Chronicles of Primitive Civilization’s Growth

Chapter 3: The Magical Slingshot

A group of children were stunned, screaming and covering their eyes while retreating into the cave. The children had never ventured more than a kilometer away from the cave nor participated in hunting; they had never seen such a terrifying scene. Only two or three of the braver boys continued to watch, including Luo Chong.

Luo Chong was actually scared too. In his past life, although he had killed many enemies, that was then. Now, with this small body, he wasn’t even as tall as the Terror Bird’s leg. Rushing in for a direct fight would definitely mean death, but he was aware of his own limitations.

The two adults who returned with the Chief, upon seeing the Chief dead, quickly threw away the egg and ran back to the edge of the jungle to climb up a tree.

It could be said that these two were lucky. Earlier, the three of them had run back together, but the Chief had shouted the loudest and had a green feather crown on his head. Among the three, he was the most conspicuous target, drawing all the attention.

The two climbed up the tree. With the Chief dead, the Terror Bird lost its target, but the loud screams of the children caught its attention. The Terror Bird instantly turned its head toward the cave, spotting a few people inside. It sprinted towards the cave.

“Ga ga”

The sharp cries frightened the two kids who were standing at the entrance with Luo Chong, causing them to flee. Pregnant women inside the cave ran to the entrance, starting to push a spherical boulder to block the cave’s entrance. However, due to their lack of strength, they pushed it too slowly. Luo Chong quickly went forward to help.

“Hurry up, push the stone.”

The boulder began to roll slowly, but the Terror Bird was also charging fast. Luo Chong hurriedly called for the children’s help, but those kids were still trembling in the grass pile, some even crying loudly. In the end, only the two braver boys came to help. Together, they managed to increase the speed of the boulder’s rolling.

“Boom boom boom”

The heavy footsteps grew closer. Just when there was only thirty centimeters left to seal the entrance, there was a snap, and a huge bird beak stretched through the gap.

A sharp cry echoed in the cave, causing the children in the grass pile to scream again.

“Everyone shut up, whoever cries will be thrown out.” Luo Chong roared at the children in the grass pile.

Although the children didn’t fully understand what Luo Chong said, they were frightened by his fierce appearance. The grass pile immediately quieted down. The children, tears streaming down their faces, dared not cry out, their bodies shaking with suppressed sobs. This effect satisfied Luo Chong. He, along with a few adults, quietly hid behind the boulder at the entrance, using their bodies to hold it in place.

For a moment, the cave became completely silent. No one made a sound, not even daring to breathe heavily.

The Terror Bird could only extend its beak through the gap; entering was impossible. The Terror Bird’s neck was very powerful, even adult saber-toothed tigers wouldn’t dare to provoke it easily. Its massive beak could peck down and easily sever a saber-toothed tiger’s neck, but that required downward force. It couldn’t use its neck to horizontally push the boulder away.

The Terror Bird “ga ga” called several times, unable to find a way in, so it reluctantly gave up and turned around to search for other targets outside.

As it walked away, everyone let out a sigh of relief. The children wanted to speak, but Luo Chong’s glare silenced them. Then Luo Chong put a finger to his lips to signal silence, but the children only looked confused, not understanding what it meant.

Luo Chong frowned and made a gesture of covering his mouth with his hand. This time, they understood. A few children imitated him, covering their own mouths with their small hands.

This is human instinct and nature; children often imitate the adults around them. For example, little girls might secretly wear their mother’s high heels. They think someone is capable, so they unconsciously imitate and learn from them. Luo Chong’s earlier fierce behavior had already intimidated them. Combined with his actions that others couldn’t comprehend, Luo Chong appeared very capable in the eyes of the children.

Seeing the situation under control, Luo Chong quietly moved to the crack at the entrance to peek outside.

The Terror Bird hadn’t left yet. It might be searching for the other two egg thieves. But those two were still up in the tree. The Terror Bird jumped up to peck at them, but they had climbed too high, out of reach. Eventually, it ignored them, turning to the Chief’s corpse to start pecking at it.

After observing for a while, Luo Chong decided to eliminate the Terror Bird. Since it was now eating human flesh and knew the location of their tribe, if not dealt with, it might come here for food when hungry, potentially killing several more people.

But currently, there were no weapons. Spears didn’t exist, and fighting with wooden sticks would be suicidal. Throwing stones from a distance, smaller ones wouldn’t have much impact, larger ones were too heavy to throw. Luo Chong looked at the Terror Bird again, its long legs giving him an idea, reminding him of an ancient capture tool.

Yes, the slingshot. There are actually two types of weapons called slingshots. One is the most common kind, where a rope has a slightly wider piece of cloth in the middle to hold a stone. By swinging it a few times, you can use centrifugal force to propel the stone, increasing its initial velocity and striking power.

What Luo Chong intended to make was the other type, where a rope has stones tied to both ends. You hold the rope in both hands, spinning it so that the stones pull the rope straight due to centrifugal force, making it look like a helicopter’s propeller. Then you throw the spinning slingshot towards a cylindrical target. The stones will quickly wrap around the target a few times, binding it. Luo Chong’s target was the Terror Bird’s two legs.

This type of slingshot is generally used to capture prisoners because it doesn’t harm the target but restrains it. It doesn’t require extensive practice, and it’s simple to make.

Luo Chong quickly searched for materials. There were stones in the fire pit in the middle of the cave, used to surround the fire. Luo Chong picked two stones slightly larger than a fist, but couldn’t find any ropes. The vines collected in the morning were still outside the cave, and they weren’t soft enough anyway, making them unusable.

All the adults and children in the cave were watching him, not knowing what he was doing. This child had been acting strangely all day.

Luo Chong gritted his teeth, glanced at his naked companions, and in a burst of determination, untied the snake skin he used as a loincloth. For future safety, face and dignity would have to take a backseat. The snake skin, about three to four meters long, was enough after tying stones to each end, leaving over two meters in the middle.

With his weapon ready, Luo Chong squeezed out of the cave entrance with the makeshift slingshot in hand. A pregnant woman tried to hold onto Luo Chong, but failed. She didn’t dare shout, fearing to attract the Terror Bird back. Anxiously, she watched outside, wondering what Luo Chong was going to do.

Many curious children gathered at the entrance to watch, their heads filling the gap from top to bottom, clearly eager spectators.