The backyard had been transformed into a hunting ground. Yan Chi was surprised for a moment, but then readily accepted it. Sethia kept small animals for only one reason: to provide him with food. He would never have the leisure to tend a garden.
Sethia jumped onto a branch, his azure eyes scanning every blade of grass and tree, taking in every subtle sound of the nearby animals running around.
In a very short time, Sethia had a clear idea of what food was available nearby. He jumped down from the tree and excitedly ran to Yan Chi's side. "Teacher, are you hungry? Let me tell you, there's so much food here! There's a kind of red chicken with very tender meat; it's best roasted. Shall I go catch one for you?"
Sethia swallowed, looking at Yan Chi expectantly.
Yan Chi ruffled his hair, exposing his lie, "You want to eat that, don't you?"
Sethia showed no embarrassment at being caught. "I can grab two, one for you and one for me."
It seemed Sethia's real purpose for coming here was to have a big meal. Yan Chi reminded him, "Aren't you going to find your dad?"
"My dad?" Sethia looked around in a panic, only relaxing when he didn't see his father. "Teacher, you scared me to death! I thought my dad was here. He can eat several days' worth of food for both of us in one go. I hope he doesn't come and steal our food."
Sethia's disdain for his father was obvious. Yan Chi looked at him, pursing his lips, and found it amusing. "Has your dad ever stolen your food?"
"He steals from me every day!" Sethia complained. "I'm always hungry when I'm with him, and I'm always starving after coming to school. I have to raise my own chicks to eat."
A chick that's the size of a calf? The two chickens, which ate half a bag of his feed each time, were almost too big for Yan Chi's yard.
Shen Mingsu clearly also had a problem with the chickens, and sneered, "You use the cafeteria's rice to feed your chickens, and I'm already being lenient by not charging you. And you dare complain?"
Sethia was terrified of Shen Mingsu. He looked at Shen Mingsu with a pitiful expression, hid behind Yan Chi, clung to Yan Chi's arm, and said dejectedly, "But I'm hungry..."
Xing Zhinan expressed understanding, "After all, a half-grown boy can eat his father out of house and home; you can't blame the kid."
Shen Mingsu: "Then pay for him."
Xing Zhinan's expression instantly changed: "...Actually, I'm not close to his father. Sethia, you should lose weight too."
"Huh? Am I that fat?" Sethia's pupils dilated in shock. He pinched his chubby cheeks, deeply dismayed. "Teacher... am I really that fat?"
Sethia had a baby face, and seeing his pitiful look at him, Yan Chi's heart melted. He gave Shen Mingsu and Xing Zhinan a threatening glance, then comforted Sethia, "No, you're perfect just the way you are."
Sethia unconditionally believed Yan Chi, and his mood instantly brightened. "Then I'll go catch some wild boars to roast."
Wasn't he just lamenting his figure a second ago? How come he's going to eat the next second? Yan Chi marveled at Sethia's resilient spirit; no wonder he was always so happy.
Sethia knew Yan Chi and the others had come on serious business. Before setting off to hunt, he said to Yan Chi, "Teacher, you don't need to wait for me. I'll catch a wild boar. I'll come find you after I've roasted the meat."
Yan Chi thought for a moment, "Okay, then be careful."
Sethia excitedly plunged into the depths of the jungle. Yan Chi watched him leave and asked Shen Mingsu and Xing Zhinan, "Where are we going to find [I] now?"
"Are you sure [I] is devouring this world?" Shen Mingsu carefully sensed it, frowning. "But I didn't detect any signs of spatial rupture."
Xing Zhinan looked up at the pristine blue sky. "Because it secretly hid itself."
"It discovered me. Faced with an existence of equal power, it probably worried I would harm Yan Qingyuan, so it concealed its aura and chose to develop in secret."
Yan Chi was shocked by the intelligence of this world. "Does [I] have its own thoughts?"
Xing Zhinan smiled. "Not thoughts, protecting Yan Qingyuan is just its instinct."
"Then how do we find it?"
"That's when we'll rely on your two little plants." Xing Zhinan pointed to the small flowerpots in his hand, the little rabbits curiously perched on the edge of the pots watching him.
Following Xing Zhinan's instructions, Yan Chi gently placed the rabbits and mushrooms on the ground. They chose a spot for themselves and took root.
A gentle breeze occasionally rustled the leaves, and tender buds, hidden beneath layers of fallen leaves, stretched towards the sunlight. A half-meter-long dragonfly landed on the ground, and a vine, waiting for its chance, suddenly struck, coiling around the struggling dragonfly, its sharp teeth tearing at it.
After finishing one dragonfly, the vine clung to the tree trunk again, waiting for its next prey.
“Delicious, I like it!” the little mushroom shook its head. “Teacher, I like it here.”
Yan Chi squatted down beside it. “What are you eating? Rotten leaves?”
The little mushroom replied, “It’s a dragonfly! It’s crunchy and smells like grass.”
“A dragonfly? Where did that dragonfly come from?”
Yan Chi asked in confusion, he had never seen a dragonfly appear beside him, nor had he seen the little mushroom eat one.
Shen Mingsu squatted down beside Yan Chi, looking at the little mushroom and the little rabbit on the ground. "Can you control all the plants in this area now?"
The little mushroom: "Sure."
The little rabbits, holding a grudge, ignored Shen Mingsu.
Shen Mingsu patted Yan Chi's shoulder, and the two stood up and walked to the side.
Shen Mingsu explained to Yan Chi, "The plants that Ahui cultivates have absolute control over other plants. [No Man's Land] is a world of plants and animals, and plants are everywhere, so we can know [I]'s location through them."
Yan Chi was surprised that these two seemingly harmless little creatures possessed such power and asked curiously, "What about Ahui? What kind of being is she?"
Shen Mingsu smiled, "She and her mother are the absolute rulers of the plant world."
Yan Chi: "..."
Okay, so there's no such thing as "very strong," only "stronger."
Shen Mingsu was well aware of his standing with the little rabbits. He looked up at Yan Chi, "Then we can only rely on you now. After all, they don't even want to talk to me."
Yan Chi noticed his sullen expression when talking about the pink mushrooms and the little rabbits. He couldn't help but chuckle, thinking that even the usually omnipotent Shen Mingsu had things he couldn't handle.
“Be a little more patient with them.” Yan Chi approached them, speaking softly, “Little guys, can you do us a favor?”
The pink mushroom nodded its cap, “Mmm!”
“The rabbits can help too!”
“Yes, yes, we can all help.”
“We’ll do whatever the teacher says, we’re very good.”
“…”
Listening to the little rabbits chattering away, Yan Chi’s eyes crinkled with amusement. He patted each of their little heads, “Then can you help me find out where in this world is being devoured?”
The pink mushroom and the little rabbits all nodded, then whispered amongst themselves, the plants silently communicating, sharing the information they already knew.
“Found it!” the little rabbits said first, “On the side where the sun rises, many grasses and trees have died, but no one knows how they died.”
The three of them exchanged glances. It seemed that the [I] erosion site was in the east.
The little rabbits crawled out of the soil and obediently planted themselves in small flowerpots. The little mushroom, after being wiped clean by Yan Chi with a tissue, hopped onto Shen Mingsu's shoulder.
They walked together towards the east.
This world wasn't just teeming with plants; the animals were several times larger than Yan Chi had ever imagined. He saw a pheasant the size of an ostrich snatch a centipede the length of an arm in its beak, chewing it piece by piece and swallowing it.
The centipede struggled violently with every leg, but it couldn't escape its fate of being eaten. After the pheasant had eaten its fill, it flapped its wings and plunged into the grass.
A nearly twenty-meter-long python had been lying in wait. The moment it approached, it coiled its tail around the pheasant and swallowed it whole, bit by bit.
In just a few seconds, Yan Chi witnessed a complete food chain, and he was utterly amazed.
As they walked further east, the trees became increasingly sparse, and the land grew ever more barren and desolate. The exposed earth cracked under the sun, the carcasses of unidentified animals had turned to bones, and the once-common birdsong had long since vanished.
Yan Chi's heart sank. He surveyed the surrounding landscape, feeling as if he had reached the end of the world.
Less than a hundred meters ahead, the lush green grass abruptly ended, replaced by withered weeds swaying on the cracked ground. A little further on was a bottomless abyss, with boulders tumbling down without a sound.
At the boundary between the green grass and the wasteland, Xing Zhinan stretched out his hand, ripples appearing beneath his palm, as if a giant water sphere was blocking their path.
"Hiss!" Xing Zhinan abruptly withdrew his hand. Striking blood flowed from the gruesome wound on his palm, dripping to the ground. He lowered his gaze to the wound, his brow furrowing. Seeing this, Yan Chi immediately stepped forward, looking anxiously at his hand. "What happened?"
"I got attacked by this thing," Xing Zhinan said casually. "It's nothing, just a small wound, it'll heal quickly."
"This isn't a small wound..." Yan Chi looked at his gaping, bloody palm and spoke gravely, but the next second, Xing Zhinan's wound healed at a speed visible to the naked eye. Xing Zhinan smiled and showed him his unharmed hand. "See? It's healed."
Seeing this, Yan Chi relaxed, but then he caught a glimpse of Shen Mingsu extending his hand. His heart tightened, and he quickly grabbed Shen Mingsu's arm, saying somewhat angrily, "You'll get hurt!"
Shen Mingsu reassured him, "It's okay, I was just trying."
"No!" Yan Chi's attitude was firm. He still felt lingering fear at the thought of Xing Zhinan's bloodied hand and refused to let Shen Mingsu touch it. "If you want to try, I will."
Shen Mingsu was even more worried. "Wait..."
"Didn't you say it wouldn't hurt me?" Yan Chi interrupted him, taking a deep breath, unsure whether to comfort Shen Mingsu or himself. "It will definitely be alright."
Seeing the young couple making such a big fuss over something so trivial, Xing Zhinan was speechless for a moment. "It will definitely be alright. Even if it chopped up Shen Mingsu, it wouldn't touch a single hair on your head."
Yan Chi tentatively reached out, slowly groping, when he suddenly touched a soft membrane. His fingers curled slightly before pressing against it again.
Shen Mingsu stood nervously by, constantly alert to any sudden changes, only relaxing when Yan Chi told him it was alright.
This transparent membrane was remarkably docile and harmless under Yan Chi's hand. Not only did it not attack, but it even pressed against him warmly as his hand withdrew. Moreover, Yan Chi felt an invisible hand gently pinch his cheek.
Very light, very gentle.
Yan Chi was stunned, his gaze darting around uncomfortably. [I] felt it wasn't intimate enough and lightly pressed against him again.
Yan Chi's cheeks flushed. He remembered his purpose in coming to this world and said shyly, "You...can you leave here?"
[I] didn't respond, but squeezed his hand.
"There are still many living beings in this world. If you continue to devour them, they will all die." Yan Chi asked it again, "Is it alright? Leave here."
A few seconds later, Yan Chi saw the area that was originally grassland gradually expand, eventually becoming barren. He knew that [I] was leaving voluntarily.
Xing Zhinan spoke up, "Wait, Xiao Chi, have it let us into its world first. I need to check on Yan Qingyuan's condition."
Upon hearing this, Yan Chi hurriedly took a few steps forward. "Can we go see...see dad?"
[I] had been closed off from the outside world for decades. Unless it wanted to, no one could enter the interior of this world.
[I] still didn't respond. Yan Chi tentatively took two steps into the membrane. He felt as if he were wrapped in a layer of soft cotton, but he couldn't take another step.
Yan Chi was gently pushed out, and then his hand was gently grasped by [I], pointing towards Shen Mingsu and Xing Zhinan.
Shen Mingsu raised an eyebrow. "Does this mean we can both go in?"
Yan Chi gave a thumbs-up and quickly explained, "...That's probably what it means."
After saying that, Yan Chi looked a little disappointed, his shoulders slumping slightly.
Why wouldn't he be allowed in?
Xing Zhinan and Shen Mingsu exchanged a glance. Since [I] wouldn't let Yan Chi enter the world, there must be a reason. Shen Mingsu took Yan Chi's hand and led him to the side, bending down to eye level with him. "Wait for us outside, okay?"
Yan Chi lowered his eyes dejectedly, his face clearly unhappy.
Shen Mingsu kissed his brow again, pulled him into his arms, and patted his back like he was comforting a child. "I promise I'll tell you everything I saw in detail, okay?"
Yan Chi finally looked up at him, nodding reluctantly. Shen Mingsu turned back several times, anxiously instructing Yan Chi, "Wait for us here, okay? Don't wander off... You can wander around if you're bored, but don't go too far."
Yan Chi nodded repeatedly, "Okay."
After Shen Mingsu and Xing Zhinan disappeared into [I], Yan Chi walked to the tree, leaned against the trunk, and sat down, staring blankly at the spot where they had left.
Was it because his father didn't like him that he specifically wouldn't let him go in?
Yan Chi was troubled by this thought for a moment, then comforted himself. If his father didn't like him, so be it; he didn't care if his father liked him.
The pink mushrooms and little rabbits sensed Yan Chi's bad mood and ran to his feet, tilting their little heads up to look at him. One of the mushrooms rubbed against his trouser leg, "Don't...don't be sad."
The little rabbits also brought him their most beautiful flowers to comfort him.
Yan Chi took a deep breath, putting his worries aside. He wanted to change his focus, and looking at the little creatures, a sudden idea struck him. "I'll teach you to read."
The pink mushrooms and little rabbits: "...?"
They don't even have hands, and they still need to learn?
Yan Chi's professional instincts kicked in, and he immediately put his plan into action. He went to a branch and began writing on the ground, "Come on, our first lesson is pinyin. Follow me and read..."
The pink mushrooms and little rabbits lined up obediently and began to read the pinyin, imitating Yan Chi's pronunciation.
A few minutes later, Yan Chi suddenly heard light footsteps behind him. He turned around and saw three unfamiliar players looking at him with a strange, affectionate gaze.
Yan Chi instinctively shielded his pink mushrooms and little rabbits behind him, warily eyeing the three players. He sized them up; the three players all looked quite young, two men and one woman.
When he saw the young man standing in the middle, Yan Chi was visibly stunned. This...this person looked so much like the celebrity he had a crush on in college!
At the same time, the three players were also scrutinizing Yan Chi.
They had only been in this A-level dungeon for a short time. The system had originally warned them that there were five players in the dungeon, but after the three of them met up, they couldn't find their two companions no matter what they did. All they encountered were deadly beasts and carnivorous plants.
After their chaotic escape, all three were covered in dust and grime, their clothes tattered. Yan Chi, on the other hand, wore a clean apricot-colored hoodie, exuding a clean and gentle aura. He didn't seem like a player desperately trying to escape a dungeon; he looked more like a young master on a country vacation.
Although the three had been some distance away, they had clearly seen their companion squatting on the ground talking to the mushroom and the rabbit, engaging in a lively exchange, as if the mushroom and the rabbit could actually speak and communicate with him.
The three whispered among themselves.
"He seems to be..." The man with the buzz cut on the left tapped his head, saying tactfully, "Is there something wrong with him here?"
The girl on the right nodded in agreement. "Very likely. We just don't know if he went crazy after entering the game, or if the system pulled him out of a mental hospital."
The young man in the middle looked around. "What should we do? Should we take him with us?"
"Take him? But our levels aren't high. What if we don't get him out of the dungeon and we all die here?" The man with the buzz cut looked at Yan Chi with a troubled expression. "Isn't it said that fools are lucky? I think he seems to be doing better than us."
He pointed to his tattered shirt, then glanced at the radiant Yan Chi, feeling even more heartbroken.
The other two also realized the truth.
Yan Chi watched the three whispering, hesitated for a moment, then finally stepped forward and asked the mixed-race youth, "Excuse me, are you Zhuge Yun?"
Zhu Ge Yun was taken aback. "Ah, yes, I am. You know me?"
Yan Chi nodded repeatedly. After all, he was a star he had admired for half a year, and now that he had seen him in person, he couldn't contain his excitement. "Yes, yes! I've seen your performance in 'Old Dreams'! I really like you!"
In "Old Dreams," Zhu Ge Yun played a proud and valiant general, invincible on the battlefield, yet distrusted by the emperor, ultimately dying on the battlefield—a role that brought Yan Chi to tears.
Zhu Ge Yun was shocked. He never imagined his fame had reached the mental hospital!
"Mom! I'm so angry!"
Zhu Ge Yun's lips curled into an uncontrollable smile. He was about to strike a cool pose in front of his fan when he raised his arm and noticed a rip in the fabric under his armpit. Startled, he quickly lowered his arm, glancing nervously at Yan Chi. Only after confirming Yan Chi hadn't seen what happened did he breathe a sigh of relief.
The next second, Zhu Ge Yun straightened up again, raising his chin with an air of nonchalance. "Would you like me to sign your autograph?"
"Huh?" Yan Chi was stunned. He really wanted Zhu Ge Yun's autograph, but based on his understanding, wasn't this guy supposed to be aloof and unapproachable?
Why was he asking him for an autograph?
"Mr. Zhu Ge, you…"
Zhu Ge Yun interrupted him, clarifying, "Wait, my surname isn't Zhuge, it's Zhu."
So his name is… Ge Yun? Yan Chi felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over him; his enthusiasm for meeting his idol in person vanished completely.
Had he encountered a fake?
Comments
Post a Comment