Chapter 579: Chu Mo Island (44)
Chapter 579 Chu Mo Island (44)
After leaping off the Fear Leaf, the players proceeded northward—direction didn’t matter to them, as only native creatures of this universe could discern the island’s orientation.
The farther they traveled from Can Mu’s nest, the wider the crystal pathways became, with fewer branching paths.
After briskly walking for half an hour, the four arrived at a relatively open area.
Only then did they stop to rest properly.
“Ah… Ji Bu sprawled onto the ground, I’ll die before I walk again. Let me lie here for at least two hours first.”
“Fully agree.” Tian Ma Xing Kong replied, collapsing onto the ground as he spoke.
Meanwhile, Hong Hu leaned against a wall and muttered, “I think my feet are blistering… But I can’t take off my shoes. My status bar shows no anomalies either.”
“Heh… Then you’ll just have to endure it.” Feng Bu Jue chuckled.
Hong Hu sighed, “Hmm… This reminds me—next time I buy fashion gear, I should prioritize sneakers instead of cloth boots.”
“Hey…” Brother Horse panted on the ground before sitting up, “Are you guys hungry too? I feel like snacking again…”
“Ah, me too.” Feng Bu Jue mused, “It’s only been three hours since our last meal. Logically speaking, hunger shouldn’t kick in this quickly. Seems this scenario’s hunger effect cycles faster than reality.”
“Maybe it’s because our consumption rate is high,” Ji Bu added. “And… we didn’t even finish our last meal.”
“Impossible.” Feng Bu Jue immediately countered. “Unlike you slackers who play hot-and-cold with food out of psychological resistance, I actually stopped at nine-tenths full.” He boasted proudly.
“And what exactly are you trying to prove…?” Ji Bu squinted skeptically. “That you’re a deviant who devours people without spitting out the bones?”
“No, Feng Bu Jue is making a point about meal pacing,” Hong Hu interjected.
Feng Bu Jue snapped his fingers, “Exactly! As you can see, even though I ate nine-tenths full while you guys only had six or seven, we all feel hungry at roughly the same time.” Speaking, he pulled something from his satchel.
At the sight of it, his teammates’ expressions soured.
“Hey! You’re not seriously…?” Ji Bu shouted first. “We’ve got lamb already. Why bring out those Wokol corpse chunks?”
“This isn’t corpse debris,” Feng Bu Jue calmly replied, “but roasted reserve meat I saved. And no worries—I’m not eating it myself, let alone forcing you to.” He lifted the meat into his palm, “I’m presenting this piece for demonstration.”
“Fine…” Ji Bu sighed in resignation. He knew arguing wouldn’t stop this madman anyway…
“This section was cut from Wokol’s back—tenderloin, to be precise.” Feng Bu Jue continued. “Judging by weight…” He actually weighed it with his hands, “it’s between 540 to 570 grams.”
“Could you get to the point…? Don’t do this…” Brother Horse groaned, facepalming.
“Don’t do what?” Feng Bu Jue shrugged.
“Don’t act so nonchalant about this horror show,” Hong Hu cut in. “Maybe it’s normal to you, but accommodate our sensibilities. Casually discussing cuts and weights while holding meat torn from a humanoid creature’s body is terrifying to normal people.”
“Alright~alright~” Feng Bu Jue said with mock humility, though his actions showed no improvement. “Anyway, let’s call it 550 grams. In the Priest Hall, I ate about 500 grams, while each of you had less than 350 grams.” He paused, “Yet now, we’re all hungry at once…”
He glanced at his teammates, “Notice the issue?”
“Your stomach’s 30% bigger?” Brother Horse quipped with elementary math logic.
The absurdity of this answer left Feng Bu Jue too speechless to retort…
“I get it…” Hong Hu seemed to reach a conclusion. “Nine-tenths full versus six-tenths—it’s essentially the same.”
“Exactly.” Feng Bu Jue nodded. “We should’ve realized earlier… This game lacks any excretion settings, so our digestion process can’t possibly be realistic.” He pocketed the meat again, “Clearly, ‘eating’ here is merely a way to alleviate hunger—completely unrelated to nutrient intake or metabolism. In a sense… we’re like zombies, eating purely from hunger.”
“So… How much we eat doesn’t matter?” Ji Bu asked.
“Not quite,” Feng Bu Jue answered. “I estimate that as long as you reach five-tenths fullness, the negative effects of hunger will vanish. Beyond that, you’re just chasing satiety.” He stroked his chin, “Thus, I suggest we all eat half portions next time.”
“I agree,” Hong Hu quickly responded. “This way, with the same food supply, we can last longer.”
“Whatever. Half fullness works. Let’s roast lamb already!” Tian Ma Xing Kong said, using his waist to push himself up from the ground.
“Alright…” Feng Bu Jue said, already pulling out branches from the Taunting Tree to prepare a fire, “I suppose you won’t be eating Wokol’s meat again anytime soon…”
………
Meanwhile, back on the Fear Leaf.
“Just wrap me up like this?” Bi Er stood on the leaf vein, shouting down to Bi Li.
Unbeknownst to when, the nearby crystal pathways had become littered with flesh-covered remains. Most were beasts drawn here from elsewhere—some lured by bloodshed, others by death itself, and some seeking to usurp Can Mu’s dominance.
Yet without exception, they’d all been slaughtered by Bi Er. These creatures were merely lifeforms of the Reversal Island; even their strongest, Can Mu, still couldn’t compare with the island’s “Prisoners.”
Even Lie Sen De, the first player encountered, could rival Can Mu in capability. Not to mention hidden bosses like “Fu Ling”—if Fu Ling were at full strength, they could crush Can Mu into the dirt without breaking a sweat…
“How could you just roll yourself up?” Bi Li shouted back from below. “You think it’s a soybean roll? You’ll leak corpse chunks from both ends!”
“Then what should I do?” Bi Er retorted.
“Wrap it like a zongzi!” Bi Li replied.
“Uh…” Bi Er pondered for a few seconds, his screen-face displaying confusion. “But I don’t have any string to tie a zongzi?”
“Use that vine monster you killed earlier!” Bi Li suggested.
“Oh! Right!” Bi Er’s face displayed an XD emoticon. “Haha! Field research!”
“Sigh…” Bi Li shook his head, “Still unreliable, never thinks…” He murmured, “I hope staying with Zhuan Jie Zun for a while helps him grow…”
High above, Bi Er ignored his brother’s muttering, now using his fingers to cut Fear Leaf petals.
Fear Leaf wasn’t an ordinary large leaf—otherwise Can Mu wouldn’t have chosen this as her nest. While not as hard as surrounding crystals, its “tenacity” was anomalously astounding. Whatever damage occurred, Fear Leaf could self-repair within short periods. For Can Mu, when prey was scarce, this leaf served as endless breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Now, Bi Er intended to exploit this trait—cutting and peeling a section of leaf to wrap Can Mu’s corpse.
Zizi—
The sound of metal scraping leather began as he cut.
Bi Er’s fingers could morph into various forms. Willing it, his five fingers could become five tiny chainsaws (tiny being relative—heavier than a human palm), hammers, screwdrivers, etc. Minor tricks, nothing special.
Sawing as he walked, he peeled the leaf section gradually.
The Fear Leaf began healing immediately upon injury. As soon as one layer of leaf flesh detached, new plant fibers sprouted from the cut, knitting itself back together. There was no risk of the leaf section plummeting.
Soon, Bi Er completed his preparation, wrapping the corpse with the cut leaf flesh—three quick motions, and Can Mu’s corpse chunks were bundled into a triangular leaf-zongzi.
Below, Bi Li observing his brother’s struggle, decided to help with his psychic powers. Waving his fingers, the vine monster’s corpse stretched into neat strips, flying onto the Fear Leaf to complete the binding.
“OK, done.” Bi Er proudly patted the “corpse zongzi” next to him.
“Lift it and follow me.” Bi Li ordered.
“Huh?” Bi Er blinked. “Aren’t we leaving this island yet?”
“No,” Bi Li glanced at his watch. “I need to visit someone first… Then we’ll go.”
………
“I wonder… Is this considered nightfall?” Tian Ma Xing Kong asked, watching the crystals dim around them.
By now, the players had finished eating and rested for an hour and a half.
Initially, they’d felt uneasy, fearing the system would penalize them for “passive play.” Half an hour passed with no reaction, so they relaxed—the system apparently accepted “resting” as valid behavior.
“Who knows…” Feng Bu Jue replied. “There’s no sun or stars above…” He speculated, “Maybe this place doesn’t even have a concept of ‘sky.’ How do we know what we’re looking at? Or this world’s time flow? Perhaps a night here lasts thirty hours. Or maybe the reflection above is the real Chu Mo Island, while we’re in a mirror realm. Or maybe creatures here transform at night…”
“Without even distinguishing directions, we’re truly helpless…” Hong Hu added.
“Hmm… Well, it doesn’t matter.” Tian Ma Xing Kong said, hands behind his head. “Even if all crystals completely stop glowing, we’ve got this fire and other illumination devices.”
“The issue is…” Feng Bu Jue’s eyes flickered, “If the entire Crystal Labyrinth plunges into darkness, is staying near a light source truly safe?”
“Oh right… It’ll attract monsters.” Ji Bu nodded.
Hong Hu added, “Exactly. If there’s a ‘night’ here, there must be ‘nocturnal beings.’ Staying at such an obvious light source would be dangerous.”
“So… What’s your stamina value recovery status?” Feng Bu Jue suddenly asked.
“Better than expected—60%.” Hong Hu replied.
“Same here.” Ji Bu added.
Tian Ma Xing Kong nodded, “Around that.”
“Good. Let’s move out then.” Feng Bu Jue stood, brushing crystal dust off himself.
“Huh?” Ji Bu gasped. “But it’s getting darker around us!”
“That’s why we go now,” Feng Bu Jue replied. “Our human eyes aren’t suited for darkness. We need light to see. Whether we stay or move, we won’t extinguish fire or lights. In that case, we might as well carry flashlights and scout ahead.”
“Mm.” Tian Ma Xing Kong stood, stretching his limbs. “We’ve stayed long enough. Let’s relocate.”
“Staying or leaving… Which is more dangerous…” Hong Hu said, turning to Ji Bu. “Ji Bu, your take?”
Ji Bu froze—this rare moment of being the decision-maker caught him off guard.
“I…” After hesitation, he said, “I think we should move. We still have tasks to do.”
Honestly, he didn’t overthink it—he instinctively followed Feng Bu Jue’s lead. In such moments, trusting Feng Bu Jue’s plans felt safer than relying on gut feeling…
Thus, by majority vote, Hong Hu accepted the operation plan. The four set out again.
What they didn’t know yet—this scenario’s most horrifying crisis was quietly approaching…
(End of Chapter)
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