Chapter 460: Chapter 460: The Mystery of the Savage
The savages inside the cave finished worshipping the Fire God (bonfire) and then took out some hunted animals to roast over the fire. Soon, the savory aroma of roasted meat filled the cave, and eager smiles appeared on all the savages’ faces as they awaited their bite of cooked food.
These savages used fire before the apocalypse, initially obtaining flames from forest fires and, after first tasting the deliciousness of fire-roasted food, developed an endless fondness for it.
Later, they also learned to take fire from discarded cigarette butts from tourists or stealthily steal flames from burning incense candles in temples at the foot of the mountain.
A fire had been constantly maintained in the cave, but then a heavy wind and rain made the freshly cut wood impossible to burn, resulting in the fire going out.
The savage tasked with guarding the fire was beaten to death by everyone.
After the apocalypse, human activities in Shenlongjia suddenly ceased, the temples at the mountain’s base became deserted, and no one burned incense and worshipped Buddha, suddenly leaving these savages without fire.
Due to the lack of fire, during a harsh winter of nearly a year, one-third of the savages froze to death.
These savages also underwent genetic evolution and possessed strong combat power.
After all the savages evolved, they split into two types: the men became close-combat strength types of warriors, and the daughters all became of the Plant Soul System.
The valley where Ah Yong lived was just one of dozens of savage tribes in Shenlongjia, which spans over three thousand square kilometers, hiding dozens of savage tribes amidst steep mountains and ridges.
Because Ah Yong helped the tribe obtain fire, he was rewarded with a female, which made him very happy, and his heart had already been moved while roasting food.
He occasionally glanced at the female savage beside him, a woman named Ah Chun, whom he had liked for a long time.
Ah Yong held up a roasted rabbit leg in front of Ah Chun,
"Chun, eat!"
Ah Chun was twelve years old, which was considered an adult for the savages of Shenlongjia. Ah Yong himself was only fifteen, but the men always outnumbered the women in the tribe, making it difficult to obtain a female partner. Even though the tribal Elder was his father, he couldn’t allocate a woman to him in advance. This time, having performed a great service, he was rewarded with a female companion.
Ah Chun took the roasted rabbit leg and tore into it with big bites.
The tribal Elder glanced at Ah Yong and Ah Chun and said:
"You can go and rest in the cave next door."
Ah Yong was overjoyed at hearing this and immediately took Ah Chun by the hand and left for a small cave next door. Moments later, sounds of "ah, ah, ah..." emitted from the small cave, causing the young savages outside to also loudly mimic "ah, ah, ah..."
Among the dozens of people eating roasted meat around the bonfire in the large cave, several adult men, seeing Ah Yong take Ah Chun to the neighboring cave for some fun, felt a surge of emotion in their hearts.
After Ah Yong and Ah Chun finished their business and came back to the cave, they continued to eat roasted meat around the bonfire.
"How did you get the Fire God?"
Ah Yong’s father asked.
Ah Yong recounted the story of how he happened upon Yang Xiao in the forest yesterday.
At that time, he was chasing a huge rabbit in the forest. The rabbit darted into the shrubbery, and just as he was about to search for it, he heard the sounds of Yang Xiao fighting with Miyamoto and a monster, so he quietly snuck over to watch from a distance.
Ah Yong already possesses the Cultivation of an Enhanced Gene Intermediate, however, he lacks Weapons.
Ah Yong and his group, when slaying Monsters which drop Weapons, can’t use them as there are no facilities to appraise them; thus they can only treat them as toys for the tribal children.
As for those Genetic Balls, without the capability to combine them into Genetic Potions at the Genetic Store, they too are simply handed to the children as marble toys.
They feed solely on the meat of Mutated wild beasts to obtain the Energy for Evolution.
Moreover, as wild men, they are inherently gifted with the power of Evolution; as they age and their bodies mature, they will naturally evolve some degree of power.
This differs from Yang Xiao and others who rely entirely on Genetic Potions.
Yang Xiao’s physique is human, whereas wild men and wild beasts are similar in a way: on one side they possess natural Evolutionary Genes, on the other side they can strengthen their Evolution by devouring the flesh and blood of other wild beasts.
Seeing the fierce Sword Qi bursting from Yang Xiao’s Longsword and the powerful Killing Aura from every punch of Monk Ben Yin, Ah Yong realizes that in terms of Cultivation, these two humans far surpass him, and rash actions are off the table.
All wild men have a natural reverence towards humans, which has persisted from before the apocalypse; after all, pre-apocalyptic human living standards and technological levels were far beyond those of the wild men, and all things human seemed inconceivable and enviable to them.
Before the apocalypse, countless scientific expedition teams and adventure groups wanted to find wild men in Shenlongjia, but every time someone entered the vast mountains, they would be under surveillance by wild men who would notify each other and evade these teams.
Occasionally, if an exploratory team’s route headed towards their valley, the wild men would secretly pretend to be wild beasts, creating noises, or even risk crossing the path of these teams to divert them.
For over a hundred years, the wild men of Shenlongjia have never been discovered.
It’s like someone is searching for you, and you’re always aware that they’re searching, and you evade all their paths, hence they can never find you, although you are standing just behind them at such a close distance.
Motivated by his aspiration for the Fire God, Ah Yong decides to follow Yang Xiao and Monk Ben Yin, hoping that the two would smoke and discard their cigarette butts, allowing him to collect the burning butts to start a fire.
However, to his disappointment, neither Yang Xiao nor Monk Ben Yin, both fine young men, had the habit of smoking.
Still hopeful, Ah Yong continues to follow from a distance, until Yang Xiao and Monk Ben Yin decide to spend the night in a cave.
The moment Yang Xiao lights the bonfire, Ah Yong, watching from the depths of the forest in the darkness of night, is filled with immense excitement.
He had originally planned to stealthily steal fire from the Fire God during the night, but unexpectedly there was a Giant Eagle guarding the cave entrance.
Ah Yong, aware of the formidable nature of both Yang Xiao and the Giant Eagle, dares not make any rash moves and quickly flees into the cover of the forest.
At night, he climbs a large tree, gazing from afar at the bonfire at the cave entrance, until the fire goes out, leaving him disappointed.
The next morning, when Yang Xiao and Monk Ben Yin start another fire to roast meat, Ah Yong becomes excited again, knowing the opportunity has arrived.
His father had once promised within the tribe that anyone who could bring the Fire God would be rewarded with a female companion.
Ah Yong has long coveted Ah Chun, knowing that fortune is about to smile upon him.
Sure enough, after eating the roasted meat, Yang Xiao and Monk Ben Yin leave in a hurry without dealing with the fire pit, as by then the fire had burned out, leaving no open flame. With no trees within a hundred meters and surrounded by rocks, Yang Xiao didn’t think much of it.