Global Evolution

by Steffen Schmidt

  “Humans are so fragile…” Qing Shui didn’t force them to finish their dinner as he saw their reaction. After finishing his own portion, he put down the bowl and closed his eyes to think.

  Chang didn't say anything about it either and quietly slurped the last bit of food in his bowl, as well as the rest in the pot.

  Subsequently, Chang felt a strange yet comfortable warm feeling raising from his stomach. The smell in his mouth seemed to be become less intense – human suffering, regardless of what pain one experiences, would gradually lessen as one’s body began to adapt to it. Moreover, human bodies had evolved to an ideal state where excessive pain would cause a person to faint. However, if humans were unable to faint, the pain would slowly fade as time passed by; there were even some cases where people developed pleasure in feeling extreme suffering.

  Therefore, human really were amazing creatures.

  It seemed like Chang had suffered enough that the only sensation he had was the warmth in his stomach; it made him no longer feel hungry, and instead, he was relaxed and comfortable.

  “How can you eat that much?” Lin saw the empty pot and asked. Her pale face made an admiration expression, “I couldn’t even take one sip.”

  “If you can endure how disgusting the first sip is, everything becomes simple afterwards.” Chang replied honestly.

  “I can’t even drink a drop of it.”

  “I bet that in three days or even less, you’ll be able to endure the disgusting smell, and you’ll think that it’s delicious.” Qing Shui opened his eyes and joined their conversation and smiled, “After all, humans aren’t as delicate and picky as we thought. The desire for food will overtake any other feelings we have.”

  “I don't believe you!! I won’t eat this until the day I’m dead!” Lin retorted. “I’d rather die if I have to eat this sh*t to appease my hunger.”

  “You aren’t willing to eat this because you’ve never tasted the feeling of real hunger. To those who’ve faced famine before, they know how low humanity can go in order to find food. Sexual desire is derived from the craving for reproduction, but the desire of food is essential to survival. All animals or plants need to resolve their hunger before even thinking about reproducing. Therefore, our desire for food is a thousand times greater than our lust for sex.”

  “A truly hungry person is worse than a person who’s been fed an aphrodisiac potion. The latter would hunt for the opposite sex as long as they’re available, but the former would take everything as long as they could stuff their stomach. In ancient times, it wasn't uncommon for people to strip bark for food; when people were hungry enough, even if the only food available was poisoned, they would still eat it to satisfy their hunger.” Qing Shui stood up and laid back on to his bed. “Hence, I won’t push you to have the vegetable soup, but sooner or later, you’ll have to eat.”

  Qing Shui closed his eyes again after he finished speaking. Apparently, he was the type of person who knew how to conserve energy.

  Chang did the same as Qing Shui; he went back to his bed when Qing Shui was speaking – even though his stomach was full of vegetable soup, in the end it was just a liquid. Without carbohydrates and protein, this meal couldn’t replenish his full strength.

  Therefore, conserving energy became critical to ensure survival.

  As Chang and Qing Shui stopped talking, Jing remained silent as she huddled up beside Chang; Lin and Pang Zi didn’t respond either as they heard Qing Shui. The five of them sunk into a brief silence.

  The other two families kept silent as they were listening. One of the families had lost their son, but because the authorities didn’t take their case seriously, they started to blame Chang and his party by giving them occasional glares, but the overwhelming and distressing atmosphere kept their mouths shut.

  As for the other family, they were in an even more dire situation. The parents of the young woman seemed to be sick; their hunger and stress, along with their old age had caused them to become weaker. Their daughter gave her single bed to her parents and she stood next to the bed to look after them silently.

  Chang obviously knew what happened to that family as he slept beside them. However, he didn’t plan on giving up his bed. Despite how incapable he felt in helping others in this new world, he had gotten a taste of how difficult hunting and finding food was today. Lying on a bed was much softer compared to the ground, and this was the only thing that could help him recover some strength. Good strength meant a higher chance of survival. It would be impossible for him to give his chance of survival to others, even though the pair of sick elders made him feel really bad.

  Despite there being three “families” and eleven people in the single room, no one spoke after that.

  The sky turned completely dark – in this new world, everyone knew that the night concealed uncountable dangers. Hence, no one dare to go out at this time.

  Chang opened his eyes and took a quick look at the dark and red world again before he went to sleep. He kept his hand to pat Jing’s back so that she could relax her nerves. They both slowly slid into their dreams.

  “Are you accompanying me tomorrow, Mr. Li?”

  “Yes, I am.”

  These were the last words that gloomy night.

  Chapter 30: Preparation

  The next morning when the first ray of light illuminated the world, the darkness gradually faded into the bloody red chaos. The people in the room opened their eyes as morning arrived.

  It was a long night for everyone, and the people who went to sleep hungry felt even worse. Chang pushed himself up a little in his bed and he looked at the other families in the room – they looked like a group of ravenous wolves.

  Chang also felt hunger in his stomach; every bit of the vegetable soup had been absorbed by his body. The feeling of hunger was so bad that it felt like a black hole in his stomach, and all of his attention and desire for food were directed to this single spot.

  Hence, he decided to do something so that he wouldn't need to think of food all the time.

  “Will the military be distributing food today?” Chang sat up and asked while putting on his shoes.

  “Maybe, but the portion will definitely be smaller than yesterday’s.” Qing Shui also sat up in his bed. He stared at Chang’s shoes and asked abruptly, “Is it possible for you to walk outside without your shoes?”

  “What do you mean?” Chang loosed the shoelaces that he had just tied, removed his shoes and rubbed the bottom of his left foot. “I don't know how well I’ll do with the cement blocks and rocks on the road…”

  “I’m talking about going hunting together today.” Qing Shui walked around in the room with bare feet and said, “It’s because we are going to face different kinds of animals and their hearing is much more sensitive than a human’s. For example, a dog’s sense of hearing is 16 times greater than a normal human; the sound of our shoes touching the ground is probably too loud, so it doesn't help us when we try to approach them.”

  “Indeed.” Chang also stepped on the ground with bare feet; he could immediately feel the coldness of the ground from the bottom of his feet. “If I were to walk for a long time in the grass and bushes, it wouldn't be a good idea; but if it’s just for a short while, it should be fine.”

  “That’s good; try not to tie your shoelaces too tight. Once we find our prey, you can take off your shoes to reduce the sound you make.” Qing Shui nodded and put on his shoes, and then he turned his head to the other three people. “You guys wait here for food distribution; we’re going out to make a weapon.”

  “Weapon?” Pang Zi looked confused.

  “Yes, a weapon will increase our chance of getting a prey significantly.” Qing Shui explained when he picked up his backpack. “Chang, put on your shoes first, we’re getting a spear.”

  “Got you.” Chang nodded. He put on his shoes and followed Qing Shui to the world outside of the base.

  The following 2 hours, the two had found a wrecked courtyard around the military base.
This kind of courtyard was very common in small cities. It was enclosed by a wall and had an iron fence on the wall to prevent people from trespassing. The iron fence consisted of welded steel bars, each having a pointy tip.

  These steel bars looked like unfinished and unpolished spears, they were exactly the type of materials that could be made into a weapon. They walked around the wall and tried to pull on every iron bar to see if one of them could be loosened. Qing Shui found one that wasn’t welded securely, and the two worked together to pull it out from the fence. Chang sharpened the tip against the wall while Qing Shui carefully wrapped the bar with green ivy so that it looked similar to the surroundings.

  After two hours of work, Chang finally had a green spear in his hands. Although it wasn’t made as well as a real spear, it would still help Chang a lot in this new world. The spear was about 160 centimeters long, and the width was about two fingers, and it weighed about 15 pounds.

  “This will be much more helpful when hunting than using your scalpels; first, this spear is long enough – one of the most difficult things in hunting is approaching your prey, so it would definitely be easier for you to shorten the distance between you and your prey. Second, fighting big animals won’t be as scary and dangerous as before, since you can kill them with this spear.” Qing Shui nodded with satisfaction when he saw Chang hold the spear.

  “I agree with you. If I were fighting the dog from yesterday with this, I probably wouldn't have even gotten injured.” Chang nodded determinedly. Obviously, he agreed with Qing Shui’s thoughts.

  “Let’s go back to the base. It has been almost 3 hours; the military should be sending food around now.”

  “Sure.” Chang tightly clenched the spear showing how much cherished his weapon as the two found their way back to the base.

  When they walked into the base, the spear in Chang’s hand caught the crowd’s attention – the base was extremely crowded and a lot of them didn't get accommodated into the buildings and hangars. Almost everyone in the crowd showed their interest in Chang because he was holding a spear; some stared at him as if they were deep in thought while others took a glance and lost interest. However, everyone could guess the purpose of Chang making this spear.

  Food.

  Because of their hunger, everyone’s minds were almost controlled by their stomachs. Although Chang’s look obviously revealed that he was a hunter, even if his appearance wasn’t so obvious, in the eyes of these hungry people, as long as it could be linked to food, they could make a connection in their minds. Therefore, when they saw someone go out, this idea immediately came to mind in some people.

  However, Chang had been lived in an urban area for his entire life, and so did these people; they had no idea how hard it was to hunt for something in this bloody world.

  “I was thinking that the most difficult part hunting isn’t fighting, but rather looking for a suitable prey. The time we spend on searching for a prey is much longer than the actual fighting.” Qing Shui and Chang were exchanging useful knowledge about hunting while they walked to their dorm room. “In other words, searching is harder than capturing. But fortunately we have Jing, so the most difficult part has become relatively easy for us.”

  “I agree.” Chang nodded as he glanced at the crowd. Chang obviously knew what Qing Shui was talking about because what he was hinting at was obvious. Qing Shui was saying that they didn't need to worry about other people in the city who might interfere with their hunt since they simply couldn't find prey.

  “But if more people go out for hunting, even if they don't know how to find their own prey, there’s still a chance they’ll disturb us.” Chang lowered his voice, “Plus, if we succeed in our hunt, we still need to be careful to prevent other people robbing us. It’s natural that they’ll be jealous if they can't find anything.”

  “I know, that’s why we need to stay low key and protect our future gains.” The two walked to their room while they talked. When they reached the door, they stopped talking and pushed open the door.

  “You’re back!” The sound of the door opening and closing had attracted everyone’s attention in the room. Jing’s face was full of joy and could be heard in her voice. “They’ve sent out some food! However, the portion is smaller than yesterday’s, and they’ve seemed to run out of canned food; there’s only a small piece of hardtack for each of us.”

  She limped towards Chang and showed off the two pieces of hardtack in her hand – one was smaller than the other. She said, “this is your portion.”

  “Jing, this is more than one piece of hardtack.” Chang looked at the two pieces in her hand and frowned, “Did you not finish yours again?”

  “The piece of hardtack was too big for me; I’m full. You can have my leftovers.” Jing smiled.

  “But…”

  “Take it; you’re the main force of today’s hunt.” Qing Shui interrupted Chang’s hesitation. He said, “I’ll carry her on my back today. Her feet haven’t recovered well enough for her to walk. If she does, she could get a serious infection or even get necrosis. She shouldn’t use too much strength.”

  Chapter 31: The Art of Hunting

  “What about you?” Chang didn't argue too much after he heard their conversation. He knew that kindly refusing wouldn’t be beneficial to anyone in this situation.

  “You will get tired easily if you’re going to carry her on your back.”

  “Don’t worry about me, I know how to save my strength. Plus, I’m not the main force of the battle like you; I probably won’t even get involved in the battle,” Qing Shui said as he picked up his portion of hardtack that was in front of Pang Zi and ate it along with a glass of tap water.

  Chang didn’t add more to this conversation as he saw Qing Shui’s determination, so he put the piece of hardtack in his mouth, followed by some cold water.

  When the dry and hard cracker encountered the water in his mouth, it immediately expanded. All of a sudden, the intense aroma filled his entire throat and nasal cavity; in three seconds, the mushed cracker had slid down to his stomach; the brief process was as splendid as firework set off in the sky. The satisfaction he gained from the moment that the cracker reached his stomach caused his mind to go blank for a few seconds.

  “It was absolutely delicious!” Chang praised. A heartfelt admiration raised in his mind, “I’ve never had such delicious food in my life!”

  Chang glanced at the smaller piece of hardtack in his hands and a spark of hesitation flared in him. He looked at Jing and then the cracker; he felt very conflicted at this moment – he knew the perseverance she had to exert to resist the temptation of having that piece of cracker after he had his piece of hardtack.

  Because Chang knew that she wouldn't take back her cracker for any reason, he cherished that she offered her food to him – Chang stared at the small piece of hardtack and Jing’s eyes for a few seconds before swallowing it.

  “I promise you that our dinner will have meat!” Chang didn't say anything sensational other than this simple line, and he lightly rubbed on Jing’s hair.

  “I believe you,” Jing gave him the same answer as she did before – smiling and nodding.

  “All right, lets go. If we don't get anything today, there is no hope for us to go out tomorrow.” Qing Shui had packed his backpack as Chang finished his food.

  He carried his backpack in front of his chest and grabbed a handful of shriveled plants that they didn't finish yesterday, then he crouched down in front of Jing and let her climb on his back.

  “Let’s go.” Chang gave a warm smile to Jing; he could tell that she wasn't very comfortable staying on Qing Shui’s back. Chang lightly patted her shoulder a few times to show that he would accompany her. Then, the three left the room.

  “We’ll come back before sunset if we are lucky.” The three left with one last sentence, but the second half of it sneaked through the door, “But we also might not be able to come back if today is just not our day.”

  The trio merged into the
red fog as they walked out from the base. The outside world was much more quiet and the plants were flourishing more than ever before. It was unlikely that someone would run into them and notice Chang’s strange weapon.

  “Mr. Li, why are you holding those terrible plants?” Chang didn't need to lower his voice when talking as they went outside already; he was comfortable speaking to Qing Shui in the red fog.

  “To cover up the smell of your body,” Qing Shui said so as he let Jing get off of his back. He hunkered down and grounded the stems of the plants on the rough surface of a rock. What came out was a sticky and mushy liquid. He smeared some of the liquid paste on his arms, “I know you used perfume to cover the smell of yourself, but that isn’t a flawless camouflage at all.”

  “So you want to use these plants instead?”

  “Exactly, since the sense of smell of our targets are usually better than us. For example, do you know how many times better a dog’s sense of smell is compared to us?”

  “I don't know, probably more than a hundred times?” Chang guessed.

  “It’s more than 1000 times; it actually falls anywhere between 1000 to 10000 times depending on the breed, so how far away do you think a dog can smell you?” Qing Shui kept grounding the plant stem and rubbed the stinky paste on his body. He then gently applied the paste on Jing’s arms and face.

  “I don't know… but I can't even notice a dog approaching me by smell.” It was the first time that Chang knew how sensitive a dog’s sense of smell was. Though he was astonished by the fact, he also smeared the paste on his body like how Qing Shui did.

  “Therefore, put more of this paste onto your body; it will be easier for you to approach a prey with better camouflage. These plants have an intense stench that comes from nature. This is a perfect disguise compared to those artificial perfume scents."

  “I see. But isn’t a dog’s sense of smell much better than other animals? Realistically speaking, how do other animals compare?” Chang picked up the spear again as he made sure the paste covered his exposed skin.