Famine 227: Mountains
by Cristae Something was wrong.
Si Zhiyan leaned against the headboard, opening the system’s notebook. Dense lines of text appeared, methodically cataloging every bubble that had surfaced in the void. Some of the bubbles were marked as key; within these, many could expand into further records—contents Si Zhiyan had already reviewed.
Si Zhiyan picked up his pen and crossed out the entry for [CBD Twin Towers].
From the moment he was able to enter the void’s bubbles, Si Zhiyan had been seeking the answer to a single question:
—Why, back then, had Bian Xu given the Seed of Famine to Lin Qiushui?
Bian Xu had saved Lin Qiushui’s life, and without discussion had forced the Seed of Famine into his hands, instructing him to deliver it to Si Zhiyan. Thus began their journey to uncover the farm’s true nature.
What had Bian Xu witnessed? Who else had given him instructions?
It was obvious, when the Seed of Famine was first acquired, neither Si Zhiyan nor Bian Xu had ever mentioned “Lin Qiushui” by name.
And Si Zhiyan’s own attitude had been subtly ambiguous.
Si Zhiyan suddenly recalled a scene he’d witnessed before.
On the day the crisis of the Lord Core had descended, amid a sky of blood-mist, Bian Xu stood in front of Si Zhiyan, turned his head, and said:
“Sir, there’s no time. This is our only option.”
“——Let me become the core of the farm.”
He forced a smile with all his strength, his lips trembling.
“…Do I even deserve this, sir?”
——
How humble those words had been.
Si Zhiyan could not help but lower his head, gathering himself before recalling further.
Why had he chosen Bian Xu?
Si Zhiyan pondered.
In the laboratory on that day, the director had opened the permissions for him—the meteorite—to “listen to its own voice.” In the very next instant, the vision had jumped to Bian Xu lying in a pool of blood.
There were 5.4 billion people in this world, and he, newly descended to Earth, had chosen Bian Xu—why? What made him special?
Si Zhiyan truly didn’t understand.
Knock, knock!
Someone rapped at the bedroom door.
Bian Xu, evidently having steeled himself at last, poked out his fluffy golden head and grinned, “Sir, time to eat! I peeled the strawberries off the candied hawthorns just for you~”
He sounded bright and lively, his eyes filled entirely with Si Zhiyan. Though he tried hard to suppress some small anxiety, it was, at heart, honest delight, and the way his golden hair bounced made it impossible for Si Zhiyan not to smile.
Well! At least for now, Bian Xu was in good hands.
Si Zhiyan stretched, threw off the covers, and got up to dress.
Bian Xu turned to leave, cheerful as ever, when Si Zhiyan suddenly called out,
“Wait.”
Bian Xu’s shoulders instantly tensed, and he unconsciously straightened up.
Without looking up, as he buttoned his shirt, Si Zhiyan said lightly,
“If you need something, come to me directly. Don’t stand outside your own door biting yourself.”
“Understand?”
Bian Xu’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He nodded slowly.
Si Zhiyan smiled. “Go on.”
…………
……
[Countdown to Lord Core War: 664 days]
[Countdown to Lord Core War: 621 days]
……
Once the countdown began, it became apparent just how quickly time flew by.
With the amusement park—this new Buff hub—consolidated, and the mine upgraded to LV4, the universal spread of the amusement park and the rapid proliferation of second-tier gems meant the farm’s players collectively gained a real, qualitative boost in power.
By now, everyone had started discussing the best Buff setups for every mission, each person enthusiastic, putting their heads together, eager to experiment with combinations that could make them stronger.
They came to the farm, completed Si Zhiyan’s tasks, earned more points, purchased more enhancement items, stacked more Buffs, then set out again to earn even more points, becoming ever stronger…
This positive cycle, once set in motion, was unstoppable.
After Qiu Hong received the [Featherlight Crystal], she believed she could match the chosen candidate, Qi Zhi. And she was not mistaken.
If, after some time in the farm, an ordinary but outstanding player could rival the chosen ones of old days…
Then what of those chosen from before?
……
[Ancient Forest Village—Blood-Sacrifice Site: A Horror Tale]
Boom!
With a thunderous blast, fire rained through the remote, forested mountains.
Shi He put down his sniper rifle, lowered his head, and calmly wiped the barrel.
Next to him, Zhong Yanqing stared up in shock.
“Holy crap…”
Before her, the layered mountains had been cleaved open by a massive gash. According to the story’s setting, this was supposed to be a remote and isolated place, ringed by mountains. But now, those great mountains looked cartoonish, as if something from a comic had punched out a perfect circular hole, revealing dazzling, sunlit sky beyond.
Brilliant sunlight poured through the breach, illuminating the land of flesh and blood.
[Ah… the road is open, the road is open…]
All around, things crawled across the ground like maggots, raising their heads.
[Over there—]
[So bright…]
[…]
Someone, their eyes sewn shut with thick thread, tears streaming down their face, whispered in a hoarse voice:
[The village and church that trapped us our entire lives… were so terribly small after all…]
[Big Sister Zhong… you really weren’t lying to us…]
Tap, tap!
One, then two, began to bounce, resonating together.
Puzzle solved, mission complete.
No—not just that…
Wmmmmm!
Countless black hole crystals leapt up together, dancing shoulder to shoulder…
So many anomalies were triggered by this blow that a full [Harmony] was achieved.
[Ding ding! [S-level Tale: Forest Village—Endless Undulation of Meat—Sacrificial Horror] successfully conquered!]
[[S-level Seed of Famine (Embryo Version)] has been placed in your inventory.]
A huge sum of points was credited, but Zhong Yanqing had yet to recover, still staring up, muttering,
“That’s a sniper rifle? Are you sure it’s not a nuke?!”
All I asked was for a bit of help, and you… you ended the whole mission!!
Harmony even occurred!!
“It’s fine,” Shi He said curtly.
He stood, slung the freshly cleaned rifle over his back, and evaluated, “I stacked [Blood-Soaked] with [Golden Crow Stone], and before arrival ate every available food that boosts single-shot power, soaked in every possible enhancing hot spring, farmed fruit in the Witchwood, even rode the Inferno Magic Tower at the amusement park…”
“Stacked it all together, it boosted power by at least threefold.”
Shi He paused.
“Remember, some farm bonuses can multiply together. One hundred and twenty percent attack plus another fifty percent means you add sixty percent—not fifty.”
“Plus, I’ve always excelled at single-shot fire…”
Zhong Yanqing, dazed, listened to his explanation and finally replied, “That’s just… monstrous.”
Shi He shook his head. “It’s nothing. Even now, I still can’t last half an hour against Big Brother.”
Recalling Nidhogg’s demonic form, Zhong Yanqing shivered. “Honestly, I’ve only been gone from the farm a while, but just how strong are the top-tier players these days…?”
Shi He just smiled and sighed.
—The answer was: incalculable.
Because they were treading upon an evolutionary path humanity had never before reached.
Shi He examined his own hands, well aware of this fact.
But Shi He, humble as ever, would never say such a thing; he just chuckled quietly, refusing comment.
As the conversation turned, Zhong Yanqing asked, “So, what’s Nidhogg doing these days?”
Shi He’s eyes darkened fractionally and he sighed, “Also assisting in conquering worlds.”
“Right now, he’s most likely in the [Endless Third-Year High School Cycle] horror instance. That one’s terrifying—five teams were wiped out, and no one dares touch it anymore. Mr. Si especially approached the two of us, hoping he’d step in.”
Though normally lazy, even listless, at crucial points Nidhogg never failed.
Astute as ever, he’d already deduced much of Si Zhiyan’s plan, even without anything being said. Besides Bian Xu, Nidhogg was the one in the farm closest to Si Zhiyan.
Thus, when Si Zhiyan came to him, Nidhogg voiced not a single objection, taking up responsibility without hesitation.
Only, the two brothers—Nidhogg and Shi He—the strongest players, always had to split up and lead different teams whenever great missions arose; naturally, they’d be assigned to separate worlds.
It had been some time since they’d last met.
Before parting, Nidhogg had ruffled Shi He’s hair and said, “For all the thousands upon thousands of days and nights to come.”
Shi He had nuzzled longingly against his chest, muffled, nodding hard.
Zhong Yanqing grinned. “That’s wonderful.”
She patted the head of the eerie little girl beside her, touched the Seed of Famine, and stretched languidly. “Alright, another S-level world cleared for the week!”
“From what I know, all the resident chosen ones at the farm have probably been contacted and assigned missions.”
“I’d bet world-clearing is much faster now, right?”
“Every day there’s something new, every time I return home it’s a fresh experience… Wonder what new delicacies await, haha, I can’t wait.”
“Mm.” Shi He nodded, asking offhandedly, “What will this world grow into?”
“Uh.”
Zhong Yanqing fell silent.
She turned, gazing at the heart of this horror world—
The primitive villagers’ twisted faith: a mass of blind, frenzied, endlessly growing and expanding flesh.
It was dull-witted and ignorant, indifferent to human worship, unconcerned by harm.
All it did was endlessly, infinitely devour, consuming every thing it encountered, day in, day out—growth, expansion, undulation… Those spasming, gnarled masses of meat grew a huge new clump every day, by now as vast as the mountains themselves.
The advance teams had initially assumed this was just a classic mountain-village demon myth—a horror staple meant simply to warn against venturing too far, with the village itself a zone of safety. Only as they explored further did they realize, to their horror, they weren’t exploring the evil god at all—they were already standing inside it.
Under their feet, deep within the mountain, was nothing but churning flesh and blood, merely topped with dark soil and vegetation.
The mountains were flesh, the flesh was mountains, and the mountains were still growing.
Hm…
That moment of terror and psychological trauma lingered in every player’s memory to this day.
Without Zhong Yanqing’s decisiveness in calling in Shi He, newly strengthened with his latest augmentations and second-tier gems, the players never could have shaken its power.
For two seconds, Zhong Yanqing’s face remained blank, then she answered bleakly, “Whatever it is, I’m sure of one thing—I’m never eating it.”