlessly: "Don't, don't abandon us... We are still useful... Cough, cough, we, we are not waste."

As if this was a signal, all the hunters immediately gathered around and expressed their sincere wishes to the new clan leader.

"Please, don't leave my mother behind. She is still useful. She can hunt with us!"

"I'm not old, I, I'm only over sixty years old...I, I can still throw a gun from a distance!"

"Don't abandon us. We can carry, move, and move. We can carry prey. We can't eat much, just a little bit of food is enough..."

"Don't leave me..."

Without hunting, there is nothing to eat. Similarly, for those who do not participate in hunting, it is impossible for them to find other sources of food unless the hunters themselves are willing to share the food with them. Moreover, the elderly and infirm do not have priority in food distribution. They can only eat the rotten meat left by others and gnaw the bones that others cannot chew. Many times, even their own biological children don't want to get involved at all. After all, you cannot survive without food. In the face of the threat of hunger, the value of a piece of insect meat that can satisfy one's hunger is far more important than the warmth between parents and children.

Tianxiang didn't expect that his simple order would cause such a big reaction among these poor people. Especially when he saw several strong young men challenging him with a fierce face in order to allow his elderly mother to hunt with the team, his eyes couldn't help but become slightly moist.

At that moment, he thought of his dead father. In order to prevent his young self and sister from starving, his father cut off the meat from his thigh without hesitation, roasted it, divided it into two pieces, and stuffed it into his hands...

It is precisely because of this that my father, who has limited mobility, never came back during a hunting trip.

"Everyone, please don't mess up, please listen to me!" Tianxiang, who tried his best to control his emotions, said slowly: "This hunting does not require so many people. We only need to obtain some necessary food, so there will be no delay. Too much time. What's more, if the old man goes, it will only bring unnecessary trouble to the hunting. Therefore, it is enough for us to be here. As for those who stay, I promise that they will definitely follow the most fair principle. Share all the food with everyone. After all, I am your new clan leader! New leader!"

"Don't be chaotic, listen to the patriarch in everything!" Liu Rui separated the crowd, stepped in, raised Tianxiang's right hand and loudly said: "Believe in our patriarch, he will never abandon anyone. Since the patriarch said only He must have his own reasons for leading so many people. Do you have any other thoughts about our leader?"

No one said anything anymore. It was obvious that Tianxiang and Liu Rui's words had moved them. I saw the old people who had not been targeted, after silently handing the weapons in their hands to the young people, they supported each other, and with some expectation, slowly turned around and walked towards the camp...

Although it was early morning in terms of time, the sky was still dark. The bright sunshine cannot penetrate the obstacles floating in the sky at all. It can only sluggishly emit its own light, faintly passing through some of the meager gaps, appearing as an almost indistinguishable faint reddish color. horizon.

Although the light was blocked, the temperature was like a soldier who bravely crossed the blockade, ignoring all obstacles and still faithfully spreading all he had to every piece of gravel and rubble.

Bugs like the dark night. However, in comparison, they obviously prefer daytime now. This is of course because the temperature at night is too low, sometimes even falling below freezing. At times like this, these reptiles, who currently occupy the absolute dominance of the earth due to their numerical superiority, can only huddle together, crowded with each other, and stay in the narrow but warm nest underground, bored but quite Patiently, waiting for the warmth to return in a few hours.

Bugs don't like the sun, not at all. It is no exaggeration to say that that damn star with its dazzling fiery red light should not appear in the world of bugs at all. Sunlight dries out the ground and removes a large number of other microorganisms that live on the insect's surface. As a result, many insects that must rely on its symbiosis to obtain food decomposition have to face the threat of death. Among them, carnivorous bugs are the most common.

A dark world without the threat of sunlight but without losing warmth is destined to become a paradise for bugs.

Fifteen people, this kind of hunting group is really pitifully small compared to those powerful groups that often have hundreds of people. Hunting is a necessary means of obtaining food for humans living in a dark world. Compared with individuals, group hunting can not only hunt larger and more ferocious bugs, but also obtain much more food than individuals hunting alone. Therefore, in comparison, every lone survivor feels honored to be able to join a powerful group. Because doing so will undoubtedly mean that more and richer food can be obtained, and the threat of hunger will of course be much smaller.

And, best of all, group hunting is safe. When you are being chased by a carnivorous insect, if you can throw a few sharp spears when you need it most, it will undoubtedly mean that your precious life has been reborn again.

From this perspective, the stronger the hunting group is, the better. Of course, the more people participating in the hunt, the safer it will be.

Tianxiang, who has been fighting among the insects since he was a child, naturally knows this truth well. But there is no way. Currently, including myself, there are only fifteen people in hand. As for those old people, rather than letting them follow and die in vain, it would be better to stay in the camp in peace and contentment. After all, judging from the current situation, it is always better to have one more person. Even if this person is too old to walk and can only breathe.

When returning from the base, Tianxiang noticed that about five kilometers away from the camp, there was a low-lying wetland filled with moldy black water. Although the living environment around that area is harsh, even the most happy-go-lucky people cannot bear it and flee. However, the bugs obviously don't think so. Wet mud, enough water, and a reinforced concrete slab that collapsed from a nearby building were just blocked by a few ruins and covered over the wetland, forming a natural shelter. It would be a shame if such a beautiful piece of land was not used for nesting and settling down.

Of course, not all bugs like this environment. Except for the flat beetles called "black lice" that Tianxiang took a fancy to and became the target of this hunting, I am afraid that only soft-bodied insects such as rot maggots would be somewhat interested in this place.

The black louse that spends its days wallowing in the putrid mud is a plant-eating insect. Although its nest is quite dirty, in terms of its taste in food, the black louse can actually be regarded as an absolute gentleman among insects. Because, compared with the almost predatory gnawing and voracious behavior of other herbivorous insects, the black louse only gnaws off the rich upper parts of the plants each time, which is undoubtedly like ancient humans raising livestock.

They are smart and only eat half at a time. Even if it is extremely hungry, it will never eat up the roots of plants buried in the soil. Instead, he waited patiently, waiting for this precious plant to grow taller again and provide himself with more and better food.

In this sense, black lice actually possess the most difficult wisdom among insects.

Although, this kind of wisdom is quite low-level. From a human perspective, it's not worth showing off at all.

Tianxiang, who has obtained all the information about the base, will naturally not be unfamiliar with this kind of bug. From the knowledge of the ancients, he had guessed that the black louse was probably a small insect that mutated hundreds of years ago, but now its size was hundreds of times larger than before. But no matter what, in Tianxiang's view, even this kind of insect has gone very far on the road of evolution. But in the end, they still cannot escape the fate of being ruled and exploited by humans.

Just like now, for the small tribe that has just gained dominance, these half-sized insects that look quite scary are just some food that can be used to satisfy their hunger.

Fifteen people, divided into three teams. Tianxiang leads his own team, and Ye Zhanfeng leads another team. There was also a young man named Xia Dong who was selected from the hunt and looked quite smart and strong. He was also temporarily designated by Tianxiang as the commander of the last team.

Tianxiang's plan is simple: three teams of people will completely surround the entire wetland from three sides. Throw spears from a distance to eliminate individual black louse individuals one by one. As for the groups of black lice that are surrounded together, they are left to be eliminated at the end. Tianxiang calculated that the more than 240 throwing spears in the entire group were enough to deal with this group of black lice, which numbered less than a hundred. As long as no accidents occur, he is absolutely sure to bring a fresh and delicious meal to all the tribesmen in half an hour.

The location of each team is the result of precise calculations. Not only are the distances between each other exactly the same, but the distance between people is also very particular. Moreover, Tianxiang had already given strict instructions to everyone on the roads near the hunting grounds, repeatedly telling them that when attacked, they must follow the action route given by him to join the nearby response group. Absolutely no unauthorized running or self-initiated behavior is allowed.

Discipline is something that the ancients mentioned again and again in many books. Hunting is a collaborative behavior that requires cooperation. If there is no discipline, no matter how powerful one's personal ability is, he will only be able to obtain the smallest benefit.

Many people disagree with Tianxiang's repeated emphasis on "discipline." On the one hand, this is of course because they still have a little indifference towards this newly appointed patriarch! More importantly, it is because these theories sound like useless nonsense to them.

Is not it? Hunting, isn't it just piercing the body of an insect with a spear? Why bother talking about it so much?

However, facing the majesty of the clan leader, no one showed such thoughts on their faces.

"Sixty-seven, sixty-eight, sixty-nine..." Tianxiang silently counted all the insects within his sight, and his powerful thoughts had already spread throughout the wetland. According to the target he perceived, the number of this entire group of black lice should be one hundred and thirty-two. In the clearing that appeared in front of him, there were only ninety-one insects with their bodies exposed.

In other words, there are still more than forty bugs hiding safely in the soft black mud under the wetland.

Tianxiang didn't speak. He just turned around and glanced at the four tribesmen he led with a smile. He immediately took out a throwing spear placed on the ground, weighed it lightly, and aimed it five or sixty meters directly in front of him. There, a black louse was munching on plant leaves.

The spear shot out of the air was very accurate, and only a "pop" sound was heard. The black louse, about one meter in length, still did not give up the delicious food in front of it after suffering the tragic fate of being penetrated from its back and abdomen. After continuing to chew and humming a few times, he twisted his six limbs in a dangling motion and was unable to make any move.

(Everyone who collects rags must have seen it! "Whoever has scrap paper, iron, and bottles, sell them!". In fact, I am also collecting them, but the shouting is different: "Whoever has monthly tickets, SMS tickets, and recommendation tickets, please sell them!") Throw it!")