Starting from Robinson Crusoe

Feeling particularly disappointed, he could only continue forward.

The wind and snow were so fierce that even the three saw-toothed tigers, whose bodies were covered in fur, had begun to tremble.

Even the tenacious creatures of the Northern Territory, before reaching adulthood, had no choice but to bow to the tyranny of nature.

Where were the trees?

Where was the slope?

Even a big rock would do!

The loose fur overcoat could only serve as windbreak and insulation under normal conditions; in the face of such a raging blizzard it was practically useless.

The wind seemed to possess its own will, burrowing in from his neck, from his cuffs, from the unbuttoned front of his coat, from his back.

The combat uniform under the coat was chilled through by the wind; his whole body instantly felt icy cold, as if he were stark naked, the chill running from the back of his neck all the way down to his heels, raising goosebumps over his entire body.

In a daze, Chen Zhou even felt his heart being frozen to the point of spasming, and his whole body began to shudder uncontrollably.

Time seemed especially drawn out; he had no idea whether only a few minutes had passed, or more than ten.

He didn’t know how many suspected mounds had already appeared as protrusions under his feet; just when Chen Zhou thought this was yet another trick of the terrain, Tiger First, who was following right behind him, suddenly let out a warning call.

Normally, when they encountered animals in the wild much larger than themselves, or obviously predatory beasts with hostile intent, Tiger First would give a low, rumbling growl.

Chen Zhou thought the three little fellows couldn’t hold out any longer; he was about to turn back and soothe them when he saw Tiger First, heedless of everything, dash into the wind and snow with its two younger brothers.

"Hey!"

He hadn’t expected these little guys, who usually seemed so well-behaved, to make trouble at the most critical moment.

Afraid they might plunge into the blizzard and lose their sense of direction, Chen Zhou called after them as he gave chase.

The three saw-toothed tigers were short in stature and were affected far less by the wind and snow than Chen Zhou.

All along the way they had been huddled behind Chen Zhou, conserving a great deal of strength; once they suddenly broke into a run, their speed was actually quite decent.

Chen Zhou chased hard. At first he assumed the saw-toothed tigers had been startled and were blindly fleeing toward some place that felt safer; but after following them for a distance he realized the little fellows were not running aimlessly, but purposefully heading toward the lower side of the slope.

They hadn’t run far before the small saw-toothed tigers, their backs covered in snow and ice, came to a halt.

Chen Zhou followed close behind them and also stopped advancing.

By this point, even if the saw-toothed tigers hadn’t led the way, he could tell something was off—

A strong, rank stench, mixed with the distinctive smell of wet fur, laced with dampness and humidity, saturated the air around them.

The odor was so intense that even in the midst of the blizzard it forced its way madly into his nostrils.

"Roar~"

Tiger First and its two younger brothers were already shivering from the cold; it let out another roar, as if urging Chen Zhou to hurry up and act.

Following the smell forward and downward, skirting around the side of the slope, a dirt gully suddenly appeared ahead.

In the gully yawned a huge black hole—a cave.

Around the entrance there was almost no wild grass, and even very little accumulated snow; a warm breath of air, accompanied by the reek of animal droppings and the body odor of a beast, surged outward.

"Is this a Cave Bear’s hibernation den?

Or some other ferocious beast?"

Chen Zhou approached the cave mouth with extreme caution.

The warm air current flowing out from within let him feel a long-lost sense of warmth; even if that air was only one or two degrees above freezing, even if it carried a nauseating stench, when contrasted with the nearly minus-thirty-degree blizzard outside, it still felt wonderfully inviting.

At a moment like this, never mind if there was a bear inside— even if an entire reinforced platoon of saw-toothed tigers lived in there, Chen Zhou would still have to go in—

For him, tangible enemies were far easier to deal with than intangible ones.

At the very least, beasts wouldn’t leave him feeling utterly powerless.

...

Drawing his saber in advance, bending slightly, lowering his steps, Chen Zhou plunged headfirst into the cave.

The three saw-toothed tigers followed behind him and also slipped into this pitch-dark place.

Having grown up with humans since they were young, both Tiger First and Tiger Second instinctively kept their mouths shut, not making a sound.

As for Tiger Third—

It had always been the most obedient; surviving the recent calamity had only made it more so. Like a sensible child, it almost never made a sound, not even during play, let alone while they were hunting.

...

The inside of the cave was very dark. Claw marks from animals digging their dens were all over the cave walls, and on both sides there were still some coarse, brown-black hairs left behind.

Chen Zhou had thought the cave would stay wide all the way through, but to his surprise the farther he went, the narrower the passage became, until he gradually couldn’t straighten his back, and the Long Saber in his hand started to feel rather cumbersome.

"If this keeps up, and I run into some awakened beast in there and can’t fight properly, that’d put me at a disadvantage..."

Worried that he’d blunder straight into a beast’s face, Chen Zhou didn’t dare go any deeper.

Out in open ground, ordinary beasts—even the fiercest, biggest ones like a Fine-toothed Giant Bear—couldn’t do anything to him, because he was fast enough to completely overwhelm them. With the weapon in his hand, as long as he kept his focus and dodged carefully, he could basically take them down without getting hurt.

Especially when he was holding a long weapon, even a Mammoth wouldn’t be his match.

But a duel in open space was one thing; this kind of cramped terrain was a whole different story.

Here, if a beast just kept charging forward and he couldn’t retreat in time, he’d have no choice but to meet it head-on. In raw strength, he wasn’t necessarily superior to the beast; in defense, without a thick hide and fur, he was far behind it.

Besides, they hadn’t actually come into conflict yet, not to the point of a fight to the death.

The wind and snow outside are fierce; I’m just borrowing your den to get out of the wind. Once the storm’s over I’ll naturally leave, so I won’t disturb your hibernation. That way we both get what we need.

...

Before he stepped into the deepest part of the lair, Chen Zhou stopped in time, leaned against the cave wall, and squatted down inside the cave.

The Three-headed Saw-toothed Tiger following behind him also stopped when it saw this, sitting up straight in a row, sticking out their tongues to lick the melted snowwater from their paws.

The heavy beast-smell filling the cave made them instinctively uneasy, but Chen Zhou’s presence made up for that.

The Saw-toothed Tigers trusted their Leader deeply; wherever Chen Zhou was, there was never any lack of a sense of safety.

...

The wind blew past the cave mouth like a hundred thousand wild beasts roaring in unison.

The snowflakes blowing in brought a trace of chill into the cave. Chen Zhou rubbed his face, numbed by the cold, with his hands, getting his blood flowing again.

Unnoticed, most of the snow clinging to the surface of the Saw-toothed Tigers’ fur had already melted.

Their baby fur hadn’t shed yet. The fine, dense hairs formed a natural water-repellent layer that kept the meltwater from seeping down to the skin. Only the not-yet-sturdy tips of the fur had been crushed by the water’s weight, leaving them all looking bedraggled, with no trace of a young predator’s bearing.

One man and three beasts waited quietly, waiting for the wind to weaken, waiting for the clouds to burn through their last bit of strength.

After forcing themselves to walk in the wind for so long, the Saw-toothed Tigers were already very tired. Tiger Second, who was usually the most energetic, was the first to start nodding off, then flopped down on the ground and fell asleep without a care.

Drowsiness spread as if it were contagious, making Tiger First doze as well. Only Tiger Third stayed awake, stubbornly keeping its eyes half-closed, occasionally sticking its head out to look at Chen Zhou, as if seeking some kind of mental comfort from him.

Stabbing the saber into the ground with the blade facing deeper into the cave, Chen Zhou freed one hand and rubbed Tiger Third’s damp head.

"It’s fine. Go to sleep."

His words had barely left his mouth when his expression suddenly tightened—

From the depths of the cave, the breathing that had just been so steady suddenly sped up for no apparent reason, turning slightly rapid.

"Didn’t they say hibernating animals have really low alertness?

How did my voice, that quiet, still manage to wake it up?"

Gripping the hilt and standing up, Chen Zhou was already ready to face a vicious fight when the sounds from inside the cave changed again—

Aside from the faster breathing, this time there were also some teeth-grinding noises and the sound of fur scraping against earth. These sounds went on for more than a minute, then the breathing returned to normal.

Only then, listening intently, did Chen Zhou realize the cave’s owner had simply turned over.

He gave a self-mocking little smile and sat back down, turning his head to look at the now-slightly-weakened snowfall outside the cave, then at the three little ones huddled together. In a daze, Chen Zhou felt as if he had gone back to his childhood.

Back then, the winters had storms like this too. In winter he would hide inside the house and, through the frost-covered windowpanes, vaguely watch the scene outside.

There was a warm, even stuffy-hot stove burning, and the kettle on top rattled noisily as the water boiled.

On the heated brick bed, the big yellow cat lay on its back in lazy comfort, purring away.

The TV blared cartoons that were a bit too loud...

That scene was actually somewhat similar to now, just missing a bit of ease, missing a little of that sense of safety.

On the heated brick bed, the big yellow cat lay on its back in lazy comfort, purring away.

The TV blared cartoons that were a bit too loud...

That scene was actually somewhat similar to now, just missing a bit of ease, missing a little of that sense of safety.