Chapter 14: Survival Of The Fittest, Winner Takes All?
The wild boars leading the way were all burly in build; just looking at the nearly half-foot-long tusks protruding from their mouths revealed that these were the front vanguard, responsible for clearing obstacles on the path ahead.
The wild boar groups on the left and right flanks, though not as imposing as the vanguard ahead with their long tusks, upright boar bristles, and armor covered in mud or some sticky substance, were also robust in build; they should be the left and right armies of this wild boar army.
Looking back, the rear army was nowhere to be seen, nor was there any sign of the so-called center army; only a group of round-bellied sows grunted as they passed by the piglet group, among them one sow with a belly so large it nearly dragged on the ground deliberately glanced at Yun Ce twice.
Yun Ce blending in with the little wild boars was not at all conspicuous; in the other wild boar groups, there were also some animals that clearly were not wild boars, including a kind of upright dog-headed person that looked similar to Yun Ce.
Seeing the upright dog-headed person, Yun Ce did not show much surprise; this was the result of his long, long psychological preparation.
Unlike wild boars, the face of the upright dog-headed person was almost entirely dominated by its nose in the most prominent position, so much so that even the vital organ for sustaining life—the mouth—had to make way for that enormous nose, with eyes positioned one on each side of the huge nose; compared to the massive nostrils, the two eyes were almost negligible.
Its mouth also lacked any deterrence, mainly because it was located on the chin, with no interlocking canine teeth, only shovel-shaped incisors; Yun Ce figured this dog-headed person must be a vegetarian.
Besides the dog-headed people, there were many in the wild boar groups that clearly did not resemble wild boars but rather large rodents, like badgers; the dog-headed people stood out only because of their relatively greater height.
All the pigs were advancing toward that tall, strange mountain peak, and during the advance, they strictly adhered to their respective rights of way.
Yun Ce personally witnessed a group of massive wild boars covered in thick mud shells, exhaling thick mist in the still chilly early morning, proceeding like tanks on the path cleared by the little wild boars.
1 Seeing this scene, Yun Ce inexplicably thought of war.
1 Just as he was gazing at the massive gathering of pigs and pondering what to do next, he caught a whiff of a strong stench; turning his head, he saw a dog-headed person sniffing vigorously toward him.
1 Yun Ce stepped outward with his body, and the dog-headed person followed with a step outward, its thick nostrils nearly pressing against Yun Ce’s body.
1 Yun Ce continued stepping outward, the dog-headed person closely following; when Yun Ce hid behind a big tree, the dog-headed person followed… but when Yun Ce emerged from behind the big tree, that dog-headed person was gone.
1 The white-furred little black pig that had first encountered Yun Ce stopped and waited for him; seeing Yun Ce emerge from behind the big tree, it resumed walking—stopping or going at its own discretion, this was the pig’s prerogative.
1 When scavenger birds that Yun Ce had seen before appeared in the sky, Yun Ce felt this place resembled a battlefield even more; after all, not only had scavenger birds appeared, but even those sharp-nosed dog-headed people began to cackle “ga ga.”
1 After the dog-headed people started cackling, the pig group became noticeably disordered, with some piglets stopping and anxiously sniffing around.
1 With a “bang,” Yun Ce saw a loudly cackling dog-headed person sent flying through the air by a massive wild boar; before the dog-headed person could land, the giant wild boar was already at the landing spot, and as it fell, it flew up again, tusks piercing the dog-headed person’s body; shaking its head in mid-air, the dog-headed person’s corpse split apart. Pale yellow blood splattered everywhere.
1 From the moment that clearly leader-like wild boar began dealing with the noisily calling dog-headed person, Yun Ce crouched down his body, hugging the rare white-furred black pig and slowly crawling into the grass.
1 Facts proved that Yun Ce’s action was extremely necessary; the ones suffering were not just one or two dog-headed people, but all of them.
2 Watching the dog-headed people within sight being slaughtered by a group of big wild boars, Yun Ce increasingly felt that the current pig group resembled an army.
2 A wild boar with outward-protruding tusks passed by Yun Ce’s little wild boar group, its long nose twitching constantly as if searching for something; without hesitation, Yun Ce pulled a dog-headed person corpse from the Dragon Pearl and tossed it out.
2 The big wild boar leaped into the air, mouth clamping onto the dog-headed person; after landing and shaking a few times, it tore the dog-headed person in two, then grunted contentedly and left.
2 Nationals’ sensitivity to war is incomparable to that of other races.
2 There are smart people among other races or nationals, but on the whole, ordinary nationals’ sensitivity to war is much sharper.
2 If war is closely related to them, then fortifying walls and clearing fields, stockpiling grain, and building military fortifications become their instinct.
2 If war has little to do with them, they will resolutely extricate themselves from its shadow.
2 Therefore, participating in war at this time is very unsuitable for Yun Ce right now.
2 Whether it’s humans’ war or pigs’ war, he doesn’t want to get involved.
2 Rather than spending time on war, he might as well hide in the shade and study the white-furred little black pig.
3 This white-furred little black pig knew about Yun Ce secretly roasting a piglet; her reaction at the time puzzled Yun Ce greatly—how to put it, there was no terror at seeing a kindred being roasted, only endless curiosity.
3 As a pure northwesterner, Yun Ce had deep knowledge of barbecue food preparation; whether roasting lamb, chicken, pigs, or barbecuing other foods, nothing stumped him.
3 Outside the grass, the pig group rumbled along; inside the grass, Yun Ce and the little black pig quietly squatted on a patch of dry ground, the little black pig using its snout to continually investigate Yun Ce’s smooth skin, while Yun Ce seriously studied the little black pig’s nearly transparent fur.
3 The little black pig’s fur wasn’t really white; it changed with light, like in shady spots without sunlight, the fur that was snow-white under the sun naturally turned dark blue; if the sunlight dimmed further, it would turn black—like a chameleon, but not quite.
3 Miserable pig squeals came from the foot of the mountain—not one or two pigs’ death cries, but many, which is why they reached Yun Ce.
3 When the ground began to tremble, the pig cries quieted, replaced by another animal’s howls; Yun Ce thought they sounded like bear roars but wasn’t sure.
3 Later, the pig squeals and bear-like roars seemed to intertwine, and Yun Ce paid little attention to developments there.
3 The outcomes of war are essentially three: first, the pigs win; second, the pigs lose; third, a draw.
3 Yun Ce thought the possibility of pigs and that bear-like creature ending in the third outcome was slim; draws only happen in human wars, not in wild beasts’ wars.
3 War was a thoroughly boring thing to Yun Ce; from a very young age, sitting on his old ancestor Yun Linchuan’s knee, he had heard enough—not only Yun Linchuan recounting battles against Japanese, but also his grandfather on fighting Americans, and worst of all, his father telling stories of his secret front work.
4 These people followed all sorts of confidentiality rules daily, but when alone with a two- or three-year-old child, those rules meant nothing, so they spoke deeply.
4 Their time with Yun Ce was extremely scarce; unaware of his precocity, they thought it mere momentary venting, but it all took root in Yun Ce’s mind.
4 On the battlefield, there is no such thing as humanity; whether the just side or the evil side, all strive to kill the other by any means, because only by completely killing the other will victory arrive.
4 So Yun Ce never liked war; after university, he chose politics, thinking it a fine pursuit.
4 Only through politics could he learn how ancient sages taught people in primitive society to live better, only through politics could he fairly distribute social resources to everyone.
4 Compared to chopping off enemies’ heads to build a massive capital view, making the same land yield more abundant fruits brought Yun Ce greater happiness.
4 Of course, when war is needed, Yun Ce believed in fighting with full force, killing all enemies with utmost speed and resolve, then burying them in the ground.
4 Then, one could quietly sow seeds on the corpse-fertilized fields and await the bountiful autumn harvest.
4 The pig group outside had long since moved far away, quickly—even the long-snouted big-bellied sows had gone to help, suggesting the wild boars’ side was in a tight spot. The sky gradually darkened; tonight’s moon should be full, not too cold at night, so Yun Ce casually built a grass shelter behind a big tree.
4 The little black pig, full, burrowed into the shelter to grunt and sleep; before sleeping, it glanced at Yun Ce again, seeing he had no intention of sleeping, then slept on its own.
5 When the sun had set and the full moon occupied one-tenth of the sky, he lit a campfire, took a piglet hind leg from the Dragon Pearl, and roasted it over the flames.
5 Once the pig leg was heated, he sliced it with a knife to eat.
5 This piglet pork was very delicious, with just the right salty taste without adding salt; best of all, it had almost no gamey flavor—slicing off a piece and putting it in the mouth, the meat was chewy, even with a springy crispness like raw fish.
5 After eating half a piglet leg, Yun Ce still felt somewhat hungry, but his stomach seemed full, unable to hold more meat.
