Chapter 31 - 31 29 The Underlying Logic of Sheep Herding

31: Chapter 29: The Underlying Logic of Sheep Herding 31: Chapter 29: The Underlying Logic of Sheep Herding Hu— Hu— Hu! While running, Xiao Jie adjusted his breathing, and it had already been twelve minutes. Today, his endurance had undoubtedly improved a lot compared to yesterday when he could only run for a few minutes before gasping for breath. The effect of the attribute points added in the afternoon was immediately noticeable, with changes felt by the evening. He could feel that his physical condition had improved all-around. Although the increase in each item was not large, the overall feeling was very apparent. Unfortunately, there is a limit to how much human physical condition can be trained, and it becomes harder to advance further. The fact that his basic attributes were below average was probably due to his lack of training. If he could have trained for a few months first, he might have been able to increase his Constitution, Strength, and Endurance by a point or two. With additional points, it would be much more cost-effective, and he might even break through the limits of ordinary humans. But there was no way around it; he couldn’t just not add points while in the game. So that was only a wishful thought. However, it wasn’t a big deal. No matter how much one trained in reality, increasing by a point or two was already challenging; increasing by three or four points would likely require a lot of training and time. In the game, however, just advancing one or two levels and acquiring attribute points could enhance his physical attributes comprehensively. It was no wonder so many people were willing to risk their lives to continue playing this game. The sensation of rapidly becoming stronger was truly captivating. He needed to achieve Satori in Beast Taming Skill quickly. With a pet, he would be relatively safe to venture out of the village to kill monsters and level up. Just casually advancing to Level 10 or Level 8 would be enough to make him a “Super Human” by merely adding attribute points. Hu— Hu! Xiao Jie finally stopped running; a Stamina of 10 was not enough to let him keep running like a marathon runner. Xiao Jie looked around and realized he had run a full circle around the small hill in the park, coming back to the spot where he had encountered the black cat last night. Oh, it’s that black cat again. He looked into the darkness, where a large black cat with green eyes was lying on the stone steps, curiously watching him. Looking at the cat, a piece of information suddenly appeared in Xiao Jie’s mind— [Cat, a chordate of the Carnivora order, Felidae family, and Felis genus. Cats are small, ranging from blue-gray to brownish-yellow in color, slender in build, with a body length of 0.3-0.5 meters…] Uh… this must be the effect of Beast Knowledge. Strange. Xiao Jie clearly understood that cats usually live in close association with humans, especially the stray cats in cities that mainly survive on food provided by humans and scavenging through trash bins. This place, with no village in the front and no store in the back, why would a cat come here? Also, seeing that it had neither a collar nor a pet ID tag, it was probably a stray cat. However, Xiao Jie didn’t think too much about it; it was just a cat… He waved at the black cat then headed back the way he had come. When he got home, Xiao Jie took a hot shower. He hadn’t exercised this vigorously in a long time, and after sweating profusely, he felt much more relaxed in all his limbs. Sitting in front of the computer, drinking iced cola, Xiao Jie reviewed his gains for the day. Today’s gains were indeed significant. He had obtained a Magic Artifact, earned two hundred Wen coins, gained Beast Knowledge, and improved his reputation in Ginkgo Village. Unfortunately, he did not achieve Satori, which was his biggest regret. He had only five days left; he had to make the best of it. Shepherding had seemed simple at first, but it now appeared it would be better to ask someone. Thus, Xiao Jie logged into the “Endless Sea of Consciousness” forum again. He posted a help request in the Daily Problem Solving section, offering a reward of 100 yuan. [Consultation: Does anyone know any tricks to shepherding? If I had fifty sheep, how could I manage them most efficiently to ensure none would get lost, preferably involving fundamental underlying principles?] Quickly, responses began to pour in below. [Wow, dude, did you run off to the countryside to return to the simple life? Why are you chopping wood and herding sheep?] [What does “basic logic” mean? I’m not well-read and don’t understand, could you explain it to me?] [What basic logic can there be in herding sheep? Just drive the sheep to the pasture, let them graze, and that’s it.] [Actually, there are some techniques to herding sheep too. If you were to talk about basic logic, I’m not sure if this counts—The key to herding is to recognize the leading sheep because sheep are social animals, and every flock has its leader. Generally, the flock follows the leader. If you had to manage them one by one, you’d be exhausted. The simplest way to herd is to find the leader of the flock and just keep an eye on it. As long as the leader is there, the other sheep naturally won’t stray. Even if they move a bit farther away, they’ll come back eventually.] Huh? The leader sheep, I hadn’t noticed that point before. Xiao Jie thought to himself that there really was knowledge in everything; he definitely needed to observe more carefully when herding tomorrow. He still had five days left. If he couldn’t reach a satori tomorrow, he would need to switch tactics quickly, making the most of the remaining buff time to experience as many satoris as possible. Furiously focusing on herding sheep wasn’t a wise choice. The next day, Xiao Jie entered the game bright and early. Eager, he headed to the pens and found Old Yang. Old Yang (Shepherd): “Ah, the young folks today are indeed diligent! Coming so early to take on tasks, come, come, here is the Shepherd Whip, take it, take it, and be careful not to let the sheep stray, if they run off, your pay will be docked.” Xiao Jie drove the flock to the pasture. This time, he didn’t pay much attention to the energetic sheep but instead searched for the leader among the flock. He looked at them one by one, observing their sizes and features. Upon closely observing, he indeed noticed some details. It was clear that the flock was divided between rams and ewes; the rams had larger horns and were slightly bigger in size, whereas the ewes had more delicate horns. Moreover, the lambs liked to stay around the ewes, but the ewes were all following a robust-looking ram. A dozen ewes, a dozen lambs, and this robust ram formed a whole, while the other rams were scattered around the edges of the flock. Yes, this robust ram must be the leader. Xiao Jie looked at the distribution of the flock, and what had been a messy scene suddenly became clear and organized. Only a trial would reveal whether the answers he found online were effective. This time, Xiao Jie did not frequently drive the flock; he let the rams that had eaten their fill wander around the edges. Some even strayed to the edge of the hillside. But to his surprise, these goats didn’t continue to wander off; as soon as they heard the leader’s call, they hurriedly returned to the vicinity of the flock. Thus, the flock gathered and scattered. While it looked chaotic, no sheep truly got lost. Each time he needed to drive the flock, the sheep would gather around the leader and move together. Xiao Jie finally relaxed; herding had become much simpler, entirely eliminating the need for constant driving and moving. He only needed to keep an eye on the leader’s position. At times, when the nearby grass was nearly grazed clean, the leader would “baa” and lead the flock to a new pasture all by itself, needing no action on Xiao Jie’s part. This work of herding was practically an idle task; he only had to watch from the side. An hour quickly passed, and in the latter half, Xiao Jie barely had to move. When the time came, the system’s prompt finally sounded. [System Alert: Your ‘Enlightenment’ state has been triggered; you have achieved a ‘Satori’!] He had finally succeeded! Xiao Jie was overjoyed; perhaps this satori was about Beast Taming Skill! He clicked on the golden icon at the center of the screen.