Chapter 29: The Underlying Logic of Herding Sheep

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Huff—huff—huff!

Xiao Jie ran while regulating his breathing. He had already been running for twelve minutes. Compared with yesterday, when just a few minutes had left him gasping for breath, his endurance had clearly improved considerably today.

The effects of assigning attribute points really were immediate. He had added the points that afternoon, and by evening he could already feel the difference.

He could sense that his physical condition had improved in every respect. Although the increase in each individual attribute was not particularly large, the combined effect was striking.

Unfortunately, the human body had its limits. The farther one progressed, the harder it became to improve. His basic attributes being below average was probably related to his lack of exercise. If he could spend several months training first, raising his Constitution, Strength, and Endurance by one or two points, then adding attribute points afterward would be far more worthwhile. He might even be able to go a step further and break through the limits of an ordinary human being.

But there was nothing he could do about it. He could not simply refuse to assign points forever in the game.

So for now, it was merely wishful thinking.

Still, it was not a major concern. Even with exercise in the real world, raising an attribute by one or two points was already extremely difficult. Increasing one by three or four points would probably require an enormous amount of training and time.

In the game, however, he only needed to gain a level or two to obtain enough attribute points to improve his physical condition across the board. No wonder so many people were willing to risk their lives to continue playing. The sensation of growing stronger so quickly was truly addictive.

He needed to comprehend Beast Taming as soon as possible. Once he had a pet, he would be able to leave the village and hunt monsters for experience with relative safety. If he could casually gain eight or ten levels, then simply relying on attribute points would be enough to turn him into a “superhuman.”

“Huff—huff!”

Xiao Jie finally stopped running. Ten points of Endurance were still not enough to let him run endlessly like a marathon athlete.

He looked around and realized that he had run a complete lap around the small hill in the park, once again arriving at the place where he had encountered the black cat the previous night.

Huh? It was that black cat again.

In the darkness, a large black cat with green eyes was crouched on the stone steps, watching him curiously.

As he looked at the cat, a stream of information suddenly appeared in Xiao Jie’s mind—

[Cat: A chordate animal belonging to the cat genus of the feline family in the order Carnivora. Cats are small in size, with coats ranging from bluish gray to brownish yellow. They have slender bodies and measure 0.3 to 0.5 meters in length...]

Uh... This should be the effect of Beast Lore.

Strange.

Xiao Jie knew very well that cats generally depended on humans for survival. Stray cats in cities, in particular, mainly relied on food given to them by people or on whatever they could find by rummaging through garbage bins.

This place was in the middle of nowhere. What was a cat doing here?

Moreover, it was wearing neither a collar nor an identification tag. It should have been a stray.

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Xiao Jie did not dwell on it, however. It was only a cat.

He waved at the black cat, then headed back the way he had come.

After returning home, Xiao Jie took a hot shower. It had been a long time since he had exercised so freely, and after sweating thoroughly, his entire body felt much more comfortable.

Sitting before his computer, Xiao Jie drank an ice-cold cola while taking stock of the day’s gains.

He had truly gained quite a lot today. He had obtained a magical artifact, earned two hundred yuan, comprehended Beast Lore, and increased his reputation with Ginkgo Village. Unfortunately, he had not achieved an epiphany. That was his greatest regret.

He had five days left. He had to seize the opportunity.

Herding sheep had seemed simple enough at first, but now that he thought about it, it would probably be safer to ask someone for advice.

With that, Xiao Jie logged into the Endless Sea of Consciousness forum once again.

As usual, he posted a question in the Daily Answers section, offering a reward of one hundred yuan.

[Question: Does anyone know any tricks for herding sheep? Suppose I have fifty sheep. How can I herd them with the least effort while ensuring that none of them get lost? Ideally, I’m looking for techniques involving the underlying principles.]

Answers soon began appearing one after another.

[I’m dying here. Have you gone off to the countryside to return to a simpler life? First chopping firewood, now herding sheep.]

[What do you mean by “underlying principles”? I didn’t study much and can’t understand it. Why don’t you explain it to me?]

[What underlying principles could there be to herding sheep? Drive them onto the grassland and let them eat. That’s all there is to it.]

[There are actually a few tricks to herding sheep. As for the underlying principle, I don’t know if this counts, but the key is to identify the lead sheep. Sheep are social animals, and every flock has a leader. Generally speaking, the flock follows the lead sheep. If you tried to keep an eye on every sheep individually, you’d work yourself to death. The simplest way to herd them is to find the lead sheep and keep watch over it.

As long as the lead sheep stays put, the others naturally won’t run off. Even if they wander a little farther away, they’ll eventually come back.]

Huh? The lead sheep? He had never paid attention to that before.

Xiao Jie thought to himself that there really was knowledge hidden in everything. If he herded sheep again tomorrow, he would have to observe them carefully.

He had only five days left. If he still failed to achieve an epiphany tomorrow, he would have to change course immediately. While the buff was still active, he needed to achieve as many epiphanies as possible. Obsessing over herding sheep was not a wise choice.

The next day, Xiao Jie entered the game early.

Unable to wait, he hurried to the livestock pen and found Old Yang.

Old Yang, the Shepherd: “Oh my, young people these days are certainly diligent. You’re here to take the job this early? Come, come, this is a shepherd’s crook. Take good care of it. And be careful not to let any sheep get lost. If one goes missing, your wages will be docked.”

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Xiao Jie drove the flock to the pasture. This time, rather than focusing excessively on the more energetic sheep, he searched among the flock for the lead sheep.

He examined them one by one, observing their builds and features.

After looking so carefully, he really did notice several details.

There was an obvious distinction between the rams and the ewes. The rams had larger horns and were slightly bigger, while the ewes’ horns were smaller and more delicate.

The lambs also liked to stay near the ewes, while the ewes all gathered around one particularly strong ram.

A dozen or so ewes, a dozen or so lambs, and that sturdy ram formed a single unit, while the other rams were scattered around the edges of the flock.

That was it. This sturdy ram had to be the lead sheep.

As Xiao Jie studied the flock’s distribution, the disorderly scene suddenly became clear.

There was only one way to find out whether the answer he had received online was useful.

This time, Xiao Jie did not repeatedly drive the flock from place to place. Even when some of the rams had eaten their fill, he did not try to block them or herd them back. He simply let them wander around the perimeter. A few even reached the edge of the hillside.

To his delight, however, the sheep did not continue moving away. The moment they heard the lead ram’s call, they hurried back toward the flock.

Thus, the flock repeatedly gathered and dispersed. It looked chaotic, but not a single sheep actually got lost.

Whenever he did drive the flock onward, the sheep would gather around the lead ram and move together.

Only then did Xiao Jie finally relax. Herding sheep had become much simpler. He no longer needed to keep driving the flock from place to place. All he had to do was keep an eye on the lead ram.

Sometimes, when the sheep had nearly finished eating all the grass nearby, the lead ram would bleat and lead the flock to another pasture on its own. Xiao Jie did not need to do anything at all.

Herding sheep was practically an idle task. He only had to stand nearby and watch.

An hour passed quickly. Xiao Jie had barely moved during the latter half. When the time was up, the system notification finally sounded.

[System Notification: Your Enlightenment state has been triggered. You have gained one Epiphany!]

Success at last!

Xiao Jie was overjoyed. This epiphany would surely grant him Beast Taming!

He clicked the golden icon in the center of the screen.

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