Chapter 144 (1/2)

”You guys are good at upsetting me in every way,” Chang joked to the clones. ”I mean it, every way.”

”Yeah, still, that doesn't change the fact that we are older than you,” the clones said in sync.

”How far away are we from He Bi?”

”I think we are almost there.”

”Then what should we do with this big guy?” Chang pounded on the centipede.

”I'll look after it,” Shui Qing said. ”You, Zhizhi, and Sanpang should go downtown to restock our food. We can't stay for long. The migrating animals are just behind us. The city will be destroyed in no time.”

”Alright,” Chang answered. ”What about the centipede? Shouldn't it be hungry by now? We didn't allow it to eat for a few days.”

”It's all good, insects are better at enduring hunger than mammals anyways,” Shui Qing explained. ”Though, I think we should bring it somewhere where it could feed itself. Otherwise, when it's starving, it'll rebel and resist our commands.”

”Wait, you can only control it this much?” Chang was puzzled, and his brows furrowed.

”We are its mothers, but its mind is still its own,” the clones said. ”Qing Shui can take over someone's mind, but we are only capable of influence. That means, we can tell somebody what is right to do, but the judgment of rightness is still its. For example, if we told it to suicide here and now, it wouldn't listen to us.”

”I see the difference now.” Chang thought for a moment, and then asked, ”Why don't we get a being that flies and is big enough to carry us all? Isn't that much faster?”

”Well, Chang, do you know how hard it is to catch a bird with bare hands? Or with weapons without injuring it? It's time-consuming, and we can only influence the mind when it's close.” The clones raised their eyebrows. ”We have more than ten people here, so it will have to be a big bird or some other thing with wings. Plus, birds are more intelligent than insects, the overall control will be at risk.”

”Although, it's not impossible,” Qing said after a moment of thinking. ”We can try when we are safe, but now let's continue with the centipede.”

While they were talking, the density of the jungle decreased.

”I think we're getting close to He Bi.” The shrubs were lower and thinner. ”You guys stay here, I'll just go in and out the city quickly to retrieve clean water and food.”

”Go ahead,” the clones told him while sitting at the centipede's head, looking ahead.

”I'll be right back.”

”Do you need me to go with you?” Jing suggested. ”I can keep guard with my sensing while you search for supplies.”

”No need, I'll be quick,” Chang replied.

He jumped down and traced the scent of humans, seeking the shortest route to downtown He Bi.

This small town was as crumbled as Xin Xiang, the city they had just pa.s.sed. The air was filled with the mixture of animal odors and the scents of plants. Chang couldn't see many traces of human activity.

The scent of human habitat led him to the downtown of He Bi.

The urban planning here wasn't the most organized; the residential area was mixed with the government complex. Besides two open stores, other doors on the street were all tightly shut. Some winged animals rested on top of the roofs, while a few more were circling in the sky, as if ready to dive down on an unsuspecting prey at any moment.