Charles Lee just sat quietly on the edge of the stone vat filled with food, ignoring their quarrels and not letting any of the children get close to the vat.

Twenty children gathered around the stone vat, not daring to approach. If they got too close, Mr. Lee would kick them away, and it would also reduce the amount of food. They didn’t dare risk it.

Sitting on the edge of the vat, gazing at the sky and lost in thought, Charles Lee noticed some movement and looked over to see five children and a wolf approaching. Leading them was the new “cave master,” Henry Clark.

But when Charles Lee’s gaze landed on what they were dragging, his eyes went wide, and he almost toppled off the vat in excitement.

Before Henry Clark and the others could get closer, Charles Lee couldn’t help but jump down from the vat and head over. After taking two steps, he went back, hoisted the vat, and then walked over again. If he left the vat here, the little brats in the cave would definitely fight over the food.

“This, this, this... is this... a fish?!” Charles Lee pointed at the fish Henry Clark was carrying and exclaimed.

Many years ago, because of an accident by the river, Charles Lee had seen this kind of creature in the water. But since the chief forbade everyone from going into the water, he hadn’t seen one since. He never expected to see one here today.

“How did you get it?” If it was just luck, it would be impossible to catch so many—just one would be rare. Could it be that something strange happened on the riverbank and a lot of dead fish washed ashore? That couldn’t be it; there were people guarding the riverbank, and any anomaly would be reported. Besides, the fish the children dragged over had marks from being struck with sticks.

Hiss—

After seeing the fish’s mouth and sharp teeth, Charles Lee couldn’t help but suck in a breath. He was an experienced old hunter and could estimate a creature’s attack power and temperament from its appearance. This was clearly a highly dangerous species—even the strong totem warriors wouldn’t want to face such a creature. But he couldn’t figure out how these weak little kids, who hadn’t even awakened their totem power, managed to catch the fish.

The two older children following Henry Clark couldn’t hold back and, full of pride, told Charles Lee about their “hunting operation” that morning, showing off their bravery. Demonstrating their abilities in front of a seasoned warrior would help them join the hunting team in the future, and it was something all the kids in the tribe loved to do.

The two kids’ account wasn’t very clear, but with his rich hunting experience, Charles Lee could infer much more from their words. He gave Henry Clark a complicated look and waved his hand, “Distribute the food first.”

The children in the cave wanted to crowd around when they saw the fish Henry Clark and the others dragged in, but the four besides Henry Clark immediately became alert. Even the usually honest-looking Stammer now looked fierce, hiding the tied-up fish behind him with one hand and gripping a stick with the other—if anyone tried to snatch it, he’d fight them!

Henry Clark’s fish was watched over by Julius Caesar, so the tribe’s children didn’t dare try to take it and could only eye the other four. Fortunately, since it was time to distribute food, their attention was drawn back.

It was Henry Clark’s first time in charge of distributing food, but he had seen how Edward Wright did it, so he quickly got the hang of it, making sure to set aside portions for the four who were guarding their own prey.

Charles Lee stood by and watched Henry Clark finish distributing the food, then looked at Henry Clark’s fish, hoisted the vat, looked at the fish again, took a few steps, looked again, and finally left a bit reluctantly. Like the two warriors guarding the riverbank, Charles Lee wasn’t interested in eating; he was just curious about the fish.

Unfortunately, Henry Clark just wouldn’t let him see the fish. Who told this guy to make him the cave master for no reason and not explain why?

No one in the tribe had given these fish a name, so Henry Clark simply called them piranhas.

Henry Clark had noticed long ago that there were some hanging fixtures above the cave, though he didn’t know how many years they’d gone unused. He tried hanging his own fish first—it worked, and the stone groove above didn’t break.

Seeing Henry Clark do this, the other four also asked him to help hang up their fish. There was no way they could finish such a big fish in one go, and they didn’t want to share with others. Plus, they had to guard against the other kids in the cave trying to steal it, so hanging it up was the best option.

The other end of the grass rope was tied to the wall, and all four guarded their own ropes. You always feel more secure watching over your own things.

Seeing that Stammer and the other three each had such a big fish, the other kids in the cave started to think it over and regretted not joining in that morning.

With this comparison, Henry Clark took the opportunity to instill an idea in these little brats—“Follow me, and you’ll have meat to eat.”

Want to join in tomorrow? Fine, but...

“You have to listen to me,” Henry Clark said.

Getting the kids in the cave to obey wasn’t easy. Beat them today, beat them tomorrow, beat them the day after that—it’s useless. Many of the tribe’s kids are not only tough but also stubborn and reckless. Even if you beat them down this time, next time they’ll still try to snatch your stuff. Even when the previous “cave master” Edward Wright was around, not everyone was convinced. Plenty had been beaten by Edward Wright, and Henry Clark had seen it a few times—the beatings were pretty severe, and it took over ten days for them to recover enough to walk.

But now, with just one sentence—“Follow me, and you’ll have meat to eat”—Henry Clark was able to smooth out all their bristling tempers.

The next day, Henry Clark first had the kids go make grass ropes.