The frozen river bank was rocky and withered aquatic plants were covered with ice and lay sickly on the bank.
They are all eliminated species that cannot withstand the extreme cold weather, and in the end, the cruel natural environment will indiscriminately wipe out all traces of their existence.
A small animal with brown, hard fur poked its head out from a snowdrift. Seeing no discordant movement around, it dug a little wider in its burrow, and several more of the same creatures emerged from the snow.
The expedition team called them Hao Niu, and as their name suggests, they were mutants of domesticated livestock.
Before the war, the government had already begun large-scale slaughter of them. However, their numbers were simply too great. At the time, over 30% of agricultural output was used as feed. Besides those easily managed large-scale farms, many were still scattered throughout the countryside.
In short, the huge population size provides a sufficient gene pool, which allows them to seize some advantages in natural selection.
The mechanism of the mutation is still unknown.
Most of these even-toed ungulates are trending further and further towards smaller sizes. While there are exceptions, the genes of domestic pigs are already very different from those of wild boars, so some differences are understandable.
Of course, the mutation only affected gene expression, leaving their behavior largely unchanged. These chubby little animals were originally cattle, and naturally inherited a significant portion of their characteristics.
More and more bulls gathered on the river bank. Looking down from a distance, they formed a winding line along the embankment.
It is still night, and what drives them out in the middle of the night is nothing more than some biological instinct.
They made some noises, but none of them tried to move toward the surface of the river.
A larger one stood out, surrounded by smaller animals, and came to the edge of the bank. It seemed to be the leader of the herd, and the reason for that was the smaller ones following behind it.
Bulls are typically herd animals, with complex behavioral relationships within their herds. Generally, they have a leader, usually the strongest and most experienced bull in the herd. However, sometimes, a female cow can also serve as the leader, as is the case with this herd.
Long Bone, lying on the hillside, explained that the Haoniu family had arrived earlier than their Rat Village and were already familiar with the surrounding area. They were downwind, so the small animals certainly couldn't spot them.
These timid creatures are generally not dangerous, but it is best not to attack their young.
In reality, Broken Star had some unexplained, ill-fated connection with this group of people. As the tribal chieftain, Changgu naturally knew about it, so the foursome simply watched from afar, with no intention of taking action.
The leader of the Hao Niu paused for a moment on the bank, then let out a long cry and leaped onto the frozen river. Instead of pausing, it tapped the ice lightly with its hooves. It paced the riverbank, circling twice around the spot where the Hao Niu had gathered.
Suddenly, the surface of the river began to shake. The cattle standing on the shore watching were immediately panicked and the scene turned into a noisy vegetable market in an instant.
The leader took two steps back on the ice, and then, as if sensing something, it did not hesitate and immediately accelerated its run. Then, it kicked the embankment with its front legs, jumped lightly, and flew back to the shore.
Almost at the same time, a strange spindle-shaped fish broke through the ice. It almost succeeded, and its sharp teeth almost bit the bull's right hind leg.
The strange fish was quickly pulled back to the surface by gravity. This unintelligent creature had clearly not anticipated it, and it slammed heavily onto the solid ice. The immense kinetic energy shattered the surrounding ice debris and also caused new vibrations on the ice surface.
Immediately afterwards, several more strange fish emerged from the ice, but this time their target became the companions who had just charged with them.
This is a feast, a feast of cannibalism.
The meal lasted an hour before the night meal was finally over. The ice on the shore had broken, and the flowing river water surged up from under the ice, washing away the shattered restaurant and the leftovers.
The herd of cattle returned to the embankment. They looked at the ice cave not far away, as if they were longing for something.
The leader seemed to have recovered and jumped onto the ice again, but from a different starting point. It stepped on the ice a few times tentatively, feeling the situation under the ice.
After a while, it began to speed up, and its four hooves swung regularly on the ice.
As expected, the number of strange fish under the ice was far greater than expected. The river surface soon became lively, and the strange fish scrambled to chase the object that caused the vibration.
The fish's route on the ice was regular. It first circled around the ice hole, and then at just the right speed, attracted the school of fish and led them in another direction.
Seeing the danger going away, the herd of cattle on the embankment finally couldn't bear it anymore. They walked down the embankment in groups of three or five, came to the ice cave, and then immersed their noses in the icy water.
In just a short while, the cold weather had formed a thin layer of ice on the surface of the water, but this did not pose a problem for them.
They were obviously drinking water.
Their speed was not slow. When the leader circled around and returned, there were only a few left by the ice cave. The leader ignored the greedy ones. He gasped and jumped ashore on his own. Then he led the other cattle and slowly dispersed from the embankment.
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