Volume 3: Deep Blue Sea
After climbing out of the soil, the furry little ball shook off the dirt, transforming its body into a perfect spherical shape. Crouching on the ground, Ye Qian couldn’t resist reaching out to touch the fluffy little ball at his feet. The soft and furry sensation was clearly felt. After a few strokes, he successfully smoothed out the ball, making it look round but smaller in size.
Meanwhile, the culprit quietly hid the leaves that had been caught by the insects underneath, and the petite three-leaf grass pretended to be calm. It seemed as if it had just managed to shake off the insects, but in reality, it had unintentionally flung the insects onto Shu Xun’s head. Towards the end, the two leaves even pretended to casually sway, unaware of how conspicuous they were among the quiet three-leaf grass.
Fortunately, Shu Xun’s attention was entirely focused on his fur after it had been smoothed. Holding his two front paws around his own body, the little creature stood by the pit for a while. Then, using his tiny claws to grab his long whiskers, he walked around nearby with short steps, speaking in a serious tone, “Although these enlarged insects appear formidable on the outside, their weaknesses are quite apparent. The three-leaf grass also clearly knows where the weaknesses of the insects lie, making it easy to attack. This creates a contradiction. If the invaders control the insects, with the invaders’ high mental power, they will definitely evolve the insects towards perfection. However, these insects, as they grow larger, also expose their weaknesses, showing no tendency to hide or eliminate them. Why does this contradiction occur?”
The attention of everyone turned instinctively to the battlefield, as they observed that, as the furry ball had mentioned, almost all the insects had similar fatal vulnerabilities. The joints and soft abdomen became even more obvious weaknesses as the insects grew larger, yet these weaknesses showed no signs of evolutionary improvement.
Finally managing to sit up, Lie Yang shook his head abruptly, looking back at the furry ball beside the soil pit. “Are you trying to change the subject? Why are you acting like nothing happened just now?”
The small mouse, moving about with short steps, suddenly froze in place like a stone. After a while, he started walking again, click-clacking his way to Lie Yang, who was tied up. He then tried to straighten his small chest and lift his tiny head with effort. “I just changed the topic. What’s wrong with that? Did what I said make no sense? You and Gray have been chased so miserably, didn’t you notice this problem for half a month? Are emperor butterflies all about long antennae and lacking brains and eyes? Gray must have been burdened by you. Otherwise, with the disguise ability of a dead leaf butterfly, it could easily evade these low-mental insects safely. Just look at your wings; they glow like a beacon at night…”
Lie Yang lowered his head, looking at the small mouse in front of him, which was chattering away with his head held high. His antennae successfully tied up in knots, it seemed that the emperor butterfly was being criticized as inferior to the dead leaf butterfly for the first time, and the unique way of speaking was quite familiar. However, what on earth was “Xu Xu”? Lie Yang stared blankly, turning his head along with the small mouse that kept moving around his feet. “Shu, shu, shu, shu, Xun!”
The little mouse’s two front paws seemed to want to encircle his chest, but it was obviously too short, so he could only bring his two paws together. The fluffy ball, standing on his front paws, snorted. “Don’t talk like Gray. Even if you learn, you won’t develop a brain like Gray’s.”
Once again being criticized, Lie Yang showed no sign of anger, plunging into excitement instead. “It’s really you! So, you awakened the bloodline of a mouse! Was that person in white just now also you? What exactly happened? Are mice really this powerful? It can’t be. You must just look like a mouse.”
The fluffy ball proudly raised his head, patting his chest with his paws. “I am a Northeastern Mouse! We creatures from our place are born tough, and mice are no exception.”
On the side, the blue butterfly, now bundled into a ball, took the opportunity to speak. “Usually, at this point, there is no danger. Can we untie these grass leaves?”
Seeing that Shu Xun recognized Lie Yang’s group, the three-leaf grass released the bound leaves. Lie Yang, Gray, and Lie Yang’s companion blue butterfly finally regained their freedom. As soon as Lie Yang was free, he reached out towards the fluffy ball, intending to pick it up for a closer look. However, before his hand could touch the desired fur, a leaf swiftly flew over like lightning, hitting him squarely on the forehead with tremendous force. Caught off guard, Lie Yang was instantly stunned, and a bright red line appeared on his forehead, making it particularly eye-catching.
After realizing what happened, Lie Yang immediately erupted, grabbing the grass leaf in front of him. “Again and again, what do you want? Just because you are grass doesn’t mean I won’t dare to hit you!” After roaring, Lie Yang scratched his head and looked at Shu Xun. “What’s the deal with this grass? Can it understand us?”
Before Shu Xun could answer, the grass leaves in front of Lie Yang had already reacted. The grass, like a human finger, beckoned with its leaf tip, signaling Lie Yang to come closer. Subconsciously, Lie Yang turned his gaze back and approached the grass. As expected, the grass leaf swiftly struck Lie Yang’s forehead again with a lightning-fast motion.
Lie Yang: “…”
Gray, who had been holding back his laughter, couldn’t resist anymore. On the other side, Meng Muyu wasn’t as polite. Pointing at the bewildered Lie Yang, he burst into laughter. “This butterfly indeed lacks a brain! Hahaha!” Ling Yang on his shoulder tried hard to maintain an elegant expression, forcing himself not to burst into laughter.
Lie Yang’s blue butterfly flapped its wings, quietly moving to the side, elegantly grooming its antennae, behaving as if it didn’t know Lie Yang. In another round of confrontation, Lie Yang was defeated once again. On the other side, Meng Muyu almost laughed tears out. The little mermaid, sitting on Meng Muyu, couldn’t hold back either, vigorously patting Meng Muyu’s shoulder and laughing heartily, covering his stomach.
Shu Xun spread his two little paws, expressing a helpless gesture. “Both have long antennae, why is the difference so significant?”
The previously dull live stream, after enduring a long time, had now erupted into laughter. Simultaneously, expressions of the Zerg army were filled with cries and howls.
“Facepalm, can’t bear to watch anymore. ‘The King is not as good as the Grass’ series! What happened to lying down and winning with the fluffy ball?”
“Seeing Lie Yang’s look, even the companion blue butterfly considered abandoning our King?”
“Hahaha! Wherever Lie Yang is, unexpected situations always happen, and… hehehe… I, who can’t keep up with Shu Xun’s thoughts, urgently need a teammate like Lie Yang with long antennae for inquiries!”
“Ling Yang is probably laughing himself to insanity; the fishtail is still slapping, has the chief’s shoulder turned red from the slapping~”
“The complete team from ‘Winter’s End’ has finally gathered!”
“The one with long antennae, a blue butterfly can’t save you anymore!”
In the game world, the three-leaf grass used its other two leaves to hold Lie Yang’s hand, trying to pull out the leaf that was grabbed. Then, it casually floated over to the fluffy ball, lifting its leaves in a manner expecting to be petted and praised.
The fluffy ball responded by extending his front paws and patting the grass leaf, making it fall downward. The petite three-leaf grass immediately felt satisfied and used its other leaf to touch the area where it was patted by the paw.
Lie Yang, with a black face, looked at the completely different treatments, silently grooming his antennae.
On the other side, Meng Muyu, who had finally had enough laughter, approached Gray and extended his hand. “Meng Muyu, the developer of ‘Deep Blue Sea.’ Due to some unexpected events, I participated in the game as a player and a member of Shu Xun’s team. I’ve seen your related videos in ‘Winter’s End’; your skills are good, and your strength is top-notch. Your logical thinking is also impressive. It made me feel that the butterfly clan might still have hope. Are you a Dead Leaf Butterfly? How did you end up with Lie Yang? Have you been surrounded by insects since entering the game?”
Gray immediately straightened his body, nervously extending his hand. “I-I-I-I-I… am… called… Gray-G-G-Gray… you-you-you-you… good… I-I-I-I-I… happened… to… meet… our-our-our-our King… I-I-I-I…”
Meng Muyu: (￣ー￣) Discussing the feasibility of chatting with someone who stutters when nervous.
Fortunately, the next second, Ling Yang, sitting on Meng Muyu’s shoulder, imitated Meng Muyu’s confident manner and extended his chubby little hand. “I’m Ling Yang, Spirit Tides Tribe. Hello.”
A smile appeared in Gray’s eyes as he reached out his small finger and shook hands with Ling Yang. “Y-y-y-you… hello…”
Next, the unfamiliar individuals exchanged greetings, familiarizing themselves with each other’s names and discussing recent events. Meng Muyu briefly explained about Shu Xun and the unexpected situation they encountered, as well as some clues they discovered. Lie Yang also straightforwardly shared his and Gray’s experiences.
The group quickly learned that almost since entering the game, Lie Yang and Gray had been constantly besieged by insects. If it were only Gray, he could escape with his exceptional mimicry skills as a Dead Leaf Butterfly. However, with Lie Yang, the situation became precarious. As Shu Xun mentioned, Lie Yang, once airborne at night, became like a beacon, attracting a large number of insects. Without using wings, in this world composed of liquid water, their mobility was significantly restricted. So, during this period, Lie Yang and Gray experienced quite thrilling moments. In the end, they accidentally fell into an underground cavity, thinking it would provide temporary relief, but to their surprise, the insects relentlessly pursued them, following closely.
After listening to Lie Yang’s narration, the fluffy little ball used his claws to scratch his whiskers. “So, you mean the creatures in this world hold animosity towards insects, and the insects, in turn, show hostility towards outsiders. Moreover, it seems they harbor even stronger animosity towards foreign insects of the same kind. What could be the reason for this? It feels like there are too many mysteries and contradictions in these gigantic insects in this world. If we can sort them out, we might make important discoveries. As you traveled along the way, did you find any remnants of the Earth Tribe?”
Gray shook his head, and Lie Yang, having groomed his antennae, elegantly spoke, “Generally speaking, we’ve been in a high-speed movement state since entering the game, covering a considerable distance. However, we haven’t found any traces of high-intelligence life activities, which is quite unusual. Besides, if this continent is as you described, higher in the center and lower on the sides, survivors would instinctively move towards the central point. So, as long as we continue inland, we are bound to discover something.”
Such clear logical reasoning slightly surprised Ling Yang, who widened his eyes, staring at the butterfly in front of him for a while.
The fluffy little ball nodded in agreement. “Indeed, the benefits of moving inland are higher. Currently, we have too few clues. Since we’ve unintentionally gathered, let’s set out towards the inland.” After saying this, the little ball took a few steps toward the nearby open space, ready to take out the spirit bamboo raft. However, after just two steps, he was pulled back by a force, and what got caught was his whiskers. The little mouse was instantly at a loss, turned his head, and saw the three-leaf grass quickly retracting its leaves.
The three-leaf grass was intelligent, evidently understanding what everyone was talking about. Realizing that Shu Xun was about to leave, it instinctively grabbed Shu Xun’s whiskers. The petite three-leaf grass floated to the side of the fluffy ball, then used its two leaves to loop around the ball’s neck and tied a knot, hanging on the ball like a scarf.
Ye Qian, lying with a stretched face, reached out to pull, but the three-leaf grass remained unmoved, seemingly stuck to the ball.
The fluffy ball extended his claws to pat the leaves of the three-leaf grass. “When you grow up, you can come to see me.”
Eventually, the three-leaf grass fell off Shu Xun, and other three-leaf grasses also gathered around, patting the petite three-leaf grass with their leaves to comfort it. The fluffy ball waved his chubby paw, turned around, and left. Just as he took a couple of steps, he suddenly fell with a slap, and once again, his whiskers were caught by the three-leaf grass.
