Doomsday Traveler

Chapter 231 Mr. Tree, The Legacy of the Chicken
The sight in the chicken coop startled everyone, and they all gathered around to look at it, their faces filled with worry.

"How come there were only hens yesterday, but today there's one less hen and an extra rooster? Could this rooster be a hen that turned into a hen?"

Some speculated, while others analyzed with alarm: "If that's the case, what if all these hens turn into roosters?"

It was the old tree that came out and answered everyone's questions, putting their minds at ease.

"This is impossible."

Old Tree said. Compared to the others, he was much calmer, “That’s how hens are. If there are roosters in the flock, it’s fine. But if there aren’t any roosters, some hens will turn into roosters.”

"However, it only looks like a rooster, it's not a real rooster. Hens can only lay eggs with this fake rooster, it can't hatch chicks."

"That's it."

Luo Ping nodded, feeling that he understood. "In other words, this rooster is like this because the rooster was killed and eaten yesterday."

"If this rooster is alright, the other hens won't change, right?"

Old Tree scratched his head and said, "You can't say for sure. Maybe things will change. I don't know the specifics. I've never raised chickens before. I've only heard about it from other people."

Luo Ping said, "Anyway, you know more than we do. Thank you, Old Tree."

The old tree chuckled foolishly and said, "You're welcome, you're welcome."

Luo Ping glanced at the chicks in the coop and said, "Sigh... I hope there are roosters among these chicks, so that we can raise more and more chickens and not have to worry about them all dying of old age in the end."

Everyone said in unison:

"There will be."

"There will definitely be."

"With so many chicks, there should at least be a male one."

Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei remained silent.

Lu Xi'an thought to himself that it seemed that the old tree was indeed doing much better here than in Jianshan City. Its spirits were much better, and its memory had also improved. In the past, it would have taken the old tree a long time to remember these things, or it would have been normal for it not to remember them at all.

Unlike now, when I can recall things so easily?

Lu Xi'an felt a little guilty. She hadn't expected the rooster to be so fragile yesterday. She hadn't controlled her strength and had kicked the rooster to death with just a slight movement.

If I were to ruin the continuation of the flock by kicking them, I would feel really guilty.

He now, like everyone else here, hopes that among the chicks, there will be a rooster.

"Big brother and big sister, I need to ask you for a favor."

Luo Ping's sudden words pulled Lu Xi'an back to reality.

Lu Xi'an asked, "What is it? Tell me."

Luo Ping said, "Given the current situation, we'll have to trouble you to stay here a little longer."

"The hen in this coop has just turned into a rooster, and it's only the same size as the hen. But we don't know if it will grow bigger and become the same size as the one from yesterday."

"If that's the case, the rooster is not under Liu Hua's control, and Tang Er can't beat it. We haven't verified whether Tang Er and Liu Hua can defeat it together."

“If all methods fail to work and you leave, we’ll be in big trouble.”

"So we'll have to trouble you to wait a bit longer and see if the rooster grows up, and whether it will become hostile towards us once it does..."

Lu Xi'an glanced at Yao Wei, and seeing that Yao Wei nodded, he said, "Okay. We'll wait a bit before we leave."

Luo Ping was overjoyed and thanked him repeatedly. Chai Xin's eyes also lit up with happiness, and he grinned from ear to ear.

Lu Xi'an then noticed that Chai Xin's teeth, although still not perfectly straight as before, had become much whiter, and her back was gradually straightening, making her look much taller. She was quite different from when they first met.

"Chai Xin has grown taller, and his teeth have gotten whiter. How did he do that?"

he asked casually.

There must be a reason why Chai Xin became a Type D new human, but that's definitely not the whole story.

Liu Hua and Tang Er are already considered new humans, at least Liu Hua is, but she hasn't changed much and is still the same as before.

Everyone couldn't help but look at Chai Xin, but Chai Xin became hesitant and said, "It's...it's Uncle Tree..."

Old Tree chuckled and said, "I didn't do anything special, just had her lie flat on her back at night and brush her teeth every day."

"There are no toothbrushes in this world, but I saw some willow trees outside, so I picked some willow branches, soaked them in water, and when I needed to use them, I chewed on the soaked end and it became a small brush."

"Thanks to the fact that there is enough water here, I brush my teeth every day now. It feels so good to brush my teeth every day."

Luo Ping's eyes widened, and he said, "Old Tree, you have such a good idea, why didn't you tell us?"

Old Tree immediately retorted angrily, "Brother Luo, don't wrong me! How could I not have told you? I've told you more than once! You didn't take it seriously, can you blame me for that?"

Everyone was immediately embarrassed. Luo Ping thought for a moment and said, "Uh... I think I really did say that? Sorry, sorry, I didn't notice."

Lu Xi'an said, "It's good to brush your teeth every day and maintain oral hygiene. There's enough water here, and conditions are much better than elsewhere. Everyone should try to wash up and improve hygiene; this can help maintain health, reduce the chance of getting sick, and maybe even extend your lifespan." "Uncle Tree, I didn't know your method. I've learned something new today. I'll get some willow branches and brush my teeth every day from now on."

Old Tree grinned and said, "I heard it from the old folks in the village. They said that when they were poor, they couldn't afford a toothbrush, so they would soak willow branches in water, bite them open, and use them to brush their teeth. I've never used one myself."

"It took me a long time to think about this before I remembered it."

Luo Ping then asked, "Are you sure this will allow you to live longer?"

This time, Lu Xi'an remained silent, but the old tree said, "It should be possible. Look at people in the past, if nothing unexpected happened or they didn't get some strange illness, wouldn't they all live to be seventy or eighty?"

"Look how old I am! I can't even remember myself."

"Anyway, people in the past were cleaner than people now. They washed their faces and brushed their teeth every day, and used soap, toothpaste and toothbrushes. It's a pity that these things are gone now."

"We also wash our hair frequently and take a bath every week or two. I heard that people in the south wash every day, and they stay clean so they don't get bugs and live longer."

"Look at us now, our mouths are all in such a state, and our heads are full of lice. Every day after work, when we have nothing to do at night, we sit there catching lice. It only gets better when it gets cold."

"It's only because you, Brother Luo, are a new human, different from us, that your situation is a little better. As for the others, how could they possibly live long if they continued like this?"

Luo Ping remained silent for a long time, then suddenly cupped his hands to the old tree and said solemnly, "I have learned something."

Old Tree was at a loss for words and didn't know what to say.

Luo Ping took Lao Shu and Lu Xi'an's words to heart. After that, he established rules at the 923 base, mandating that everyone there must wash and maintain hygiene every day, whenever possible.

He went further and began to require everyone to clean up their living environment and conduct regular inspections.

Everyone listened to what the old tree and Lu Xi'an said and knew that this was something that could prolong life, so no one dared to be negligent and they all cooperated actively.

The old tree not only guided the people in planting crops, building chicken coops, and constructing toilets, but also offered such insightful advice. Unconsciously, he gained the respect of the locals and was addressed differently by them.

Whenever he meets someone, they call him "Mr. Tree".

Lu Xi'an was the same; everyone started calling him "Mr. Lu." Lu Xi'an accepted it readily; it was just a title, and it didn't sound as awkward as "Mr. Tree."

He and Yao Wei stayed there for a while longer, and their main task each day was to observe the chickens in the coop.

To everyone's slight relief, only one of the strangely shaped roosters appeared; the other hens remained obedient and continued to act as hens, without transforming into roosters again.

Then the hens laid eggs every day, and the roosters grew bigger day by day, but they no longer showed any aggression.

The eggs were naturally taken out and collected in one place to become food reserves.

One day, when they had enough food, Old Tree made a bowl of egg drop soup, which everyone enjoyed and found delicious.

—As for why they don't make other egg dishes, it's naturally because there are too many people and not enough food, and they want to save up some more.

After observing for a few days, Lu Xi'an, Yao Wei, and everyone else in the area confirmed that the rooster had become familiar with the environment and the people and would not show hostility towards them.

This put Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei at ease, and they could leave without worry.

But just as they were about to leave, the rooster, which had doubled in size, suddenly became aggressive. That morning, when someone went to collect the eggs, it suddenly went berserk and pecked them, injuring them.

Fortunately, after the person who was taking the eggs backed away, the rooster calmed down and did not chase after them.

Since everyone was confused about what was going on, Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei had no choice but to abandon their plan to leave immediately and stop to continue observing.

After observing for a few more days, the eggs that the rooster had intercepted that day were actually hatched into chicks by the hens. Aside from those eggs that hatched, people could still take the other eggs freely.

So that's why the rooster suddenly went berserk?

Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei observed carefully, and even stayed up all night, sitting outside the chicken coop and staring at it.

After several days, they actually discovered something amiss—

It turns out that chickens in this world today are really different from those of the past.

Leaving aside the fake rooster that was actually a hen, the remaining eight hens are not all hens. There is actually a rooster hidden among them that looks exactly like a hen.

It's not visible on the surface; only the hens themselves can tell the difference.

In other words, the rooster in this flock was actually hiding among the hens, and the rooster that the hens transformed into was just a decoy, pretending to be a rooster while also taking on the responsibility of protecting the flock.

The rooster that Lu Xi'an kicked to death before was one, and so is this rooster that is gradually growing up now.

Therefore, the rooster will not act unless it threatens the safety of the flock. However, when the rooster is needed to protect the chickens, it will step forward without hesitation.

The rooster was transformed from a hen. Lu Xi'an guessed that as soon as the rooster disappeared from the flock, another hen would immediately transform into a new rooster.

The rooster embodies the will of the entire flock, and there might be some pheromones at play, so Liu Hua's previous attempts to directly control the rooster were futile.

Thinking of this, Lu Xi'an immediately called Liu Hua over and asked her to try controlling the rooster through the flock of chickens, making the rooster suddenly become lethargic.

And then, it worked.

(End of this chapter)