Famine 141: Links

Havana gazed at the clearing, and before long, her eyes grew red. A choking sob nearly robbed her of speech, and she burst out in a few confused, furious cries.

On HACK’s body, black mist seeped out layer after layer; he was clearly growing weaker by the moment.

Havana had always been well-liked, and now many bloodfolk converged around her, all talking at once, some indignant, others sighing in pity at the sight, and a few even secretly gloating and making snide remarks. The scene descended into chaos.

Ye Xianqing interrupted him unceremoniously, her voice sharp and cold as a blade as she cut through the noisy crowd—

“What’s all this shouting? It might not be the worst outcome. You, step back. Yan Cheng, hand me the gauze.”

Ye Xianqing donned her gloves, and as a flash of white light danced across her white coat, a special surgical chamber unfurled around her, expanding outward as if filled with air.

Si Zhiyan gave Havana’s shoulder a gentle pat. A soft but irresistible force of white mist tugged Havana back.

The red light came on, and the operation began.

A bloodfolk watched briefly, then quietly voiced a doubt: “Is she a vet?”

A friend nearby explained, “It’s the Famine Game. In this business, anyone can choose any kind of augmentation—animalistic, mechanical, or, like me, bodies that are long past being ordinary humans. Anyone who’s still able to work as a doctor in this game has serious skills.”

“How many doctors have you actually seen in recent years? None, right? Only pharmacists.”

“I thought that dog was as good as dead, from the look of it.”

“If not for that doctor, it would be, no question about it. But the Main God’s shop has all sorts of tools, some way beyond our technological level. The catch is, there’s never a user’s manual, so it all depends on real medical knowledge—makes it viciously hard to get started. Still, if you run into a truly skilled medic, they really can snatch a life back on the battlefield.”

The bloodfolk gave a resigned sigh at the end, a hint of envy in his tone.

“Ah… so having a doctor in your party is worth more than gold.”

Havana took no part in these discussions, nor did she respond to the people trying to comfort her. She simply knelt where she’d been, her eyes rimmed red, staring unwaveringly at the surgical chamber’s door.

An hour passed. The onlookers shook their heads and dispersed, but she remained in the same position, motionless.

Not until the surgical chamber reopened—

Ye Xianqing approached, removing her gloves as she walked.

Seeing Havana’s desperate expression, Ye Xianqing didn’t waste a second and came straight to the point. “Alive,” she said. “I did all I could, and it went well enough. There’s no special need to worry about the wounds anymore.”

In that one sentence, all her effort was quietly brushed away. Havana exhaled, relief flooding her lungs, but the very next second her heart clenched again—

“But the outlook is still not too hopeful.”

Ye Xianqing let out a sigh, lips pressed together as she lowered her head and nudged her glasses.

“There’s a curse lingering on it. HACK must have taken a hit, then tried to make a sound again… and the monster hit him again to keep him silent for good.”

“A rough test of the curse shows this: if it’s not broken within twenty-four hours, HACK will be killed instantly, without a doubt.”

“I’ve tried—the universal curse-breaker from the shop doesn’t work. Only the one who cast the curse can undo it.”

Yan Cheng swore under his breath, “Bastard, to lay down such a dirty curse!”

As he spoke, he carried HACK, now in a small isolator, and placed him in the corner of the room.

Si Zhiyan suddenly frowned.
Last night’s attack had happened—and now it was already about noon. They needed to allow time to break the curse, which left even less to spare.

Not to mention, if tonight’s appreciation gathering was to proceed smoothly, they had to get back the stolen sleep pod.

Less than eight hours remained before the gathering began.
He had to, in these eight hours, find the thief and bring back the one who had cast the curse.

【12:34 pm / 8 hours till the appreciation gathering】

Time had already begun to slip away.

In the corner, HACK’s body curled inside the portable sterile chamber. Whether from the curse or something else, the anesthesia hadn’t worn off, pain wracked him more and more, and he whimpered softly in distress.
Si Zhiyan pulled out some pain-soothing milk, poured it into a wooden bowl, and set the bowl beside HACK’s head.

HACK sniffed at it, then weakly flicked his tongue out, licking at the milk in slow, feeble motions.

“Who the hell did this, and how are we supposed to find them?” Havana’s anxiety bordered on panic. She bit her fingernails until her hands were soaked with blood. “There isn’t even surveillance in the nest… I… why did I sleep so deeply last night?”

Si Zhiyan said, “I’m not a heavy sleeper. The other side must have used a special cursed item.”

He glanced at Havana’s hands, but didn’t waste breath telling her to calm down. Instead, he took out another bottle of milk and handed it to her.
Havana shook her head, but he insisted. “Drink it. You haven’t eaten lunch, and you’ll need your strength—HACK will need your help.”

She gulped it down in one draft. The cool, rich taste of milk calmed her nerves. Her breathing evened out, no longer quite so ragged.

【Milk】
There must always be a little sweetness in life. Drinking 50ml grants the buff: [Sweet Relief]. Greatly eases low spirits, stops bleeding, and relieves pain.

Si Zhiyan lowered his head and slowly twirled a finger.

A spray of water droplets spun up between his long fingers, coalescing into a small orb of water glowing a faint blue, rotating in the air.

It was a [Hot Spring Spring-eye].

Inside the sleep pods, perfect suspension and weightlessness required more than simple clean water. As for using brine… Si Zhiyan wasn’t ready to confess all to the Minister of Punishments.

Coincidentally, He Yan had unlocked three special hot springs recently. Si Zhiyan had borrowed one suitable type to install in the sleep pod.

Strictly speaking, every sleep pod was actually a small hot spring.
Si Zhiyan’s spring-eye should have been able to sense the pod’s spring.

But—nothing.

No unusual sensation. Those fifteen small hot springs might as well have vanished from the world.

“I can’t sense anything.”
Si Zhiyan frowned, staring at the spring-eye.
It shouldn’t be like this—the connection between these springs ought to be quite tight… or so he thought.

The little water orb spun on, ignorant and innocent-looking.

Havana hugged the milk, staring at the small water orb.
Suddenly, her head jerked to the side at an unnatural angle.

“Eh?” was all Havana managed, bewildered.

Crack.
Her head twisted sharply to the left, snapping at a ninety-degree angle.

Almost like it had broken.

Within her eye socket, something like a tiny bug’s point poked out.

Yan Cheng was startled: “What happened?”

He barely got the words out when—boom!—countless tentacles burst from Havana’s seven orifices!

Eye sockets, ear canals, throat, nostrils… Every opening was instantly packed with a mass of surging, writhing tentacles, spinning forth—directly launching themselves at Si Zhiyan!

[Fellow]! Was it a sudden outburst from [Fellow]?! Why—was it because of the spring-eye?

In a flash, Ye Xianqing scooped up HACK and slipped out of the room. Yan Cheng gritted his teeth, swung his double-bladed hunter’s axe, and planted himself directly in front of Si Zhiyan!

“Go! Hurry!” Yan Cheng shouted.

Tentacles filled the air, knotting around everything and twining in twisted, maggot-like waves, flooding the whole cottage and finally bursting through the structure.

It was grotesque and horrifying—a sight to raise goosebumps.

Around them rose a chorus of shrieks and screams as everyone fled, scrambling over one another to escape.

“Holy crap!! What is that?! Is it [My Lord]?!”
“Help, help!!”
“Did someone provoke [It]?!”

The tentacles thrashed madly in the air.

Si Zhiyan looked up at the mass of limbs, paused a moment—then laid a hand on Yan Cheng’s shoulder.
“Thank you, Captain Yan.”

“But don’t worry, step aside.”

Is he insane? Yan Cheng turned in astonishment.

Dressed all in black, Si Zhiyan walked slowly forward against the stampede, coming to a halt before the mass of tentacles.

The hem of his coat snapped in the wind. Head raised, he asked, “Do you have something to say to me?”

Struck by his courage, quite a few bloodfolk stopped running, one after another.
They exchanged glances from a safe distance, peeking over to watch.

Gurgle.

The mass of tentacles emitted a sticky, squelching sound as they squirmed against each other.

The whole thing bowed low, the tip of a sharp tentacle delicately winding around Si Zhiyan’s slender hand, pressing its moist tip to his fingertips.

Thud.
The tentacle tip stabbed into the [Spring-eye].

Gurgle, gurgle…
It swirled inside Si Zhiyan’s palm, churning.

The vine tendrils pressed closer, wrapping Si Zhiyan in annoyance. He rolled his eyes and stroked it—enough, not now.

Pop! The tentacle withdrew.

Slowly the tentacles coiled together, merging into a gigantic limb which bent in midair, forming an [L] shape.

Si Zhiyan thought for a split second, a sudden intuition lighting his mind.
“In the direction you’re pointing, there’s a similar aura?”

The tentacle gave no sign—perhaps it understood, perhaps not.

Si Zhiyan then said, “Are you helping me?”

Still no response. The tentacle only stroked Si Zhiyan’s knuckles, kneading his palm until it glistened with clear slime.

Not sure if communication was possible, Si Zhiyan said slowly, with some hesitation, “…Thank you. I’ll go take a look.”

The tentacles collapsed in a heap, shrinking and retreating back into Havana’s body.

“Puhah! Cough… cough, cough…”
Havana finally regained consciousness, slumped on the ground, coughing fit to choke.

Around them, the bloodfolk slowly gathered round again.
All wore expressions of awe and shock as they stared at Si Zhiyan and his companions.

[It] had never before, in this fashion, given guidance or communication.

Si Zhiyan pulled out a handkerchief, looked down and slowly wiped his long fingers, flexing and relaxing them, lost in thought.
That feeling was familiar, yet for the moment he couldn’t recall where he’d encountered it before.

“Since it’s [Its] opinion, I’ll go have a look.”

Si Zhiyan raised his head, reviewing the layout of the [Nest], one brow arched.

“If I’m not mistaken, that direction leads… to the [Cult]’s quarters.”

……
…

【1:17 pm / 7 hours till the appreciation gathering】

With his group in tow, Si Zhiyan arrived at the front of the cult’s sector.

Apart from Ye Xianqing, who stayed home to tend to HACK, Havana and Yan Cheng followed close behind.

Behind them came a whole crowd of bloodfolk, gossiping, spreading the word, eager to see the spectacle. They hung back at a distance but watched intently, murmuring among themselves.

No matter how this incident resolved, it would play out under everyone’s eyes and inevitably factor into their final judgment.