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墨書 Inktalez
The wind had already repaired the treehouse and was boiling water for tea, using leaves from a certain type of tree. Miss Fortune had gone to the creek to wash the mud off her clothes.
Cui Ming sat down and took a sip of the tea that Wind had prepared. It tasted somewhat bitter and rather light. Wind glanced at Miss Fortune's back and asked, "How is it?"
"The fish bit, but I didn't catch any. However, I think they should be biting tomorrow," Cui Ming replied.
"I meant, how do you feel being stuck with such a fiery Miss Fortune?"
"..." Cui Ming looked at Wind. "You're bored."
"Yeah, I'm really bored, which is why I asked."
Cui Ming said, "From a physical response, it's a good thing, but from a mental perspective, it's not so great; it’s quite distracting for me."
"Youth, why hang yourself on one tree like Beiyue? Life is short; even if you guard your purity like jade, you won't earn a chastity plaque," Wind remarked before changing the subject. "Is it a turtle?"
"It should be. This fellow has high intelligence and is very cautious. From its behavior, I can't determine any malicious intent. First of all, it chose to come during the day instead of at night. Secondly, although it tries hard to conceal its movements, it hasn't set up an ambush for you. Currently, I judge that it wants to communicate with us."
"It's raining again." Wind and Cui Ming moved the tea set into the treehouse. They lit a fire inside and sat down to drink tea. Feng Dao said, "There's one more thing: it’s alone while we are three. Yesterday we killed an assassin; many people don’t know about it, but it was active nearby and should have some understanding of our abilities. Yet it still chose to come and probe us without any hostility. Why not just show itself directly?"
"Because yesterday we revealed our strength, putting it in a dilemma. It knows that if it bets wrong, there will be no turning back," Cui Ming called down below, "Boss. Report in."
Miss Fortune made a gun shape with her hand and pointed it at Cui Ming as she climbed up into the treehouse, draping her coat by the fire to dry. Though her figure was petite and delicate, she had everything she needed. Cui Ming remained focused and said, "Boss, I don't think it has much malice. There are two plans: one is to continue fishing tomorrow; the other is for me to wait for it alone at the camp."
"You alone? Everything so far has been your subjective judgment. I trust you, but just in case, I'll stay behind," Miss Fortune replied.
Cui Ming said, "I can fight or run; there's no need to worry. Besides, I'm more suited for negotiation."
The wind made a gun gesture towards the campfire and imitated Miss Fortune's tone, "Turtle, say it or not, if you keep quiet, I'll make you understand why the chrysanthemum is so red."
Miss Fortune was not to be outdone; she tilted her head back and looked gloomily at the ceiling. "Turtle, I don't want to make things difficult for you. Don't make me do it. Because my knife... won't take no for an answer."
Cui Ming sighed in exasperation. "Ladies, can we talk about serious matters? No matter which plan we choose, we need to establish a route, a hideout, and then coordinate our tactics. We need to stay in touch."
It was quite boring in such a small place; outside, it was raining, and the air was humid and hot. With danger lurking everywhere, spending a whole day together was tiresome. Cui Ming had already grown bored to the point of breaking down the details of their plan after just an hour. He stood up and said, "I'm going to get some game."
As Cui Ming left, Miss Fortune rolled over to Wind's side and whispered, "Is he a rookie? Not just any rookie, but a primitive one?" Miss Fortune had always thought that Cui Ming was inexperienced when it came to matters of men and women, but today she realized that he was completely clueless.
Wind asked in alarm, "Beast. What do you want? If you have guts, come at me."
"I'm not interested," Miss Fortune replied with some hesitation. "Beiyue is at least a hunter; otherwise, I would really want to steal a man."
"Steal?"
"The young man is naive; when people disperse, longing shatters." Miss Fortune recited a line of prose poetry.
Wind corrected her, "It should be 'when people sleep, longing follows.' The latter part goes: 'Upon first meeting the rain and dew, hard to extricate oneself; every night is filled with revelry, drunk in life and dreams.' Just think about it; he’s like a brother to me. Although I dislike Beiyue, if you go after him, I can only turn against you."
"Isn't he supposed to be smart? Does he need your protection?"
"He doesn't understand the allure of certain things; he thinks he can handle it." As someone who had been through it all, Feng Dao added, "I wouldn't mind being taken advantage of; you might consider it."
"Get lost! I value quality and never settle for mediocrity."
...
Cui Ming had no idea what the two were discussing. Even if he did know, he would just smile it off; being admired by beautiful women was an honor. A man also seeks to please those who appreciate him. As for deeper matters, without experience, he had no say. Cui Ming was by a stream three hundred meters away, catching some Mantis Shrimp and cleaning them. Although they were in a rainforest, perhaps due to the presence of Otherworldly Creatures, there wasn't much game around.
After washing the Mantis Shrimp, Cui Ming looked up and said, "I've been watching for a while. Want to chat?"
From the pile of dead leaves across the stream, a giant turtle emerged from the decaying foliage. Its limbs were strong as it slowly walked to a spot ten meters away from Cui Ming and asked, "Who are you?" The words came out somewhat stiffly, clearly not in its native tongue.
"My name is Cui Ming. Do you speak Eternity language?"
"I've learned a bit; please speak slowly," the turtle replied. "My name is Moss, and I come from Silver Snow Planet."
"Were you summoned here?" Cui Ming asked.
"Yes," Moss looked at Cui Ming. "You are different from the people here. They fall into two categories: one type is completely insane, forgetting their lunch but remembering how to write a multitude of runes. The other type is extremely wary; anything that approaches them is treated as a threat, and they never trust anyone. The laughter you hear when people talk is something they hardly ever experience. Not that they don’t laugh at all; their laughter is just terrifying."
Cui Ming said, "It seems I need to explain the Eternal Sphere to you."
Moss replied, "I would love to hear it. Ever since I realized I couldn't go back, my only thought has been to survive."
Cui Ming began the introduction, starting with geography and history, speaking until his throat was dry. "That's about it. If you want to know the details of this planet, I suggest you learn the writing first and then read books yourself."
Moss asked, "So you're saying this Silent City is one of the worst places in the Eternal Sphere?"
"Yes."
"What evidence do you have that outside isn't worse than here?"
Cui Ming thought for a long moment and said, "Wait a moment; I'll go get something." Ignoring whether Moss would refuse, he left and returned to the treehouse. He found Feng and Miss Fortune napping. Cui Ming gently lifted Miss Fortune's head. As she opened her eyes slightly, she saw Cui Ming leaning closer to her face. She placed her left index finger on the trigger; he could openly say he wanted to get closer, but if he had to sneak around like this, it showed he had good taste, yet she was not pleased.
Cui Ming pulled away Miss Fortune's pillow—Feng's belongings—and grabbed his own bag to replace it. He opened his bag and found a photo album of Liu Meier. Seeing the album made Miss Fortune sigh inwardly; with such a beautiful girl around, why did he have to take an album into a corner? Damn it, her pride was hurt beyond measure.
Moss stood on three legs, using one hand or foot to flip through the album. Cui Ming said, "I don't know what your taste is like, but this is a photo of an ordinary-looking woman from our planet. You can notice her clothing, which is of high quality, along with various beautiful shiny things. Look at the people in the background, their attire... Do you see the police in the second picture on this page? That's the profession I just mentioned that maintains order."
"She is beautiful," Moss replied. "I want to believe what you say about the Eternal Sphere, but I don't know if you are good people or bad people."
Cui Ming thought to himself, what kind of bad person would waste half an hour talking to you instead of just capturing you and cooking you? "Moss, don't be anxious. Although we are not exactly bad people, we also don't want to be good ones. What do you want to do?"
"I want to leave here," Moss said.
"It's very simple to help you leave here," Cui Ming had already guessed Moss's intention. Helping Moss leave was indeed easy; he could tell Moss a route that would lead him northeast, and he would eventually get there. However... Cui Ming continued, "One of my companions is a hunter; she won't allow Otherworldly Creatures to appear in the Three Continents. According to the rules, before entering the Three Continents, she will capture you and then the Force Alliance will observe you. If you show no tendencies towards violence, you can join the Force Alliance's Otherworldly Creatures division, where there are many beings summoned from other planets. If you do have violent tendencies, they will eliminate you."
"..." How direct! Moss was stunned for quite a while by what Cui Ming said.
Cui Ming added, "To be honest, there’s no benefit for me to deceive you into leaving. I don’t want to save humanity either; whether you go to the Three Continents and kill a few people has little to do with me. You can think it over; besides, Silent City isn't that bad. There are four elders in Silent City, and some of them are quite decent."
Moss replied, "Except for an elder named Sadin, the other three are not good people." Moss had been forcibly summoned by a madman; when he was first summoned and during the backlash from the Force, his summoner placed a Force Restraint on him and began studying him slowly. In the magic circle, they unlocked him while observing his painful struggles to understand his abilities.
Moss was fortunate; he had been with his master for about a month until his master died just a month ago, leaving only a leg behind. Without his master's supervision, Moss used his enhanced Force and unique abilities to break free from the Force Lock chains and escaped into the Rainforest. There he met a friend who was also an Otherworldly Creature; this friend had been abandoned by their master and knew a lot about Silent City. Just as they were planning how to escape Silent City together, his friend was killed—by the assassin who attacked Cui Ming last night. The assassin killed him and cooked him for food, preserving the remaining meat by smoking it. Moss was filled with rage and wanted revenge for his friend but was also incredibly timid. The assassin had attacked him too, but due to his natural dragon shell protection and enhanced abilities, the assassin could do nothing against him. However, he couldn't attack back either.
Then three outsiders entered this Rainforest, stepping into the assassin's territory. Moss hoped these outsiders would teach the assassin a lesson; unexpectedly, they not only taught him a lesson but killed him instead. This left him both surprised and delighted. After several attempts at probing them, Moss approached Cui Ming as he fished for Mantis Shrimp in a small stream and finally made contact.
"You can go find Sass since your friend believes he is a good person." (To be continued.)
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