hsntnovel Chapter 18, 3 nodes
Chapter 18, 3 nodes
The grass emitted a mixed scent in the morning light.
The stale smells of dew, grass roots, humus, and bison dung, along with a faint, warm, fresh scent, wafted from under the acacia tree.
Chen Fei pushed his nose in that direction, mentally analyzing the source of the smell.
Sel and Big Head are both under the tree.
But the location is wrong.
The scent of the serpent was mobile and directional, moving from the tree roots toward the eastern edge of the grassland, then stopping, then retreating, then moving again. The rhythm was deliberate; it was not foraging, nor was it patrolling.
Chen Fei stood up and walked towards the acacia tree.
Sel stood on the grass about fifteen meters from the tree roots, his body low, limbs outstretched, weight on his hind legs, and tail held horizontally. His posture was one of stillness and preparation.
Big Head was next to her, trying to replicate the pose.
We've tried our best, but the gap is still significant.
Sel's center of gravity was on his hind legs, with his head resting on his stomach. His whole body resembled a dough ball about to be unfolded, with his four legs slightly braced in four directions, ready to fall in any direction at any moment.
Sel didn't say anything, but simply took a step forward so that Big Head could see the landing point clearly.
When it lands where the grass is sparse, the sound almost disappears.
Big Head looked down at the ground, moved its front paws to the side, and landed on a blade of grass, making a clear, soft rustling sound.
Sel lightly patted his front leg with his paw, not hard, but the meaning was clear.
Big Head raised his paw again, then lowered it to a different spot, and this time it was a little quieter.
Sel took a second step forward.
Chen Fei sat down about twenty meters away from them, taking in the entire scene and starting to analyze it in his mind.
In the wild, lionesses teach their cubs to hunt not by explaining step by step, but by demonstrating and correcting mistakes, without using language.
The lioness will first involve the cubs in the hunt, letting them observe from the sidelines, then have them follow her around, and finally let the cubs try on their own.
The entire process lasted nearly two years, with failures being the main component and successes being a bonus.
What Sel is doing now is the second stage: following the movement and letting the muscles in his head remember the rhythm first, even if his brain hasn't caught up yet.
Chen Fei focused his gaze on Sair's hind legs and began timing.
When she starts, the timing of her back leg pushing off the ground is after her center of gravity has completely shifted forward. It's not synchronous; there's a very short lag. This lag makes the take-off angle lower and the momentum smoother, so that her outline won't be exposed when her body is raised at the moment of take-off.
The first point where the front paws land is about 80% of the body length horizontally from the take-off point. It's not a full extension, but rather a margin left to allow space for the next weight transfer.
The acceleration point is in the third step, not the first or the second. It's in the third step, during the gap when the prey's attention shifts from "Is there danger?" to "Should I run?" The sudden acceleration targets this window of opportunity.
Chen Fei mentally reviewed these three points, then compared them to his previous actions when hunting warthogs.
Getting started is the right thing to do.
The landing point was basically correct.
Accelerating the node is too late.
It wasn't just a half-beat late, it was almost a whole step late.
He had always thought that the problem with his timing of acceleration was his "reaction speed," but now he realized that it wasn't his reaction speed, but that he had chosen the wrong judgment point.
He waits for the prey to start moving, while Sel waits for the prey to start judging.
These are two completely different time windows; the prey begins to judge the situation almost 0.5 seconds earlier than the prey begins to move.
0.5 seconds is a very large number in hunting.
[Host: Chen Fei]
[Identity: Sub-adult male lion]
[Energy Points: 478↑]
Chen Fei mentally noted down the gap, marked the nodes that needed adjustment, and renamed and reorganized the entire positioning framework.
First step: build up momentum, shift the center of gravity backward, choose the landing point, and lower the outline.
The second stage: advance, stride control, sound compression, and breath tightening.
The third node: the judgment window, the moment the prey's attention shifts, accelerates intervention.
Three nodes, a complete framework.
What Sel teaches is not technique, but rhythm.
He gently pressed his right front paw on the grass, feeling the heat flow slightly to the tip of his paw and sensing the pressure feedback transmitted back from the ground.
He wanted to stand up and walk around.
Run this framework on yourself once, get a feel for what the timing of the judgment window is like, and calibrate the acceleration nodes.
The heat flow in the right claw had already reached halfway.
He pushed it back down and sat down again.
Not now.
There were no suitable prey targets on the deserted island for him to complete the entire process, so walking around empty-handed was pointless. Moreover, with Sel and Da Tou nearby, it wasn't a good choice to walk a hunting route that was clearly a step above his current level in front of them.
We'll talk about it when I have the chance to practice on my own.
He completely withdrew the heat and focused his attention back on Sel and Big Head.
Big Head had already reached the fifth step. The first four steps were relatively stable, but at the acceleration point of the fifth step, he chose to take the initiative and attack. Instead of waiting for the prey to make a judgment, he made the judgment himself and then pounced.
It lunges towards the air.
Because they have no prey, they are just moving around.
But Big Head pounced very seriously, slamming its front paws on the grass, followed by its hind legs, completing a full pouncing motion. After landing, it raised its head, looked ahead, found nothing, and then looked back at Sel.
Sel stopped in place for two seconds.
It's not praise, it's scrutiny.
Then she walked over and gently nudged the spot where Big Head's left front paw had landed with her claws, pushing it inwards to indicate that the landing point should be further in.
Big Head looked down at his paws, then at the position where Sel had pushed, and moved his paws a little further in.
Sel loosened his grip, took two steps back, and gestured for him to start over.
Big Head took a deep breath, lowered his body again, let his tail hang down, and began to walk the second time.
This time, the landing point of the fifth step was slightly off-center.
Sel didn't scratch his claws anymore.
Chen Fei watched from the side, mentally assessing Da Tou's progress.
From yesterday's attempt to anticipate the air's movement to today's following the lead of the airborne forces, the difference is noticeable. It's not a large difference, but rather a gradual narrowing of the gap in the details.
This speed is considered fast within the normal growth rhythm of lion cubs. Da Tou's instinctive reactions are not bad, but what he lacks is the ability to transform his instinctive reactions into technical actions.
It will take time, but we're heading in the right direction.
Just as he was about to look away, during a break from teaching, Sel turned to the side and began to groom the left side of his mane with his tongue, head down, his movements focused.
Da Tou immediately took this gap as a rest period, quietly moved half a step to the side, then another half step, and slowly laid his body on the grass.
Without even raising its head, Sel slapped to the side with its paw, landing precisely on Big Head's hind leg.
Big Head froze halfway, his four legs in a strange half-squatting position, his face with an innocent expression that said, "I'm just adjusting my posture."
Sel retracted his paw and continued grooming.
Big Head stood up again, sighed, rearranged his stance, lowered his tail, and looked resigned.
Chen Fei turned his gaze back and glanced at the mound.
The morning light had fully spread, pressing the grass on the isolated island into a layer of light gold.
He stood up, intending to walk towards the mound, to routinely experience the atmosphere on the other side of the river.
Halfway there, something suddenly flashed through his mind, without any apparent reason.
When Meimei comes back, she should understand this movement strategy immediately.
He didn't know where the idea came from, nor did he think about it deeply, and continued walking towards the mound.
On the top of the mound, the wind blew from the direction of the old territory.
The scent of dark brown mane was nearly 30% stronger than yesterday, and its location had moved from the edge of the riverbank to the grass less than 50 meters from the riverbank.
[Host: Chen Fei]
[Identity: Sub-adult male lion]
[Energy Points: 483↑]
Seventeen o'clock.
Chen Fei stood atop the mound, carefully reviewing the aura of the old territory, and then mentally reviewed the movement framework once more.
Three nodes.
The building-up position, the advancement position, and the judgment window.
He needs to find opportunities to practice quickly.
The scent of the old territory slowly dissipated in the morning breeze, but its concentration did not decrease; it merely spread, as if something was pushing the distance forward little by little.