mesbooks Chapter 7 The Survival Environment Becomes Even More Difficult
Chapter 7 The Survival Environment Becomes Even More Difficult
The wild dogs and cheetahs under the tree couldn't help but doze off, their faces listless, completely lacking the energy they had when hunting red junglefowl.
The red junglefowl leader turned its head, scanning the herd of beasts below, before flapping its wings and leaping.
Instead of leaping directly into the bushes, the red junglefowl first glided to an adjacent tree.
Seeing this, the other red junglefowl also sprang into action, and in an instant, dozens of red shadows darted among the treetops.
Upon hearing the noise, the wild dogs and cheetahs under the tree instantly stood up and followed the red junglefowl.
Just as the wild dogs and cheetahs reached the base of the tree, the red junglefowl glided to another tree.
Bai Zhou's eyes lit up. "They're exhausting the cheetahs and wild dogs."
Red junglefowl flew in the sky, forcing wild dogs and cheetahs to follow the flock. After several such incidents, the cheetahs' speed noticeably decreased.
Viewers in the live streams from Japan and South Korea began to feel anxious:
[Japan: These chickens are too cunning! The cheetah is almost out of strength!]
[Japan: Those wretched chickens, they're totally messing with us!]
[South Korea: Why not just surround a tree? They'll eventually come down to drink water!]
Ken Yamamoto and Jung-tae Lee also realized the seriousness of the problem.
The two quickly discussed solutions. Yamamoto Ken spoke first, "We have to change our strategy, otherwise we'll end up exhausting ourselves without catching anything."
After pondering for a moment, Li Zhengtai said, "My cheetah has a fast burst of speed, but its endurance is lacking, so..."
Ken Yamamoto understood what Zhengtai Li meant. "I will have wild dogs track the red junglefowl flock, and your cheetah will lie in ambush by the bushes, waiting to ambush them when they land to drink water."
"Okay." Li Zhengtai nodded, "However, there are too many chickens; one raid might not be enough."
"Then we'll consume them in batches," a ruthless glint flashed in Yamamoto Ken's eyes, "as long as we can wipe out the flock of chickens."
On the screen, the pack of wild dogs quietly dispersed, forming a fan shape around the several large trees where the red junglefowl were gathered.
The cheetah then quietly retreated, disappearing into the grass near the bushes.
The red junglefowl leader seemed to sense something was wrong. It stopped moving and stood on the highest branch, warily looking around.
The flock of chickens gradually quieted down, but hunger and thirst made some of the young red junglefowl begin to stir restlessly.
Bai Zhou knew he couldn't wait any longer and decisively ordered, "Lead the chickens to break through the encirclement."
The Red Wild Chicken leader understood Bai Zhou's meaning, and suddenly let out a series of short cries before leaping down.
This time, the Red Junglefowl leader did not glide, but landed directly towards the bushes, trying to pounce on them as quickly as possible.
Just before landing, the Red Junglefowl leader suddenly spread its wings to slow down, then sprinted towards the bushes after its feet touched the ground.
As the red junglefowl leader fell, the wild dogs and cheetahs also made their move.
Two cheetahs leaped from their ambush point and pounced on the red junglefowl leader; wild dogs also surrounded them from the side.
The red junglefowl leader dared not linger, disappearing into the dense undergrowth just as the cheetah was about to approach.
Seeing this, the other red junglefowl followed their leader and jumped down.
In an instant, hundreds of red junglefowl fell like raindrops, then scattered in all directions as they glided.
The cheetah and wild dogs were caught off guard, and the scene descended into chaos.
Shirasu held his breath; this was the most dangerous moment.
Although the Red Junglefowl leader succeeded, it doesn't mean that other Red Junglefowl will succeed.
A small or even very small number of red junglefowl will definitely be caught.
Although Baizhou provided the red junglefowl with bushes for cover, this did not allow the entire flock to escape the encirclement unscathed.
The death of a very small number of red junglefowl is normal; in fact, the death of a small number is not a bad thing, but a good thing.
On the one hand, those who run fast won't die; those who remain are all fast runners—this is called survival of the fittest.
Another part of it was to delay the attacks of wild dogs and cheetahs.
On the screen, a cheetah catches up with a lagging red junglefowl, its claws slicing across the fowl's back; on the other side, a wild dog bites a hen's wing.
Amidst their pitiful cries, several red junglefowl perished.
However, more red junglefowl successfully rushed into the bushes, using the complex terrain to evade pursuit and attacks.
When the Red Junglefowl leader reappeared, he was already standing on a high rock in the middle of the bushes.
The leader of the red junglefowl raises its head and crows, seemingly calling to the flock.
Gradually, the scattered red junglefowl gathered towards their leader, forming small groups in the bushes to cover each other.
The cheetah and wild dogs tried to rush into the bushes, but the dense branches severely hampered their movement.
A cheetah got its hind legs tangled in vines, and while it struggled, several red junglefowl took the opportunity to peck at its face a few times.
Although wild dogs can burrow, their speed is greatly reduced compared to open areas, making it impossible to form an effective encirclement and capture.
"It's a success!" Bai Zhou said softly.
The red junglefowl flock got a brief respite, and the hunt came to a temporary end.
But cheetahs and wild dogs won't give up prey that's within reach, and hunts like this will become increasingly common.
The people of South Korea and Japan were very pleased to see the red junglefowl fleeing in panic.
Although the red junglefowl were not wiped out on a large scale this time, at least five or six were caught.
[South Korea: So what if it can jump? It will always have to forage for food, and foraging for food means the red junglefowl's death.]
[Japan: Stop struggling. Becoming food for both of us is the only way out.]
The Dragon Kingdom person immediately replied:
[What are you yelling about? The wild dog pack and the cheetah pack combined only caught five or six red junglefowl, and you still have the nerve to talk.]
I'm too ashamed to stay here even if you call me.
[Hilarious! Two against one and they got killed! Do they even know how to play?]
[That's all the Japan and South Korea are capable of; they only know how to gang up and bully the weak, and they can't even catch a chicken!]
After exchanging insults, the Chinese people shifted their discussion to the survival of the red junglefowl.
If it were just wild dogs, the red junglefowl would be safe, but now with the addition of cheetahs, it escaped this time, but what will it do next?
It seems the red junglefowl's situation has returned to what it was before.
[We've used up all our intervention points, so there's no way to help the Red Junglefowl evolve.]
Bai Zhou also considered this point. Unlike most people, Bai Zhou did not think it was a bad thing. On the contrary, he thought that the attack by wild dogs and cheetahs was a good thing to some extent.
Biological evolution is not active, but passive.
In other words, organisms only begin to evolve or change to a certain extent when the environment changes.
When there were only wild dogs, the red junglefowl flock was indeed not in much danger, which meant that the red junglefowl flock would change very slowly.
But now, with the addition of cheetahs, the harsh living environment will accelerate the regression of the red junglefowl flock.
Just like when we first started selecting fighting cocks, although many fighting cocks died, they reverted to their ancient forms quickly.
The gliding ability that originally took 6 to 7 thousand years to develop was acquired in just 5,000 years, a full thousand years shorter!
Moreover, Baizhou is not afraid that the Red Junglefowl will fail. As a creature that has survived for over 100 million years without any break in its lineage, the chicken's genes contain extremely powerful energy.
This energy was not manifested simply because of the limitation of body size.