A strange life trajectory, a strange way of development. Kevin felt like he'd been experiencing a surprising amount of strange things lately. From the real world to the dream plane, nothing had ever followed the usual script.
He was currently riding a giant black wolf, nearly a man's height, galloping across a mysterious prairie at lightning speed. Above him were two bright white moons and an unfamiliar, brilliant river in the sky. In the distance lay a horizon that didn't belong to Earth. Wild grasses of unknown worlds swished by his side. The night wind blew, and the vastness of the world evoked a sense of vastness and mystery. Kevin himself felt that the thought of a visitor from another world riding across the prairie on the back of a wolf was at least a dozen plus points in his own right. If only he weren't wearing pajamas...
A fierce, freezing wind lashed at him. Had Kevin been in his former physique, he would have been knocked unconscious by now, possibly frozen to death. But he was a different person now. If not a superman, he was at least a superhuman. The low temperature was nothing to him. He instinctively tightened his clothes with his free hand, and with his other hand, he grasped the black, stiff hair on the back of the wolf king's neck. He shouted at the top of his lungs over the gale, "I say... just how big is this grassland?"
"Very big, very big!" the wolf king's voice was equally resonant. "I don't know how you humans calculate, but my pack and I once ran for seven days and seven nights without ever seeing the end of the grassland! I heard there are human communities outside the grassland, but they don't often come here." "This world... I mean, what kind of human kingdom do you know?" Kevin's interest was piqued at the mention of "human kingdom." The mere presence of another human civilization in this dream plane seemed incredible to him, and he longed to know what the humans of this world were like. "Have you been there? Do you know how to get there?"
"No, it's too dangerous," the wolf king said, slowing his pace slightly, as if to make it easier to talk. "You humans are so cunning, and you kill and eat everything! You've even eaten the earth dragons to extinction. I won't be delivering meat! Aren't you human too? Why are you asking about this?"
"I came from another direction," Kevin said casually. "The world is big!"
The wolf king remained silent, apparently accepting his explanation. Kevin sighed: while these talking behemoths were quite intelligent, they still didn't have the cunning cunning of humans. It seemed the wolf king didn't consider schemes and deceptions, or perhaps he simply didn't bother to consider them. In the wolf king's worldview, anything that didn't interfere with his meat-eating abilities was irrelevant. Even the origins and secrets of Kevin, a "biped," were meaningless to him. The wolf king would simply ask casually and forget about them.
These strange beasts were quite straightforward and carefree. Although Kevin had just fought them, once they confirmed that Kevin wasn't edible and was a stronger fighter than them, the pack seemed to have immediately forgotten the previous battle. Even now, the wolf king let Kevin ride on his back. Although Kevin didn't seem particularly pleased, perhaps fearing Kevin's powerful fist, this was enough to demonstrate their straightforwardness: if you can't eat it, don't mess with it. If you can't beat it, obey it. Those were the two principles.
It might seem a bit spineless, but Kevin had already met Lily, who had even more discredited the wolf pack, so he was quite accepting of this fact and thought this wolf king was quite... endearing.
As the human houses neared, with only minutes to go, Kevin suddenly remembered something: "Oh, by the way, I ran into a pack of wolves here a few days ago. Weren't they from your group?"
"You were here a few days ago?" the wolf king was surprised. "I hadn't seen you before. My pack and I have always lived around here, but you're the only human we've seen in the past thirty-five days and nights."
These wolves also have a sense of time and date. They know that humans use methods like years and months to record dates, but they find these methods awkward, so they prefer to keep track of time by simply counting days and nights. After all, wolves don't have to consider the seasonal farming seasons or historical heritage like humans do. They just need to know when winter arrives, and this way of keeping track of days and nights is sufficient. "You haven't seen me?" Kevin felt such a straightforward guy wouldn't lie. "So are there other wolf packs here?"
"There are a few small, roaming packs. Our territories overlap, and there are areas we can't manage, so it's inevitable that some clueless ones wander off," the wolf king's voice sounded slightly dissatisfied. "Those are dumb idiots. They can't even think. They're even weaker than my own pack, so they can only serve as my vassals. Unfortunately, they're not very obedient vassals."
The wolf king shook his head. "When they're starving, they even come to my territory to steal food. And the only way to communicate with them is with their primitive roars. It's strange! They're both wolves, why are they so stupid?"
Kevin listened intently, but didn't respond. Instead, he silently memorized this peculiar situation.
The Dream Plane still has many unsolved mysteries, but he now knows that there are two types of wolves here: one that can speak and is as intelligent as a human, and the other that looks like a primitive wild animal. There's no difference in appearance between the two types of wolves.
Why is this? Kevin didn't think this was a normal evolutionary outcome, but considering this place was a strange dimension called the Dream Plane, perhaps it wasn't too early to be surprised.
Furthermore, there were traces of human activity on the prairie, and beyond it, there was rumored to be a vast human kingdom (the Wolf King called it a "community"). This strange place...how many more mysteries were waiting to be revealed?
The Wolf King kept his promise and escorted Kevin to the huts. "You've arrived. Now I'm leading my pack away," the wolf king laid Kevin on the ground and stretched. "This is really uncomfortable. This is my first time carrying such a heavy load. If I can beat you, I'll make you carry me the same distance."
"Thanks," Kevin scratched his head, finding the wolf king increasingly amusing. "Maybe we'll meet again. I'll be hanging around here for a while. If you need any help, just let me know."
The wolf king was truly sincere. He nodded immediately upon hearing this, then pointed at a few unfortunate individuals at the back of the group, their mouths covered in blood. "Yes, some of my men have lost their teeth. They won't be able to eat and will starve to death. But our pack won't abandon their companions, so I'm going to allocate a few wolves to prepare edible food for them. Can you help with this?"
Kevin hadn't expected to witness Black Wolf's straightforward side so soon. Sweat dripped from his forehead as he thought for a moment, reaching for the data terminal. "Do you know how to fill teeth?"
"Hehe, this is just a PDA, not Doraemon!" "Well, I know a veterinarian..." Kevin wiped the sweat from his forehead, "and she'd be absolutely happy to see you. If I could get her in here... I mean, bring her here, I'd definitely have her fix these guys' teeth."
"Okay, human, I'll remember your promise," the wolf king nodded. "You humans don't seem to keep your word, so I'll take this as a psychological comfort. Goodbye, and I hope we don't fight next time we meet."
The wolf king said this before leading his pack into a swift run, disappearing into the vast grassland in an instant.
"Psychological comfort..." Kevin muttered, stunned. "...The most ruthless are the truest gentlemen, and the most cunning are the most honest. I've finally experienced that."
The data terminal was shocked: "Wow! You even rhymed it?"
Kevin pulled the data terminal out of his pocket and let it float by his side. Ignoring the data terminal's protests, he walked straight towards the cabin. This was where the grassland nomads once lived. As far as Kevin knew, nomads rarely settled in one place. They moved wherever they could, often building tents or similar simple dwellings for ease of movement. But the huts before him were different. It seemed the people here had different habits and solutions to their problems.
As Kevin placed his hand on the hut's door, the wind on the grassland suddenly grew stronger.