After experiencing that terrifying night, the cave no longer gave Henry Carter even the slightest sense of security.

In his eyes, the cave was nothing more than an arena governed by the law of the jungle.

Looking at the children crawling chaotically around him, as well as some wailing infants, Henry Carter unconsciously moved closer to the fire and lit a small twig.

He carefully maintained the tiny spark on the twig and, under the cover of the other children, crawled into the cave.

At this moment, the cave was completely empty.

Even the newborn babies had been left outside under the blazing sun, exposed. Henry Carter blew on the ember until it glowed red, lit a bundle of straw, and then quietly crawled back to the large platform.

The old people were simply too old; it seemed that all the warmth in their bodies came from the sun, and only under its scorching rays did they seem alive.

Then, the cave caught fire.

This cave seemed to be connected to the outside; as soon as the flames rose, it turned into a giant chimney, and the roaring sound of the fire from within the cave was terrifying.

A few old people sprang up from the ground like springs and rushed into the cave.

Henry Carter glanced at the livestock pen on the left side of the platform, as well as another cave. He had seen clearly last night that the other cave was actually the storage warehouse.

This cave here was just for everyone to sleep in.

This big fire was essentially disinfecting the cave!

Such a thing should actually be done from time to time, as it helps with cleaning and pest control.

Seeing their home on fire, everyone outside rushed back.

The fierce-looking clan chief, after inspecting the still-burning cave, unhesitatingly threw the five old people off the cliff.

And then, the matter was over. Everyone just waited for the flames in the cave to die out.

This process wouldn’t be short; inside the cave were enough bedding and stored wood and straw for over two hundred and sixty people.

Moreover, after the fire, the rocks in the cave would expand and contract from the heat and cold, causing some to collapse. To live there again, the fallen stones would have to be cleared out.

That night, Henry Carter slept in the arms of that young woman. No men came to disturb her, and she slept very soundly.

Henry Carter slept even more soundly than she did. There had been a slight mistake in what he did during the day—he hadn’t expected that the cave fire would lead to the clan chief executing those five old people.

If anyone had felt sad, Henry Carter would have been extremely guilty.

But now, no one felt sad or upset, and no one spoke up for those five old people. Even when they were thrown off the cliff, the five old people themselves seemed to feel they deserved it.

Therefore, Henry Carter couldn’t feel sad or guilty either. After all, both sadness and guilt are forms of empathy.

In the middle of the night, it suddenly started to rain.

Henry Carter thought the clan chief would have everyone hide from the rain in the storage cave, but he didn’t.

The clan chief took a few women into that cave and closed the door, leaving his more than two hundred clansmen shivering in the rain.

The men occupied a small dry spot by the edge of the cliff, while the women, the frail old people, and the children could only wrap themselves in sheepskins, huddling together in the rain for warmth.

Henry Carter didn’t understand why these people didn’t go into the livestock pen to shelter from the rain. After waiting a long time, he noticed that some people would rather risk falling rocks to shelter at the mouth of the burning cave than go into the livestock pen.

He seemed to understand now—in this place, livestock had a higher status than people.

Henry Carter buried his head in the young woman’s neck. The smell wasn’t pleasant, but it was his only source of comfort for now.

The rain kept falling. No one shouted or complained, not even the youngest children cried.

From the distant valley came the cries of apes, soon joined by the howls of wolves. The apes’ cries were urgent and panicked, with a hint of bluster, while the wolves’ howls were long and calm, with no sign of complaint against the heavens.

Neither the apes’ cries nor the wolves’ howls could drown out the elephants’ long trumpeting, and together it all sounded like a symphony.

Henry Carter had to try to see the current scene in a positive light.

Before setting the fire, he had expected someone would be punished, but he hadn’t expected everyone would be punished.

Spring rain is very cold, and Henry Carter wished he could grow up immediately.

At dawn, when everyone braved the drizzle to search for food, Henry Carter didn’t want to crawl anymore, so he stood up.

This should have been a natural process, but Henry Carter forced his will into his weak body. The will was so strong that his body had no choice but to obey, and so, he really did stand up.

It was a kind of forced growth, not very stable.

But Henry Carter understood that the longer his infancy lasted, the greater his chances of dying young.

In the morning, when the woman left, she didn’t nurse him. In fact, she didn’t have much milk left—Henry Carter had finished it all the night before.

A dark-skinned woman was left behind. She cooked porridge, or something else, in a clay pot.

Because it was greenish and mushy, Henry Carter couldn’t tell what it was.