by N. Heller
"Oh, the beetle is dead."
Before Number 46 and his gang could figure out what had happened, Harry disclosed the answer to them.
"Who would have thought... You guys did well," he praised them briskly. "Wait for me. I'll have to deal with this situation. I'll be back in a bit."
After that, Harry's voice disappeared again. His audience was left baffled.
"The beetle is dead?" Number 46 yelled out to the people on the other soil bridge. "What happened?"
From where he stood, he could see the beetle's abdomen showing from behind the low walls. The beetle's numerous legs jerked every so often. Its body was so big that it took up more than half the space on the soil bridge. It was a mystery why the earthen low walls did not even crack.
They did not hear any response from the other soil bridge. Number 43 did not answer even after quite a few minutes. Number 46 shouted a few more times. Suddenly, a hand reached for the low wall at the other end of the soil bridge that Number 43 was on.
When Lin Sanjiu's pale face, which was covered with sweat, gradually appeared before everyone, they were so shocked that they didn't know what to say.
"Was I wrong? You...you sprayed the pesticide on your own body?" Number 46 asked blankly after some time. "No. No! It can't be!"
"I'm not that stupid," Lin Sanjiu answered as she gasped for air. "Harry had already warned us. The consequences of spraying that pesticide on your own body would be worse than being bitten. I wouldn't take that sort of risk."
"Hey, that's not important." Lin Sanjiu shook her head profusely to stop him. She was still leaning over the low wall. Her bitten arm was dangling from the wall. "Quick, help me take that off. It's too disgusting!"
"Take what off?" Number 46 and the others were still confused. They watched as Number 43 quickly acquiesced to her request. He reached for Lin Sanjiu's arm. Her arm was fair and white. Unlike before, there was no red bite mark on her arm.
"No, it isn't right. On closer inspection, the skin tone of her arm is completely different from her face or the back of her hand." Number 46 thought to himself.
Number 43 grabbed Lin Sanjiu's wrist and tugged at it. He tore open a flap of skin… The flap grew larger and larger as he tugged at it. Then, he tore a whole piece of thick, fatty white human skin off Lin Sanjiu's arm. Once he tore off that piece of human skin, Lin Sanjiu's arm was revealed. The skin on her arm was covered with dried blood and other dried body fluid.
"Throw it away! Quick!" Lin Sanjiu knitted her eyebrows tightly together. She had an uncomfortable look of disgust on her face. "I don't want to see another piece of human skin ever!"
"Human. Human skin?" Number 46 understood immediately. "You sprayed the pesticide on a piece of human skin?"
"Where can you find human skin just lying around?" Lin Sanjiu mocked. "I had to carve it off a corpse, of course!"
"A corpse?" Number 46 frowned. He heard the tall woman on the other bridge chuckling. "You don't know me well enough. I don't have many valuables, and I usually run out of various supplies but there's one thing I don't ever lack—corpses."
As she spoke, she shot a glance at Number 45, "Truth be told, I thought of this idea to skin a corpse because I was inspired by you."
"So...so you sprayed the pesticide on the corpse and skinned it. Then, you wrapped the skin around the spot that the beetle always bites?" Number 48 stammered as he questioned Lin Sanjiu. He seemed to have forgotten that they were on opposite teams just moments before.
"Don't describe these things in details," Lin Sanjiu sounded peeved as she wiped her arm with the piece of the torn sleeve, "You made me remember all those horrible memories. But, that was what happened. We wrapped the human skins around our arms ten minutes before the beetle came. I changed into a long-sleeve hoodie beforehand just to prepare for this plan."
"How did you know that the beetle would bite you instead of Number 43?"
"There is a piece of human skin around his arm too!" Lin Sanjiu looked at Number 48 like he was an idiot. "Fatty might be a duoluozhong, but he had two arms."
Feeling awkward, Number 48 stopped speaking. He stole a glance at Number 46. He couldn't describe the current expression on Number 46's face.
Number 46 thought about how he had schemed and came up of various strategies to deal with the other team, thinking that they were competing against each other. Yet, no one could have foreseen that their common enemy would be defeated by the other team so easily.
His face circled through a few complicated expressions. He opened his mouth several times but he didn't say a word. Lin Sanjiu was smiling at him as if she wasn't willing to just let it go. Thankfully, Number 43's question saved him from the awkwardness, "Now, that the beetle is dead, is the germination stage over? "
Naturally, no one but Harry could answer him.
For some reasons, Number 43 had to repeat his question a few times before Harry answered hurriedly. No one knew what the farmer went to do when he excused himself previously.
"I'm back. I'm back… Oh, you want to know what will happen next? Well, this is…" he heaved a sigh and smiled, "The amount of time you guys need for germination isn't affected by the presence or absence of pests! There are still three days to go for the germination stage. Please take the remaining time to absorb as many nutrients as you can!"
Everyone was stunned.
This wasn't an outcome anyone expected, even Lin Sanjiu. She assumed that the germination stage would logically end when the beetle died. On second thought, it was a good thing for all of them if they could recuperate for three days peacefully.
"Hey… that…"
Number 45's hesitate voice suddenly drifted from the soil bridge that she was on. After she realized that everyone had discovered her true identity, she did not speak much. This was the first time she spoke today, "Say, did you notice some changes in the beetle's carcass?"
Everyone turned their attention to the dead beetle's carcass when they heard what she said.
The beetle's abdomen was much higher than the low walls around the soil bridge just moments ago but its abdomen seemed to have sunk a little. Lin Sanjiu did not know if it was just a misperception. She wanted to look at the soil under the carcass but she could barely see it because of the beetle's large shiny carapace and its hairy legs. As there was a layer of soil almost everywhere due to the cloud of dirt the insect stirred up, Lin Sanjiu couldn't tell, momentarily, how the carcass had changed.
"Ah, yes! I haven't told all of you something," Harry seemed to have remembered something. "In nature, plants can be damaged by insects but insects also bring with them many benefits. Of course, on this farm, none of you need insects for pollination, but in a similar way, when insects die, their bodies will be broken down by microorganisms. The pesticide will remain in the soil while the beetle decomposes and become nutrients which enrich the topsoil. The nutrients will, in turn, replenish your vitality. Number 43 and Number 49, both of you should feel something now, right?"
Lin Sanjiu blinked. She still looked somewhat appalled. When she took a closer look at the beetle's carcass, she realized that it was indeed sinking into the ground like a melting cake. The soil under her feet grew warmer and warmer and it felt as if countless streams of warmth were flowing through her feet and into her bloodstream.
When she lowered her head, she could see that the skin on her legs, which was previously dried, scaly and yellowish due to her malnutrition, were slowly becoming moist. As the warm flow moved through her body, the bulging veins on her skin fade. Starting from the skin of her toes, she soon regained her usual honey-colored skin.
"I can feel that I'm gaining some of my vitality back," Number 43 watched his own hands in amazement. He clenched his fist, "I can feel my strength gradually returning!"
When he saw Lin Sanjiu's expression, he suddenly realized the same thing. He laughed wryly. "Yes, it is a little disgusting that we're getting nutrients from that dead beetle. Don't think too much about it, just take in the nutrients."
/> Number 46 and his gang stared blankly at the other group, for a moment no one spoke. After a few seconds, Number 45 was the first to react. "Why are they the only one who can get the additional nutrients?"
"The beetle died on that soil bridge, it would naturally enrich the soil over there," Harry said matter-of-factly.
If Lin Sanjiu didn't feel that faint sense of nausea thinking about the dead beetle's carcass, she would have laughed loudly at the other group. She simply enjoyed seeing the sight of Number 46's moody face as he sat down again.
It took two days before the beetle's carcass fully decomposed into the soil. When it finally disappeared from the soil bridge, Lin Sanjiu felt that she was almost back to her zenith state. Not only had she regained her strength but she could clearly sense that her higher consciousness and potential growth value had risen quite significantly. However, that also meant that her hallucinations were also gradually disappearing.
On the last day of the germination stage, Number 43 walked over and sat beside her.
"I know the situation would not have worked out so well without you," he had tied his bandana around his head again. He continued sincerely, "If it weren't for you, I probably wouldn't even last this long. No matter what happens after the germination stage, I will definitely stay by your—"
Before he could finish his sentence, his face disappeared from Lin Sanjiu's sight.
A caterpillar had swallowed Number 43's head whole. That caterpillar was many times larger than the size of a human head quickly replaced the spot where Number 43's head was.
Lin Sanjiu leaped up. She raised her arm and struck the caterpillar with her [Vibroblade]. However, her attacks slipped off the caterpillar's body as if there was a layer of oil all over it. The caterpillar ignored her attacks completely and continued gobbling Number 43 up.
Gulp.
Gulp.
It finally swallowed Number 43 whole.
"Thank you, milady," the long caterpillar looked at Lin Sanjiu with its soulless, toy-like eyes. Lin Sanjiu was still trying to attack it like a mad woman, "That talkative beetle is my predator. Now that he's dead, I can come out to eat some seedlings. I'm not like him. I like to eat my seedlings whole."
Lin Sanjiu suddenly felt an utter abhorrence for herself when an uncontrollable thought surface in her mind the very next second: "Thankfully, the germination stage has ended."
Chapter 439 - Lin Sanjiu Is This Sort Of Person
Just like the past ten days, the weather in the afternoon was refreshing. The sky above them was an azure blue and the light breeze kept their skin cool.
Lin Sanjiu stood alone on the soil bridge without any expression on her face. She ignored the slight commotion from the people below her as their voices disappeared into the sound of the fleeting breeze blowing past her ears.
"Number 43 didn't even have a chance to finish his last sentence."
Due to the limitations of the rules in this stage of the pocket dimension which nullified all their attacks, Lin Sanjiu had no choice but to stare at the green caterpillar that had grown fatter by a fair bit after its meal, climb down the soil bridge. It wriggled further and further away. Then, it buried under the soil and disappeared from her sight. Lin Sanjiu couldn't help imagining how Number 43's half-digested, contorted body would slowly move through the caterpillar's body as it gut-slid along the ground with its undulating movements. She didn't expect that her emotions would evoke such a strong reaction. Lin Sanjiu lowered her head and started retching by the edge of the soil bridge.
As she had not eaten for two months she had nothing in her stomach to repel. A bit of saliva mixed with her gastric acid dripped from the corner of her mouth. She took a deep breath and wiped her face casually. She tasted something salty in her mouth.
Maybe, Number 46 and the others now recognized the difference between Lin Sanjiu's combat capabilities and their own. Perhaps, they finally realized how they were actually interdependent on each other. After Number 43 died, there was a long silence even on their side.
When the last day of their ten-day wait finally arrived, Harry announced that it was the end of the germination stage with his thunderous voice. Everyone was secretly relieved— at least that green caterpillar wouldn't have the chance to kill another person.
"Huh? I looked away for a moment and another seedling disappeared…" Harry seemed to have just discovered this. He hesitated for a moment and let it slip without any concern. "With the exception of Number 49, all of you look wilted… The growth rate of this batch isn't that ideal. All of you have to buck up."
Lin Sanjiu lowered her eyes. Her face showed no emotions.
"In any case, in brief, all of you have successfully completed the germination stage. Congratulations." Harry probably knew that none of them would really rejoice at this news so he quickly continued, "You will all go through a maturation stage which will last for ten days. This is not the site for your maturation stage. I will move all of you to the greenhouse soon."
"So, the germination stage is outdoors, but the maturation stage will be in a greenhouse?"
Everyone looked at each other with puzzled faces.
"Once you've taken root in the greenhouse, there will be no more restrictions. You can absorb as many nutrients as you want and strength your body… This was what I promised you beforehand."
Number 47, who was the weakest among them, did not show any sign of relief or contentment when he heard those words. All of them knew that Harry had not painted the full picture for them.
"When we reach the greenhouse, I will brief you on the rules and precautions during the maturation stage. Please follow me to the greenhouse now."
Everyone was stumped. Number 46 immediately asked, "How do we go there?"
"Do you see the pair of giant shoes in the distance and the trouser hems above them? That's not me— despite what you think— I'm not that fat. That is our destination. It is a large greenhouse shaped like two feet."
Hearing this, Lin Sanjiu couldn't help squinting her eyes, looking into the distance.
"I will countdown of ten seconds. This will give you some time to prepare. Everyone can leave the soil bridge after ten seconds. Please rush over to the greenhouse. I know that most of you are feeling quite weak now, and it might be difficult for you to move very fast even if you hurry. It is 4.23pm now. If you reach the entrance of the greenhouse before the sky turns dark, the transplantation will be a success. The seedlings that do not reach in time would slowly dry up on the ground. So, it isn't that hard, right?"
If the sky would turn dark at 7 pm, they still had more than two hours. Considering the distance, Number 47 could reach the greenhouse even if he hobbled there.
"If you don't have any questions, should I start now?" Harry's question was pretty much meaningless. Before anyone of them could even respond, a loud "10" rang out in the sky above them.
Number 46 and the others in his group started moving. They had only managed to absorb nutrients from the infertile soil in their soil bridge for about three days. Even though they were stronger than when they were just bitten they were still weak and their faces were pale. During the ten seconds, all of them climbed up the low wall of their soil bridge. Once Harry gave them the signal, they would jump off this soil bridge that they couldn't wait to get out of.
Lin Sanjiu moved slow to the low wall and placed her leg on it only when Harry yelled "2!
"0!".
The moment Lin Sanjiu jumped off the edge, energy burst through her body, her forward thrust stirred up a gust of wind. Everyone almost thought that she could fly. Lin Sanjiu landed on the ground like a graceful cheetah, almost as if she was weightless. Then, she shot forward immediately. However, she had to force herself to stop when Harry suddenly spoke.
"But, you're still in the open farm so there will be pests around."
"What do you mean?" Number 48 asked urgently.
"The pests have their own territories. Since you were planted on the ridges in the open field, you've on
ly met the pests in that area. Since you are out now, the other pests in the field may be attracted to your smell. "What are you waiting for? If you stand here any longer, another beetle might come," Harry urged in a rather irresponsible manner.
"F.u.c.k! I knew it wasn't going to be this simple!" Someone swore. Following that, Number 45 was the first among them to start running. Over the past three days, she had been consuming human flesh and absorbing nutrients from the soil. She had the most vitality apart from Lin Sanjiu in the group. When a duoluozhong wanted to run at its maximum speed, it was not slow. Number 45 covered a long distance in just a few short seconds.
"Wait!" Number 46 yelled out after her but she ignored him.
"46," Number 47 called out to him. Jumping off the soil bridge was just a simple action, but Number 47 was so weak that he fell to the ground. He looked up at Number 46, and he finally showed a hint of emotion on his stoic face, "Could you bring me with you to the greenhouse? No one knows what to expect during the maturation stage at the greenhouse. I could be useful to you in some way…"
The veins Number 46's forehead throbbed. He pursed his lips and did not say anything. He shot a glance at Lin Sanjiu and suddenly shouted, "Hey, Number 49!"
Lin Sanjiu folded her arms and stood without moving. She looked up when she heard him.
"Just as what Number 47 had said, at the end of the day, we are from the same batch. Maybe, we could help each other out in the near future," Number 46 seemed to have reorganized his mindset almost instantaneously. "I don't have a personal grudge against you. We had to scheme with each other only because of the circ.u.mstances. Since our current goal is to survive, why don't we cooperate for the time being? What do you think about that?"
"What do you want me to do?" Lin Sanjiu asked coldly.
"I hope that you will bring Number 47 along with you, nothing else." Number 46 made this request much to her surprise. "Number 48 and I can support each other while we head to the greenhouse, but we really can't bring Number 47 with us. He didn't do anything to you during the germination stage. Could you take this into consideration and help him out?"