Chapter 36 Chapter Thirty-Six

There are 4 suns in the sky: Onas, Dovim, Patru, Trey. .In Selimon's memory, Siyangtian was lucky, and today should be lucky too. Meat!Finally got real meat! It's ecstatic! It was food he had gotten by pure chance, but it was not bad.As the hunger grew, the glamor of the outdoor life dwindled for him.Now he was going to eat the meat, whatever it was, thank goodness. The forest is full of wild animals of all kinds, mostly small and rarely dangerous.It's not that easy to catch... at least not with bare hands.Theremon didn't know how to make a trap, nor did he have anything to make a trap from.

In fairy tales, human witches get lost in the forest, quickly adapt to life in the wild, quickly become hunters of gods, and build their own dwellings, and these are just... fables.As a city dweller, Theremon sees himself as a capable person, which is also reasonable.He knew he wasn't very good at hunting forest animals, but he could keep the city's electrical system running.As for building a place to live, what he was able to do best was to drag branches to build a simple hut with only a sloped roof. Now it's warm and pleasant again, and there's meat for dinner.The only problem now was cooking the meat, he would never eat it raw.

It was ironic that he should be thinking about how to cook meat in a city that had been nearly completely destroyed by fire.But in fact, by now, most of the blazes have extinguished themselves, while the rest have been lovingly tended by the rain. While someone was re-igniting the fire in the days leading up to the disaster, it doesn't look like that kind of thing is going to happen again. Theremon thought, what should I do?What about rubbing two sticks together to start a fire?Or let metal strike stone and set a rag on fire? Farther away, near his camp, some boys killed the animal for him.Unbeknownst to them, of course, they were doing him a favor...nine times out of ten, they were doing it with the intention of eating it themselves.Otherwise it's insane, chasing animals for fun.

Yet he doubted it.They are entirely purposeful, and hunger motivates them to do so. It's a burrowing animal... with a long, ugly nose, bluish fur, and a hairless tail that's slippery.After Onas falls from the mountain, he often goes out to the fringe of urban and rural areas, looking for food in trash cans.Well, now is not the time to talk about beauty.At any rate the children had driven it from its daytime hiding place, and driven the poor, stupid thing into a deep ditch from which there was no escape. Theremon watched from the other side of the lake, disgusted and jealous, and they chased it tirelessly up and down, throwing stones at it.Agile enough for a stupid scavenger, he scurries back and forth in desperation to avoid his pursuers.Suddenly, a stone hit it on the head, and it died instantly.

He thought they'd gobble it up right then and there.But just at this moment a shambling figure in ragged clothes came into view, stood for a moment by the ditch, and then began to crawl down towards the lake. "Run! It's Kapik the Swordsman!" shouted one of the boys. "Kabik! Kapik!" The boys dropped the dead burrowing animal and quickly dispersed.Serimon, who was watching, slipped back to the shade of the trees by the lake.Although unknown, this Kapik is known to be one of the most feared of the forest dwellers, an illegal squatter.Almost ape-like, he wears nothing but a belt with various knives sticking out of it.He will kill people when he is unprepared, he is a psychopath, and he is an out-and-out murderer.

Kapik stood at the mouth of the canyon for a while, humming and holding a knife in his hand.He didn't seem to have noticed the dead animal, or cared at all.Perhaps he was waiting for the children to come back, but it was obvious that they were not coming back.After a while, Kapik shrugged and left the ravine despondently, and went into the forest, probably in search of something that would give his weapon some pleasure. Theremon waited a long time until he was sure that Kapik would not come back and surprise him again. He couldn't bear to see the dead animal lying on the ground again, maybe other people or predators would suddenly come and grab it before him... He rushed forward, circled the lake, grabbed the animal, Bring it back to its hideout.

It was as heavy as a young child, enough to feed two or three meals or more, if one could curb one's own hunger, if the meat didn't rot quickly. He was dizzy with hunger.He remembered that for several days he had eaten nothing but fruit and nuts.The skin over his muscles and bones had loosened, only a sliver of fat had accumulated over time, and, struggling to survive, he was draining his energy.However, tonight he was finally able to have a full meal. Roast wild animals!What a wonderful treat!he thought bitterly.Then he thought: Thank God for the gift, Theremon. Now, let's think about how to start a fire... First, there has to be fuel.Behind his shelter there was a flat rock wall with a deep cleft in the edge where weeds grew.Since the last thunderstorm, most of the weeds had withered and dried up, and Theremon moved quickly to the rock face, pulling out the dead grass by roots and leaves, and laying it in a fluffy pile, so that the fire could be easily lit.

The next thing to do is to find some dry branches.It was harder to find, but by traversing the forest floor looking for dead bushes or bushes with dead branches, he managed to find enough dry branches to cook the animal.At this time, it was afternoon, and Dovim had disappeared from the sky.When the boys were hunting the animal, Trey and Patrue, low on the horizon, were now in the center of everything, like a pair of dazzling eyes, far above, watching what happened in the sky. Regrettable incident on Kalgesh. Theremon carefully placed the match on the dry grass, and, as he imagined a real man living in the wild would do, set up a trellis, with the thicker branches outside and the thinner branches on the middle.Without much trouble, the troglodyte was suspended from a spit he had fashioned from a straight-pointed stick, and it was propped up over the firewood.

Well, everything is ready, only one thing is owed. fire! When collecting fuel, he didn't think about this problem at all. He hoped that this problem would be resolved by himself without him thinking about it, but now he had to face this problem.He needs Mars.The trick in the old boy's book, the rubbing of two sticks together, was only a myth, Thelimon was sure of it.He had read in books about primitive tribes digging wood to make fire, and he suspected that it would never be that simple to make a fire like this. It might take an hour of patience to get the fire out.So, is it possible to strike a spark when two rocks collide?

He is also skeptical.In retrospect, it wouldn't hurt to try, he had no other ideas.There was a broad, flat stone nearby, and after a while he found a smaller, triangular-shaped stone that fit nicely in the palm of his hand.He knelt down beside the small pile of firewood and began hitting the sharp stone against the flat rock over and over again. Nothing is produced. A sense of hopelessness arises spontaneously.He thought, I am more or less a human being who can read and write, drive a car, and even operate a computer.I can write a newspaper column in two hours that everyone in Salo wants to read, and I've been doing it from morning till night for 20 years.However, I don't know how to light a fire in the wild.

On the other hand, he thought, I would never eat this cave beast raw unless absolutely necessary.Never, never.No, no, definitely not! He bumped into the stone again and again angrily.Sparks, damn it!Burn fast!ignite!Cook me this hilarious and pathetic animal! Again.again.again. "Sir, what are you doing there?" An unfriendly voice suddenly came from his right shoulder. Theremon looked up, very surprised, very alarmed.The first rule of survival in the forest is: Never let a stranger sneak up on you without your knowing it. There were five of them, men of his own age.Like any other forest dweller, they appear in rags.Unlike the people who came here recently, he doesn't seem particularly crazy.Their eyes are not dull, their mouths are not drooling, just a serious, tired, determined expression.They did not appear to be carrying any weapons but clubs, but their attitude was evidently full of hostility. 5 to 1.Well, he thought, grab that damned cave beast and say nothing. He wasn't stupid enough to want to fight. "I say, what are you doing there, sir?" repeated the first man, even colder than before. Theremon glared. "What do you see me doing? I'm trying to make a fire." "Exactly what we expected." The stranger took a few steps forward and kicked Theremon's firewood with a careful but deliberate kick.The hard-earned matches scattered all of a sudden, and the cave-dwelling beast hanging at an angle shook a few times before falling to the ground. "Hey, wait a minute!" "Fires are strictly prohibited here, sir. That's the law." The tone was rough and decisive, and straightforward. "It is forbidden to possess any kind of fire-starting device. This wood is obviously used to make fire. Otherwise, you must admit your guilt." "Guilty?" Theremon asked suspiciously. "You said you were lighting a fire. It seems that these stones are for lighting a fire, right? The law clearly prohibits this kind of behavior." With a signal from the leader, the other two rushed forward.One threw his arms around Theremon's neck and chest from behind, while the other snatched from his hand the two stones he was working with, and threw them into the brook.They splashed into the water and disappeared quickly, and Theremon watched them fall to the bottom.He imagined that Beanie must have felt the same way when he saw his telescope smashed by the mob. "Let... let go... me!" Serimon said struggling. "Let him go," said the boss.He put his foot on the fire again, turning the hay into a heap of mud. "No more fire," he said to Theremon. "There has been enough fire so far. Fire will bring us danger, pain, and destruction, and we cannot allow more fire. You understand that." huh? If you refire, we'll come back and smash your brains out, you know what I mean? "The fire has left the world in ruins," said another. "The fire has left us homeless." "Fire is the enemy. Fire is strictly prohibited, it is evil." Theremon's eyes widened. "Is fire evil? Fire is forbidden? So they're all crazy!" "The punishment for trying to light a fire, if it's a first offence," said the first, "is only a fine. We'll take the animal as punishment for you, and teach you not to threaten the safety of innocents. Take it, Leigh." Ston. That was a good lesson for him. Next time this guy catches something, he'll remember that he shouldn't forget that Sanja is his enemy just because he wants some roast. "No!" cried Theremon in a voice almost stifled, as Liston stooped to get the troglodyte. "It's mine, you idiots! It's mine! Mine!" Then he rushed at them frantically, all caution lost in a moment of exasperation.Someone hit him hard in the middle of the body, and he gasped and bent over, wrapping his arms around his belly.Someone hit him in the back again from behind, almost knocking him to the ground, but this time he turned his elbow sharply, felt someone's waist, and heard a cry of pain . He had fought a few times before, but it wasn't too long.Haven't had a fight in a long, long time, and never against 5 guys.This time it seemed impossible to hide, he reminded himself, he had to keep his feet on his feet, and he had to keep backing away until his back was against the rock wall, where at least they couldn't attack him from behind.Then keep as much distance as possible from them so he can punch and kick them, and, if necessary, growl and bite them until they finally give up. From somewhere deep inside, a voice said to him: They're complete lunatics, and it's entirely possible that they'll keep beating you until they kill you. But now, he couldn't care less. He stepped back steadily, keeping his head down, and punched hard with all his might.They came round him, from all sides Punch at him, but he's still standing.Their numerical superiority was not as unstoppable as he had imagined, and it was impossible for all five of them to catch him at the same time.Also, Theremon could turn chaos to his advantage, quickly dodging and striking them as they huddled awkwardly to avoid each other. Still, he knew he couldn't last much longer.His lip was cut, one eye was swollen, and he was so out of breath that a single blow could knock him out.He backed away toward the rock wall where he could hide, shielding his face with one hand, and wrestled with them with the other.He kicked a man, and the man let out a howl, cursing.The other kicked him back, right in the thigh of Theremon, making him spin around and hiss with pain. His body shook a bit.He struggled for air, not bothering to watch and pay attention to what was going on.Now they surrounded him and beat him with fists from all sides.He can't get to the edge, he can't hold on anymore, he's going to fall, they're going to step on him, he's going to die... will...will...die... Then he became aware of the chaos within the chaos, voices shouting, newcomers joining the fray, lots of them, everywhere.Well, he thought, another group of madmen joined the game.Maybe I can sneak away... "I order you in the name of the Fire Patrol, stop!" a woman's voice cried, clear, sonorous, commanding. "That's an order! Stop it all! Let him go! Now!" Theremon blinked and rubbed his forehead.Myopic eyes looked around. There are four newcomers in the clearing.They looked refreshed, in clean clothes, with green scarves fluttering in the wind around their necks.They carry pocket guns. The woman who seemed to be in charge quickly made a command gesture with the weapon she was holding, and the five people who attacked Serimon dispersed from Serimon, walked over and stood in front of her obediently.She glared at them angrily. Theremon stared, not believing his eyes. "What's the matter?" she asked the leader of the five sternly. "He was building a fire... trying to think... he was going to roast an animal and we were passing by..." "All right. I don't think there's any fire here. The law is up. Go away." The man nodded.Bending down to get the cave beast. "Oh! That's mine." Theremon said hoarsely. "No," said the other, "it shouldn't be yours. You broke the Fire Law, and here's your fine." "I'll decide what to do," said the woman. "Put down the animal and go away!" "But……" "Go away, otherwise, I will let Altinor personally punish you. Go away! Go away!" The five men walked away quietly, and Theremon continued to stare. A woman in a green scarf came towards him. "I think I've come just in time, haven't I, Theremon?" "Sifna!" he exclaimed in surprise, "Sifna!"