Ita Era

Chapter 82 The Primitive Era (17)

As everyone emerged from the cave, the long-awaited sunlight brought a touch of warmth. Yu Yuan glanced at the system time: 4:30 PM, three hours until sunset.

At Ding Shi (3-5 AM), Yu Yuan and the herbalist felt a little heavy-hearted; this confirmed their guess from the previous night. Wolves are typically nocturnal animals, and they wouldn't go hunting in a downpour. Now the rain had stopped, and night was about to fall.

Yu Yuan began planning and arranging the work, starting with blocking the cave entrance as much as possible. His suggestion was to move the camp from the depths of the cave to the entrance, light three campfires, and use them to block the entrance. The risk of doing so was that if it was a herd of rhinos instead of wolves that came, they would be doomed.

Ding Shi believed that given the system's nature, it might treat players differently depending on their situation. If you put a fire deep in the cave and it doesn't attract rhinos, the system might send out a pack of wolves to sneak in through the gaps at the cave entrance. If you put the fire at the cave entrance to block the wolves, the system might send out a herd of rhinos to break all the branches blocking their way and trample the fire. Even if it doesn't hurt anyone, it could still force the player to restart the 5-day countdown.

While everyone was arguing, the clever Ding Shi came up with a good idea: light a fire at the campsite. If it were rhinoceroses, they would put out the fire, so there would be no need to light the fire at the cave entrance. If it were a pack of wolves, the campfire would allow everyone to spot the wolves in advance, so they could light the fire at the cave entrance.

The smarter herbalist asked, "What if the rhinoceros comes first, then the wolf pack?"
Ding Shi thought for a while and felt that the herbalist was annoying, as she asked questions that were impossible for him to answer.

Fire can attract cattle, fire can repel wolves, but is it really that powerful?

Wang Meng offered his opinion: "Send out scouts. When they see a pack of wolves, they should blow two long whistles; when they see a herd of rhinoceroses, they should blow one long and one short whistle."

Yu Yuan: "A scout?"

Wang Meng nodded: "We'll live in the trees next to the camp."

Yu Yuan: "What if a saber-toothed tiger comes?"

Wang Meng looked at Ding Shi: "The saber-toothed tiger wouldn't last three seconds in Ding Shi's hands."

Ding Shi asked with a smile, "Is this interesting?"

Wang Meng replied, "Can you deny that this is the best solution? Neither a herd of rhinos nor a pack of wolves can climb trees. We can build you a simple treetop platform while we still have time."

Yu Yuan said, "The temperature outside is too low."

Wang Meng said, "We can leave this tiger skin for him to use."

Placing a scout is indeed a good idea, but it's not a good idea for the scout. Ding Shi thought for a while and had to admit it was a good idea, so he said, "Okay." He had received a lot of care since he was injured; at least today he didn't have to work in the rain but instead stayed by the fire.

To the south of the camp stood two large trees, their branches intertwined. The two shortest branches, which were also the two thickest trunks, grew almost parallel to the ground, forming a platform made up of the two large tree trunks. The downside was that the platform was less than 5 meters above the ground; if a saber-toothed tiger were to appear, Ding Shi would have no way to deal with it.

As the sun set and the temperature plummeted, Ding Shi lay down on the platform and covered himself with the tiger skin. The tiger skin wasn't completely cleaned of fat and meat, but that didn't matter; Ding Shi covered himself inside out. Even without a fire, Ding Shi felt warm and soon became drowsy.

I don't know how long I slept, but the urge to urinate woke me up. Ding Shi lifted the tiger skin, rolled over on the edge of the platform, closed his eyes and relieved himself, then rolled back onto the platform.

Then Ding Shi heard the sound of something rubbing against the branches of a bush.

Ding Shi opened his eyes and, by the moonlight, saw a dozen or so wolf-like shadows outside the camp. Just as he was about to make a closer look, he heard a sound below. He rolled over and looked down, and saw a pack of hyenas, but they were somewhat different from modern hyenas.

Hyenas? Ding Shi didn't think much of it, unaware that these were prehistoric hyenas called cave hyenas, larger than modern hyenas and weighing up to 100 kilograms. The most insidious aspect was their habit of dominating caves. Archaeological reports have revealed numerous human bones in cave hyena burrows. In short, cave hyenas were the greatest enemy of cave dwellers.

Ding Shi sat up, bent his left index finger and put it in his mouth, then sucked hard, emitting a whistle that echoed throughout the camp. The three consecutive long whistles surprised everyone; this was not the pre-arranged signal.

Yu Yuan was certain it wasn't a herd of rhinoceroses, so he ordered, "Light the fire at the cave entrance."

As soon as the fire was lit, cave hyenas darted into the gaps between the branches. Wang Meng grabbed one by the neck with his left hand and its head with his right, twisting its neck and shoving it away. Hyena meat is sour and smelly, not good food.

The hyenas didn't retreat despite the deaths of their companions; more heads appeared, burrowing inside. Su Su took out her musket and began striking it like a whack-a-mole. There were three sick personnel, one scout, three combat personnel, and two transport personnel. Everyone performed their duties as previously arranged. Soon, as flames rose, the dozens of cave hyenas stopped rushing into the cave and instead roamed outside. If they hadn't prepared a way to deal with the wolf pack, the silent cave hyenas might have successfully raided their home.

Ding Shi saw the firelight at the cave entrance and knew that the people inside were prepared. Since he couldn't go to help, he stopped thinking about it, curled up in the tiger skin, and went to sleep peacefully.

……

On the third day, the fire was kept burning for two days plus 12 hours.

As the sun rose, illuminating the entire camp, Ding Shi sat up and realized he was in deep trouble.

A dozen or so hyenas were wandering aimlessly in the open area of ​​the camp. Ding Shi also saw a dozen or so hyenas at the entrance of Cave A, clearly indicating that these hyenas had taken over Cave A. Most disgustingly, the hyenas dug out Aunt Zhang's corpse, dragged it to the entrance of Cave A, and devoured all of her body parts except for the head.

This was also Ding Shi and his group's fault. Because they buried Aunt Zhang in the rain and lacked tools, they didn't bury her very deep, and the hyenas dug her up by smell.

Hyenas have set up camp in the human camp and could attack Cave B at any time. Now it depends on whether Yu Yuan and his group can hold Cave B. Disease and food will be the biggest problems they will face.

The good news is that with such a large pack of hyenas camped there, no other predators will approach the camp.

The most troublesome one was Ding Shi, who had no food or water. He climbed a tree early in the morning and licked the leaves. After drinking his fill of dew, Ding Shi returned to the platform and looked at the four hyenas wandering below. He began to worry about food.

On the fourth day, the fire was kept burning for three days plus 12 hours.

The hyenas have been stationed at the camp for a day, during which they have launched three attacks on Cave B, each ending in the deaths of several hyenas. However, the dead hyena carcasses are left unattended, and greenbottle flies are buzzing at the cave entrance. Many flies have flown into the cave, attaching themselves to the smoked, rotting flesh and the players' exposed wounds.

Thanks to the flies, six of the eight people in the cave have fallen ill, leaving only Wang Meng and the Herbalist Girl to hold the fort at the cave entrance. The sick are doing what they can, chopping and carrying timber. The hyenas' constant harassment is exhausting Wang Meng and the Herbalist Girl; they will eventually succumb to illness as well.

On the fourth day, the fire was kept burning for four days.

At night, the hyenas successfully launched a surprise attack. Seven hyenas broke through the defenses and entered cave B. Although the remaining hyenas stopped in their tracks due to fear of the firelight, these seven hyenas still caused considerable casualties.

Among them, the chemical engineer and the martial arts team were bitten to death. Yu Yuan, Su Su, and the herbalist were bitten, Xiao Long lost an ear, and Xiao Feng lost two fingers. The only healthy one, Wang Meng, started to have a fever in the middle of the night.

At 8:00 AM on the fifth day, the fire was kept burning for 4 days and 12 hours.

After calculating, the wounded and sick cavemen worked together to pile all the firewood at the entrance and begin adding fuel.

At this point, Ding Shi was so hungry that he ate tree leaves.

At 8 PM on the fifth day, the fire had been burning for five full days.

A mysterious voice announced: The primitive society instance of the Fire Seed Camp for humans has ended, and the tribe chat system is now open.

A social entry has been added to the system interface. Inside, there is a group called Fire Seed Tribe, which includes Yu Yuan, Su Su, Xiao Long, Xiao Feng, Wang Meng, and Ding Shi. There is also an unfamiliar name, Hua Shan, who is obviously the Herbalist Girl.

Everyone was sick and had no desire to waste time here, so Yu Yuan became the chief of the Fire Seed tribe.

The system explains that the Primitive Society is merely the first sub-division of the larger human storyline. To unlock the second sub-division, one must obtain a Mysterious Card from other sub-divisions. The Mysterious Cards encompass a total of twenty-two sub-divisions, including the Stone Age, Slave Age, Feudal Age, Age of Exploration, Industrial Revolution Age, War Age, and Technological Age.

(End of this chapter)