Famine 40: The Road of Glory

The Road of Glory

[Day Twelve / 8:27 PM / Skeletal Ferry / Current Farm Satiety: 25%]
[3 Days until Uprising Deadline]

The Skeletal Ferry was always quiet at night, but lately, things had changed—there was always an air of life around. Groups of service players wandered the streets, faces full of hope, talking about what they’d eat for the evening, all heading toward the farm rift.

None of this had anything to do with Liu Zhengchu.

He pulled his worn coat tighter around himself, drifting through the crowd absentminded and forlorn. The hope he’d recently felt had burst like a bubble, vanishing in an instant. He stood in line, head bowed low, whole body hunched in on itself.

A young resistance fighter, one of the qualified little warriors, spotted him and whispered something to a teammate before jogging over, asking with concern:
“You alright, friend?”

Liu Zhengchu shuddered, clutching his coat tighter. “I’m… I’m fine! Just… a little cold…”

The young soldier frowned, staring at him.

In that moment, Liu Zhengchu couldn’t control the trembling in his shoulders, his mind screaming over and over: He found me.

He found me out, he’ll kick me out—then I’m finished, Nan Nan’s finished. He’s a qualified player, he’ll kill me… The thought seeped through Liu Zhengchu like ice, freezing him to the spot—but there was also a wild, uncontrollable relief and release inside, as if a thousand-pound burden was about to drop from his shoulders and he might simply collapse in happiness and rest.

But the next second, the little soldier just smiled.

“Don’t worry, friend. They’ll have plenty to eat, even for those at the end of the line. Yesterday’s shutdown was just temporary.”
After another glance at his threadbare coat, the soldier handed him a paper cup steaming with warm water. “You really are freezing, huh?”

A wide, toothy grin, then with a curse and a huffy start, the soldier turned away, muttering, “All the fault of those moronic bastards. Got even us qualified players spooked by monsters, everyone thinks I’m some tiger or something! They want to pin the villain’s role on me? No way in hell!…”

His back was completely open and unguarded.

Liu Zhengchu’s hands shook uncontrollably, and the wafting steam stung his eyes.

A crushing impulse surged in him—to cry, to kneel and confess, to rip open his coat and shout that he was the traitor, to die openly in a hail of bullets. But he couldn’t. Every time he closed his eyes, he thought of Nan Nan—the one whose breathing matched his own, who had crossed untold hardships by his side, who now lay weak in bed, sipping congee.

“—Your wife loves you so much. If I were you, I’d at least give her a peaceful end.”
“If her last days are still full of pain… that’s just too cruel.”

In the end, Liu Zhengchu did nothing. He was like the walking dead, moving with the line to the farm rift.

“I want… I want two orders of fried chicken wings. One tomato hot pot. One bowl of congee.”
Under the stares of the staff, he rasped the order, slowly opening his coat:

“Paying… with a Cursed Tale Artifact.”

……

When Liu Zhengchu got home, Nan Nan was up waiting for him. She stretched in the lamp light, bandages wrapped around her, and beamed at him with a pure, unclouded smile: “Ah Chu, you’re back! Yesterday you said the transfer gloves were a bit small, so I fixed them—come and see if they fit…”

Then she noticed the pretty cup in his hand: “Oh! Where’d you get this patterned paper cup?”

“A kind soldier gave it to me.” Just seeing her face cheered him up, and Liu Zhengchu managed a weary smile.

Nan Nan was delighted: “Perfect for what’s left of the jerky!”

Liu Zhengchu blinked. “Jerky?”

“You really are tired lately, forgetting even that.” Nan Nan reached over to feel his forehead. “Remember? When the farm owner first set up on the Skeletal Ferry, you bought me fried chicken wings and explained our situation. He kindly added a bag of lucky jerky for us!”

She seemed to be working hard to cheer him up, putting on a bright face and telling happy stories in a light tone: “Ha ha, not sure if it’s real luck, but since I ate it, I’ve felt much better these past few days.”

“It’s all thanks to the farm owner and the resistance. Without them, we’d be dead. Even the neighbors praise them—just today I heard Uncle and Aunt Wang say they want to find a way to give back! We ought to help out too…”

“Ah Chu? …What’s wrong?”

“I’m going to the bathroom.”

Keeping up a smile, he ducked out of the tent, let down the flap, and leaned, limp, against a bone column—then slammed his head against it.

Thud!

“Want to know what this thing is? Hm, doesn’t matter—it’s like thinking of a curse as a pathogen.”

Thud!… thud!

“After enough time, just a little pressure and boom—like petals in the wind, one infects ten, ten infect a hundred, until you’ve got hundreds and thousands infected, even those you tried to save… careful now, don’t spill this in your home…”

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

“What happens to people tainted by a curse?” Gu Haoping smiled softly, patting his face. “Well… if you don’t take it out, just look at your wife’s corpse and you’ll see. Wouldn’t that be nice?”

“Don’t worry, Sha Tong and his lot have nothing but muscle between their ears. Naive as kids, they’ll never find you out.”

Thud!!

With the final blow, blood splattered.

Liu Zhengchu’s head was already covered in blood, tears running down his face, weeping in silence as he clung to the bone post and collapsed to his knees.

I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…

…………
……

[Day Twelve / 10:31 PM / Farm Backyard / Current Farm Satiety: 25%]
[3 Days until Uprising Deadline]

Si Zhiyan stood by the ecological pond, hauling up the shellfish breeding cages.

Oysters dangled with thick strands of waterweed, already growing quite large. A school of red fish—some fantasy breed—darted round the oysters unafraid of people, plump and oily.

The investment in the [Aquatic Accelerator] had paid off—another two, three days and they’d be ready to eat.

Satisfied, Si Zhiyan scattered a handful of rice on the lawn.

Whoosh—

A flock of fire-colored birds swooped in from all sides, flame-red feathers blazing like living fire. The heat forced Si Zhiyan to step back.

The nine chicks of the [Unknown Fire Phoenix] had also grown fast. The once palm-sized chicks were now as big as a football, elegant tails trailing pretty flame strips, so impressive that Si Zhiyan dared not even buy infinite charcoal—they’d burn his eyebrows off before fitting in any hot pot.

On second thought, why are you all so round—am I overfeeding you? he wondered.

“Master Kuuga.”

Tang Qinghuai stood at the edge of the backyard, calling respectfully.

Si Zhiyan finished scattering grain and dusted off his hands, circling the fence. Routine credit sales were handled by Tang Qinghuai with pre-packed goods—no need for him to supervise. He was only summoned for special matters.

“What is it?”

“Master Kuuga, the rift window received a curse item today.” Tang Qinghuai handed him a long, pale-red object.

[E-grade—Fire Cattail Rod]
Please do not open indoors!
A cattail stick giving off a faint burning heat; just a light twist will burst it open into a big, warm bundle of fluffy cattail down. It blows away in the breeze after a bit, offering fleeting warmth.
Contrary to logic, this is not a plant product, but comes from a famous magical beast.

Tang Qinghuai scratched his head sheepishly. “After it was handed in, Madam Li from the clothing factory seemed especially fond of it. She asked me to see if you’d be willing to sell—it. She’s offering 1,000 credits.”

Li Cuir’e’s interest was understandable; players rarely collected curse items, especially E-grade ones, but filled into cloth, it could be useful for warmth.

Still… something didn’t feel right.

Si Zhiyan looked it over, but no matter how he examined it, it seemed an ordinary curse item. The farm didn’t give any warning.
There was no reason to refuse, so he said, “Alright.”

“So I’ll tell her you agree?” Tang Qinghuai asked.

Si Zhiyan nodded.

Tang Qinghuai tossed the cattail rod like a pen, twirling it once before pocketing it and heading off.

Suddenly Si Zhiyan called him back. “Leave it here.”

“What?” Tang Qinghuai turned, confused.

“Li Cuir’e will come herself for pickup. Let her take it from me.”

…………
……

[Day Thirteen / 4:28 AM / Sacred Tomb—Level Eighteen / Current Farm Satiety: 5%]
[2 Days until Uprising Deadline]

After a night’s rest, Nie Du had regained his strength.

Team Xu Bei stepped through the massive metal doors.

Shi He led them slowly downward.

The broad, empty stairway plunged straight down into a shadowy, bottomless abyss.

The whole way down, the atmosphere was suffocating.

Shi He scanned with his gun at the ready, nerves stretched to the limit. In saber-toothed tiger form, Wang Jianguo’s keen hearing kept him at the rear.

Nie Du, cloak tight around him, walked in the middle. Though guilty, Zhong Yanqing saw him soon recover his old gentle, patient manner, joining in her efforts to keep the mood up, as though “not wanting to be seen” had always been a feigned thing.

The dark, shattered stairway was strewn with fragments of white jade carvings. Not a sound but their footsteps echoed in the wind—utter desolation.

“Another fallen statue…” Zhong Yanqing murmured, her breath fogging. “Exquisite carving. Looks ancient.”

Nie Du shook his head. “Once, these would have been priceless. Such a waste.”

Zhong Yanqing frowned. “This level of craftsmanship is a treasure of civilization, like our own Simuwu cauldron, the Four Rams Vessel—priceless.”

As they walked, her flashlight swept over the carved inscriptions. “This was once a sacred land of their faith. Only the highest clerical leader—the High Priest—could enter. The stairs we’re on are called the [Path of Endless Glory], the only entryway to the Sanctuary. One by one, each High Priest was crowned deep below after treading it.”

“And now only ruins remain…”

Nie Du sighed. “Such is the fate of civilization—ruin, and what becomes of our own world then? Where have our cauldrons and vessels gone?”

Suddenly Shi He spoke: “Wait.”
“Only the High Priest could enter here?”

“Yes,” Zhong Yanqing replied, reading the text. “The outer metal doors were heavily fortified.”

Shi He stopped.
He stood amid the ruins, blackness stretching behind.

“The metal gates are intact, and we just stepped inside.”

“Then… who destroyed all this?”

Everyone’s expression changed.

Shi He’s face went ashen in the flashlight’s beam. He went on quietly: “Most importantly, the snow outside is perfectly smooth. That means the doors have stayed closed all this time, only opening after we fell through.”

“So in other words…”

“No matter what destroyed this place—it’s still inside, with us.”