by N. Heller
The sky soon became a midnight blue, adorned with speckles of brilliant stars that twinkled brightly like diamonds in the sky. It looked as if a river of stars would cascade down to the earth there and then. Staring at the night sky, Lin Sanjiu's eyelids grew heavier.
Number 43 had long fallen into a deep slumber. His undulating snore echoed loudly through the sky. Though many indecipherable phenomena currently surrounded them, the magnitude of danger at this place was so much lower than the other. This was because the other group couldn't get down from the soil bridge, so besides from the beetle, nobody could get near them. Also, even if the beetle had come, it would, unquestionably, wake them up so that they could talk to it. When Lin Sanjiu realized how safe they were, she finally gave way and succ.u.mbed to her drowsiness. She closed her eyes and everything swirled into darkness.
She didn't know how long she had passed out. When she jerked up from her sleep, the farmland was quiet under the night sky.
The night had gotten darker. The cicadas had all came out from their nest, utilizing their tymbal and the hollow cavities behind the tymbal, they created their own chorus of sound as if they were running a concert under the moon from a distance.
There was no movement from Number 46's side. It seemed to Lin Sanjiu that like them, Number 46's and his gang had been hypnotized by the god of sleep as well. The moon was half-obscured by a heavy grey cloud. The ray of light that illuminated the earth looked like diluted milk and the inhabitants on the ground could see nothing more than a hazy round shape hanging high in the sky.
Ever since Lin Sanjiu had entered the hole, she had not experienced the hunger pang aside from the moment after getting bitten by the beetle. She felt much more refreshed after she had gotten herself some sleep. After she felt much better, she then rose up to her feet without making any noises.
"Mimic: Ji Shanqing," She whispered. She almost couldn't hear her murmur herself—No, that's not right.
The moment the mimicry was activated, Lin Sanjiu immediately realized that the reason she couldn't hear her voice wasn't because her sound was too low, it was because of a soft, incoherent rumbling coming from the other soil bridge and had clashed with her voice.
The rumbles were so soft that it would dissipate into the wind, yet Lin Sanjiu still caught it.
Initially, she couldn't differentiate what kind of sound it was. The sound persisted until she heard a swosh suddenly rang out as if somebody was tearing something. Judging from the amplitude of the sound, it seemed like it was a tough and tensile object.
Then, the sound that came next opened Lin Sanju's eyes of what was happening on the other soil bridge.
Not only Lin Sanjiu was familiar with that noise, but so was Ji Shanqing.
The first sentence she heard in the hole, Honey Marsh, the dead body of Number 44, the sound from the soil bridge, and the "disharmonious" feeling she felt when she was in the hole... Everything had become relatable and the truth was revealed before her eyes when she put all the threads together. Lin Sanjiu wondered why she couldn't work out such an easy equation.
"What is that sound?"
While she was immersed in her thought, a beseeching voice suddenly rang out.
Lin Sanjiu was startled. As she jumped a few steps back, she swallowed the scream that stuck in her throat. She looked down to see two thin and long antennae had appeared from the edge of the soil bridge. Then, a huge shadow came into her sight.
Luckily, it was dark at night now, so she didn't see the full details on that beetle's face and its thorax. She only saw the reflection on the back of its carapace that glowed under the moonlight.
"Is it hungry already? Ugh, such a binge eater." Lin Sanjiu cursed the beetle inwardly.
Although she couldn't tell the time accurately, she knew that it was roughly three to four o'clock in the afternoon when the beetle bit her. And now, looking at the position of the moon, it was merely 12 hours past sundown.
"Why are you not talking?" The giant beetle smiled as its two antennae waved in the air. The noises from the other soil bridge had quieted down to absolute silence. The person didn't even warn her teammates about the arrival of the beetle. Lin Sanjiu thought that was pretty normal. After all, that person must not dare to utter any sound at this moment.
"Hey, say something. You know, not everybody has the privilege to have me visit them first the moment I show up," The body of the beetle exposed under the moonlight was a scene of nightmares that could make any onlooker to have goosebumps.
Lin Sanjiu kept her mouth shut. As she shook her head, she pointed to the soil bridge in front of her.
"What do you mean by that?" the beetle had lowered its voice and the rustle became stronger, "...Oh, you want me to talk to them first?"
Lin Sanjiu nodded. She already knew the strategy used by Number 46, so if they could use up their chance to talk to beetle before she deployed her tactic, she had around 80 to 90 percent confidence that she could convince the beetle to change its target onto them.
"Oh, I'm sorry, but I can't do that. I fed on you last time, so according to the rule, I have to talk to you first… I can't make an exception even though it's a request from a beautiful lady," The beetle gave no leeway to other options. It rested its several hair-raising tarsi on the wall, "So, who'll go first?"
Lin Sanjiu couldn't say a word now. She quickly moved toward Number 43 and kicked him up from his sweet slumber. The latter jerked up, and when he saw the giant beetle, the drowsiness on his face disappeared instantly without any traces.
Lin Sanjiu sighed when she saw Number 43's expression.
"I'll go first," When she was talking, she tried not to let Number 43 see her expression now by facing away from him, "... I was unprepared during your last visit. I only remember I had something important to ask after you have left."
"Oh? What is it?" The beetle seemed to be interested.
"I don't understand Harry," Lin Sanjiu grumbled, "... He is not a good farmer. The land is infertile and as a plant, the nutrients we can absorb is limited. I still haven't recovered completely since you have bitten me. As such, I'm not that fresh now… I guess you want us seedlings to grow well too, right?"
The beetle didn't say anything but only waved its antennae. Seeing that a yes-I-agree-with-you look graced upon the beetle's humanoid face, she then moved on to apply her next move, "So Mr. Beetle, can you help me search the farm for the nutrient boost serum that Harry store around?"
"Nutrient boost serum?" The beetle was startled by what Lin Sanjiu had said. Even Number 43, who was standing at her back, gasped in surprise.
"Yes… Harry has it. He said he would give to the seedlings that performed well. I don't know which seedling among us have gotten the serum. They won't tell me even if I asked, and I can't wait any longer anymore. If you can bring me some nutrient boost serum, I'll allow you to bite me. Is that a deal?"
"Wait, hold on," The beetle swung its multiple tarsi dramatically in the air, "Wait… wait, wait, wait, wait, even if you wanted me to bring you the serum, I don't know what form does the serum takes. Besides, I'm good as dead if Harry spotted me!"
Using her palms to cover her face, Lin Sanjiu concealed her smirk behind her hand. When she spoke again, her voice sounded even more eager, "Please, I beg you! If you don't help me, I won't be able to make it through even if you choose not to bite me… Harry keeps the serum in a glass vial. It's green in color since it's for plant use, and we just need to apply it directly to our skin—"
"Ah, one minute is up," The beetle seemed reluctant to end their conversation but it had no choice. It then turned to Number 43, "Now is your turn."
Number 43 still had a perplexed look on his face as his gaze darted between Lin Sanjiu and the beetle. Lin Sanjiu had never known she could squeeze so many expressions onto her at once. She couldn't speak, so she could only send the signal to Number 43 through various other ways like wincing her nose, winking her eyes, raising her brows and so on. When Number 43 finally uttered an "ow" as if
he had seen the light, the rock in Lin Sanjiu heart finally dropped.
"Oh yeah! The serum. Alright," Number 43 said as he wiped off the sweat that oozed out from his forehead, "You see, I have taken off my shoes, I'm a plant in poor condition as well… that serum is the only thing that could save our life! The vial is around this big—"
He used his finger to gauge the size of the vial roughly and said, "You should see a green label on it. The label has a line about something like this: after the application of the magic serum, the plant will absorb more nutrients and become healthier and stronger."
The beetle fell into silence for a moment; nobody knew what was it thinking. After that, it asked in a morose voice, "... I have seen one of these before, but that wasn't a nutrient boost serum as you guys have claimed."
Hearing this, Lin Sanjiu faced Number 43 and made a few actions as if she was gasping for air. She also pointed to her nose. At first, Number 43 had no idea what was she doing until then, everything clicked. He smacked on his t.h.i.g.h as he said, "That thing you have seen, is the smell very strong? If yes then that's the one. The serum indeed has an obnoxious smell since it is Harry's possession. He wanted not only to nourish the plant, but at the same time repel the pest as well."
"How dare they lie to me!"
The beetle screamed as it spread its two scaly wings. The people on the other soil bridge was aroused awake, and then they only realized the beetle had come. As they became nervous at the arrival of the beetle, Number 43 had finished his talking with the beetle. The time was up, and the beetle turned away, flying toward the soil bridge without any scruples.
Both their hearts were in their throat. They immediately darted toward the edge and opened their ears.
A heated exchange instantly took off. The first person to talk was Number 46 who was the first person to realize something was wrong. Nevertheless, he still managed to lower down his voice despite his apprehension. Lin Sanjiu and Number 43 couldn't hear a thing no matter how hard they tried to hear.
"Do you think Number 46 can turn the tide around?" Number 43 asked. There was a hint of trepidation in his voice.
"I'm not sure; I have tried my best," Lin Sanjiu sighed, "I have mentioned to the beetle that they won't admit it even though they have applied the nutrient serum. Also, the description you gave was superb… So I would say, let's leave the rest to God. If I'm not wrong, the next person to get bitten should be Number 45."
Chapter 435 - Perverseness Is The Grand Prize’s Specialty
As a sharp female voice rang out from the soil bridge, a large shadow spread its wings and flew into the sky.
The scream lasted for half a second as it was nipped off by a thumping sound. Only the echo was left resonating through the shades of night.
Then, a murmur of whispers came from the dark. Lin Sanjiu sighed as she slumped to the ground, deactivating her [Consciousness Mimicry].
"It's true! Number 45 has been bitten!" Number 43 darted a glance at them and crouched down. His eyes under his bandana were large, "How did you know it would be her?"
Lin Sanjiu didn't respond; instead, she asked a question which was unrelated to the topic they were engaging in, "Can you remember the size of the soil chunk that you accidentally kicked in the chamber?"
"The size?" The question stupefied Number 43. However, he still searched through his mind and reached out to outline the size of around half his body, "I didn't see it clearly, but it's around this size. There were still many small chunks of soil, so I would say it is a lot."
"So much soil fell, and you only saw a leg? Don't you find it weird?" Lin Sanjiu shot a rhetorical question in reply.
Number 43 blinked as if he didn't know what she was saying at first. Then, when the scale finally dropped from his eyes, his forehead was already filled with cold sweat.
"Err, I didn't overthink that time… I thought he was buried vertically…" replied Number 43. He looked at Lin Sanjiu and continued, "N-no way, that makes no sense."
"Nothing is impossible. Number 44 was indeed buried after being dismembered. I guess there are other larger body parts in the soil aside from the leg you saw," Lin Sanjiu replied matter-of-factly. She then turned her head to a direction and continued, "I'm not sure whether Number 46 is aware of this, but parts of Number 44 should be in Number 45's hand now."
"What?" Number 43 shouted, his voice thick with surprise, "Why would she do that?"
"Simple," Lin Sanjiu sat on the ground, feeling the warmth of the ground that baked by the summer sun resonated from her feet, "...Because human flesh is a source of energy as well."
"Just like the duoluozhong of this world?" Number 43's face turned pale, "She keeps Number 44's flesh just to eat?"
"Not like the duoluozhong . Number 45 is a duoluozhong . I sensed something before this, and when I looked back on my memory, I realized that my suspicion isn't entirely groundless," Lin Sanjiu paused as her eyebrows were knitted together.
The two times she sensed the "disharmonious" feeling was after somebody mentioned "posthuman" or "Special Item." As a native duoluozhong , those two things were something they had never heard of, so it was natural that they found them weird. Hence, each of her micro-actions, her eye movements, or even a quirk at the corner of her lips couldn't escape Lin Sanjiu's eyes.
"Did you tell her that you came from Honey Marsh?" Lin Sanjiu asked again, "I have asked her where she came from, and she told me she was transferred from Honey Marsh. She has never been to another world before, so she could only use the name of a world that she heard from somebody. In this case, she used your homeland."
"Yea, I mentioned my origin once during our first meeting, but when did she kill Number 44?" It was clear that Number 43 had never expected that a duoluozhong would hide among them, he was still a little bit shaken, "Why didn't we hear a thing? Besides, Number 44 was too careless…"
"Only the people involved know the whole story. I guess Number 44 was probably not Number 45's target at first— Do you still remember the seed from the previous batch that died?"
"Ah, right. Number 42 retrieved that seed's number tag."
"He took the number tag, that's right, then what about the corpse? According to Harry, the corpse is in the chamber, but we didn't see anybody even after we went to all three chambers." Mayhap mimicking Ji Shanqing was tiring, and the wound on her arm was painful, Lin Sanjiu leaned herself against the wall as she closed her eyes, looking beaten-up, "Number 45 probably has kept the dead body as fodder the moment she heard that there was a dead body down there. That's the reason she could jump out, throw everything to the wind and be the first one to test the water droplets without worrying about anything as she could easily replenish the vitality that she lost by consuming the dead body.
"However, something unexpected happened and caused Number 45, who wanted to eat the dead body to turn her sights on Number 44," Lin Sanjiu sneered, a cold smile danced around her lips, "Before the beetle showed up, I heard somebody eating in their side. It's different from what I have experienced before, so I didn't react to it at first, but after I think it over, if Number 45 didn't wish to blow her disguise, she has to eat her meal in the dark when everybody is in their slumberland. She has to do it noiselessly and she could not leave any trace on her body, so she shreds the meat first before putting into her mouth."
Number 43's face turned pale as if some unbecoming images barged into his mind. He untied his bandana and used it to wipe the sweat on his head. His unyielding short spiky hair sprang up as if it would not give in to the pressure applied by the bandana, "I have seen how they eat here, gosh… But what does this have to do with Number 45 being bitten?"
"Think about it; she is halfway eating her meal when the beetle shows up. Hence, no matter how careful she has been to keep her clothes clean from bloodstain, she wouldn't have enough time to take care of the scene on her body. Everybody has awakened, if I was Number 45, I would rub some essential balm ointment to cover the smell. After all, that's the only thing I have on my
hand right now that's potent enough to cover the smell," Lin Sanjiu smiled, "It was just that she didn't know the whole nutrient boost serum bullshit that we told the beetle… When the beetle went over there and found out she had the strongest smell, of course it would bite her first. Anyway, she deserved that."
Number 43 had to digest a while after he heard Lin Sanjiu's explanation. By the time he finally figured the whole thing out, he turned over to Lin Sanjiu with his face full of admiration and complimented her, "You're so clever."
"Now that Number 46 knows his strategy has failed. What will he do next?" Number 43 mumbled.
Regarding this, they had the answer after 12 hours.
It had been a day since she was last bitten, yet Lin Sanjiu felt she had not even recovered half of her vitality that she had lost. Unlike Number 45, who could consume human flesh to regain her lost vitality, absorbing "nutrients" through the ground by having her feet pressed firmly on it was the only method Lin Sanjiu had. Hence, Lin Sanjiu didn't dare to let go of her feet, not even when the beetle descended on Number 46's soil bridge.
It seemed like Number 46 couldn't think of any surefire plan this time. Perhaps he still couldn't neutralize the effect caused by the essential balm ointment, after talking to all of them, the beetle chose to bite Number 48 this time.
"Oh sh*t," when she saw the fellow who always crept behind Number 46 like a shadow fall to the ground, Lin Sanjiu chided, "Why did it have to be Number 48!"
"Why not?"
"Number 46 and Number 48 are partners and unlike Number 42, Number 46 would never abandon Number 48," Lin Sanjiu said as her two eyebrows met each other at the center of her forehead, "If the beetle bite another person, Number 46 might not be so angry, but now it was Number 48 who get bitten. I'm sure he will do all he can to lure the beetle to our side."
And she was right.
When the beetle appeared on their soil bridge for the fourth time, its ugly face full of smiles made Lin Sanjiu's heart skipped a beat.