Famine 120: Crimson Crystal
by Cristae[Crimson Crystal (Carved LV1)]
A gem entirely crimson; if you look closely, golden magma seems to swirl within. This is a Crimson Crystal.
It contains fierce, explosive fire-attribute magic. Roughly carved and forged, it can increase the wearer’s strength by 3%.
It appears to be a relatively small and scattered crystal—not worth much.
“This is the thing that anomaly was wearing around its neck,” Shi He said.
“It looks like the kind of stone the boss talked about… Only it’s the carved version, with a strength boost.” Nidhogg rubbed his chin. “Was that thing… one of the Lava Folk?”
Shi He recalled the image of “It.”
Short, stunted limbs, kneeling on the ground, body smeared with flesh and blood, a ball of half-melted shadow, head and face grotesquely deformed. Beyond the gem at its neck, there was almost nothing identifiable.
Shi He was embarrassed. “That can’t possibly be a living person…”
Nidhogg was blunt. “Of course it was an anomaly—and a strong one. I could take it in a fight, but for an ordinary player, being possessed by that thing would be fatal.”
“What’s the boss trying to do anyway? Find the Lava Folk, save them, get them out of the Abyss… Isn’t this just asking us to capture anomalies?”
Nidhogg clicked his tongue in irritation.
“Those hamsters really know how to make things difficult. Maybe I should just eat them all?”
“…Please don’t,” Shi He replied, half laughing and half exasperated.
After a couple of chuckles, Shi He fell silent, gazing thoughtfully at the paper with the rules: “…There is a path to survival here. As long as you recognize what’s special about this place in time, and if your will is strong enough, it is possible to go on living.”
“Isn’t that a good thing?” Nidhogg lounged and grinned lazily.
Shi He stared at the rules for a moment, then shook his head:
“All these years, the Xubei Squad has been studying the rules of the Famine Game. On my first day, Bian Xu told me the first rule: the system will never send players into a scenario of certain death. If you’re just transferred into a new world—no matter how dangerous it looks—there will always be a path to survival.
“And there’s another, reverse rule: in any area of the game, no matter how perilous, as long as there’s still a path to survival, players may be refreshed there.
“Seven years, over twenty cycles of worlds, not a single exception.”
On the Ruins of Imagination, at the heart of the blood pool where curses boiled over; in Tianman Paradise, endless miles of lava and not a single water source… These regions seemed like deathtraps, but as long as there was a path, players would always be sent in.
Only in some extremely special areas are there ownerless “waste zones” without main quests—typically, they’re the core of a world, home to the “Central Tower.”
But clearly, the Abyss was not Tianman Paradise’s Central Tower; nothing like that would be the case here.
“So… here…”
Shi He looked into the endless dark.
“Could there still be survivors deep inside?”
…
As for this question, Si Zhiyan, watching the live feed, let out a faint sigh and lifted his eyes.
Half a chance, at least.
When the Spirit of the Vein had spoken with him, it had said:
[The Abyss was once a land of death.]
[But recently, I have vaguely sensed… there are living beings within it.]
[And among them… some carry the Aura of the Lava Folk.]
One must know, Tianman Paradise was a world destroyed long ago. Whatever grudges or debts lay within, it had all long settled; for hundreds, perhaps thousands of years, there’d been no further change.
Recently, the only new variable was that the Famine Game had brought players to this place.
The hamsters had sensed the sudden appearance of living souls; it was almost certainly the players.
And since those auras were still present, it meant that, up to now, players were still struggling to survive.
The Abyss was an endless void; flight was extraordinarily rare; in the darkness, the world’s rules haunted their every step—no one could sleep. How, then, had the players survived?
Si Zhiyan stroked his chin, sensing the key must lie in the “Aura of the Lava Folk.”
He got up and went out, seeking the Spirit of the Vein to inquire about everything possible concerning the Lava Folk—pressing for every last detail.
Sitting on a boulder, he was soon surrounded by hamsters flooding out from every crack and chasm, all chirping at him.
Aside from what he’d already been told—about destiny and customs—one hamster climbed onto Si Zhiyan’s knee, placed a small paw over his eyelids, and showed him a vision—
Heave-ho, heave-ho.
On the Gemmoria, mine pits both great and small were everywhere.
Within the pits, the songs of labor echoed through the earth. Countless men, bare-armed, worked spiritedly, torchlights burning in the tunnels, gleaming on sweat-slicked bodies.
Iron pickaxes every day brought hard labor—forging the Lava Folk into short, sturdy people, brimming with blazing, vigorous life.
The mine repaid their effort; no one complained—everyone beamed, the air buzzed with camaraderie, men calling out as they loaded precious stones into their baskets.
At the side, the short-haired mine dogs braced themselves, tails wagging, their collars’ chains clinking. At a single call, they scurried off on their short legs, hauling carts along the tunnel.
Bones and sweat washed over skin forged in lava!
Heave-ho! Heave-ho! Watch the feet,
Even the mine dogs’ paws could kick the stars apart!
The treasure sleeping in the stone mother’s womb,
Awakened by the power of the Celestial Vein!
During the fasting festival in honor of the Spirit of the Vein, the whole mountain blazed with light. The elders prepared offerings, children played with the mine dogs, laughing and chasing around the campfire, delighted by the dogs’ cheerful barking.
Downy hamsters leapt and rolled, their fur aglow with fire, scampering everywhere.
Joyful-eyed folk gazed upon the mountain guardians, their priests holding offerings, smiling as they presented small bowls—
Each brimming with dried goods: beans, chestnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, and mounds upon mounds of sunflower seeds…
The ritual bell in the priestess’s hand chimed; the festival’s music and dance were offered up.
Sleep, sleep, children of the mine,
In the stone cradle, in the fire’s embrace, find our peace.
Drink deep from earth’s breast, never-ending,
Tomorrow’s pickaxe song will still ring in our dreams…
Their songs weren’t sweet—more like the ringing beat of pickaxes, mingled with the shouts of the miners. Solid, powerful, echoing over the land.
But the Spirits of the Vein paid no heed.
Hamsters buried themselves in piles of nuts, crunching noisily on seeds, bellies round, cheek pouches full to bursting. After a good meal and a contented burp, they rolled into little furry balls, snuggling with the mine dogs, falling asleep as they were gently licked.
They dozed off peacefully by the flicker of the cooking fire.
…
The vision vanished.
Now, only yellow sand and bones remained in the lava lands.
[That’s all I can remember. And you?]
[Wasn’t there another verse? The line after peace…]
[Squeak. All I remember is the taste of seeds.]
[Should’ve listened back then… But I was too busy eating. The seeds were delicious.]
[Their festival offerings were really good.]
[I liked hazelnuts.]
The hamsters crowded, chittering among themselves.
Si Zhiyan stroked a hamster and gazed thoughtfully into space.
[Well?] The Fire Crystal Spirit—or, well, the orange hamster—stood upright on Si Zhiyan’s knee, paws on hips, and called out.
Si Zhiyan let out an involuntary laugh and shook his head.
“I have some guesses. But I need to confirm them.”
He bid farewell to the hamsters, then turned to find Kazuko standing silently behind him.
[Ah, yes… the Lava Folk of the Gemmoria…]
“Your training is finished?” Si Zhiyan asked.
The Celestial Vein’s maiden dipped in a modest bow.
[Not yet, sir.]
[But the Lava Folk were once believers in the Celestial Vein—they worshipped me and my beloved. I wish to do something for them.]
[Using the last traces of the Celestial Vein’s power, I reached out in sympathy for those Lava Folk who remain…]
[The broken vein tells me they may yearn for a place of prosperity.]
After Si Zhiyan comprehended her words, the system prompt followed swiftly—
[Ding!]
[Prerequisite information collection complete.]
[You have triggered the side quest.]
[Side Quest — Longing Fantasia]
[Objective: Gather 500 living humans in the Abyss. Current Progress: 2/500.]
[Time Limit: 30 days.]
[Reward: Spirit of the Vein’s permission, upgradeable area in the Lava Region, Weapons System Integration, coordinates for Hephaestus Castle.]
Si Zhiyan brightened. “Thank you, that’s very valuable information.”
Kazuko bowed again, her figure slowly fading away.
Elsewhere, Shi He was quietly stroking the Holy Grail, calling for him.
Si Zhiyan’s avatar slowly took shape out of white mist.
Within the camp, the firelight flickered. Shi He sat upright and respectful, while Nidhogg lounged loose-limbed at the side.
“Thank you both.” Si Zhiyan nodded slightly. “Now, our intelligence is basically complete.”
“Thanks to your efforts, I understand what to do next.”
Nidhogg yawned. “Say something useful for once, forget the speeches, let’s get this over with. Boss, I’m about to die of boredom… Ouch, don’t pinch—I’m listening!”
Shi He shot him a sharp glance, then quietly withdrew his hand and sat primly.
Si Zhiyan shook his head with a smile.
He hardly blamed them—no one argues with a beast of burden.
“Alright, here’s something useful.” Si Zhiyan snapped his fingers. “Nidhogg, get to work.”
“We’re going to set up a micro-light hotel here—a sanctuary for restful sleep.”
The Abyss was vast beyond imagining, an expanse of true emptiness.
Anderson’s party, even with his phasing ability, had searched for survivors for ages and found only one group.
But with the water park open, it took no speech at all—survivors from all directions would flock to them.
Si Zhiyan understood well: rather than scouring the land to find people, far better to let them come to you.
Therefore, he promptly produced his Imaginary Brush.