Chapter 494: Chaijun
Chapter 494: Chaijun
"I rely on the floating crystal dust within my body."
After showing her arm covered in blood spots to Lyon and the others, the bandit sister explained in a low voice, amidst the female reporter's horrified gaze:
"I was born in the Floating Crystal Mining District. Even before my mother gave birth to me, my entire body was already covered in this dust. These things are a part of me.
Grandma said that the floating crystals have an attractive property. Once activated, these tiny bits of dust will spontaneously gather towards larger, homogeneous floating crystal blocks. Every year, people in the mining district are affected by the activated floating crystals while near the levitating carts, causing the crystals inside their bodies to be drawn towards them. Their throats and lungs would rupture entirely.
The floating crystals in the Korok Kingdom are in a constant state of low-intensity activation. The closer I get to the Korok Palace, the more pain I feel. So, by trying a few more times, we can definitely locate the Korok Palace.
They rely on this method...
After hearing how the bandit sister finds the Korok Palace, Lyon, despite having prepared himself mentally, couldn't help but feel shocked.
Although the bandit sister hadn't intentionally spoken about her life with the bandit brother before escaping Chaijun, it wasn't hard to imagine what kind of life they had led from the occasional words that slipped out.
"I have a few more questions to confirm."
After a brief silence, Lyon spoke up again:
"Korok Kingdom has over eight hundred blocks, and each block has a floating crystal embedded beneath it. How can you be sure that the one attracting you is the floating crystal beneath the Korok Palace?"
"By the block number."
The bandit sister calmly replied:
"Since activated floating crystals have an attractive property, different mining methods are used to avoid mutual interference. The explosives, mining tools, and cleaning agents all vary.
So, in theory, each mining district's floating crystals are unique. My family is from Block 1, and Grandma heard from the mine supervisor that Block 1's floating crystals are for the royal family's exclusive use."
So that's how it is...
After hearing the bandit sister's explanation, the female reporter, who had recovered from her shock, took a step forward and firmly grasped the seemingly frail arm, asking incoherently:
"How can this be?! Those floating crystals are so... Do you... Do you feel pain?"
"It's not too painful."
After hearing the female reporter's question, the bandit sister shook her head:
"I'm still young, and my body can still grow. As long as I eat more, I can bear the influence of these dust particles. It's only when my body stops growing, and my internal organs stop expanding, that these particles will start to wear down my body."
"Wear down?"
"It means rotting."
The bandit sister pointed to the dots on her arm and replied calmly:
"Uncle Mazby and Grandma said that when my body grows and the rate of cell replacement slows down, if it's not enough to replace these parts before rejection, these dots will grow from the size of a millet grain to the size of a bean.
Then, due to the rejection beneath the skin, the skin will be unable to maintain itself and will start to rot. After about a year, when these rot becomes the size of a pigeon egg, my internal organs will also start to rot, and I'll probably die within a year."
"..."
In other words, from the time their bodies stop growing to the time these dust particles torment them to death, there's only a year and a half.
Seeing the girl's calm expression, as if she were talking about someone else, the female reporter's hands clenched tightly.
"So, how old are you this year?" the female journalist asked, her voice trembling slightly.
"Fourteen," the bandit sister replied, her voice soft yet resolute.
Fourteen...
The journalist's heart sank as she heard the girl's answer. She couldn't help but bite her lip, feeling a surge of emotions. She averted her gaze, unsure of how to face the young girl anymore.
Even with proper nutrition, the rapid growth spurt usually ends around seventeen or eighteen, and girls often stop growing earlier than boys, some as early as fifteen or sixteen.
If this child's condition followed the same pattern, her life was already on a countdown. She might have less than a year left before the pain would begin, followed by a slow and agonizing death as her body deteriorated.
Despite her youthful appearance, she was already on borrowed time, like many elderly people in their final days...
"So, you... you all..." The journalist struggled to find the right words, her voice shaking from the harsh reality. She managed to utter a couple of 'you's before covering her mouth with her hand, unable to ask any more questions.
Lyon, sensing the journalist's distress, stepped in and asked, "You've left the mining district, but what about the dust that remains in your bodies? Can't it be metabolized or removed with medication or other methods over time?"
"Uncle Mazby tried, but it didn't work," the bandit sister replied, shaking her head.
"The activation of floating crystals requires a certain form of energy," she explained. "Uncle Mazby said that our bodies also contain energy that can be directly absorbed by the floating crystal dust.
Children like me, with the dust in their flesh and blood, are actually the lucky ones. If the dust reaches the brain and nerves, it can prevent control over the body, leading to death right after birth."
"Who is this Uncle Mazby you mentioned?" Lyon asked.
"Uncle Mazby is a scholar from the Corlock Kingdom," the bandit sister explained.
Her eyes flickered with a hint of coldness when she mentioned the Corlock Kingdom, but then a complex expression crossed her face. "He originally came to treat the overseers, but after seeing our situation, he caused a stir and stayed in Chaijun. He's been treating many miners for free. My brother and I were able to escape with his help."
"What about him now?" Lyon inquired.
"I don't know. He might be dead," she said, her voice tinged with sadness.
"His health wasn't good either. He was hit by a levitation cart in the mine, and his lung injury was worse than my grandmother's. When my brother and I escaped, he was already coughing up blood every day."
Lyon closed his eyes briefly, his face unreadable. The journalist, having regained her composure, spoke with slightly reddened eyes, "So, if you don't go into the mines, what would the Corlock Kingdom's overseers do? Would they resort to violence?"
"No, the overseers from the Corlock Kingdom only care about keeping the mining district operational and preventing people from leaving. They don't interfere with anything else."
"However," the bandit sister continued, her voice hardening, "although they don't use violence, plants can't grow in Chaijun and several other large mining districts. There are hardly any animals, and everything, including food, has to be traded for with the extracted floating crystals!"
So, to avoid starving to death, they had no choice but to mine for floating crystals?
As the journalist grasped the grim 'operation' of Chaijun, she bit her lip so hard that it left a deep white mark. Lyon, standing by her side, sighed inwardly. He then took out a small silver knife and cut the ropes binding the bandit siblings.
"We accept your proposed trade," Lyon said, his voice firm.
(End of Chapter)
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