Only Surviving Isn't Enough

"Bro..."

Xia Chuan hurriedly spoke up, accidentally calling him "Bro" again. After Xia Hong shot him a glare, he quickly corrected himself.

"Chief, we all agree that things should probably remain as they were before. Ninety percent of the Frost Beast Meat should go to those of us who go out hunting, while the remaining ten percent should be divided among everyone else. That way, we can grow stronger quickly, and our kills will increase as well."

On the other side, Yuan Cheng could not help speaking up too.

"Also, there's the Crystal Fruit allocation. Two fruits per person each day is too much. It should be restored to the old system as well—one fruit per person per day. As long as it keeps them alive, that's enough.

"Those three Ice Vast Trees haven't borne new fruit yet. At the current rate of consumption, they'll last at most another month. If the next crop still hasn't grown by the time we finish them, that'll be a huge problem."

In reality, Xia Hong had long known that everyone wanted to restore the old system.

Including himself, the camp now had eight people in the Lumbering Realm.

They were already not far behind the camp's numbers back when Xia Ding was still around.

The Lumber Team had been reassembled, so naturally, the old system should be restored.

It was not only Yuan Cheng, Yue Feng, and the others who thought this way—even his younger brother, Xia Chuan, did too.

Xia Hong did not answer immediately. He first swept his gaze around the group before slowly speaking:

"I want to ask you all a question. What are the goals of the seven of you?"

"To survive."

Xia Chuan was the first to answer.

"To survive, and to make sure my mother has enough to eat."

"To survive, and to let my younger brother survive too."

"To protect my sister and survive."

Although the seven answers differed, they all expressed essentially the same thing: surviving and protecting their loved ones.

"If that's the case, then we could simply go out every day to find Ice Vast Trees and pick Crystal Fruits. Why go to such lengths and risk our lives hunting?"

Xia Hong's question left everyone stunned.

"Because you all know that only by becoming stronger can we survive, right?"

Everyone nodded.

"Then when I hunted my first Snow Mane, I shouldn't have shared it with you. I could have eaten all the Frost Beast flesh myself and grown stronger quickly. Wouldn't I have been able to keep surviving that way too?"

When everyone heard this, their expressions froze. Then, one after another, shame appeared across their faces.

"My goal is to become stronger and survive. Yours are the same, and so are theirs."

When he said "theirs," Xia Hong raised a hand and pointed at the other people in the camp gathered around the bonfire. Then he continued:

"During this period, you've all gone out with me, so you should have seen that the Frost Beasts are far stronger than us. So whether we rely on just me or on the eight of us, neither is enough to ensure our survival."

Xia Hong paused, then added:

"Even thirteen people wouldn't be enough. Otherwise, our father's group wouldn't have met with disaster, right?"

"I divided the Frost Beast Meat among you because I knew that relying on one person's strength alone was far from enough to survive. That's why I hoped you could break through as quickly as possible. The more people in the Lumbering Realm we have, the safer it'll be when we go out, and the more wood we can fell, beasts we can hunt, and supplies we can gather.

"Now I'm giving the larger share of the Frost Beast Meat to the other young people in the camp for the same reason as before: I hope more and more people in the camp can reach the Lumbering Realm, and that our group can grow larger and larger."

After Xia Hong finished speaking, he saw everyone lowering their heads in thought and let out a faint sigh.

In reality, this was simply a matter of dividing benefits.

Since ancient times, benefits had moved people's hearts—let alone benefits tied to their very lives.

Was there a problem with the rules Xia Ding had implemented before?

Actually, there was not.

But circumstances mattered. Back then, Great Xia Camp had no hunting ability, so Frost Beast Meat came in fits and starts—there was some one moment and none the next.

With too many mouths and too little meat, Xia Ding could only prioritize supplying the Lumber Team members.

Things were different now. With the Small Torch that could attract Frost Beasts, the camp had gained a rudimentary hunting ability. It was not that Frost Beast Meat was limitless, but there was far more of it than before.

If they stubbornly clung to the old system, not only would they lose the people's support, they would also greatly slow the camp's development.

Here was the simplest example.

Xia Hong had now freed himself from woodcutting work. Whenever they went out, Xia Chuan and Yuan Cheng handled the logging, while he focused on surveying the terrain and locating Frost Beasts.

It was easy to foresee that once there were enough Lumbering Realm members, the camp could split into two teams: one dedicated to hunting and the other to logging. They could even form separate teams for picking Crystal Fruits and surveying terrain.

Any organization that wanted to increase its gains had to divide the work and establish different departments with different responsibilities. Only when everyone performed their own role could profits be maximized.

This principle had been laughably simple in his previous life, but Xia Hong could only patiently explain it now in terms they could understand.

"Frost Beasts are formidable, but haven't you noticed? The more people who break through—Yue Feng, Lin Kai, and the others—the higher our hunting success rate becomes. Xu Ning broke through today as well. Tomorrow, our success rate may be even higher.

"Think about it. If we had twenty or thirty people in the Lumbering Realm, or even forty or fifty, then whether it was a Snow Mane or a Frost Wolf, we could pile up enough lives to kill it. Would we still have to worry about lacking Frost Beast Meat?"

Those words made Xia Chuan and the others' eyes light up.

They had all witnessed the steady rise in their hunting success rate during this period of following Xia Hong outside. Indeed, the more people they had, the higher their success rate became.

Especially Xia Hong's later remark—if they had forty or fifty people, they could kill Frost Beasts simply by overwhelming them with numbers. That thought plunged them into contemplation.

During this period, they had only dealt with two kinds of Frost Beasts: Snow Manes and Frost Wolves. Their experience was limited, but they understood these two types' habits and strength in the greatest detail.

Snow Manes possessed tremendous strength, but even they topped out at roughly ten thousand jin. Frost Wolves' advantage was speed, while their strength was not particularly great. As Xia Hong had said, if they truly had forty or fifty Lumbering Realm fighters, surrounding and hunting these two types of beasts head-on would not be a problem.

"Also, remember everything I'm about to say."

Xia Hong rose to his feet, pointed at the people beside the bonfire, and spoke in a deep voice:

"You all said just now that you wanted to protect your loved ones—your younger brothers, older sisters, or mothers. That's good, but I also want you to remember this.

"The outside world is fraught with danger. None of us can guarantee that we'll survive every trip outside or every hunt.

"One day, if any one of us carelessly loses his life, your loved ones will be among those people.

"If someone then suggested that they not be given any Frost Beast Meat and be allowed only one Crystal Fruit a day, would you want me to agree?"

Xia Hong deliberately emphasized his voice on the final question.

That question struck like a deafening thunderclap. All seven of them trembled violently.

They instantly realized how selfish and foolish the thoughts in their heads had been.

Especially Xia Chuan and Yuan Cheng, who had just suggested changing the system. They lowered their heads, their faces full of shame.

"We're one whole. Since we're a whole, we can't think only of ourselves. Frost Beast Meat is important because it can make people stronger, but if only a few people become strong, it'll end up like it did when the previous Lumber Team was around. You all witnessed the final result yourselves.

"In the face of the strange monsters, we had no power to fight back and could only stretch out our necks to be slaughtered.

"So we must raise our overall strength. Once every person in the camp reaches the Lumbering Realm, will we still fear Frost Beasts?

"By then, even if a strange monster comes, we'll have the strength to fight.

"Pay attention: when I say 'the whole,' that includes your loved ones as well."

Xia Hong had spoken those words with emotion too.

After hearing him, everyone's expressions gradually changed from shame to resolve. Their gazes toward Xia Hong grew increasingly convinced and sincere.

At some point, quite a few people from beside the bonfire had gathered around as well. After hearing Xia Hong's words, their faces were filled with emotion.

"Our goal is indeed to survive, but merely surviving isn't enough. We must live with dignity and backbone.

"We're human beings, not creatures lurking beneath the shadows.

"Those Frost Beasts and strange monsters are the creatures that belong there.

"Sooner or later, I'll make them kneel before me—before Great Xia Camp—and tremble!"

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