Chapter 1345: Battle of the BeastTranslator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Zhang Zian found that Little White had a different look on its face. It was obvious that the stray dogs were thirsty after eating dog food. It was time for them to drink water, but it did not order them to drink water.
“What’s wrong? Something up?” he asked.
Little White said, “…I can’t really say what it is. Follow me.”
“Be careful, he could be out to trick you! The dog cannot come up with anything good!” Vladimir reminded him.
Little White’s lips parted, and it said, “Do you have spit in your mouth? Try to spit and let me see, will you?”
“Alright, alright. Don’t quarrel. I believe that Little White is not being malicious toward me.” Zhang Zian was actually worried, so he used the chance to smother Little White. This was in case he had other plans. He should at least consider being polite to Zhang Zian.
Little White left the dogs where they were and led Zhang Zian into the artificial woods.
Vladimir did not trust him. He also left the cats with the dogs and followed Zhang Zian.
This artificial forest was dominated by tall poplar trees and supplemented by other low-lying trees. They might have been planted to act as a wind and sand barrier. This was to prevent the wind from blowing the smell of the garbage dump to the coastal city and neighboring cities.
There was no natural spring or freshwater source on the seash.o.r.e, so there was an artificial ditch in the artificial wood to irrigate the trees.
The cross-section of the artificial ditch was an inverted trapezoidal shape. It was wide at the top and narrow at the bottom and made of cement and masonry. The main body extended several branches out. The fresh water from the raft flowed through the ditch, and the water was still clear, albeit with some fallen leaves in it.
None of the above was the main point. The point was that this artificial forest was also occupied by a large number of caterpillars.
When Zhang Zian walked into the woods, he found that out. Even when there was no wind, the woods echoed with a low rustling sound. Just as poets described the melodious sound of spring silkworms munching the mulberry leaves, the actual experience of hearing it seemed rather far off from imagination.
He stared up and saw a caterpillar creeping on the back of almost every leaf. At least half of the leaves were eaten with many holes on them.
“My brothers are all ironclad men, not as spoiled as cats,” Little White said in a low voice.
Vladimir sneered disdainfully, but there was no reb.u.t.tal from him this time around.
“We can survive in harsh environments such as garbage dumps. Everywhere we land, there may be sharp gla.s.s and wire, and they will scratch our bodies and limbs… So even if the trees are full of caterpillars, we will not be bothered very much,” Little White continued. “It’s good to say that we can survive through thick and thin, but…”
Zhang Zian listened.
Little White went to the artificial ditch and looked down. “But to drink the water and have it in our mouths, we really cannot bear that…”
Zhang Zian heard what it was saying and followed it to the ditch.
In the waters in the ditch, there were not only leaves but also a lot of fat caterpillars crawling and bobbing up and down on the surface.
Apparently, the caterpillars on the tree had fallen into the ditch.
“Seawater can only induce vomiting, and we cannot drink it. In this neighborhood, the only source of fresh water that can be drunk is here. However, now…there is no way to drink this,” Little White said. “When some of my brothers drink water, their tongues and mouths catch the caterpillars, and their mouths get swollen—so swollen that they can just barely open up a tiny slit. They can’t eat anything for a few days, and they finally starve to death… Even if we then take precautions and try to avoid the caterpillars floating in the water, many of them are transparent. They are like invisible poisons. Once consumed, they flow straight into our throats and stomachs. The pain inside is worse than having them on our tongues…”
Little White spoke painfully about the trouble caused by caterpillars.
Zhang Zian listened to him and frowned again and again. He could imagine the picture he’d described, and he started getting gooseb.u.mps.
Even Vladimir, who stood on the opposite side…felt a chill down his spine upon hearing all this. He did not follow up and speak of horrible things.
Zhang Zian tightened his collar and sleeves and cautiously lifted his head to look up at the dense branches of the trees.
No wonder. After the dog food had been eaten, Little White had not let the stray dogs come here to drink water. As it said, it was really dangerous to drink water in the open ditch where the caterpillars floated.
But water was the source of life. He had already experienced this and acknowledged it deeply while in the deserts of Egypt. One could temporarily not drink for a while. However, over a long duration, no one could take that—humans, dogs, cats, or even birds.
Little White and the stray dogs were already being pushed to their limits—staying in landfills, where poorly-disciplined stray dogs might eat poisonous sausages. Moving to the artificial woods near the water source was their best choice for survival. However, here, they would be tortured by these abominable caterpillars, and that was a fate even worse than death.
“If we stay here, we die. If we don’t, we die. We wait and die. When we die, will the country care?”
Little White said this with deep pain and raised his eyes. He stared coldly at Vladimir.
There was no hatred in his eyes. He was a beast full of the ambition to survive.
Zhang Zian instantly understood.
They could not stay, but they could not live. They were close to their wits’ end. The only way to survive was to expel the stray cats and occupy the coastal city. This was a battle for survival. There was no way out. No matter how many casualties, if they won, at least they could survive. Even if they lost, they’d had nothing to begin with. They were bound to die.
The fearless Vladimir was taken aback by this look.
The stray dogs could push all the chips to the table. Even if they only had one dog left, they must also occupy Binhai. Were the stray cats willing to pay the same price?
They could do it once with all they had. Do it a second time, and sorrow would set in. Do it a third time, and they would be exhausted.
The most important thing was the momentum of the two armies. Even if the stray cats’ combat ideology was very advanced, the stray dogs’ need for survival was vastly superior to the stray cats’.
Vladimir had a wealth of experience with regards to struggle. He knew that facing an army that did not surrender, did not escape, and only knew death was the most terrible one to face. Even if they won, there would be heavy casualties.
Zhang Zian deeply felt the seriousness of the situation. Since Little White had showed his hand, he knew that there was no turning back on the matter. An attack from the stray dogs was imminent. Maybe today, maybe tomorrow—it was impossible to know when they would strike. In any case, they would not wait until the stray cats recovered from their injuries.
What was even more frightening was that he suddenly felt the killing intent from both sides. It slowly filled the atmosphere.
Since things had gotten to this point, both Little White and Vladimir were thinking of the same thing: Kill the king, and kill the army. If they destroyed the leader here, then the chance of winning would undoubtedly improve.
“Cough! Wait a minute! I want to say a few words.”
Zhang Zian dry-coughed a little and gathered the courage to get between the two. He steeled himself against the hostile look in their eyes.
“The world’s bitterness all lies in these caterpillars! In fact, not only are stray dogs affected, but humans and stray cats have also been deeply troubled by them… As the saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is a friend, so then… Let’s abandon all hostility for the time being and go against a common enemy. Shall we now form an alliance and fight against the caterpillars? What do you think?”