The golden mammoth shook his head vehemently. "No, this isn't brainwashing! Every mammoth wants to become a warrior, because only warriors can bring honor to their family, to contribute to the herd! If you want to be more realistic about it, becoming an outstanding warrior will allow you to improve your family's life."
"Yes, I understand. That's precisely what brainwashing is all about!"
China's gaokao was precisely one such type of brainwashing—education is required to have a future, to get into a good university, and hence to obtain a stable career.
Without studying, it would be impossible for an ordinary child to surpass the likes of those born with golden spoons in their mouths—as if studying would bridge that gap! And what if those exam results that someone slaved for were stolen by a bribed, corrupt official? What then?
Li Feng shrugged. "That's brainwashing for you. Your herdleader gave you an incentive to become a warrior—to provide for your family—and inculcated you with those beliefs day in and day out, forcefully indoctrinating you to adhere to those beliefs! It might seem like he's trying to help you out for the future, but he's really stripping you of all other possibilities!"
The golden mammoth glanced curiously at Li Feng. "I'm not sure how you humans view this, but I don't see this necessarily as a bad thing. Don't you agree?"
Li Feng mulled it over for a moment before nodding.
In the context of the situation, perhaps it was sensible. Humans had the freedom to do what they wanted, but the mammoth herd needed as many warriors as it could generate to survive such trying conditions. If the mammoths were allowed to choose their occupations freely, the mammoth society would collapse near-instantaneously.
"Most of our current smiths were injured in battle and forced to become smiths because they had no other choice. Those are our igloos. They're where our warriors sleep, as well as our storehouses for food. It's very easy for food to spoil in warm conditions, but they can be kept for an entire year in our igloos without a problem." The golden mammoth pointed at an igloo in the distance.
As Li Feng and the golden mammoth walked closer to the volcano, the temperature began to rise above bone-chilling and into bearable.
The mammoth herd had really found an excellent piece of land.
Li Feng asked, "Aren't you afraid that the volcanoes might erupt?"
The golden mammoth shook its head. "We don't have anything to worry about. The king of the realm can suppress any volcanic eruptions!"
"Not anymore," Li Feng reminded the golden mammoth.
He wilted. "Even so, my kin and I won't leave!"
"Why?"
"Because the sheer cold and hunger are more frightening than death itself."
Suddenly, the ground began to quake.
The golden mammoth's eyes widened as he looked toward Li Feng. "I suddenly have a bad premonition..."
"What a coincidence. I do too." Li Feng put down the golden mammoth, then retrieved a restorative from his soulspace. "Drink this."
The golden mammoth didn't hesitate. After doing so, his injuries began to heal at a rate visible to the naked eye.
As tremors continued to spread through the earth, many mammoths came out of their huts and igloos.
The golden mammoth gulped in astonishment. "This potion is marvelous. Is there any more?"
Li Feng noticed that the golden mammoth was so large that a single vial of potion wasn't enough to help him recover. He took out four more and passed them to the mammoth.
The mammoth herdleader had, as the king of the realm, been suppressing the eruption of all eight volcanos since he became king. Now that he had been killed by Li Feng, the volcanoes were finally unleashing their pent-up might.
The golden mammoth grumbled, "Why didn't you give me something like this earlier if you had it? You wouldn't have had to carry me on your back like a trussed pig!"
"I was afraid you would run off after recovering."
"Do I look like someone who would do that?!"
"There's no time to argue. Drink up—something's going to happen!"
The eight volcanoes were all trembling like pots of boiling water, as though they were charging up for something massive. If the volcanoes were to erupt and splash molten lava everywhere, where almost all of the mammoth herd was gathered...
The golden mammoth's injuries quickly vanished, and not a moment too soon.
With an ear-splitting boom, volcanic ash spewed into the air. All eight volcanoes began to erupt, and flaming boulders shot out of their craters.
"No!" Li Feng and the golden mammoth shouted at the same time.
Li Feng transformed into a beam of light and rushed into the air.
"[Light Dragon's Remnants]!" Li Feng marshaled his genetic energy into the form of a large number of white dragons, which crashed against the fiery boulders and caused them to explode like fireworks.
The golden mammoth rushed to the herd. "Are all of you alright?"
When the other mammoths saw him, they cried out in surprise, "The golden mammoth has returned! The golden mammoth's back!"
Some of the mammoths rushed up to it. "Just what's going on? We saw a rain of blood just now, as though the entire world were groaning!"
The golden mammoth cried out, "I'll explain the details later! Pack up—we can't stay here any longer!"
The mammoth herdleader had been compressing and compressing the energy of these volcanoes for many long years, preventing them from causing a disaster. As a result, the volcanoes had accumulated far too much energy than they should have, and even the king of the realm's authority was growing ineffective against them.
With the herdleader's death, that energy was right about to be unleashed on the mammoth herd.
The golden mammoth believed that the reason the mammoth herdleader had been so desperate to find sanctuary for the herd, even to the point of betraying his allies, was to find a new home for the mammoths.
The golden mammoth's thoughts were biased, of course, but it didn't matter. The mammoth herdleader was dead, and the golden mammoth would rather remember him as a leader forced to betray his allies than one blinded by arrogance.
The mammoths asked, "Where's the herdleader? Where is he?"
The golden mammoth shook his head. "The herdleader isn't coming back."
"What? What happened?"
"Did something bad happen to the herdleader?"
"Could the herdleader have deserted us?"
The mammoths began to panic, and the golden mammoth sighed. "The herdleader died in battle!"
"No! Impossible!" one of the mammoths cried out. "The herdleader is the king of the realm, invincible in this world!"
The golden mammoth shouted, "I'll explain it all later! We have to evacuate now—something's wrong with the volcanoes!"
Some of the mammoths seemed very confused. "Pack up? Where to?" contemporary romance
1. The famously brutal nationwide college entrance examination taken by high school students in China.
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