Famine 113: Mint Dark Chocolate

Si Zhiyan couldn’t help but feel a little awkward.

He shifted aside to make room. “Please, help yourselves. Consider this compensation for the earlier commotion.”

The crowd cheered and surged forward.

In the apocalypse, the deaths and injuries of players, the rise and fall of factions, had become ordinary occurrences. The Silver Ring Alliance had acted with such arrogance and cruelty; few mourned their fate—most only clapped in satisfaction. Cheering as they went, people trampled the ground where the Silver Ring siblings had fallen, feeling no regret, rushing straight for the newly opened honey-sweet jars.

Some knelt at the jars with a spoon, brimming with happiness: “Tiramisu was my favorite even before the world ended… And this tiramisu is incredible—it’s better than anything from the average pastry shop!”

“Exactly, exactly. It’s that authentic kind of traditional tiramisu, whipped cream cheese with biscuits soaked in liquor, not just cake base.”

“Is this a fairy tale world? It’s just too dreamy…”

The happiest, of course, were the children. Yang Ying dove straight for her target, hugging a tree trunk and taking a big bite, her mouth filled with the fresh cool taste of mint and the rich, faint bitterness of cocoa. She fell back with a hand to her cheek in bliss: “How did this place know mint dark chocolate was my favorite! The cocoa’s purity—amazing!”

Qiu Youqing tried a bite and grimaced: “Who actually likes chocolate that tastes like toothpaste?”

Yang Ying flared up: “It was toothpaste that stole the flavor of mint, yet everyone says our mint chocolate tastes like toothpaste. That’s just unfair!!”

The two girls quickly devolved into laughter, while Gu Yingying, nearby, munched on a mint leaf, lips pressed tight in a silent smile.

That little battle ended with Qiu Youqing’s retreat. Few could match her for running or hiding; agile and small, she slipped from view, climbing up a chocolate tree and waving down at her companions with a grin, until Yang Ying pelted her with candied stones, laughing herself.

Looking around, Qiu Youqing’s gaze caught on something: “Hmm? What’s this on the trunk?”

Buzz buzz~

A ladybug fanned its wings and took off from the tree trunk.

Qiu Youqing caught it with one hand. “Hey! There are bugs here, too—wait, is this candy? Mmm!”

She tossed it into her mouth, chewed a moment, and clapped in delight: “It’s an M&M! With a sugar shell and a whole hazelnut chocolate center!”

“NUT CHOCOLATE!” At this, everyone brightened, searching everywhere for the treats.

“So the plants here are all sorts of chocolates, then?”

“And even the bugs are moving candies—so fun…”

Some of the more fashion-minded players looked down at their swimwear, sighing wistfully, “Too bad our phones are all dead. If only we could get pictures of this place, they’d be amazing.”

A water park and a candy world!
Good heavens, even before the world ended, such magical places were rare.

At that moment, a startled cry rang out from behind the bushes.

A player, trailing a peculiar scent, burst forth from a mint thicket, yelling, “There’s a tiger back there! It’s huge!”

Wang Jianguo perked up instantly. “What? A tiger? Wait a minute—what’s that smell?”

“Wait, wait!! The tiger is durian mille crepe cake—aaahhh!!”

At that, the crowd split in two.

“DURIAN MILLE CREPE CAKE! Heavenly stuff!” Led by Wang Jianguo, part of the group rushed forward, eyes shining as though reuniting with a long-lost relative.

The others scattered at once, clutching their candy and retreating a hundred meters upwind—

A faint voice floated back: “There’s crap in this cake!!” …

Si Zhiyan smiled and shook his head.

The recent battle with Qi Zhi had damaged a number of facilities. Taking up his paintbrush, he moved to repair them one by one.

With the lockdown lifted, the underground water park, drinks stall, and restaurant windows were fully reopened to the public.

The players freed from quarantine spent ten wonderful days of vacation there, leaving the caves reluctantly to seek out their families and friends.

Most had been thought dead by their loved ones—there had been so much suffering, even total despair.

But a month later, those presumed lost returned with packs full of pure water and food, voices bright as they opened their doors back home.

Family, teammates, friends—everyone was overwhelmed, laughing and crying together, holding each other tight.
After a long time, tears dried. They drank lemonade and listened to stories—stories of a miraculous place that was like paradise.

Soon, tales of the farm and water park spread throughout the lava region.

It was a place where miracles were made.

But the farm was far from the lava region—even Anderson had needed the better part of a month to make the journey, such was the effort required.

Players gathered in groups, inviting friends to visit the drinks shop.

With stable water, icy fruit teas, delicious burgers, and the famously fun water park—where tickets were hard to get but the experience unmatched…

Word spread quickly, and soon, players from across the lava region made the trip, running missions, trading supplies, helping one another.

The little cave nearest the drinks shop soon became priceless real estate.

Shen Dongming, for his part, didn’t hang on to it. At just the right time, he sold the small cave and, with the fortune it fetched, moved his group into a larger, two-level cave further away—with enough left over to ensure a life of comfort and security.

The new place was farther from the drinks shop—maybe thirty minutes’ walk—but big enough that every child and teacher could have their own room and privacy, and they set aside a classroom as well.

On moving day, Wang Jianguo and Anderson came for the housewarming, gifting them a new air-cooling unit—something like an air conditioner.

The children were delighted. Qiu Youqing even ran up and hugged the big guy’s arm, showering him with praise.

Wang Jianguo was so embarrassed he ran off, sending everyone into fits of laughter.

For most players, each day now held hope and promise.

Except… for a certain group.

……

In the night-shrouded desert, one of the former Silver Ring Alliance members was running for his life.

He was covered in blood, fleeing for his life and begging as he ran. “Sister Qiu Hong, please, for the sake of what we once had…”

Slash!

A slender blade pierced his chest.

Qiu Hong stood over him, chest heaving with exertion, her face set in grim resolve. She spat on him fiercely: “Pah! Go plead your case to everyone down below!”
“When you betrayed your brothers, did you even think of loyalty?”

This man was the traitor who had sold out the Four Seasons Society to the Silver Ring Alliance—leading to their massacre.

Seeing that all was lost, the traitor gritted his teeth and made as if to slit his own throat.

But slash! Lü Qiqing’s fangs punched through his shoulder. He screamed—a shrill, sudden sound—as the red-eyed marmot bared its teeth, unmoved by his pleas, dragging him into the darkness, tearing at flesh…

After all the suffering, did you think you’d get a quick and easy end? How could it be so convenient?

This time, there was no all-powerful Sister Qi to save you.

……

When it was over, Qiu Hong’s squad wiped the blood from their bodies and returned to the water park.

They said nothing, but from afar, gave a deep bow to Si Zhiyan’s back.

“You’ve worked hard.” Si Zhiyan focused on repairing the slide, not turning around. “Take a shower and go have a taro milk tea to calm your nerves.”

Qiu Hong bowed again, nodded solemnly, left a few cursed items as thanks, and departed.

The blood debts of the past were paid; ahead of them lay a new life.

Stories like these played out again and again over the following days.

The Silver Ring Alliance was finished. Players who had suffered under them never forgot their blood vendettas. Now, one after another, they reached out for revenge.

Once, these had been Silver Ring’s flattering sycophants, praising and obeying every order from the siblings. Now, the tree had fallen and the monkeys scattered.

Some were traitors who’d sold out their own; some were murderers who followed the siblings through war and bloodshed… and all were now facing the retribution they deserved.

But aside from these, the Silver Ring Alliance still had other kinds of members.

Fence-sitters, opportunists, social climbers… many words could describe this lot. They were hardly saints, but neither were they deep-dyed villains. When the Alliance flourished, they joined out of convenience, showing little morality; but when it came time for murder, they shrank back and, as a result, rarely held deep grudges.

Some even showed scraps of pity, sometimes letting survivors go when checking battlefields.

After the Alliance’s collapse, these remaining members became pariahs, shunned everywhere. The siblings’ most loyal—those truly wicked—were hunted down by enemies.

Yet these opportunists, who had killed no one but survived, were still spat upon, cast out of settlements, barely scraping by.

These few gathered nervously, finding a deserted night, shoving a representative forward to sneak around the drink shop. Just to try—could they buy anything there?

That night, the nervous opportunist, trembling, offered up his points.

The drink shop’s robotic clerk, with a perfect smile, reached out and handed over the milk tea.

—Si Zhiyan had not sought to eradicate them.
He issued no special orders.

The opportunist clutched his lemon water, eyes reddening.
Remembering all that had happened recently, he sobbed, unable to hold back.

Regardless of what he felt inside…

Life would go on.

As long as the lights of the farm’s drink shop shone in the night, he could still survive.

Not long after settling into their new home, Shen Dongming called for Qiu Youqing, ruffling the young girl’s hair, and repeated words he’d told her many times before.

“You see, this is why I won’t let you steal or rob.”

“If I hadn’t returned that loot to Anderson right away, everything we have now would have vanished. You’d be dead, and the most we’d have gained would be some watermelon rinds.”

“My refusal isn’t foolish kindness. It’s because justice brings allies, while wrongdoing brings nothing but ruin; those who act unjustly destroy themselves.”

His calm, warm voice lingered in the cave.

“Perhaps someone might, for a while, profit from exploiting and harming others. But it never lasts. Retribution will find them, always.”

“Civilization may be in crisis, but still I believe…”
“Community, mutual aid, and order—these are the roots of humanity’s survival.”

Qiu Youqing hugged her knees and nodded, half-understanding.

They were big truths—perhaps she understood, perhaps not. But one thing was certain: she would never steal again.

……

The next day, as always, Si Zhiyan arrived and opened the door of the farm’s drinks shop, pausing at what he saw.

At his feet, an orange-yellow flower had broken through the soil, lifting its head to the light.

[Terrain Bait – Lava] had appeared in this world.