Chapter 25
His face had been licked warm, and the layer of reddish fruit juice had been licked away, but his cheeks had grown even redder.
Yomi stood there blankly holding the red fruit in his hand, thoroughly dazed. Even when the monster continued feeding him lingzhi fruit, he tilted his head a little.
The monster crouched down and nudged the lingzhi fruit closer to his mouth again.
The approaching drone reminded Yomi that they were still livestreaming. As a guest who had signed a contract, he absolutely could not neglect his duties. His expression quickly became steady again, and he opened his mouth to eat the “big partner’s” offering. “Thank you…” Then he lifted the fruit in his hand. “Do you want some dragon fruit too? This one is also very sweet.”
Anxius glanced at the red fruit in his hand, saw that Yomi liked it, then walked to the clump of shrubs behind him, brushed away the obstacles, and picked a great many red fruits.
He led Yomi to a clear river nearby and washed the fruits clean.
This was not dragon fruit. On Snar Star, dragon fruit was much bigger than this. These were only a local berry unique to Leia Continent.
[Hahaha, he mistook the berries for dragon fruit]
[You really can’t blame Teacher Mimi for getting it wrong. These berries really do resemble dragon fruit in both appearance and taste. For us they’re just little snacks, but for Teacher Mimi they’re enough to fill him up!]
Yomi peered at the fruit in front of him. “There are so many dragon fruits. We definitely can’t finish them.”
“These are Leia berries,” the monster said in a low voice.
“So they’re not dragon fruit…” Yomi felt a faint trace of embarrassment. After he finished the red fruit in his hand, he crouched by the shore to wash his hands and face. When he saw his reflection in the clear water, he finally noticed that there had been a lot of red juice smeared around his mouth…
So earlier, he had actually been helping him wash his face? Anxius had always liked wiping his face before, but even if there were no handkerchiefs in a place like this, there was still no need to directly use his mouth, was there…?
Yomi was lost in thought when the monster suddenly took out a washed red fruit, peeled it, and used his small knife to cut the inside into countless little pieces. Then he shaved down a twig and handed it to him so he could spear the fruit and eat it without getting it all over his face.
This way, Yomi could hold the fruit peel full of little fruit pieces in one hand, and use the wooden skewer in the other to eat the fruit.
Fresh-cut fruit—whoever had it knew exactly how good it was!
This time they had a full harvest. Besides the local berries, Anxius had also found other melons and fruits. By the time they returned to the wooden cabin with all those fruits before dark, everyone else had also come back carrying things.
Monde had even hunted a wild chicken.
Jane had spent the entire time sleeping inside the cabin. When she heard the sounds of people eating in the living room, she ran out to look. Once she realized it was not the kindness of the program team delivering food, she wiped her drool and went back to her room.
Yomi and Anxius had brought back an enormous amount of fruit. Seeing the slime return to his room, Yomi looked at Anxius with an inquiring expression.
Anxius said, “These are yours.”
A few minutes later—
Yomi took two “dragon fruits” and knocked on Jane’s door.
When the slime inside opened the door and saw it was him, he froze on the spot.
“I can’t finish them all. Do you want some?” Yomi asked softly.
The slime blinked and looked rather stubborn. “I’m not hungry. I can wait and mooch off Joseph’s food tomorrow.” But his eyes kept darting toward the fruit.
Yomi could tell he really wanted them, so he simply set the fruit down by the door and turned to leave.
[Teacher Mimi! If he won’t eat them, give them to me! I’ll eat them!]
[I bet the slime won’t accept them. All these guests know there are cameras around. No matter how much they want something, they’ll still put on an act]
However…
Onscreen, after seeing the little figure leave, the whole big slime blob turned red. He peeked around furtively to make sure the little figure did not come back, then quickly bounced his soft, springy body over and rolled the fruits into his room.
Just when the audience thought he would impatiently peel them and start eating right away, the plump, round slime instead tossed the fruits into his bedding and carefully hid them away.
[…]
[The vibe of Group B’s livestream really is different. I’m already starting to get used to it]
[Over in Group A it’s turned into palace scheming again! A whole group of people speaking in veiled sarcasm. Too funny!]
[This side may not be as dramatic, but I just want to keep watching it nonstop]
Night fell. After everyone in the wooden cabin finished eating and washing up, they each returned to their own rooms—tonight they had to sleep properly, because tomorrow would be the real battle.
Every room had the same layout. Aside from one large bed and bedding, there was nothing else.
The bed was against the wall, and Yomi occupied only a tiny corner of it. He folded the blanket over himself, lay down, and wriggled a little to adjust into a comfortable position. Before long, the monster, having finished washing up, came in.
Yomi pointed to the wide empty space outside his own little corner, indicating that was the monster’s place. “Good night.”
Anxius looked at him for a few moments, then finally lay down at the edge of the bed.
Yomi had walked a great deal that afternoon and had been very active, so he fell asleep in no time.
He had absolutely no idea, nor could he ever have imagined… that after he fell asleep, the monster would gently roll him up together with the blanket into a little bundle and pull him entirely into his arms!
The comments exploded with countless exclamation marks.
[What are you doing?! Let go of Teacher Mimi!]
[Ahhh, if it were me, I wouldn’t be able to resist hugging him either. He’s just too much like a doll]
[Don’t get too excited, everyone. What Louis is doing is actually very correct. The nights on Leia Continent are extremely dangerous. This is to prevent wild beasts from sneaking in and stealing Yomi away as if he were a cub!]
[Exactly. The mange leopards on Leia Continent love ambushing other animals at night, and they especially love stealing cubs to eat!]
[Since when did Mimi become a cub?]
[At that size, it’s perfectly normal for animals to mistake him for a cub, okay?]
[Crocodile Is Not a Fish: Bastard! This wooden cabin has the best protective measures. Mange leopards wouldn’t come at all! Bastard Louis!!!]
The all-night frenzy in the comments was naturally something Yomi could not possibly know about. When he woke up the next morning, all he knew was that Anxius was wiping his face again.
Since the real mission had not started yet, the wooden cabin provided temporarily usable towels. When Anxius noticed he was awake, he went to wash out the towel and use it to wipe his face.
[I told you they know each other! Just look how practiced he is at wiping his face]
[After hugging our Teacher Mimi like a doll all night, wiping his face is the least he should do!]
The morning passed very quickly. Yomi finished eating the remaining “dragon fruits,” twisted his body around and stretched his limbs a bit, then began waiting for noon to arrive.
[Keep stretching, please! I love watching this!]
[Yomi, you’ve ruined me! Now when I wake up, the first thing I think of isn’t washing up, it’s you. I don’t even want a partner anymore. Everything I look at turns into you. My eyes, my mouth, my whole body are all ruined and can’t move anymore. Unless you appear, I’m really ruined!]
[…The lunatic above, get lost!]
It reached twelve noon.
The program team’s broadcast sounded throughout the cabin. “Hello, this is the Being Different Is Fine Too production team. Good afternoon, everyone! After spending one night together, we believe you’ve all gained a basic understanding of one another. This night was extremely important, you know—it will help you successfully match with suitable partners…”
[True enough. If you already know in advance that the person you want is also favored by someone else in your group, and you know your chances are slim, you can either give up early or try to make the other person give up]
[Why do I feel like in Group B, that kind of logic isn’t really going to work…]
The broadcast continued: “Without further ado, we’ll now begin partner matching. A small compartment will open inside the room for you. In order, each of you will enter the compartment and use the equipment inside to video-chat with the five guests in Group A for a preliminary introduction within a limited time. After the interactions end, you will have the right to vote for your preferred partner. However, only guests who choose each other mutually will be successfully matched! Good luck!”
Jane was the first to enter the little compartment. Yomi lined up behind the other guests and waited his turn.
While waiting, Anxius went to wash the towel again. This time it was to wipe Yomi’s hands. His voice was very low, but Yomi heard him clearly: “I’ll take care of you.”
Yomi understood. It meant Anxius wanted them to be partners. He also lowered his voice and asked, “Can people in the same group team up?”
Anxius nodded. His eyes were fixed on him, and his claw lightly brushed against one of Yomi’s lamb horns.
At that moment, Monde, who had been in front of him, came out. Then Yomi’s name sounded over the broadcast.
Yomi ran toward the little compartment.
Inside the compartment was a giant display screen. Because the guests varied so much in size, there was even a ladder in front of the tall stool placed before the screen.
Yomi climbed the ladder and carefully sat down on the stool. Looking at the numbers on the screen, he saw that he had three minutes to communicate with each guest.
Time was tight.
Yomi pressed the start button, and an elegant figure appeared on the screen.
“Your Highness Joseph,” Yomi recognized him and gave a slight nod. “Hello, I’m Yomi.”
The man looked him over with a smile. “Long time no see.”
“You still remember me?” Yomi was surprised. “Back at the restaurant… I was wearing a mask.”
[!]
[He really is the little music-box darling?!]
[The person upstairs—how long has it been since you last went online?]
[I already knew it, but hearing him say it himself is still so exciting! The music-box dancer! My white moonlight!]
Joseph seemed to think for a moment, then answered, “For someone like you, if I’d forgotten you, that would mean there was something wrong with my brain, wouldn’t it?”
Yomi twitched the corners of his mouth, and after an awkward pause, heard him ask, “If I choose you, will you choose me?”
Yomi immediately shook his head. “Please don’t choose me.”
Joseph froze, but his expression quickly turned thoughtful. “Oh, I understand.”
Time was up, and the Joseph on the screen was instantly replaced by an impatient-looking Jinwen.
“It’s finally my turn! Just now I was about to smash the screen!” The man waved excitedly at Yomi. “The bathhouse and the hot spring! Do you remember?”
Without waiting for Yomi to respond, he launched into a nonstop retelling of all the details of their previous encounter at the bathhouse, as if afraid Yomi might forget him. He even emphasized one point in particular: “You mistook that little window next to the steps in the corridor for a door. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have run into me!”
[Holy crap, there was actually such a cute story behind them?!]
[What incredible bonus footage is this!]
“I remember,” Yomi said. “I didn’t know you were the marshal’s son. At the time, you said you were a driver…”
“Ah! I didn’t mean to lie to you…” Jinwen noticed time was almost up, and he nearly pressed himself against the screen, banging on it. “Choose me! Remember, you have to choose me! I can protect you. You’re too weak and small—here, it’ll be dangerous for you! Choose me, choose me! I brought a gun. On this continent I can walk around sideways…”
After the countdown ended, his face disappeared.
Next was the film emperor Mark.
Yomi shifted his bottom a little and greeted the newly appeared face. “Hello, I’m Yomi.”
“I’m Mark.” Mark was a somewhat melancholic man, the kind whose emotional eyes looked deeply affectionate no matter who he was looking at. “So you’re Yomi? Have you already decided who you want to team up with?”
“Yes! I already have.”
His expression was so certain that the film emperor, who had been about to ask is it me, lost his confidence and instead began asking Yomi questions about films.
Yomi was questioned for a full two minutes. Each time, he sat there clasping his hands and shaking his head, until by the end, he had shaken his head so many times that his body had started to slump.
He had not seen any of the obscure art films Mark talked about. After arriving on Snar Star, he had only occasionally watched some popular dramas and movies.
[Please make him stop. Can’t he tell Mimi is not interested at all and is even getting embarrassed?]
[Everyone knows Teacher Mimi came from the Black Miasma Wasteland. His life used to be hard, he wasn’t even guaranteed enough food, didn’t even have an optical brain. Who would have had the chance to watch art films? What’s the point of showing off like this? Teacher Mimi is starting to feel inferior from being asked all this!]
[What’s wrong with asking? Does Mark have to be disliked by you people now too? If Mark talked to me, I’d even enjoy listening if he were giving a lecture]
[So annoying. He really seems to think Mimi would choose him!]
Fortunately, time quickly ran out. The film emperor who had been interrogating him disappeared, replaced by a long-haired man with green eyes—painter Arno.
“My dear Yomi, I’ve finally met you!” Arno spoke in an exaggerated tone. “God, you have no idea how much inspiration your videos gave me before joining this show! I hope that after the program ends, you can be my model!”
Yomi had not expected such an unexpected gain. “Huh? Can I really?”
“Absolutely! This time I even brought paint with me! Just so I could paint you here on this continent!” After saying that, Arno stared fixedly at him, then took out something like black charcoal and began furiously sketching on a board. Just as the time was about to end, he cried out in horror, “No, don’t—just give me one more minute! Just one more minute…”
Yomi waved goodbye to him and then looked at the last Group A guest—Andri.
This was a camp general. He looked extremely rigorous and gave Yomi a slight nod. “Hello, Yomi. I’m Andri.”
Yomi also nodded. After both sides introduced themselves, they fell into a terrible silence. Only when the three minutes were almost over did Andri speak: “I will do my best.”
Yomi: “…”
After all the conversations with the guests were over, they had to take out the special limited-function phones and begin the voting phase.
Guests could only see their own votes, while the audience could see the votes of all the guests through a small window above the livestream.
[Ah, well…]
[Honestly, I’m not surprised at all!]
A few minutes later, the voting results came out.
There were ten people total, and Yomi received seven votes!!!
Joseph, Jane (the slime), and Louis each received one vote.
Everyone else got zero votes!
The broadcast announced: “Congratulations to Yomi and Louis for choosing each other successfully! Congratulations to Joseph and Jane for choosing each other successfully! You will form the most ideal partnerships. As for the remaining guests who failed to match, they will be randomly paired into partnerships and spend the remaining six days together!”
[People in the same group can partner up too?]
[“The rules never said they couldn’t, you know!”]
[That voting was terrifying. It feels like our Teacher Mimi is being surrounded by all the guests]
[I was still hoping there’d be sparks between Mimi and that marshal’s son. Kind of a pity…]
In fact, even if Anxius had not said those words, Yomi had never intended to choose anyone else. He always kept his actual job firmly in mind. Since the Crown Prince had entered the program, partnering with him would lower the chances of the other guests discovering his identity.
Besides, among everyone here, Anxius was the one he knew best. In a wilderness survival setting, a familiar person was easier to cooperate with.
The others began using the machine for random matching.
Monde kept looking at Yomi from afar with a deeply hurt expression.
[Monde’s eyes seem to be saying, We’re obviously the same kind of being. Why did you choose someone else?!]
[Hahaha, a wolf and a sheep are destined never to have love!]
[Their body sizes really suit each other, but if they were partnered together, wouldn’t it be kind of dangerous?]
[Don’t talk about body size like that, person above. Monde’s strength doesn’t lose at all to the strongmen of the main city!]
[Objectively speaking, Louis partnering with Mimi is a lot safer. After all, a Snaran with demon horns and demon wings has unquestionable combat ability. To be honest, seeing them successfully match makes me feel relieved. The little guy’s safety is more important than anything else]
The final matching results came out:
Yomi (little lamb-horned person) and Louis (disabled mercenary) as one group.
Joseph (imperial prince) and Jane (slime) as one group.
Jinwen (marshal’s son) and Arlo (robot) as one group.
Mark (film emperor) and Monde (werewolf descendant) as one group.
Arno (painter) and Andri (camp general) as one group.
[Look at those sour faces, I’m dying of laughter. Feels like Monde is going to beat up that greasy film emperor during their partnership]
[What do you mean our Mark is greasy? Haters, get lost]
[I just checked Group A’s stream. After hearing that he got matched with a robot, Jinwen actually wasn’t that devastated anymore. He said he’d originally planned to be a lone wolf anyway, so now it’s basically no different]
[How is Arlo not a person? Yesterday he even wanted to be Mimi’s mother! Jinwen, go die]
[I can already imagine how dramatic the next few days are going to be…]
After all the guests had been matched, the broadcast instructed them to gather outside.
However, not long after they walked out of the wooden cabin, they heard a tremendous crashing sound.
Yomi turned back, only to see that the wooden cabin which had still been standing perfectly fine moments ago had collapsed into the ground, destroyed thoroughly.
His mouth fell open.
[They’re serious about this! That’s terrifying!]
[Looks like you’ll have to find or build your own shelter now. Praying for you, Yomi!]
Once the cabin sank underground, several aircraft flew over from not far away.
These aircraft landed on the ground, and staff members stepped out in an orderly manner. Their task was to bring the partners who had not yet met together, then air-drop the five teams into different areas of the continent and let each group complete their own survival mission.
The moment anyone asked the production team for help, it would be considered mission failure.
Aircraft carried the other three contestants away to meet their partners, while Yomi and Louis were blindfolded and invited onto the final aircraft.
Louis’s claw kept holding Yomi’s hand the entire time, so Yomi did not feel afraid. When he learned they were about to skydive, he even became a little excited.
It was his first time skydiving.
Yomi jumped in tandem with Anxius carrying him. Anxius had abundant skydiving experience, and the staff knew perfectly well that even if an accident occurred, with that monster’s true form there was no way they would actually fall to their deaths.
Before jumping, they took off the blindfolds. Yomi stared in amazement at the mountains below. For one brief instant, he almost felt as if he had not transmigrated at all, but was simply far away on some trip—like now, for example, when he was experiencing skydiving as part of tourism.
Yomi smiled very happily. He felt that partnering with Anxius had been absolutely the right choice. Not only could they skydive safely, they had also skipped the whole process of having to go meet up with a Group A guest, which would save a lot of time.
After all, there was no wooden cabin anymore. They absolutely had to build or find shelter before dark.
Yomi had done his homework beforehand. Nighttime on Leia Continent was extremely dangerous.
After landing, Anxius removed the gear from both of them. In the next moment, small machines in the air swiftly recovered all those items.
Yomi carefully surveyed the surroundings. They had been dropped in a place full of scattered rocky hills, with forest not far away.
It was already afternoon. Anxius told Yomi to stay where he was, then spread his wings and flew into the air. He circled around the mountains and very quickly found a cave.
He led Yomi over to the cave and began constructing the “nest” they would be living in for the next week.
The cave was very spacious. There was absolutely no problem for the two of them to live there.
Nearby in the grass, Anxius found a great deal of dry weeds. He spread the hay inside, then picked several giant leaves and began building a little bed.
[It’s a little bed for Teacher Mimi! Louis, I knew I wasn’t wrong about you!]
[Good, very good. At least he knows the child comes first]
Yomi also helped out nearby, but he was simply too small. Even using all his strength, the hay he carried was not enough to make half a pillow for Anxius.
To stop him from carrying more, Anxius even braided a very ugly little dog out of weeds for him to play with.
Yomi: “…”
Fine then. Yomi listened to reason. He decided to conserve his strength and sit inside the cave to guard it.
While Anxius was busy, Yomi quietly pressed his palm against the ground, trying to feel for the stimulating power of Leia Continent.
He closed his eyes, clearly waiting for some kind of force.
[Is he…]
[Mimi, I’m really not trying to discourage you, but even the ones who were stimulated in the past were all tall Snarans. Even that dog… it was also much, much bigger than you!]
[Our Teacher Mimi is going to awaken superpowers! [guilty] Even if reality is harsh, can’t you at least give the child a little confidence?]
[The other groups have landed too, and they’re also building shelter!]
[In a harsh environment, using one’s true form makes survival easier. Several guests have already reverted to their original bodies. I’m looking forward to seeing Mimi turn into a little lamb!]
That particular hope from the comments was naturally something Yomi, as a human, could never satisfy.
He focused hard for quite a while. When he found that his body had undergone no changes whatsoever, he did not feel disappointed. He simply got up and went to the cave entrance to look around instead.
Anxius’s original form was extremely suited for the wilderness. He did not take long at all to deal with the housing issue.
Now that they had a fixed shelter, the next thing to consider was food.
Yomi still wanted to go find fruit, but this time Anxius did not listen to him. Yomi had not eaten all day, and he did not want him to keep living on fruit.
The monster looked at the direction of the sun, then looked toward Yomi, and stated his decision:
“Hunting.”
[Wow, exactly the kind of content I love watching!]
[Every Snaran evolved from animals. Even with human forms, they still retain their hunting instincts. And clearly, on this continent, disabled Louis is going to be like a fish in water]
Yomi was a little surprised, but he did not object. He had brought knives and tools with him, and since the theme of the program was survival, he had naturally also considered hunting.
He lifted his knife and wanted to follow Anxius in hunting too!
Anxius already had a target. What he intended to hunt was an electro-bull that had appeared nearby.
This was a kind of beast with a great deal of meat. Its texture was similar to beef but even more tender. However, the electro-bull continually discharged electricity and was therefore somewhat dangerous.
Once Anxius had locked onto the nearby electro-bull’s trail, he lowered his eyes and looked at the little figure tightly following after him.
Yomi was very nervous. To him, that electro-bull was simply far too huge.
Anxius had never intended to let him go near the electro-bull. But if he hunted alone, Yomi’s safety would become another problem… In the end, he picked Yomi up and placed him on a safe branch in a giant tree. At the same time, he used rounded fruit shells to make him some simple temporary armor.
Yomi was puzzled. Could it be that his task was to stay up high and help watch the direction for him?
Anxius said, “Wait here for me.”
“…”
Not getting in the way was actually very easy.
Yomi sat in the tree hugging his knife and watched from afar as the monster approached the electro-bull and launched into a fierce battle…
It was practically like watching an animal documentary.
Yomi watched with his heart pounding.
The electro-bull’s horns were formidable. It crazily lowered them and tried to gore the enemy in front of it.
Those horns were as sharp as blades. Against another beast, they would absolutely have drawn blood, perhaps even led to death on the spot. But unfortunately, what it faced right now was a naturally born battle machine of Snar Star.
Seeing that Anxius had not been injured, Yomi let out a small sigh of relief. But this hunt had also given him an idea…
The electro-bull could use its horns to attack beasts, and with such deadly force too. Then he, who also wore horns, ought to be able to learn from it a little as well, shouldn’t he?
Not long after, the monster, panting from the successful hunt, hoisted the electro-bull onto his shoulders and headed back toward the forest.
The comments were filled with congratulations.
[So satisfying! Worthy of a war-god constitution even in original form!]
[Wow, Mimi can eat steak now! He won’t have to go hungry!]
The monster narrowed his eyes and accurately found the tree where he had placed Yomi. He quickened his pace, moving faster and faster, until he finally saw the tiny figure in the tree. The back of that tiny figure was twisting and moving strangely, as though he was doing something—or perhaps… encountering something!
The monster’s expression changed slightly, and he suddenly broke into a wild run.
The commotion was huge. Naturally, the little figure in the tree heard it too.
By the time Anxius rushed over, Yomi had already turned around with several leaves impaled on his lamb horns. He froze for a moment, then smiled and shared his new discovery with his big partner who had returned from the hunt:
“I just learned a new fighting technique. It turns out horns are weapons too!”
“…”
The monster stopped moving altogether.
