Volume 3: Deep Blue Sea
On the second morning, as Shu Xun turned over in his sleeping bag, he inexplicably felt an added weight on him. Opening his big, shiny eyes, he saw a warm and slender hand covering his small sleeping bag. The palm slightly bulged, leaving enough space in the center, gently placed on the sleeping bag. As Shu Xun moved, Ye Qian could sense it. Looking at Shu Xun who was already awake, he moved his fingers, using his index finger to gently stroke Shu Xun’s forehead. “Good morning.”
Shu Xun followed the motion, rubbing Ye Qian’s fingers, and let out a big yawn. His long whiskers trembled as a result. Just as he was about to say good morning, his whiskers were suddenly caught by two slender fingers.
Ye Qian pinched Shu Xun’s long whiskers, rubbing the fingertips, feeling the texture. He spoke, “Indeed, it feels quite good.”
Shu Xun: “…”
Swatting away Ye Qian’s fingers with his paw, Shu Xun opened the sleeping bag and crawled out. At that moment of leaving the sleeping bag, he puffed up again into a furry ball.
Watching the entire process, Nuan Dong touched his chin. He quietly extended his hand, and just as his fingers were about to touch the furry little body, Ye Qian’s cold gaze swept over. At the same time, the fluffy bundle instantly turned and stood in a threatening posture. “What are you trying to do? Trying to attack? Let me tell you, I’m not afraid of you!” After saying this, he turned its head to comfort Ye Qian behind him, patting its small chest. “Don’t be afraid, I’ll protect you!”
Already quietly activating his ability, Ye Qian expressionlessly withdrew his hand and nodded without any emotion.
The others: “…”
Nuan Dong chuckled lowly, then pointed at Shu Xun’s tail with his finger. “Seems like you’re shedding a bit. I just wanted to help you get it off.”
The fiercely determined Shu Xun instantly froze in place. Everyone’s gaze shifted unanimously to Shu Xun’s tail, where indeed a strand of fur, as if reluctant to fall, clung to the tip. It now gently curved with the morning breeze.
Under the scrutiny of everyone, Shu Xun stood motionless for a few seconds. Then, he quickly turned around and hugged his tail, attempting to block everyone’s view.
Everyone: !!! What was initially a very ordinary thing became quite amusing when witnessing Shu Xun, who had turned himself into a complete ball.
Looking at Shu Xun desperately hugging its tail, Nuan Dong, puzzled, touched his own chin and softly said, “It’s just shedding. Removing it is easy. Let me help you. Your hands are too short to reach.”
Shu Xun, still struggling to reach the tip of his tail, stiffened again. “You’re despicable! Actually using this method to ruin my majestic image. Isn’t it something to be proud of that the Phantom Tribe doesn’t shed fur?”
Nuan Dong: ??? Ruin? Majestic image?
Before Shu Xun could reach the drifting strand of fur, Ye Qian, with a perfectly natural motion, reached out and pinched it. Shu Xun finally let go of his tail, nervously grabbing his whiskers. “I don’t shed much, just one strand. Don’t believe me? Pull it!”
Everyone: …
Lie Yang couldn’t bear to look, turning his head away. The emotional intelligence of each of these individuals was remarkable. How were they so superior in intelligence? Simply magical!
Upon hearing this, Ye Qian unexpectedly extended his hand with an emotionless expression. Shu Xun instantly stood with a righteous chest, then, without any reservation, Ye Qian squashed and molded it, rubbing in the direction of the fur. In the end, the fluffy bundle turned into a soft pancake, wagging its tail and snoring softly.
With the fur-stroking finished, Ye Qian spoke earnestly, “Indeed, he doesn’t shed.”
Upon hearing this, Shu Xun shook his fur and proudly walked past Nuan Dong.
Nuan Dong: “…”
Did he do something wrong? Isn’t shedding fur a very ordinary thing? Why does Shu Xun seem so concerned about it?
The audience in the livestream expressed great satisfaction at witnessing such a scene early in the morning. Screenshots of Shu Xun’s tail, with a strand of fur standing upright, were saved. Regarding the shedding issue, most beastmen and awakened humans with beastman bloodlines had such concerns when in their animal forms. Since they enjoyed the enhanced strength brought by awakening, they naturally had to bear certain inconveniences in their animal forms. However, individuals like Shu Xun, who cared so much about it, were relatively rare.
“Shrugs, it seems Nuan Dong’s emotional intelligence isn’t that high! Does it mean high IQ people generally have low emotional intelligence?”
“I’m still laughing about Shu Xun calling himself majestic! Hahaha!”
“Ah, people in love. Even a tiny flaw can make them flustered. Diagnosis complete, Shu Xun is beyond salvation.”
“So that’s it. No wonder Shu Xun cares so much about shedding. Haha! Don’t worry, I’m sure Ye Qian’s beast form will also shed fur!”
After breakfast, the group set off again towards the inland. Shu Xun sat firmly on Ye Qian’s shoulder. Suddenly, he seemed to remember something and whispered in Ye Qian’s ear, “Did you throw away that strand of fur?”
Ye Qian nodded expressionlessly.
Shu Xun instantly sighed in relief. “It’s good you threw it away. I really don’t shed much. That strand was probably accidentally rubbed off. Too bad you threw it away; otherwise, we could have looked at the base of the fur to determine if it naturally fell off…”
Ye Qian, with a blank face, listened to the mumbles beside his ear, then pondered. Tossing it into his pocket should count as throwing it away, right?
As they approached the center of the continent, they encountered more giant creatures along the way, with the majority being giant insects. Upon careful observation, as Nuan Dong had mentioned, insects didn’t gnaw on their evolved counterparts. Even other creatures didn’t seem to prey on the evolved giant insects. Shu Xun and the others recalled the giant centipede and tiger they encountered initially. The centipede was killed, but the tiger showed no interest in eating. At that time, they thought it was because the tiger wasn’t hungry. Now, it seemed there might be another reason.
What is so special about the evolved insects that make many creatures attack them yet refrain from consuming them?
“These insects don’t seem to be heading towards the center of the continent; there’s a deviation in their direction, with an angular discrepancy from our initially assumed center point.” The increasing number of insect carcasses gradually revealed subtle anomalies to the group.
Lie Yang and Gray checked the giant insect corpses found nearby once again but still found nothing. Lie Yang, quite puzzled, spoke, “Apart from the giant size, there’s nothing unusual. It’s strange. Why don’t evolved insects appear in the food chain of the world’s creatures? Shu Xun, don’t you have any deductions? Give me a hint!”
Shu Xun pinched his small whiskers and spoke seriously, “Maybe they taste terrible.”
Lie Yang: “…”
Well, this conjecture was unexpectedly irrefutable.
With growing doubts, the group continued towards the center of the continent. After a few days, Shu Xun and the others were very close to the central point, and the terrain became more noticeable. Meanwhile, the land was covered with various insect carcasses, almost stepping on one every two steps. The dense corpses confirmed the previous discovery: these insects weren’t heading to the center of the continent. There was a subtle angular deviation. If the directions of the heads of these insect corpses were connected, they would form a circle around the center.
Since the land was littered with insect corpses, Shu Xun rarely touched the ground. Lie Yang descended slowly from the sky and pointed ahead. “There seems to be a flower valley in front. It’s a bit far, and I couldn’t see it clearly, but it looks vividly colorful.” Throughout the journey, the land was nearly covered with giant insect carcasses. Even the exposed ground mostly displayed a mountainous landscape with a mixture of rocks and soil. Over the past few days, the view of the group had been filled with dark colors, with even green being scarce. Lie Yang’s words slightly shook everyone’s spirits. They looked towards the distance, but considering the angle, they didn’t see the colorful flower valley that Lie Yang mentioned.
Meng Muyu raised his head to check the sun’s position and sighed, “It feels like the sky is getting lower. Are we approaching the center of the continent?”
The group raised their heads and glanced at the azure sky. The cloudless, expansive weather brought a sense of joy, and the sky above seemed like an immaculate and seamless piece of jade, spread out just within reach. Clean and pure, such weather involuntarily lightened the steps of everyone.
After walking for another two hours, the group finally saw the flower valley that Lie Yang had mentioned on the distant horizon. The vast, dark gray horizon was now dyed with different colors at this moment – charming purples, vibrant reds, and sparkling greens. It presented a serene scene of a flower-filled valley, and the sudden encounter with such rich colors explained why Lie Yang used the word “colorful” to describe it.
However, accompanying the brilliant colors ahead, the colossal insect carcasses underfoot had reached an appalling extent. Due to the excessive accumulation of carcasses, the surface of the continent had been forcibly elevated. Beneath their feet, there was no longer any trace of soil and rocks. As far as the eyes could see, it was all a sea of insect corpses. They now seemed to have stepped into the burial ground of insects in this world. Almost all the insects were oriented towards one direction—the flower valley in the front.
Between the vast expanse of the heavens and earth, beauty and gloom, vitality and destruction, hope and despair intertwine ahead. It’s as if it separates two worlds: outside the world, there are ugly corpses scattered everywhere, layer upon layer; inside the world, it’s a dazzling display of colors, truly magnificent.
