Having solved the problem of shelter, the next issue was food. The drawbacks of eating raw food were obvious.
Chen Song chose an evening of thunder and rain. He had long since set his sights on a grove of dead lightning-struck trees near the settlement. The trees there were dry and rich in resin, making them highly flammable.
"Big White, see that driest, tallest dead tree? When the lightning comes down later, get closer. 'Just happen' to be frightened by the thunder, then 'panic' and crash into that tree." Chen Song instructed. "Remember, crash into it. Don't use lightning arts. It has to look natural!"
Although Big White did not understand why it had to ram a tree, it never discounted its boss's orders.
Boom-crack!
A blinding bolt of lightning tore through the darkened sky, striking the grove Chen Song had "chosen" with perfect accuracy. Almost the instant the lightning fell, Big White acted like an ordinary beast scared out of its wits. Its performance was a little exaggerated, but it would do.
With an "Awoo!", it flailed its limbs in "panic," then slammed headfirst into the crucial dead tree!
The force of the impact was just right. The dead tree, already battered by lightning and structurally rotten, let out a teeth-grinding creak. A large section of its blazing trunk snapped off with a crash and tumbled down below—where Chen Song had long since driven some animals and beasts, causing them to be "accidentally" turned into cooked food.
Dry animal fur and oily hides met heavenly fire and resin-rich deadwood, erupting into flames in an instant!
The towering blaze dyed the rain curtain red. A strange scent of char and unprecedentedly fragrant meat rode the wind and forcefully poured into the nearby human settlement where people were sheltering from the