STB Chapter 41: Survival

This is machine-translated and all copyrights belong to the author. Please note that the translator might take creative liberties for better readability. Thank you for reading.

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For others, it’s very difficult to survive in the abandoned world.

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“I’ve heard that a makeup artist’s box contains all their belongings.”

“…You’re right,” Li Fei said, picking out some familiar bottles and jars amidst the chaos.

The contents of a makeup artist’s box can add up to a six-figure sum, including various small tools and items.

“Most of it can be salvaged, just messed up,” Jian Hua said uncertainly.

Li Fei sighed in relief, thankful that this was a commercial film crew, with all the on-screen stars having makeup brand sponsorships, so the loss wouldn’t be devastating for the makeup artists.

Li Fei silently contemplated how much compensation to give his personal makeup artist.

—-On the dangers of an abandoned world, the most terrifying is the expense.

Jian Hua’s originally unskilled telekinesis ability had, by the end of the DIY photo studio project, improved remarkably, enabling him to screw a bolt into a stand while simultaneously controlling several panels to quickly assemble a wardrobe.

He worked methodically, unlike Li Fei, who, bored out of his mind, had developed new tricks with his abilities.

With a snap of his fingers, the fallen items hovered in front of him, assembling themselves swiftly.

Actually, snapping fingers doesn’t help with controlling abilities; it just looks very stylish.

Jian Hua almost threw the phrase “Next year you’ll be thirty” in Li Fei’s face but reconsidered; different professions have different standards. Even at forty, a movie star needs to maintain a cool and handsome image, setting the standard for male idols.

“Perfect.” Li Fei walked back to his resting area, and lay down in his chair to rest, feeling exhausted from this trip to the abandoned world, killing a bunch of brain cells. He grabbed a coral fleece pillow, unfolded it into a blanket over himself, and said, “Please watch over me, wake me if there’s a sign of return.”

Before Jian Hua could respond, Li Fei had already closed his eyes and fallen asleep.

The first few days with the film crew were exhausting, and with the director pushing the schedule, Li Fei really hadn’t rested well.

Li Fei had the habit of seeing the abandoned world as a good opportunity to catch up on sleep, which Jian Hua had seen before. What Jian Hua didn’t expect was that, after witnessing the ferocity of mushrooms, Li Fei dared to sleep without any guard in front of him.

The rest area only had one chair, with makeup boxes and cups originally on the table, now all piled under the table after a fake earthquake. Jian Hua, unconcerned, jumped up and sat on the table, his complex thoughts drifting by, eventually settling down.

He looked at Li Fei.

Li Fei was sleeping peacefully, not moving at all.

Wrapped in a blanket, his side face pressed against the chair, his originally handsome and elegant contours pressed into a small round of flesh on his cheek, ruining the movie star’s gentle and elegant image.

Taking a sneaky photo of this scene and posting it on Weibo would probably become popular quickly, as “contrast cuteness” was trending in the entertainment circle.

When Jian Hua came back to his senses, he realized his right leg was numb from hanging in the air, having watched someone sleep for too long—-strangely withdrawing his gaze, what’s so interesting about a man sleeping?

There wasn’t much in the photo studio to entertain Jian Hua.

The last time Li Fei slept on his sofa from dusk till dawn, Jian Hua managed to finish a book he’d bought but never had time to read.

Waving his hand to leave mycelium in the rest area, Jian Hua silently left the room, first making a round inside the photo studio to check for anything left behind, then hunger drove him to look for the plastic bag of boxed meals that Li Fei had brought.

Only some peppers and half a portion of rice remained.

Jian Hua hesitated for half a minute, then resolutely covered the lunchbox again.

-—Food is precious, better to leave it for Li Fei. He could devour; he could just go out and find some prey.

The energy absorbed by the mushrooms only fueled their rampant growth, leaving Jian Hua unaffected. He recalled the day he killed the rainforest squid, his expression darkening.

To catch prey, to drain someone up close…

The former was not a problem, but the latter created a psychological barrier.

The photo studio’s vents and door cracks were filled with mycelium, rising slowly when sensing an approaching object, preparing to attack.

Jian Hua frowned as he tore off the white silk that nearly cocooned the door, unsurprised to see a thick, giant mushroom behind it.

He pressed down the mushroom cap with one hand, rudely pushing it aside. The mushrooms trembled and quickly cleared a narrow path for Jian Hua.

Walking through the tall mushroom fields with the sun shining and the wind caressing his face felt like a return to nature.

Passing through the tall mushroom forest… No one would be happy except little girls who love fairy tales.

The mushrooms didn’t clear a straight path for Jian Hua; it was winding. Occasionally, in the dirt where the mushrooms rooted, one could see withered black fur balls and scattered parts of long-armed monkeys.

Jian Hua forced himself to look at these, as people must face reality.

Avoidance is a temporary weakness, a common human sentiment, always unwilling to admit, that is cowardice.

Jian Hua calmly walked through the crowded mushrooms, noticing that the “path” ahead had mushrooms growing progressively shorter. Had he reached the edge of the mushrooms’ territory?

Carefully discerning the original terrain, Jian Hua recognized the direction of a road leading to a hot spring resort and several scenic spots. The film crew’s second phase shooting location was nearby, but the road signs were covered by mushrooms.

He heard noises in the distance and stopped.

The sounds came from more than ten potential ability users.

His ability allowed Jian Hua to scan and locate within a range centered on himself in the abandoned world. It wasn’t very effective on monsters; black fur balls were good at hiding, low in power, and didn’t show up. Rainforest squids were ambush experts, and able to deceive the scan. However, this scanning ability was quite effective on humans, and Jian Hua had not yet found any ability users who could escape it.

These ten or so people had erratic and unstable energy around them, all unawakened potentials.

In terms of threats, Jian Hua wouldn’t consider them significant.

But their actions were strange; running into a mushroom pile was like seeking death.

Jian Hua discreetly approached them using the mushrooms for cover.

What he saw next surprised him—

In a sparse, low mushroom cluster, a group of people cautiously held bamboo poles, and some had golf clubs, hooking out the shattered bodies of the long-armed monkeys.

They treated each piece they collected like a treasure, not daring to pick it up immediately, instead gently pushing it with a golf club while stepping back cautiously, even standing on one leg to avoid stepping on mushrooms.

They looked as if they were standing in a minefield.

Jian Hua: “……”

It turned out, this caution was necessary.

Jian Hua soon witnessed an accident: as a piece of a corpse was dragged out, thin white filaments instantly covered the golf club, and the mushroom fiercely snatched back its “unfinished” meal.

The person with the club turned pale and quickly let go.

He didn’t run but froze there, daring not to move as the mycelium aggressively pounced on him, then slowed down, circling him thrice, as if assessing something.

Finding no threat or value as food, the mycelium reluctantly withdrew.

The man looked like he had survived a great disaster, stiffly retreating.

“Phew! That was close!” He collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath after leaving the mushroom patch.

Jian Hua didn’t understand what these people were doing, cleaning up garbage? Monster corpses wouldn’t appear in the real world.

An Audi car slowly drove on the distant road, its windows shattered. The ragged, limping person who got out shouted, “What are you doing? Does anyone know what’s going on here?”

“Keep it down!” the man nearly caught by the mycelium glared angrily.

The newcomer looked at the miles of mushrooms, terrified: “Is this also a kind of monster?”

“Don’t touch!”

“It’s just mushrooms, right?” The newcomer was puzzled, “I was attacked by many monkeys, barely escaped them. Where are the police? Do your phones also have no signal?”

“There are no police in the abandoned world.”

“What?”

Jian Hua’s interest piqued, he circled around to approach the group cleaning up the remains of the mushrooms’ food.

“…Hey, you too, stay away from the mushrooms!”

Jian Hua turned, and the young man who mistook him for accidentally wandering into the mushrooms solemnly said, “Do you know what this is?”

“Mushrooms?” Jian Hua raised an eyebrow.

“Ha, don’t underestimate it, these are mushrooms that will eventually take over the world.”

“……”

Seeing Jian Hua’s surprised expression, the young man kindly waved, “Step back, let’s talk after you leave this area.”

Jian Hua complied readily.

Fortunately, these people were only active on the edge of the mushroom patch, where the mushrooms were low and sparse. If they had ventured into the dense areas, they would have noticed a winding path in the mushrooms, which would be hard to explain.

Jian Hua, with his neat attire and slightly messy hair, wearing the main character’s costume sponsored by major brands, looked like an upper-class individual. Standing next to the disheveled Audi owner, he stood out.

“That’s enough for today!” said a woman who seemed to be the leader, dressed in office attire but wearing sandals for ease of movement. She pointed at the pile of long-armed monkey corpses on a tricycle, saying, “Let’s go, those guys who steal will be here soon!”

Jian Hua didn’t understand what she was talking about but saw the group cautiously holding clubs and kitchen knives as weapons, escorting the tricycle like in a historical TV drama.

To the confusion of the newcomers, the office woman casually explained, “No one knows how long we’ll be trapped in this world. The corpses of monsters are our food!”

The Audi owner was shocked: “Are you insane?”

“Enough, if you want to come with us, stay; if not, get lost,” the office woman said impatiently.

Watching the group push the tricycle loaded with monkey corpses, the Audi owner eventually cursed “Crazy!” and drove off in another direction.

Jian Hua, silent from the beginning, quietly followed.

“Just got to this hellish place?” the office woman sized him up.

“I hid for a while, then came over when I heard some noise,” Jian Hua said, avoiding the main issue.

“No special requirements, just understand the rules,” the office woman said sharply, then asked, “Have you practiced martial arts?”

Jian Hua didn’t hide it; anyone knowledgeable could tell from his posture and alert habits. He nodded: “Learned a bit.”

“Good,” she said, turning her head, and then no one spoke again.

Everyone remained alert as they walked along the road for at least half an hour, finally reaching a concealed, low warehouse under a highway.

The warehouse was sturdy and dimly lit, with high windows.

Along the walls were bedding, towels, toothbrushes, cups, and piles of clothes and shoes, obviously collected from various places, with inconsistent quality and tags still attached.

The monkey corpses were cut open, fur discarded, meat cut into pieces, and washed with mineral water. No one cooked it; they ate it raw.

Many ate with grimaces, reluctant but without choice.

The scene made Jian Hua wonder how long they had been in the abandoned world.

“Food must be collected by oneself. You can rest now and join us to gather food in a few hours,” the office woman said as the leader. No one objected.

But Jian Hua couldn’t stomach such food.

“You mentioned earlier that this place is called the abandoned world?” Jian Hua brought it up casually.

The warehouse fell silent, everyone stopped eating and stared at Jian Hua strangely. He sat calmly; although he couldn’t feign ignorance like Li Fei, his demeanor didn’t betray any discomfort in the small group’s suspicious environment.

“You don’t know?” the office woman narrowed her eyes.

“Huh?” Jian Hua was puzzled.

“Given your composure, I thought you were in the know.”

Jian Hua’s eyelid twitched, and at the same moment, his ability scanned a group approaching the warehouse.

The metal door of the warehouse banged loudly, apparently kicked by someone outside. Angry voices came through: “Bastards, you ran fast today! If you don’t hand over the food willingly, don’t blame our knives for being blind!”

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Last Edit: December 21, 2023 at 2:28 PM

This is machine-translated and all copyrights belong to the author. Please note that the translator might take creative liberties for better readability. Thank you for reading.