Chapter 41: Orphan Squad, Prepare To Charge!
Meng Xiyue sat up straight, lowered her voice: “Hey, don’t you think those red heads look a bit like tomatoes with human facial features?”
Mai Lili just made a brief association and shuddered, trembling with panic.
She really couldn’t imagine whether the pedestrians and civilians she saw after entering the city were humans or monsters with tomato heads. Why didn’t the other normal civilians react? Couldn’t they perceive the anomaly?
“Holy shit! Don’t say it, I’m getting scared.” Lu Rang also felt his hair stand on end. Just thinking about how he had taken a food box from a ‘tomato head monster’ earlier made him shudder uncontrollably.
Too damn scary! He remembered when he was in junior high boarding school, his first close encounter with a non-human orc lunch lady in the canteen wasn’t even this horrifying.
Yuan Zhu: “Captain, do you have any instructions?”
“I have no instructions. Rely on your own judgment and intuition. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes or failing. Tonight is the main mission of this trial for you. Rely on your own experience and judgment to survive and try to profit from it. Mao Mao King won’t blindly invest and protect you. You already have the foundation to protect yourselves. Happy Home needs people who can generate profits for the company.”
Zhou Chu extended her index finger, pointing at the bizarre little tomatoes wriggling slightly in the porcelain bowl, and asked: “What about them? What exactly are they? Good or bad? Are they hiding malice from the local monks?”
The captain picked up one with eyes from the bowl and held it in front of him for observation. The little tomato’s skin texture was between flesh and plant. Harder than flesh, but more elastic and tough than tomato fruit, and… warm.
As for that one-eyed feature, it seemed like the core of the tomato fruit, exposed by a cracked eyelid. After meeting the captain’s gaze, the blood-red fruit shyly closed its eye and trembled slightly.
The captain rotated the little tomato repeatedly, shone it under the light, then closed his eyes to perceive it, and finally spoke: “Don’t worry, it’s edible, just a bit strange-looking. This fruit has Buddhist Magic Power blessings inside, somewhat similar to the Buddha Head Cocoons naturally formed around temples. It overlaps with the tomato fruit, forming a false organ image, and under internal energy stimulation, shows mild activation.”
With that, the captain tossed the little tomato, which had sneakily opened a slit in its eye, into his mouth and crunched loudly. His slightly furrowed brows relaxed, revealing a satisfied expression.
“The taste is surprisingly good. Sour and sweet, no different from little tomatoes, but with more chewiness. It has a plant flavor, yet it’s like chewing bouncy juicy meat chunks with a burst of pulp. It can quickly replenish stamina and slightly heal wounds. Eating a lot can mildly reinforce senses, and it carries faint Zen, which can clear and purify mental pollution.”
Yuan Zhu picked up one with ears, pressing it lightly—it was more elastic than expected, and warm, around ten degrees: “Is this thing really a tomato? Edible?”
The captain chose his words carefully: “More accurately, it should be—meat tomato. Consuming it does benefit the body, but it might cause psychological trauma (discomfort). Its tomato juice is sweet with a salty note, a bit like blood, but the right sourness neutralizes the blood impression. It won’t trigger crisis and alertness in the taste system; instead, you’ll indulge in the deliciousness and feel happiness.”
Meng Xiyue also grabbed two to play with, spinning them like walnuts: “The more I hear, the less I dare to eat.”
Captain: “I won’t take any. You all divide them up, carry them on you, and treat them as life-saving pills.”
Zhou Chu: “Any side effects?”
“Side effects? This thing has no effect on me, probably too weak, so I can’t sense any side effects. For you…” The captain thought carefully and summarized from experience, “Don’t worry. At most, it will make your subjective attitude lean more toward Buddhism, with a faint initial goodwill. The more you eat, the greater the benefits you get, and the stronger your affinity for Buddhism. That’s the law of nature—after taking someone’s benefits, you’re naturally soft-mouthed.”
Yuan Zhu had a look of sudden realization, thinking to himself: You’re probably talking about Mao Mao King, right? Gave clothes, gave mouse, gave arms, making me feel kinda embarrassed. I won’t badmouth her with Zhou Chu anymore. Mao Mao King is the best!
Captain: “Alright, you all eat. These dishes are all fine. Eat your fill, rest up, tonight should be lively.”
Then he stood and went to the window, pushed open the frame, and looked at the half-crescent moon hanging in the sky, shimmering with enchanting green light.
“Huh… shouldn’t the moon be blue?”
Yuan Zhu suddenly realized—he had seen the moonlight over Xiao Tian Shui Jing Lane last night, and it was deeply impressed on him.
Lu Rang looked confused: “Hasn’t it always been yellow? Occasionally turns red.”
Mai Lili whispered: “White.”
Meng Xiyue said impatiently: “Are you all idiots? Haven’t you heard that the moon symbolizes ‘spirit’ and ‘spirituality’? Different people, at different times and mental states, see different colors when gazing at the moon, reflecting their own state. The moon is unique from beginning to end, but the moonlight varies by person.”
Yuan Zhu humbly sought knowledge: “Ah! That amazing? I’ve learned something!”
“Ah! I remember now, we’re in Running, which is Rain City. It’s either overcast turning to light rain or light rain turning overcast all year round. Sunny days are rare enough that you can’t see the sun. Every day it’s surrounded by gloomy clouds or exhaust and mist—where’s the chance to gaze at the moon?”
Lu Rang slapped his hand, finally recalling why he was unfamiliar with the moon. Though he often mentioned it and was very familiar with it, he had never really observed it seriously. Running’s moonlight was always obscured by clouds and mist, filtering out hazy faint light.
Meng Xiyue looked at this group of Running people who were generally one shade whiter than Taixi people, feeling speechless. Their skin really was delicate and fair—could such a backward, outdated industrial pollution city really nurture people like that? Should she go there for a holiday?
The captain was now squatting on the window frame, turning back to instruct: “I’ve altered those monks’ memories. They only remember 7 people entering the city; I don’t exist. Take care. For emergencies, contact via your mice. See you tomorrow.”
After waving goodbye, he pushed off with his feet and leaped out, blending into the night and vanishing.
Before Yuan Zhu and the others could react, he was gone, leaving seven confused faces staring at each other. What? Abandoned just like that?
“Baa baa baa!” The little goat suddenly opened its mouth wide, stuck out its tongue, licked and rolled a one-eyed little tomato from Lu Rang’s palm into its mouth, crunching with juice dripping everywhere. Like eating raw flesh with dripping blood, paired with that slit pupil, even more evil and scary.
“Damn it! My fruit!” He cried out miserably, pouncing to tug at the wool, “Give it back! You damn thing, give it back! Spit it out aaaah!”
There were only about 20 in total, and with one bite from the little goat, he instantly lost 1/3 of his property.
Yuan Zhu quickly stowed his three bizarre meat tomatoes with ‘eye, ear, nose’, then sorted his weapons, preparing for the evening ceremony.
After the captain fled, the group could only huddle together for warmth.
Black Uncle, who didn’t fit in with the group, rarely spoke, saying he wasn’t used to team mode. Tonight he would become a lone wolf, using racial talent to enter stealth mode and seek opportunities to get rich.
Yuan Zhu guessed he had only cooperated reluctantly out of fear of the captain, behaving all the way. Now that the boss fled, sharing a room with Security Bureau-raised Zhou Chu made him uncomfortable, so he was eager to go solo.
Except for him, the rest chose to travel together. The old woman shed her despondency, no longer resigned to death. After eating a meat tomato, she became interested in the Buddhist System.
She probably just didn’t understand Buddhism, so she got the idea to use Mao Mao King’s uniform to absorb Vajra Sect monks’ Buddhist power and nurture a power seed.
At her age, she naturally obsessed over healthy, vital bodies.
She had previously tasted the reinforcement temptation from filthy bone filthy blood. Now reason told her not to continue deepening contact, so she switched tracks—Vajra Sect Buddhism could also bring bodily transformation.
Recommendation, monthly ticket, follow-up reading, comments…
Also, in the comment section for plot discussions, stop with all the belittling and attacking.
You’ve got nearly three hundred complaint posts. How about some positive rainbow topics?!
