Chapter 90: Dam
As the words fell, the little black cat retracted its paws and lowered its head slightly.
A few seconds later, Little Can raised its head and meowed at Chu Jiu.
Chu Jiu blankly reached out and hugged Little Can into his arms.
Lu Qingyan had left again.
But what did that last sentence he said mean…?
He said, he also, missed… me?
Those were just a few words.
But the moment Chu Jiu thought of them, he felt the surrounding air thin, and breathing became difficult.
He held Little Can, sitting there in a daze for a long while, listening to his heart pounding wildly in his chest.
It wasn’t until Little Can nuzzled his face worriedly, “Meow?”—”What’s wrong? Your face is red and hot, are you feeling unwell?”
Only then did Chu Jiu snap out of it.
He quickly shook his head: “No, no, I’m not.”
“That is, I was just thinking about how to transport the giant beaver near Bean Village.”
Although the road signs in Bean Village prohibited demon beasts from entering at will, he could select [Allow Entry] in the background interface, so the giant beaver could enter Bean Village from the Pioneer Cabin area.
But the problem was, he couldn’t just have the giant beaver squatting in Bean Village doing nothing… First of all, the grumpy beaver definitely wouldn’t stay put, and the villagers would be terrified…
Chu Jiu couldn’t think of the most suitable solution for the time being, so he said to Little Can, “Now that we understand what’s going on, let’s go back to Bean Village first.”
Little Can: “Meow.”
*
Chu Jiu had only just returned to Bean Village and hadn’t had time to discuss the “sending honey” matter with Douglas and the others when Aman ran over breathlessly: “Brother Chu Jiu! Quick! Quick! To the plaza!”
Seeing Aman’s anxious appearance, Chu Jiu was startled: “What’s wrong? Did the association come to cause trouble again?”
Like discovering that Bean Village was actually fine and sending more people over?!
But Aman shook his head, panting and gesturing: “No, no. It’s… the King, the King’s decree, has arrived!”
“Bean Village is going to merge with Black Wheat Village!”
“The messenger is in the plaza, Grandpa told me to call you, quickly, quickly!”
Chu Jiu’s eyes lit up: So that’s the matter!
Clara was so efficient!
Chu Jiu took off running towards the small plaza.
When he reached the small plaza, the messenger was holding the Permission Decree signed by the King in his hand, loudly reading it to the Old Village Chief and the others.
Chu Jiu kept his head down, listening with the focus of a listening test as the messenger loudly read:
[Upon the recommendation of Clara, the City Lord of Sea Moon City, and considering that Black Wheat Village has long been uninhabited and uncultivated, which is not conducive to management and border maintenance, the King has now approved its merger into Bean Village.]
[Furthermore, based on the joint recommendation of Clara, the City Lord of Sea Moon City, and Prince Halsin, the merged New Bean Village has the potential to become “Bean Town.” The King hereby grants New Bean Village two years of preparation time.]
[If within two years, the population of New Bean Village exceeds 400, the administrators of New Bean Village and the Pioneer stationed in Bean Village may go to the royal capital to attend a hearing and present the development direction of New Bean Village to the royal family.]
[Upon successful hearing, New Bean Village may become “Bean Town.”]
Chu Jiu: !
In other words, as long as the population of Bean Village exceeds 400 and they can convince the royal family how “promising” Bean Village is, they can really upgrade the village to a “town”?!
That’s amazing!
It’s just that the number 400 is a bit high…
The current population of Bean Village and Black Wheat Village combined is probably around 110 people. They would have to get 290 people to voluntarily move to New Bean Village within two years…
290 people, in Earth, even the residents of one building would exceed that number.
But in this world, a village at most has 200 people.
Even Emerald Town, it is said, only has a total of 2000 people now—not even as large as a slightly larger residential area in China.
The population requirement set by the King was probably not that easy to achieve.
Chu Jiu secretly glanced at the expressions of Douglas and the Old Village Chief beside him.
Just like him, they had initially looked delighted, but after hearing the population limit, their brows had furrowed, and they had fallen into thought.
Just as he was thinking, the messenger continued to read:
[Furthermore, upon the explanation of Clara, the City Lord of Sea Moon City, considering that New Bean Village is located at the outermost edge of the kingdom and the villagers have close interactions with multiple non-human races, special permission is hereby granted: when counting the population of New Bean Village, non-human races shall also be included in the count!]
This, this, this, such a good thing?!
Hearing this, Chu Jiu, who had been obediently keeping his head down, couldn’t help but raise his head and exclaim, “Ah!”
But he immediately realized that his action was impolite.
Just as he was about to lower his head again, the messenger was already addressing him: “You must be the Pioneer of Bean Village, Lord Chu Jiu?”
Chu Jiu quickly said yes.
Messenger: “Prince Halsin instructed me to convey his greetings to you.”
“Prince Halsin also said: ‘Whenever Chu Jiu changes his mind, he is welcome to become a member of my family.'”
Chu Jiu: !
Even knowing that Prince Halsin wasn’t present, he shook his head like a rattle-drum, while subconsciously covering Little Can in his pocket, fearing that the little guy would jump out and bare its fangs again.
Fortunately, perhaps because Prince Halsin’s words weren’t as direct this time, Little Can didn’t react.
Only then did Chu Jiu breathe a sigh of relief.
*
After sending off the messenger, the others present were both happy and worried.
Happy, of course, because the area of Bean Village had suddenly doubled, and there was more land for cultivation;
Worried, of course, about the “400 people” requirement.
Chu Jiu, however, was much calmer. He told everyone:
If they included the non-human races, then the current “permanent residents” of Bean Village already numbered over 120!
And he was very confident that he could get even more non-human races to live in Bean Village!
For example, the current “Dwarf Beastmen Blacksmith Shop,” in fact, besides refining and forging, had added the task of “making glass,” and the little squirrels were almost too busy.
Just some time ago, the little squirrels were still considering getting other dwarf beastmen to come and help!
After listening to Chu Jiu’s explanation, Douglas also did some calculations and said that as long as Bean Village attracted new villagers at roughly the same rate as before, and counting these non-human residents, the total population reaching 400 within two years wouldn’t be a problem.
After the two of them explained this, the others finally shed their anxiety and began to cheer simply because “Bean Village has become bigger! From today onwards, we are New Bean Village!”
For a time, everyone in the village, young and old, knew the news.
Even if they couldn’t directly imagine what specific benefits “merging Black Wheat Village” would bring them; even if there was still a “demon beast area” separating the original Bean Village and Black Wheat Village, and they weren’t completely connected—
But the news that “Bean Village has become bigger and stronger” was enough to make them even more excited.
What’s more, the messenger also said that “Bean Village” might soon become “Bean Town.”
“A small village upgrading to a town,” who had heard of such a thing in the last hundred years?
This itself would become a legend!
When that time came, they would no longer be villagers of an “unknown small village,” but residents of “that legendary Bean Town”!
Even walking in big cities like Sea Moon City, they could proudly say how “our Bean Town” was!
The moment they thought of this, the villagers, especially those who had recently moved in and those whose relatives lived in other villages and towns, couldn’t help but quietly calculate: If I bring my uncle and my aunt to live in this village with us… wouldn’t that also help reach the 400-person mark?
Even old Mr. Nicola, who always claimed, “We’re just staying for a few days,” was grinding lenses while muttering to his wife:
“This little broken village seems to be counting permanent residents to see if it can upgrade to a town.”
“If we go back to Sea Moon City in a few days and the village doesn’t have enough people, those youngsters will be crying their eyes out.”
“Why don’t we stay a few more days, until they become a town?”
Old Mr. Nicola’s wife, Rose, was turning over newly picked lavender to make herbal tea, while suppressing a smile, she said to the old man, “Then let’s stay a few more days.”
*
While the villagers were overjoyed, Chu Jiu also received a system notification:
[Dynamic notification from “Honor Area – Bean Village”: The area of Bean Village has greatly expanded!]
[The pioneering progress of Bean Village has greatly increased!]
[The area pioneering progress has increased to 45%!]
45% pioneering progress!
It actually increased so much! That’s great!
All that hard work wasn’t in vain!
This merger is really too useful!
In addition to his joy, Chu Jiu noticed that the system was still showing notifications:
[Precautions: There is still a “wilderness area” between the original Bean Village and Black Wheat Village. This area has greatly hindered the villagers’ development of Black Wheat Village.
The host should complete the pioneering of this area as soon as possible.
Once the pioneering is complete, the “deterrent ranges” of the original Bean Village and Black Wheat Village will overlap.
Due to the totem pole established by the host in the Pioneer Cabin area, its deterrent range has already overlapped with the original deterrent range of the original Bean Village, the deterrent ranges of the Pioneer Cabin area, the original Bean Village, and Black Wheat Village will be merged after this “deterrent range” overlap.
After the merger, if demon beasts intend to enter this range, the host can choose whether to allow them to pass in the background.]
Chu Jiu read this last notification three times.
After reading it, he couldn’t help but exclaim “Whoa!”
In other words, as long as the middle area was cleared, he could not only let any demon beast in, but also let the demon beasts go directly to Black Wheat Village?
Chu Jiu quickly went through the map of Black Wheat Village in his mind, and his eyes lit up: He knew how to keep the giant beaver near Bean Village! Absolutely a good way!
However, Chu Jiu wasn’t in a hurry to act immediately.
He first told Douglas and the Old Village Chief everything that had happened at the source of the Bean River and what Lu Qingyan had instructed.
After listening, Douglas discussed it with Lauren and Eric for a long while before saying somewhat uncertainly, “Mr. Lu, could it be that he wants to lure all those ability users to Bean Village for a trap?”
Eric didn’t know who Lu Qingyan was. He shook his head and said, “No, it’s too risky.”
“You probably can’t understand the difference in strength between high-level and low-level ability users…”
“Even if you set traps and ambushes… you won’t be a match for so many high-level ability users.”
“Instead of taking such a risky move, it would be better for me to pretend to still be under the influence of the drugs and lure my comrades out.”
Douglas immediately shook his head: “Absolutely not.”
He paused and then said, “Eric… on this matter, we trust Mr. Lu’s judgment.”
Having said that, Douglas looked at Chu Jiu: “Little Jiu, what’s your opinion?”
Chu Jiu had already taken out the maps of Black Wheat Village and Bean Village and laid them out on the table.
He looked down at the map and murmured, “My opinion is… build a dam.”
Douglas: ??
Eric: ??!
How did this pioneer suddenly jump from “luring out ability users” to this?
Also, what was a “dam”…?
Chu Jiu still kept his head down, drawing a line in the air over the Bean River: “The Bean River naturally has ups and downs, we built irrigation canals on the banks, a blacksmith shop, and a mill.”
“I also plan to build a [Sugar Mill] by the river, which can use the flowing water to press sugarcane.”
“Maybe there will be a [Bamboo Paper Mill] in the future, which needs flowing water to pound bamboo pulp.”
“Oh, a larger [Weaving Mill] can also use flowing water to power the spindles…”
Eric was completely confused, unable to follow Chu Jiu’s train of thought.
Chu Jiu raised his head, somewhat regretfully, “Unfortunately, I looked at the map for a long time and found that there isn’t enough space on the banks.”
“So,” Chu Jiu tapped the map of Black Wheat Village, “I plan to build a dam on this ‘Wheat River’ in Black Wheat Village to artificially create a drop.”
Unlike Eric, Douglas had heard Chu Jiu mention it before and roughly knew what a “dam” was.
He couldn’t help but ask doubtfully, “Little Jiu, I remember you saying before that artificially building a dam to block water is very time-consuming and labor-intensive… harvest season is coming soon, I’m afraid there isn’t that much manpower…”
Chu Jiu shook his head: “No, it won’t require the manpower of Bean Village.”
Douglas suddenly understood: “Ah, you want the dwarf beastmen to help?”
Chu Jiu continued to shake his head: “No, not them either.”
Douglas was even more surprised now: “…Then?”
Chu Jiu smiled: “Use, the, beaver.”
Before Douglas could say anything, Eric’s face had already turned pale: “What?”
The beaver?
That grumpy beaver that would slap people?
Chu Jiu’s smile became even brighter: “And, in order for the beaver to build the dam better—”
As he spoke, he drew a line between the two sheepskin maps with his finger: “I’m going to completely clear the wilderness between the two villages!”
*
The next morning.
Chu Jiu stood in the “wilderness area” between the two villages.
This area wasn’t very large, nor was it very small.
It was also thanks to the existence of this area that when the locusts attacked before, they had to fly a longer distance to avoid the demon beasts here, giving Bean Village a precious “preparation time.”
Now, Chu Jiu planned to…
Completely flatten this area.
Chu Jiu opened the newly upgraded ?Pioneer Cabin Renovation Guide? and selected a new facility from it: [Spacious Road].
A road wide enough for two carriages to travel side by side could truly connect the two villages into one.
Chu Jiu handed the [Spacious Road Facility Blueprint] to Glup-Glup.
According to system restrictions, spirit beasts could not directly start construction within the honor area.
But this area was still an out-and-out “wilderness.” Here, Glup-Glup’s power would not be restricted.
After receiving the blueprint, Glup-Glup’s tentacles wiggled excitedly, and it also triggered [Enhance Building Quality] and [Architect’s Insight]:
“Glup-Glup! I remember the roads in Emerald Town are all paved with gravel, simple, elegant, and practical!”
“Glup-Glup, this time I’ll imitate their style and build the road here!”
Chu Jiu nodded approvingly: “It will definitely look great! Go ahead!”
Glup-Glup happily danced its little tentacles and started working.
*
This day.
The residents of Bean Village finally witnessed up close: how spirit beasts worked.
They couldn’t even clearly see how that small sapling moved.
They could only see from afar that the large patches of trees in the demon beast area fell with a series of loud crashes.
Not only did they fall, but they also automatically turned into neat stacks of lumber placed to the side!
They could only gape as they witnessed a rapidly spinning sapling, flying up and down with incredible agility.
At the same time, the soil was turned over, dug up, and flattened…
Before they could react, they saw a grayish-white road surface appearing out of nowhere amidst the brown soil!
In just one day, this “land reclamation and road construction,” which would have taken humans at least a month, was completed!
The newly arrived residents looked dumbfounded: “…Heavens, what did I just see! This… this is really an ability…?”
They had seen fire-type abilities and earth-type abilities, but never an ability that could cut trees and build roads!
The old residents of Bean Village looked proud: “That’s right! That’s our A-Jiu using his ability to drive the spirit beast! That’s our A-Jiu’s ability!”
The newly arrived residents: “Oh, is that so…”
Since everyone said so, it must really be like that…
Although the road was paved, Chu Jiu’s “pioneering work” was not over.
He erected a [Totem Pole] beside the newly paved road.
And the “deterrent pattern” on the [Totem Pole] was naturally the claw marks scratched by Little Can.
Soon, accompanied by the wails of countless demon beasts fleeing, the system notification interface flashed:
[Deterrent Range: The deterrent ranges of the Pioneer Cabin area, the original Bean Village, and Black Wheat Village have been merged.]
[Congratulations to the host for achieving the hidden condition “Indestructible”!]
[Area pioneering progress has increased to 46%!]
[From now on, the host can monitor demon beasts approaching this area in the background interface and can decide whether to allow demon beasts to enter!]
Chu Jiu clenched his fist: Yes! Now he could let the giant beaver go where it needed to go!
*
Five days later.
Grandpa Du and the newly hired young helper were using spoons to pour the golden honey into glass bottles.
These glass bottles were naturally given to them by Chu Jiu.
Compared to the previous dull gray pottery jars, these crystal-clear glass bottles were beautiful beyond belief.
The young helper didn’t dare touch the glass bottles at first, washing his hands with soap several times and then putting on linen gloves before daring to hold the crystal-like bottles in his hands.
After the honey was poured into the glass bottles, the young helper couldn’t resist holding a bottle up to the sunlight, looking at the lustrous and soft honey, looking at the sparkling glass, and exclaimed again, “It’s so beautiful, it’s even more beautiful than the jewelry of those rich ladies in the market.”
Grandpa Du was also beaming.
He had already shown the samples to Marco. Marco said that if the honey was packaged in such bottles—my goodness, even after the honey was finished, the bottle itself could probably sell for 100 copper coins!
Looking at it this way, setting the price of the honey at 150 copper coins per portion was almost like giving it away, and everyone would definitely fight over it.
Then the unit price of honey next year could easily rise to 250 copper coins!
While laying layers of soft cloth in the wooden boxes for the honey, the young helper said, “Grandpa Du, have you ever seen such a thing before, a ‘glass bottle’?”
Grandpa Du thought for a moment: “To say I’ve never seen it at all… that’s not quite right.”
“When I was young, didn’t I live in Sea Moon City for a while?”
“There was a shop in the city called ‘Gem Candy Shop’.”
“Back then, they would use ‘glass bottles’ to hold candied fruit.”
“I remember there was a painting on their wall, depicting plates and bowls made of glass, filled with all sorts of colored ‘sugar,’ it was so beautiful…”
The young helper, who had never been to Sea Moon City, imagined such a scene in his mind, giggling foolishly while saying, “Grandpa Du, I don’t know what ‘sugar’ tastes like, but it sounds like it must be as delicious as candied fruit!”
Grandpa Du couldn’t help but smile and said, “I heard that when the sugarcane in our fields ripens in October, Little Jiu will lead everyone in making ‘cane sugar’.”
“When that time comes, you can have a good taste—it’s said to taste even better than candied fruit!”
The young helper wiped the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand: “That would be great! I’ve never eaten anything tastier than candied fruit!”
The next morning.
*
Marco drove the carriage, escorted by Lauren and Joey, carrying a cartload of honey away from Bean Village.
Less than an hour after they left, the villagers who were harvesting wheat and soybeans were dumbfounded one after another:
What… what was that thing coming from near the Pioneer Cabin?
That paddle-like tail, and round body, and those small eyes and ears…
Could it be a… beaver?!
But this beaver was too big!
Mrs. Luca wiped the sweat from her forehead: “That must be a demon beast, right?”
Mr. Luca gripped his scythe: “It… it is… right?”
But neither Mrs. Luca nor Mr. Luca, nor the other villagers in the nearby fields, rushed to flee in panic.
Because they also saw that Chu Jiu was riding on the giant beaver’s head!
Since Chu Jiu could bring back little birdmen, little squirrels, chestnut sprites from the wilderness, and even lead in a three-horned ox that no one had ever seen before, and usually rode a Bodo bird when going out…
Then, him riding a beaver back to Bean Village didn’t seem like a big deal, right?
That beaver was just a little bigger, that’s all.
Everyone suddenly felt it was completely normal.
Only Eric, who was helping to plaster the outer walls of a house with lime, looked at the giant beaver and couldn’t help but shiver.
Although everyone wasn’t panicking, they were still curious.
There were even bold children who climbed trees and shouted loudly at Chu Jiu, “Brother Chu Jiu, is that a big beaver?”
Chu Jiu smiled and took out a [Simple Loudspeaker] and replied, “That’s right, this is a very brave beaver!”
“It has been helping us guard the source of the Bean River all this time!”
“And this time, it’s going to the Wheat River to help us build a dam!”
Children: “Wow… awesome beaver!”
“Yes, a very awesome beaver!” Chu Jiu said loudly, “Would everyone like to be friends with it?”
Children: “Yes, yes! Can I touch its fur?”
Chu Jiu: “Oh, no, you can’t do that—but you can wave hello to it from afar!”
The children, and the adults in the fields, all waved friendly hands at the grumpy beaver, and some children shouted, “Thank you, big beaver!”
Although the grumpy beaver didn’t understand human language, it recognized the friendly light in everyone’s eyes.
This big fellow once again raised its paws to its face, looking shy and flustered.
Chu Jiu moved the [Simple Loudspeaker] away and whispered to Kakaba beside him, “This is a rare opportunity, quickly PUA—no, no, quickly continue to influence the big beaver.”
Kakaba: “Dang dang dang! Dang dang dang dang?”
Big Beaver: “Squeak squeak squeak!”
Kakaba: “…Dang dang, some food for you.”
Big Beaver: “Squeak!”
Kakaba nodded contentedly and said to Chu Jiu, “Dang dang dang! I’ve made a deal with the big beaver. Now the villagers all think it’s an awesome beaver, everyone’s good friend—so it absolutely can’t be grumpy and slap people, or do anything to hurt its friends.”
“It said it won’t!”
“I also told it that if it accidentally forgets, I’ll grab its tail and help it remember.”
“It said it swears on the beaver’s honor that it will never forget!”
Chu Jiu: “As expected of Kakaba. You’re amazing!”
Having obtained the “beaver’s promise,” Chu Jiu led it to the upper reaches of the small river in Black Wheat Village:
“Alright, this little river isn’t bad either, the water is clear and the depth is just right.”
“You can slowly build your dam here.”
Seeing the slowly flowing river in front of it, the beaver’s tail slapped the ground rapidly and excitedly:
“Excellent! I really like this place!”
“I’ll build a sturdy dam here that even flash floods won’t be able to destroy!”
Chu Jiu watched the beaver’s satisfied expression and gently exhaled.
Of course, he didn’t forget to have Glup-Glup and Kakaba “guide from the side” to ensure that the dam would create a suitable water flow difference.
*
Ancient Linburg.
The Vice-Chairman’s face was uglier than ever before.
He had received news: those troublesome commoners from Bean Village had ostentatiously entered Sea Moon City with honey, a whole cartload of honey!
Even more terrifying was that they had also produced those long-lost “transparent glass bottles” to hold the honey!
Now, everyone inside and outside Sea Moon City was talking about it, saying, “The things from Bean Village are just extraordinary!”
Some people were also saying, “I heard that last year, the association tried to snatch that honey, but they failed!”
Hearing these rumors, the Vice-Chairman felt like insects were crawling all over his back, so uncomfortable that his hair kept falling out, and even the gold and silver coins sent by his subordinates couldn’t give him any relief.
That day, he also heard another piece of news, news from an insider close to the Chairman:
The Chairman’s personal attendant was coming to see him.
The Vice-Chairman immediately thought: It’s over! The Chairman must have found out!
Found out that I failed to clear out Bean Village in time, found out that I’ve been withholding information all along!
He clutched his sparse gray hair, his eyes bulging, thinking, what can I do now? How can I remedy this? How can I smooth things over? Could I only send people to burn down the entire Bean Village?
…That’s right.
Burning it all down would solve everything! As long as I burn it down fast enough, the Chairman might not punish me!
Before, I was worried about the royal family’s opinion, and I didn’t want to be nitpicked by those city lords. It was because I had too many concerns that I wasn’t ruthless enough!
What time is it now? If I don’t act, I’ll be made a sacrifice by the Chairman!
The Vice-Chairman was just about to ring the bell to call a servant when he immediately remembered: No, no one else can know about this.
How many people in the association are coveting my position… I can’t let anyone take the opportunity to sabotage me.
As long as I deal with this first, act first and report later, I won’t be afraid of what others say!
His mind filled with “not being punished by the Chairman” and “not being overthrown by others,” the Vice-Chairman dismissed all his servants and found the “leader” of the ability users in the association alone.
Logically, only the Chairman had the authority to mobilize so many ability users.
But the so-called “rules are dead, people are alive.”
The Vice-Chairman made a small adjustment and directly ordered these ability users: set off immediately and raze Bean Village to the ground!
Dozens of ability users, the “elites” that the association had painstakingly collected over the years, without asking the reason or right and wrong, put on black robes, mounted their horses, and headed straight for Bean Village.
Listening to the sound of horses’ hooves stepping on the cobblestone road, the Vice-Chairman felt much more at ease.
He tidied his hair and outer robe and unhurriedly returned to his private residence.
Just as he reached the gate, he wasn’t surprised to find that the Chairman’s personal attendant was already waiting for him in the reception room.
The gray-haired man bowed low, his head lowered, and entered the reception room respectfully.
He didn’t dare to look up and began to continuously praise the true god and the Chairman, not daring to mention Bean Village first.
After he spoke eloquently for a long time, his lips becoming dry, the attendant in the black robe and hood slowly uttered two words: “Come here.”
The gray-haired man frowned slightly: This attendant, relying on being close to the Chairman, was now speaking so rudely!
Who did he think he was? The Chairman?
Just a dog relying on its master’s power!
Although he was thinking this, the gray-haired man’s movements didn’t slow down at all.
He put on a smile and quickly walked towards the attendant, still not daring to look up, only whispering, “Does the Chairman have any new instructions?”
Attendant: “Extend your hand.”
The gray-haired man didn’t understand the meaning, but he didn’t dare to resist or hesitate, so he quickly shook his robe and extended his right hand, which was covered in olive oil and adorned with gemstone rings.
!
Something cold and sticky touched his hand!
Panic surged in the Vice-Chairman’s heart, and he finally looked up:
There was no attendant in front of him!
There was only a skeleton covered in a layer of skin!
And the eye sockets and mouth hole of this skeleton were filled with white worms that were constantly wriggling out!
The Vice-Chairman subconsciously wanted to scream!
But just as he barely opened his mouth, something like a rope suddenly shot into his throat, blocking all his sounds!
He widened his eyes in terror, bloodshot veins appearing in his eyeballs, and raised his hand to try and pry open the “rope”—
The outside of that “rope” oozed a large amount of mucus, firmly locking his hands to it!
At the same time, he could feel those tiny white worms drilling into every inch of his body!
Into muscles, into blood vessels, into bone crevices, these worms didn’t miss any gap!
Not only did they drill in, but they also kept tearing and biting!
The Vice-Chairman’s eyeballs were about to fall out of their sockets, and blood gurgled out of his eyes, ears, and throat!
A sawing sound came from his throat, and his body began to twitch nervously.
His whole person had now become a piece of meat, a piece of meat with little remaining consciousness.
The last image reflected in his eyeballs was the skeleton attendant grinning: “Your flesh… is very suitable for a nest…”
With a “pop,” the Vice-Chairman’s eyeball burst from its socket, detached from his eye socket, and rolled a few times on the ground.
All his consciousness dissipated.
This piece of meat had nothing to do with a “living person” anymore.
A few minutes later.
The Vice-Chairman’s coughing sound came from this private reception room.
“Cough cough…”
“Hmm… the vocal cords are still usable.”
“This skin bag is still fresh…”
A hand covered in rings picked up the rolled-out eyeball and put it back into the Vice-Chairman’s eye socket.
Of course, the current “owner” of this hand and this eyeball would never know what kind of order their previous owner had given, or where he had sent the association’s most treasured and cherished high-level ability users.
*
One day later.
Dust billowed on the road leading to Bean Village.
A line of black-robed figures, expressionless, spurred their horses to a gallop, meticulously preparing to complete their mission.
Little Can, who had been lying on Chu Jiu’s shoulder sleeping, suddenly sat up straight: “Meow.”—”They’re here, ability users, many of them.”
Immediately afterwards, Little Can jumped to the ground and transformed into a swift and agile black Great Can, its fur with a metallic sheen.
Chu Jiu, who was drawing, put away his paper and pen and touched Tata, who was floating around beside him, saying, “Keep an eye on the house with Little Gray Bird, don’t be afraid.”
Having said that, he flipped onto Great Can and headed straight for the Wheat River.
In the riverbed, the grumpy beaver sat in the water, gnawing on wood with a “crunch crunch” sound; Kakaba and Glup-Glup sat beside it, helping to pile up stones.
One big and two small, they were surprisingly harmonious.
Unfortunately, this civilized and harmonious scene had to be interrupted.
“Kakaba!” Chu Jiu shouted loudly, “Notify the big beaver, tell it to prepare—to become a bully again!”
“Spit, spit, spit at those ability users who want to break into Bean Village!”
“Remember, spit hard, be sure to spit on their heads!”
I really like the overall development, but the romantic part feels kind of forced… I mean, they didn’t spend enough time together to develop deeper feelings…