Volume 3: Deep Blue Sea
In the end, it was Ye Qian who caught the green grass. The crowd waited for a moment, and the soil blocking the entrance of the cave gently undulated. Then, a fluffy little head emerged from the soil. Shu Xun looked around vigilantly, trembling his whiskers when he spotted the green grass pinched by Ye Qian. Only then did he crawl out of the soil hole, pretending to be calm, patting the soil on his body with chubby paws, standing proudly at the entrance. The scene fell into complete silence as Shu Xun started wandering around the opening and then spoke with great seriousness.
“As expected, as speculated before, with the increase in the size of giant insects, their weaknesses and defects also magnify. As long as one is familiar with the habits of insects, most organisms can kill them. What could be the reason for this phenomenon?”
Silence enveloped the crowd; this was a familiar and somewhat awkward way of changing the topic. However, at the same time, they gained a new understanding of Shu Xun’s fear of insects. Fear to the extent of rejecting indirect contact with insects was indeed rare. Watching Shu Xun wandering at the entrance, the crowd tacitly avoided the topic. Of course, not everyone could maintain such composure.
Lie Yang interrupted Shu Xun with a vigilant expression. “Are you trying to change the topic again?”
Shu Xun turned his sharp gaze toward Lie Yang and snorted. “Is your brain only occupied with such thoughts? If I were changing the topic, could I make you notice?”
Looking around at the unresponsive crowd, Lie Yang felt it made sense and laughed. “Looks like I overthought it.”
Shu Xun lifted his small head slightly. “As long as you know. I’m aware of your intelligence; I won’t blame you.”
Audience in the live stream: “…”
Watching Lie Yang being teased by Shu Xun, the crowd collectively facepalmed, thinking that Emperor Butterfly might be beyond salvation. However, as Lie Yang turned his body away from Shu Xun, facing away, and slyly blinked, everyone suddenly understood. Lie Yang wasn’t completely clueless; he just enjoyed being teased a bit before admitting it. Thanks to him, they could occasionally hear Shu Xun’s peculiar way of speaking.
As soon as Shu Xun appeared, the attention of the green grass was immediately drawn to him. Twisting and turning at Ye Qian’s fingertips, it couldn’t break free. Eventually, it had to follow Shu Xun’s meandering movements, rotating its grassy tip whenever Shu Xun stopped. Desperately twisting itself whenever Shu Xun paused, hoping Shu Xun would notice. When it realized that Shu Xun’s head never turned, the green grass finally extended its leafy blades in front of the conversing Shu Xun, shaking its grassy tip.
Shu Xun, speaking fluently, suddenly stumbled. His little steps froze in mid-air. After two seconds, his short legs, still mid-step without touching the ground, took a step back. Nonchalantly twisting his round body in a new direction, he continued meandering, with an unchanged tone, “The magnification of giant insect weaknesses is undoubtedly not the result the invaders want to see. Therefore, some force must have interfered with the invaders’ transformation of insects, slowing down the invaders’ progress…”
The green grass, undeterred, continued extending its leaves, following the meandering ball. Ye Qian, observing this, glanced at Meng Muyu. “Fish tank.”
Meng Muyu hesitated for a moment, then realized and took out a fish tank from his backpack, handing it to Ye Qian. Ye Qian reached out, pulled back the extended green grass, and then bunched it up before tossing it into the fish tank. The agile green grass straightened itself out, seemingly understanding something. It didn’t struggle and instead earnestly began cleaning its leaves, twisting them meticulously. In the small fish tank, the grass leaves changed shapes every now and then, being rubbed carefully by the leaf tips. After watching for a while, Lie Yang, out of kindness, poured some shower gel into the tank. In a moment, the tank was filled with white foam.
Watching the grass earnestly bathing, the onlookers silently facepalmed. They really had no interest in watching a piece of grass take a bath, but why did it seem oddly amusing?
After examining the giant millipede with little gain, they cleaned up its carcass and returned to sit around the campfire, continuing their rest.
On the other hand, Shu Xun continued to pinch his little whiskers, wandering around. He continued to explain his findings and speculations clearly. Every now and then, the green grass extended its leaves towards Shu Xun, allowing Shu Xun to inspect whether it was clean. If Shu Xun didn’t touch it, the grass retracted its leaves and resumed cleaning.
“Why would the invaders choose insects? If the invaders’ mental power is strong enough, wouldn’t it be better to choose the Xuanqiu tribe, so there would be no force in this world to resist them? Is there some reason that forces the invaders to choose insects?” As a member of the insect tribe, Lie Yang naturally paid more attention to insect-related issues and was more sensitive. Since entering this world, as the Emperor Butterfly, he had been besieged by insects. This situation was rare and didn’t adhere to common sense. Generally, there was a certain bloodline suppression among races of the same or similar bloodline. According to reason, the presence of Emperor Butterfly Lie Yang should command respect from insects.
The footsteps of the little mouse paused. “Because, without exception, insects are likely the most numerous species in this world. They are diverse, mostly powerful in combat, and most importantly, have low mental power, making them easy to control. Invaders wouldn’t choose to control the Xuanqiu tribe. If my guess is correct, the mental power of the Xuanqiu tribe is the invaders’ target. It’s precisely because of this that the mental power of the Xuanqiu tribe has weakened to the point of needing Three-Leaf Green Grass for protection. As for the reasons that could force invaders to choose the insect tribe, I have no clue.”
Ling Yang curled his tail around himself. “In your understanding, are there any creatures that feed on mental power or need mental power to achieve certain goals?”
The few individuals looked at each other. When it came to mental power, the Phantom Tribe was probably the most familiar, but unfortunately, none of them belonged to the Phantom Tribe. Despite being the smallest in population among the major tribes, the Phantom Tribe held a top position, mainly due to their unparalleled mental power. Even someone as formidable as Ye Qian would have no advantage in a direct comparison of mental power with the Phantom Tribe.
“Lately, no such race has been discovered. In fact, when it comes to mental power, even in the interstellar age, it has always been an enigma that cannot be thoroughly researched. Various academic theories abound. Some believe that the hope for the re-evolution of the five major races lies in mental power. Some argue that the ultimate evolution for all races is to transcend the physical body, exist independently in mental form, and thereby infinitely extend lifespan, considering it as the ultimate state of life. There is also a theory that mental power is a form of energy or, from an ancient perspective, the soul, the primary vessel carrying consciousness.” Engaged in game development, Meng Muyu naturally had a comprehensive understanding of mental power, so he deliberately searched for various studies on mental power.
“As for the Phantom Tribe, I haven’t interacted with them much. Frankly speaking, the mental power of the StarPlay Entertainment family is sufficient to support the development of the game world, so there has been no collaboration with the Phantom Tribe. However, I heard that the Phantom Tribe is an extremely secretive race with very few members. They have strict racial views, life approaches infinity, and are a nearly flawless race with almost no weaknesses or defects. They can be considered a miraculous perfect race.” Meng Muyu, when mentioning the StarPlay Entertainment family, unintentionally carried a tone of pride. When talking about the Phantom Tribe, he was full of admiration.
Hearing this, curiosity lit up in Ling Yang’s eyes, slightly tinged with astonishment. “Can there really be a perfect race in the world? I thought that no matter how powerful a race is, it would still have weaknesses.”
Shu Xun also halted his steps, pinching his tiny whiskers in contemplation. Indeed, everything in the world had its interactions and balances, like the Treasure-seeking Mouse, and what was called auspicious fortune couldn’t truly defy the natural order. It was a favor granted at certain times, under specific circumstances, positively influencing the final outcome. Moreover, the opposite of auspicious fortune, inadequate offensive power, meant that a genuinely flawless and perfect race couldn’t exist in the world. For a moment, Shu Xun had an additional doubt about the positioning of the Phantom Tribe.
Seeing everyone lost in thought, seemingly troubled, Lie Yang revealed his signature confident smile. “If a race appears perfect, perhaps they’ve just concealed their flaws well. People know too little about the Phantom Tribe. It’s uncertain if they hiccup, pick their feet, or use the restroom. Well, the Phantom Tribe seems not to need to eat, so they might not use the restroom. But who knows, maybe they’re like that giant millipede we just encountered, appearing perfectly flawless but getting killed by a bathing grass in the end.”
Though aware that Lie Yang’s words were somewhat comforting, they sounded quite exasperating. The crowd fell into silence, contemplating. The air of mystery surrounding the Phantom Tribe did diminish slightly, but just as they were about to speak, a slightly amused voice suddenly sounded near their ears.
“Hiccup? Picking feet? Sounds interesting. Maybe we can try it sometime.”
The group sitting around the campfire immediately became alert, standing up cautiously, their gazes scanning the surroundings. They had checked not long ago, and there were no advanced life forms nearby. So, who was speaking? Moreover, the voice seemed to be right next to their ears, creating an extremely close distance that instantly made everyone feel a thick sense of danger.
Soon, in the peripheral glow of the campfire, a figure gradually became distinct, transitioning from transparency to solidity, ultimately materializing before everyone. It was a man clad in casual white attire, with extremely long hair cascading down to his knees but displaying no hint of femininity. Blue eyes and blue hair framed a person resembling the clearest sky after rain, elegant and comfortable. Slightly upturned thin lips retained a lingering smile, adding a touch of radiant sunlight to the post-rain sky. Every feature of his face was flawless, a perfect countenance that left people mesmerized.
Suddenly encountering such a dazzling man, everyone instinctively blinked, but they quickly regained their composure, their vigilant expressions still lingering.
Observing Shu Xun and the others snapping back so quickly, the man’s smile deepened, and a hint of admiration gleamed in his eyes. Under the watchful eyes of the group, he walked to the side of the campfire with long strides and casually took a seat. “Feel free to sit; no need to be polite. You don’t have to stand so far away. I don’t pick my feet or hiccup.”
Lie Yang: “…” This is intentional, right? Not a sentence without mentioning a hiccup.
Shu Xun tilted his head and then walked over to the campfire, sitting down in a plush ball, elegantly extending his chubby paw. “I’m Shu Xun, nice to meet you.”
The man bent down, stretching out his slender hand, and shook hands with Shu Xun. “Hello, I’m Nuan Dong.”
As soon as the man spoke, the gazes of Lie Yang’s group abruptly shifted toward him. The name was just too familiar, and it had a significant impact on the entire development of “Winter’s End”. They wondered if it was a coincidence.
The little mouse’s eyes flashed with hidden sharpness. “May I ask why you’re named Nuan Dong?”
The man smiled indifferently. “Of course, it’s not a big deal. It’s just my birth name. I know what you’re thinking. I’ve watched the live broadcast of ‘Winter’s End’. I can only say that there are too many coincidences in this world. After all, in such a winter, who wouldn’t long for a warm winter?”
Shu Xun pinched his whiskers, wondering if it was truly a coincidence. In “Winter’s End”, the character Qu Yan goes by the alias “Nuan Dong,” and Qu Yan’s mental power is not inferior. His logical thinking surpassed others. Was this alias merely a desire for a warm winter? The doubts surrounding Qu Yan resurfaced in Shu Xun’s little head, and the furball, in rapid thought, suddenly felt something swaying in front of him. Subconsciously, he reached out his paw to grab it and then started tying knots.
The grass, almost shedding a layer of itself, finally escaped from the fish tank. Satisfied, it let Shu Xun tie it into knots, occasionally swiftly shaking its leaf to flick off water droplets. It secretly decided to develop some new attack methods.
