The situation in the chicken coop startled everyone, and they couldn't help but gather around to look, each filled with concern.

"How come it was all hens yesterday, and today one hen is missing and there's a rooster instead? Could this rooster have been transformed from a hen?"

Someone speculated, and another anxiously analyzed, "If that's the case, what if all the hens turn into roosters, what will we do then?"

Master Shu came forward to clear things up and put everyone at ease.

"That's impossible."

Master Shu said. Compared to others, he was much calmer, "This is just how hens are. If there are roosters in the flock, fine; if not, some hens might turn into roosters.

"But that's just appearance, not a real rooster. A hen relying on a false rooster can lay eggs, but they won't hatch into chicks."

"Oh, I see."

Luo Ping nodded, feeling like he understood, "So, this rooster changed because the rooster from yesterday was killed and eaten.

"If this rooster stays, the other hens won't change, right?"

Master Shu scratched his head and said, "That's uncertain, perhaps some might still change? I'm not entirely sure, I haven't raised chickens before, it's what I've heard from others."

Luo Ping replied, "Anyway, you know more than we do, thank you, Master Shu."

Master Shu laughed heartily and said, "You're welcome, you're welcome."

Luo Ping glanced at the chicks in the coop and said, "I hope some of these chicks turn out to be roosters, so we can keep growing our flock and not fear them dying out."

Everyone replied in succession:

"There will be."

"There will surely be."

"With so many chicks, there has to be at least one male."

Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei had remained silent.

Lu Xi'an thought about how Master Shu staying here indeed seemed better than Sword Mountain. His spirit seemed improved, memory enhanced; if it had been before, recalling these things would have taken him ages, perhaps he'd not even remember at all.

Now it was easy for him to recall?

Lu Xi'an felt a bit guilty, he hadn't expected the rooster to be so fragile yesterday, and with just a little movement, the rooster was kicked to death.

If his actions doomed the continuation of the flock, he'd feel sorry about it.

Just like everyone else, he hoped a rooster would emerge among the chicks.

"Brothers and sisters, I have something to ask of you."

Luo Ping suddenly spoke, pulling Lu Xi'an back to reality.

Lu Xi'an asked, "What is it? Go ahead."

Luo Ping said, "Given the current situation, I'd ask you to stay here a little longer.

"This rooster from the chicken coop just transformed and only shares the hen's size. We're unsure if it will grow bigger, like the one from yesterday.

"If it becomes like that, and can't be controlled by Liu Hua, and Tang Er can't defeat it, even with both of their efforts, we're not sure if they can handle it.

"If all else fails, and you're gone, we could be in trouble here.

"So we need you to wait a bit, see if this rooster grows, and afterward, if it poses any threat to us..."

Lu Xi'an glanced at Yao Wei and saw her nod, so he said, "Alright. We'll wait a bit before leaving."

Luo Ping was overjoyed and thanked them repeatedly. Chai Xin also showed visible happiness, her eyes gleaming, smiling broadly.

Only then did Lu Xi'an notice Chai Xin's teeth, though still unaligned, were much whiter, and her posture was improving, appearing taller, quite different from their first encounter.

"Chai Xin, you've grown taller, and your teeth are whiter, how did you manage that?"

He casually asked.

Surely, Chai Xin becoming a Type D Neo-Human played a role, but not entirely.

Liu Hua and Tang Er were also Neo-Humans, certainly Liu Hua was, yet she showed little change from before.

Everyone couldn't help but look at Chai Xin, who blushed and said, "It's... it's Master Shu..."

Master Shu laughed and said, "I didn't do much, just told her to sleep straight and flat at night, and brush her teeth every day.

"In these times there's no toothbrush, but I saw some willows outside, so I snapped some branches, soaked them in water, and chew the soaked end to make little brushes."

"Luckily, there's enough water here now, I brush my teeth every day, and it feels great."

Luo Ping's eyes widened, saying, "Master Shu, having such a good method, why didn't you tell us?"

Master Shu immediately retorted, "Junior Luo, don't accuse! I told you all more than once, okay? You didn't take it seriously, is that my fault?"

Everyone immediately felt awkward, as Luo Ping recalled something and said, "Uh... I think I did say that? Sorry, sorry, I didn't pay attention."

Lu Xi'an replied, "If we can brush our teeth every day and maintain oral hygiene, that would be good. The water here is sufficient and much better than other places. Everyone should try to ensure they wash up to improve the hygiene environment, which can maintain health, reduce the chances of getting sick, and maybe even live longer."

"Master Shu, I didn't know about your method. Today, I have learned something new. I'll start using some willow twigs to brush my teeth every day."

Shu laughed and said, "I also heard about this from the elders in the village before. They said that in the old days, when they were poor and couldn't afford toothbrushes, they would soak willow twigs in water and bite them to brush their teeth. I haven't used it myself."

"I also had to think hard for a long time before I remembered this."

Luo Ping then asked, "Are you sure this will help live longer?"

This time Lu Xi'an remained silent, but Shu said, "It should, right? Look at the people before; if nothing happened, no strange diseases occurred, who wouldn't live to seventy or eighty?"

"Look how old I am now? I can't even remember myself."

"Anyway, we people back then were cleaner than now. We washed our face and brushed our teeth every day, and used scented soap, toothpaste, and toothbrushes. Unfortunately, these things are gone now."

"We also often washed our hair and took a bath every couple of weeks. I heard people in the south wash every day. Their bodies are clean, don't attract bugs, which lets them live longer."

"Look at us now; everyone's mouth is a mess, heads full of lice. Every day after work, with nothing to do at night, we sit there catching lice. Only when it's cold does it get better."

"Except for Junior Luo, you're a Neo-Human, different from us, so you're in better condition. But the rest of the people, if they stay like this, how could they live long?"

Luo Ping was silent for a long time, then suddenly cupped his hands to Shu and said solemnly, "Thank you for the lesson."

Shu didn't know what to say for a moment, feeling awkward.

Luo Ping listened to Shu and Lu Xi'an's words, and after this, he formulated rules at the 923 Base, enforcing mandatory regulations for people to wash up daily and maintain hygiene whenever possible.

He further expanded by asking everyone to tidy up their living environment and conduct regular checks.

Everyone listened to Shu and Lu Xi'an, knowing it was a matter that could prolong life, so nobody dared to slack off and actively cooperated.

Shu guided people to farm, build chicken coops, and construct toilets, and after offering such insightful ideas, he unconsciously gained respect from the people here, earning a new title.

Every time he met others, they would call him, "Mr. Shu."

Lu Xi'an received the same treatment, being called "Mr. Lu" by others. Lu Xi'an accepted it calmly, as it was just a title, and it didn't sound awkward like Mr. Shu.

He and Yao Wei stayed here a while longer, focusing daily on observing the chickens in the coop.

What eased people's minds a bit was that the strangely looking rooster was the only one of its kind, while the other hens were still quietly acting as hens and didn't turn into roosters.

Then the hens laid eggs every day, and the rooster grew day by day but didn't show any aggression.

Of course, those eggs were collected and gathered in one place, serving as a food reserve.

One day, when the reserves were sufficient, Shu made some egg soup, and everyone happily enjoyed a bowl and tasted its deliciousness.

—As for why they didn't make other egg dishes, it's naturally because there were too many people and too little food, so they wanted to conserve further.

After a few days of observation, Lu Xi'an, Yao Wei, and all the people here were convinced that the rooster had become accustomed to the environment and the people, showing no hostility towards them.

With that, Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei felt at ease and prepared to leave.

Just when they were about to depart, the rooster that had grown twice its size suddenly displayed aggression. One morning, when someone went to collect eggs, the rooster went berserk and pecked the person.

However, fortunately, once the person who collected eggs backed away, the rooster calmed down and didn't pursue further.

Everyone couldn't figure out what was going on, so Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei had to abandon their plans to leave immediately, stopping to continue observations.

After observing for more days, the eggs that were intercepted by the rooster one day hatched into chicks, while people could freely take other eggs.

Was the rooster's sudden outburst due to this?

Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei took a closer look and even stayed up at night, sitting outside the coop watching the chickens.

After a few days, they truly discovered something—

The chickens now in this world were different from before.

Not to mention the fake rooster transformed from hens, but the remaining eight hens weren't all hens; actually, there was a hidden rooster among them, looking just like a hen.

You couldn't tell from the outside, only the hens could identify among themselves.

Meaning, the rooster in the chicken flock was actually hiding among the hens, and the large rooster transformed from a hen was just a decoy, pretending to be a rooster while also fulfilling the role of guarding the flock.

The large rooster previously kicked to death by Lu Xi'an was, and now the rooster growing larger was as well.

Thus, before chicken flock safety was threatened, the large rooster wouldn't act. But when needed for the flock's protection, the large rooster would stand up without hesitation.

The large rooster was changed from a hen, so Lu Xi'an guessed that if there was no large rooster in the flock, another hen would immediately transform into a new large rooster.

And the large rooster carried the collective will of the flock, likely influenced by pheromones, so Liu Hua's previous attempt to control the large rooster directly was futile.

Thinking of this, Lu Xi'an immediately called Liu Hua over, asking Liu Hua to try controlling the large rooster through the flock, making the rooster suddenly subdued.

Then, it worked.

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.