Cave Hyenas

Everyone stepped out of the cave. The long-awaited sunshine brought a hint of warmth. Yu Yuan checked the system time: 4:30 in the afternoon, with three hours left until sunset. Ding Shi, Yu Yuan, and Herbalist Girl felt a heavy weight on their minds; the situation aligned with what they had deduced the night before. Wolves were typically nocturnal, and they would not go out hunting during a torrential downpour. Now the rain had stopped, and darkness would soon fall. Yu Yuan began planning and assigning tasks. First and foremost was blocking the cave entrance as thoroughly as possible. His plan was to relocate the camp from deep inside the cave to the entrance, lighting three bonfires right across the mouth. The danger of this lay in the possibility that if rhinos came instead of wolves, they would be utterly finished. Ding Shi believed that given the system's perverse habits, it was very likely to tailor its challenges based on whatever the players did. If you kept the fire deep within the cave where it wouldn't attract rhinos, the system would send a wolf pack to squeeze through the gaps at the entrance. If you lit the fire right at the entrance to fend off wolves, the system would dispatch a herd of rhinos to smash through all the blocking branches and trample the flames. Even if it didn't hurt anyone, it would force the players to restart the five-day timer. As everyone debated, Ding Shi came up with a clever idea: light a fire in the camp outside. If rhinos came, they would stamp it out, and the players simply wouldn't light the bonfires at the cave entrance. If wolves came, the camp fire would allow them to spot their approach early, giving them time to ignite the fires at the cave mouth. The even cleverer Herbalist Girl asked, "What if the rhinos come first, and then the wolves follow?" Ding Shi pondered this for a moment and decided she was utterly annoying for asking unanswerable questions. Fire could attract rhinos, but fire could deter wolves. To burn, or not to burn? Wang Meng voiced his opinion: "Post a scout. If they spot wolves, blow two long whistle blasts; if they spot rhinos, blow one long and one short." Yu Yuan asked, "A scout?" Wang Meng nodded. "Stationed in the tree by the camp." Yu Yuan said, "What if a saber-toothed tiger comes?" Wang Meng looked at Ding Shi. "A saber-toothed tiger doesn't last three seconds in Ding Shi's hands." Ding Shi smiled and asked, "Are you having fun with this?" Wang Meng replied, "Can you deny that this is the best plan? Neither rhinos nor wolves can climb trees. While we still have time, we can build you a crude platform up there." Yu Yuan noted, "The temperature outside is too low." Wang Meng said, "We can leave the tiger pelt for him to use." Stationing a scout was indeed a sound tactical move, even if it was hardly pleasant for the scout. Ding Shi considered it and had to admit it was the best choice, so he agreed: "All right." Since his injury, the others had looked after him considerably; at the very least, he hadn't been forced to work in the rain today and had instead guarded the fire. To the south of the camp stood two large trees whose boughs intertwined. Their lowest branches—which were also the thickest limbs—grew nearly parallel to the ground, forming a natural platform between them. The only drawback was that the platform was less than five meters above the ground; if a real saber-toothed tiger came along, Ding Shi would have no way to defend himself. As the sun dipped below the horizon, the temperature plummeted. Ding Shi lay down on the platform and draped the tiger pelt over himself. The fat and meat clinging to the hide had not been completely scraped clean, but it didn't matter—he just covered himself with the fur side against his body. Even without a campfire, Ding Shi felt comfortably warm, and drowsiness soon overtook him. He had no idea how long he had slept when the urge to urinate woke him. Ding Shi tossed aside the tiger pelt, rolled to the edge of the platform, closed his eyes, and relieved himself over the side before rolling back onto the wood. Then he heard the sound of something rustling through the underbrush. Ding Shi opened his eyes. By the moonlight, he spotted over a dozen wolf-like silhouettes lurking beyond the camp perimeter. Just as he leaned in to inspect them more closely, he heard noises below. He rolled over to peer down and saw a pack of hyenas—though they differed somewhat from modern ones. Hyenas? Ding Shi didn't think much of them, unaware that these were prehistoric beasts known as cave hyenas. Much larger than their modern counterparts, they could weigh up to a hundred kilograms. Worst of all, cave hyenas had a habit of taking over caves. According to archaeological records, vast quantities of human bones had been found in cave hyena dens. One could say cave hyenas were the caveman's greatest enemy. Ding Shi sat up, hooked his left index finger into his mouth, and blew with all his might. A piercing whistle echoed across the camp. Three consecutive long blasts startled the others inside the cave; this was not one of the prearranged signals. Yu Yuan was certain it wasn't a herd of rhinos, so he ordered, "Light the fires at the cave entrance!" Just as the bonfires caught flame, a cave hyena shoved its way through the gaps between the branches. Wang Meng grabbed its throat with his left hand, twisted its head with his right, snapped its neck, and shoved the carcass back outside. Hyena meat was sour and rank—hardly suitable food. The pack did not retreat at their companion's gruesome death. More heads forced their way through the crevices, and Su Su raised her fowling piece, hammering down on them like a game of whack-a-mole. Three people were sick, one was on scout duty, three were combatants, and two handled logistics. Everyone carried out their designated roles according to the plan. Soon, as the flames surged higher, the dozens of cave hyenas stopped rushing the entrance and instead lingered outside to prowl. Had the players not prepared measures against wolves, the silent, non-howling cave hyenas might well have caught them completely off guard. Ding Shi saw the firelight flickering at the cave mouth and knew the people inside were prepared. Since he couldn't offer any direct support, he stopped worrying, curled back into the tiger pelt, and drifted off into a sound sleep. *** Day three, keeping the fire lit for two days and twelve hours. The rising sun illuminated the entire camp. Ding Shi sat up, took one look, and knew they were in deep trouble. Over a dozen hyenas were roaming aimlessly across the camp clearing, and at the entrance of Cave A, he spotted another dozen. Clearly, the beasts had taken over Cave A. Most sickening of all, the hyenas had dug up Aunt Zhang's corpse and dragged it to the mouth of Cave A, devouring everything except her skull. This was partly their own fault. Because they had buried her in the pouring rain without proper tools, the grave hadn't been deep enough, allowing the hyenas to catch the scent and dig her up. With hyenas camped right inside the human territory, they could attack Cave B at any moment; everything now depended on whether Yu Yuan and the others could hold it. Disease and starvation would be the greatest threats they had to face. The only good news was that with such a massive pack encamped here, no other predators would dare approach. The most troublesome predicament belonged to Ding Shi. He had neither food nor water. Rising early, he climbed further up the tree to lick dew from the leaves. His thirst quenched, he climbed back down to the platform. Looking at the four hyenas loitering below, he began to fret about food. *** Day four, keeping the fire lit for three days and twelve hours. The hyenas had occupied the camp for a full day. During that time, they launched three assaults on Cave B, each ending with several hyenas killed. However, with no one able to dispose of the carcasses, green bottle flies swarmed loudly at the entrance. Many flew into the cave, settling on the smoked spoiled meat and the players' exposed wounds. Thanks to the flies, six of the eight people in the cave fell ill, leaving only Wang Meng and Herbalist Girl to hold the entrance. The sick contributed what they could by chopping and hauling firewood. But the hyenas' relentless harassment left Wang Meng and Herbalist Girl utterly exhausted; it was only a matter of time before they collapsed as well. *** Day four, keeping the fire lit for four full days. That night, the hyenas launched a successful sneak attack. Seven of them breached the defenses and forced their way into Cave B. Although the rest held back, intimidated by the firelight, those seven inflicted heavy casualties. Hua Shi and Captain Wu were mauled to death. Yu Yuan, Su Su, and Herbalist Girl were wounded; Xiao Long lost an ear, and Xiao Feng lost two fingers. Wang Meng, the only healthy person left, developed a fever in the latter half of the night. *** Day five, 8:00 a.m., keeping the fire lit for four days and twelve hours. After taking stock of their situation, the wounded and sick banded together to pile all their firewood at the cave entrance, stoking the blaze. By this point, Ding Shi was so hungry that he had resorted to eating leaves. *** Day five, 8:00 p.m., keeping the fire lit for five full days. A mysterious voice announced: "Fire Seed Camp, Human Primitive Society sub-instance completed. Tribe chat system unlocked." A social channel appeared on the system interface. Inside was a group named "Fire Seed Tribe," containing Yu Yuan, Su Su, Xiao Long, Xiao Feng, Wang Meng, and Ding Shi, along with an unfamiliar name: Hua Shan. Evidently, that was Herbalist Girl's real name. Stricken by illness and cold, no one had the energy to waste time debating, and Yu Yuan became the chief of Fire Seed Tribe. The system explained that Primitive Society was merely the first sub-instance of a massive overarching Human Campaign. Unlocking the second sub-instance required obtaining mysterious cards in other instances. These cards encompassed twenty-one sub-instances in total, including the Stone Age, the Slave Era, the Feudal Era, the Age of Discovery, the Industrial Revolution, the Age of Warfare, and the Technological Era.