Chapter Eleven: Awakening
Since Animalism enveloped Honey Town, the Pig Throne Building seized control of land, livestock, and industry. The unexpected windfall of Golden Eggs from Flower Village briefly fueled a boom, making outsiders envy this nouveau riche. Bolstered, the Pig Throne Building boasted of guiding the global village.
Pigs and dogs oversaw every sector, even family workshops, imposing “direction.” Supervised parties bore hefty oversight costs, losing autonomy and freedom, yet Golden Eggs propped up the system. Some who once resisted Animalism gradually acquiesced, kneeling for Golden Eggs. Animalism spread like a plague, seeping into the global village’s corners.
Golden Eggs’ allure birthed a brash new rich, their voices drowning out pigs and dogs, daring to critique the Pig Throne Building and Animalism. Alarmed, the pigs and dogs feared overthrow, resolving to enslave them to wealth for total control.
Their manipulators rolled out “stimulus plans,” luring tycoons into stock speculation and predatory lending, exploiting greed until they were ruined. Through usury, credit traps, and economic schemes, the manipulators turned people into slaves of cards, mortgages, and car loans. Laden with debt, none dared challenge the Pig Throne Building or Animalism—any misstep meant job loss or bankruptcy.
Honey Farm’s Animalism triumphed in fleecing the new rich. For total dominance, the Pig Throne Building launched a digital currency, tracking all wealth. People tiptoed, afraid even to whisper against the pigs and dogs. This economic iron fist not only siphoned funds but gripped every fate, an invisible claw at each throat.
But when Flower Village’s Golden Hens reverted to broilers, halting Golden Eggs, the pigs’ and dogs’ economy unraveled. Cash flow snapped, industries stalled, factories shuttered, unemployment spiked, markets slumped. The loss gutted the Pig Throne Building, plunging people into misery. All production means belonged to others; homes bought at great cost offered fleeting rights, chaining owners to concrete debt. When real estate crashed, savings turned to deficits, citizens saddled with bank debts, enslaved to pigs and dogs.
This foolish economic gambit let pigs and dogs control all but made the Pig Throne Building the ultimate debtor. As finance collapsed, printing money devalued currency, shifting the Building’s debts onto the masses.
The pigs and dogs lost their luster, their tables sparse. To survive and rule, harvesting human “Golden Eggs”—organs—became their main revenue, escalating this vile trade, blood’s stench permeating the walls.
Honey Town’s people, debt-crushed, faced soaring prices and survival crises, life reverting to famine days. The twist: once starving in thatched huts, patched rags, now they died in mansions, clad in chic attire—a tragic absurdity.
Young people who cannot afford to rent a house sleep on the streets, but often “disappear” before dawn; children who go out alone in the evening may disappear in an instant. The fairy tale of Gray Wolf began to be circulated among the people again. Young people and children did not dare to go out casually because Gray Wolf was almost everywhere.
Accepting one’s fate is equivalent to slow destruction, and some brave people finally broke the silence. Since they were waiting to die anyway, they might as well do it again with a bang. They returned to the lawn square filled with Wolf Warriors and held a rally in protest. However, the square is filled with negative energy, as if cursed by Animalism; protests have never been successful and always end in violence and massacre.
Someone suggested moving the battle to Flower Village. Although it was controlled by high walls, Flower Village still had a positive energy that the devil’s evil energy could not suppress. Citizens gathered in Flower Village, and calls for tearing down the wall arose again. The wind of justice blew from outside the wall and merged with the resistance inside the wall.
The protest in Flower Village spread like wildfire, with a huge crowd and a scale far greater than ever before. The people were not afraid of the Wolf Warrior’s fangs and piggy farts. They held up banners and signs with every word spoken heart-wrenchingly: “We want Golden Hens and Golden Eggs, not piggy farts and farts!” “We want freedom, not animal cages!” “Abandon Animalism and return to human morality!” “We want human character and humanity, not the mark of the beast and animality!” The slogans were like knives, piercing through the silence inside the wall and pointing directly to the evil core of Animalism.
A young man came on stage, his voice hoarse: “Golden Eggs disappeared, and our whole town is unemployed! Honey Town has returned to the famine when the wall was built, and it’s even worse than then! We have been deprived of even the hope of survival!”
The middle-aged man took the microphone and said angrily, “We can’t pay our mortgage, the bank took our house away, and we are still in debt! This is not a home, it’s a cage!”
An old man trembled and said, “Our pension is gone, and we can’t withdraw our bank deposits. We can’t survive! This is forcing us to die!”
Zhao Pig Farmer took the stage, his face full of vicissitudes, his voice choked with sobs: “I am a member of the Zhao family. My son Zhao Qing is a veterinarian. He saw with his own eyes that they use the organs of believers to sell for money. One day, his fiancée became a forced organ donor! Zhao Qing rescued her and escaped from the high wall, but he broke his leg. After being sent to the hospital for bandaging, the doctor said that his condition was very serious and he might be “brain dead”! How can a foot injury cause brain death? What kind of nonsense is this! I know what they want to do. My son’s life is hanging by a thread. Please speak up and rescue Zhao Qing.”
An old lady burst into tears: “My daughter is missing! They said it was a ‘legal disappearance’. They also took out the ‘Golden Eggs Ordinance’, saying that she had legally donated human Golden Eggs and died legally! These inhuman beasts killed my daughter just like that!”
An old man shouted angrily: “My son who is in college is also missing! They said he was needed by an official because his blood type matched that of a certain official! Is this human language? The devil is in power, worse than beasts!”
The audience was excited and talked about the tragedy of the disappearances, with grief and anger surging like a tide. A middle-aged Christian came to the stage and said solemnly, “A few years ago, I was detained by them because I did not believe in Animalism. One day, they pushed me onto the operating table and removed part of my liver while I was still alive!” As he spoke, he showed a surgical wound on his stomach.
There was a cry of surprise from the audience, followed by a thunderous roar: “Down with Xi Gua! Down with Animalism!”
A white-haired old man slowly took the stage, speaking in a sad tone: “We once thought they would change for the better and have human virtues. We warned and advised them time and time again, but we forgot that they are not human, but beasts and demons! Poison will always be poison, they will never have humanity, and will never solve the crisis humanely! Don’t expect them to change for the better, the only way out is to overthrow them!”
“Down with Xi Gua! Down with Animalism!” The roar from the audience was deafening, and the sound waves reached the sky. The righteousness of Flower Village is like a raging flame, burning away the darkness within the walls. The global village outside the wall responded by expressing support in an overwhelming manner, and the determination to push down the wall became a torrent.
Xi Gua’s empire is on the verge of collapse. It seems that it has a sure win, but in fact it has become a spent force. The awakening power of the global village is quietly gathering, and the collapse of the high walls is only a matter of time. The judgment of history will put an end to this absurd Animalism.
The animals of Honey Farm swiftly caught wind of Flower Village’s protests, gathering in a circle, buzzing with debate over whether to join the humans’ cause.
Long oppressed by the pigs’ and dogs’ tyranny, they were weary to the bone, clamoring to back the humans and shatter Animalism’s chains.
Milk Cow, swishing her tail, fumed, “Since we ousted Mr. Stone, life’s only gotten worse! My milk’s all taken by pigs and dogs to trade for booze!”
Donkey sighed, “We thought ruling ourselves would bring better days, but we eat less, work harder, and endure the pigs’ and dogs’ endless boasts of their greatness!”
Horse, voice low, said, “My mother, Old Horse, said on her deathbed: Animalism’s a dead end. Our future depends on us—and beware those four-legged shape-shifters!”
Sheep bleated, “My kin, Head Sheep, said Animalism’s a scam. It’s up to the next generation to topple it!”
A duck quacked, “The pigs promised we fowl would fly—yet not one of us has taken wing!”
A rabbit hopped, “Moses once warned: watch for things falling from the sky—it might signal their downfall!”
As if on cue, a thunderclap split the clear sky. The animals looked up, stunned, as a pigeon plummeted, crashing with a thud, twitching, then morphing into a black crow.
The crow gasped, “Save me! I’m Messenger Pigeon!”
Sheep tilted its head, “How’s Messenger Pigeon a crow?”
The crow wheezed, “I was a crow—lightning struck, revealing my true form. Ow, my tail’s singed!”
Donkey snorted, “Crow! Had I known, I’d never have bought your Animalism lies!”
Moses swooped in, and the crow pleaded, “Moses, use your magic to save me!”
Moses flapped leisurely, “Struck by lightning on a clear day, unmasked—that’s divine wrath! I can’t help.” Perching on Milk Cow’s back, he added, “Years ago, a wizard swapped my dove form for your crow guise. Now you’re exposed, I’m free!” With a shake, Moses transformed into a snow-white dove, feathers glinting gold, dazzling the animals. He soared into the blue, vanishing amid clouds.
“Look, the crow’s dead!” Tuxedo Cat darted over, pawing the motionless bird, its charred feathers reeking. Sheep shouted, “Messenger Pigeon duped us! Animalism’s a grand hoax!” The animals surged with outrage, the air electric.
Milk Cow glared, “I’ve seen the wizard give pigs and dogs Painted Skin! In that guise, they look grand, but rip it off, and humans see their true faces—fat-eared, stinking!”
Donkey stomped, “I saw it too! The wizard said the skin’s weak spot is the tail—one tug, and they’re exposed!”
Rabbit leaped, “Their tails can’t hide anymore! Come, kin, march on four legs—tear off their Painted Skin!”
Sheep led, chanting, “Four legs good, two legs bad!”
Fowl protested instantly. A duck quacked, “There it goes again!” Sheep, sheepish, muttered, “Sorry, old habit—I’ll fix it!”
A rat scurried from the grass, waving a charred feather, whispering, “I heard the pigs and dogs plan a secret meeting tonight, hiring a new wizard for thicker Painted Skin!”
Horse snorted, “More skins? We’ll strike first, yank their tails!” Tuxedo Cat licked a paw, smirking, “I’ll sneak into the Pig Throne Building, eavesdrop, and nab some wine and snacks—I’m starving!”
Horse and Donkey cleared a path, Milk Cow and Sheep hoisted a banner—“Tear Off Painted Skin, Restore Our Honey!”—as doves circled in support. An old duck waddled, quacking, “Comrades, we’ll rally the humans—tonight, we’ll show the pigs and dogs who truly owns this farm!”
The rat chirped, “I’m in!” and tried climbing Tuxedo Cat’s back. The cat arched, tossing it off, scolding, “I spared you for repenting and stealing no more human food, letting you play with us. Don’t push it—rats and cats don’t mix!” Chastened, the rat trailed meekly behind.
The chicks, learning species boundaries despite their cat-fostered youth, kept their distance, chirping as they followed. The rooster and hen lagged, the rooster crowing, “Cock-a-doodle-doo!” as a clarion call.
The old duck flapped, leading a revised Song of Animal Farm, the animals’ voices rising in fervent harmony:
Deceived by Animalism’s empty creed,
Hear the prophecy of a radiant deed!
The day will dawn, the hour is near,
When human-mimicking beasts shall disappear,
When farm-thieving beasts shall cease to reign,
The earth, a shared haven, shall bloom again!
(Cow) I’ll toil for humans, faithful and true,
Moo, moo, moo…
(Horse) I’ll bear humans, galloping anew,
Snort, snort, snort…
(Sheep) Let whips fall lightly, my burden to bear,
Baa, baa, baa…
No longer craving human feasts so grand,
We’ll hold our place, content to stand—
Hay, oats, beans, and beets our fare,
Let new sun’s light bless our farm so fair!
Born for humans, we’ll die for their call,
A brighter future awaits us all!
(Duck) Oh, oh, oh…
(Chicken) Cluck, cluck…
(Duck) Quack, quack, quack…
(Dove) Coo, coo, coo…
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(End of Part 1)
9/18/2024
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