Chapter 158: The Sky Doesn’t Drop Meat Pies, but It Does Drop Roasted Fish
In the Bamboo Slips’ Heavenly Light, there is no distinction between day and night, as if forever imprisoned at the boundary between light and dark.
In the sprawling black mountains, amidst a dead silence reminiscent of black and white photographs, a simple shack built against the mountains stands quietly, as if waiting for its owner to return.
Suddenly, a hurried footstep sound erupted from the hillside, and soon a graceful figure darted out from the half-human-high bushes, landing steadily in front of the shack on one knee.
After stabilizing her stance, Gu Qiqi adjusted the red scarf around her neck, pushed open the small door of the shack, bent down, and threw herself onto the humble bed made of hay.
After resting for a moment, her hurried breath gradually calmed, and her slightly weary voice echoed in the darkness.
“System…”
After a brief wait, a mechanical voice resonated in her mind.
“I’m here, confirming the progress of the task [Investigate the Secrets of the Nameless Desolate Village]… Confirmation complete, progress at 66%…”
“Is that all I’ve completed?” Gu Qiqi sighed, “Sigh, doing tasks is much harder than a part-time job.”
Gu Qiqi had been here for several days, and she had already grasped the situation around her.
In the low-lying area she had previously visited, three small villages of similar size were scattered around a larger one, like stars surrounding a moon. In each village, the visible human activity did not exceed ten.
Among them, a significant portion was dressed similarly to those Hui Mothers, which means that the actual living people were even fewer.
Recently, these few humans were particularly active, seemingly preparing for some ritual in secret, as if fatigue were unknown to them.
Gu Qiqi felt that aside from not knowing where the mysterious shrine was located, she had already gathered quite a lot of information in these past few days, and it was difficult to make further progress. The task completion rate was only two-thirds, which left her somewhat discouraged.
“System, what do you think those villagers mean by preparing a grand ritual to welcome the gifts falling from the sky?”
“That’s hard to say…” the system pondered for a few seconds, “It should be some kind of special festival for them, right?”
In such an isolated place, only a very powerful, and specially capable urban legend could create it. From one perspective, it could even be regarded as an independent world.
However, this world was definitely flawed; no matter how powerful an urban legend was, it could not create a true world; resources would quickly deplete.
This was evident from the seemingly dead forests and the vast barren fields in front of those villages.
Those villagers who had lived here for generations might survive by relying on the upcoming special festival as the key, the system thought.
“System, do you think this festival will be one where food falls from the sky?” Gu Qiqi said, recalling something, and gulped heavily.
System, “…”
This child eating roots and bark had become a bit greedy; her mind was starting to wander, entertaining such unrealistic thoughts.
Sigh, it’s also a matter of necessity; the landlord’s house has no leftover food!
In this haunted place, there is simply no way to obtain material supplies, so it cannot issue her meal reward tasks.
“System, system, it seems like there are shooting stars outside! Quick, make a wish, make a wish!” Gu Qiqi suddenly exclaimed excitedly, interrupting the system’s thoughts.
“I won’t make a wish,” the system replied indifferently.
“Why not?”
“For no reason, I just don’t believe in that…” the system replied impatiently.
Although many people were making wishes upon shooting stars, to the point that they almost became urban legends, some wishes could indeed come true.
But if I say my wish aloud, I worry it might fly back in reverse, the system thought.
Seemingly not concerned by the system’s discouraging response, Gu Qiqi leapt up excitedly, pushed open the shack’s large door, and rushed outside.
She stood on the clearing in front of the shack, looking up through the dense tree canopy, chasing after streaks of light that dashed across the sky like shooting stars until they disappeared from her sight.
One fiery red streak passed overhead, falling near the closest village to her.
Gu Qiqi gazed in the direction of the valley and pondered for a moment, “System, shall we go take a look?”
“We can take a look, but you shouldn’t have any expectations. Even if such a phenomenon appears, it’s unlikely we will find any food,” the system coldly reminded her.
As she walked through the woods, Gu Qiqi heard the system’s words but seemed a bit reluctant, frowning and asking, “Why not?”
“…” After two seconds of silence, the system emphasized, “Gu Qiqi, this is a special space created by higher urban legends, not a fairy tale world!”
“Think about it; how could there be meat pies falling from the sky in this world…”
“System…”
“Don’t interrupt me; I’m not finished yet!”
“System, I found two roasted fish.”
System, “???”
In that moment, an invisible hand gave it a resounding slap across the face, the sound crisp and loud.
At the same time, it seemed as if a voice mocked it, “Didn’t expect that, did you? The sky doesn’t drop meat pies, but it does drop roasted fish!”
Thinking about the flurry of lights in the sky that might be roasted fish, barbecue, hotpot, hamburgers, and meat buns, the system felt a strong urge to curse.
Could it be that Gu Qiqi actually guessed right?
Were the villagers here all living off the food that fell from the sky at regular intervals?
What a d*mn absurd setting! Can’t we respect the eerie and sinister atmosphere here?!
…
The scene before her gradually became clearer. Lu Xibei, in a semi-dazed state, woke up to a splitting headache. The moment she opened her eyes, a pair of feet invaded her view.
Someone? Lu Xibei froze for a moment, sat up, and said, “Friend, you… what the f—!?”
As she spoke halfway, she suddenly saw a ghastly sight and couldn’t help but let out a gasp.
Her gaze followed those feet, stopping at the knees where they were severed, revealing a gruesome mass of flesh and bl**d.
Looking around, she discovered several dismembered limbs scattered about, torn apart by some unknown force—some human, others animal. She even spotted a segment covered in eyes, twitching slightly with tentacles.
Seeing this scene made Lu Xibei’s stomach churn, and she dry-heaved a couple of times, spitting out a tongue of flame, which quickly extinguished, followed by a fit of intense coughing, releasing puffs of thick smoke.
“Cough cough cough—gulp!”
This place was way too eerie; she had to leave quickly.
The situation now was akin to jumping out of the airplane in a game called “Battlegrounds,” needing to find a hiding place while scanning for weapons; that was the wise move.
Moreover…
Lu Xibei glanced expressionlessly at the gruesomely ground meat-like limbs, her complexion turning pale, and hastily quickened her pace, sprinting towards the dense black forest ahead.
What frightened her even more was that looking at those limbs, an impulse rose in her heart to take a bite.
…
Not long after Lu Xibei left.
A rustling sound emerged from the bushes littered with dismembered limbs.
Soon, figures dressed in coarse cloth emerged from the brushes with a peculiar gait.
They carried black rattan baskets on their backs, held rusted forks in one hand, and bl**d-colored lanterns in the other, with pairs of cold-blooded, animal-like vertical pupils scanning the ground littered with limbs, their eyes gleaming with excited greed.
They circled the dismembered limbs, observing for a moment, soon resembling beasts awakened by the scent of bl**d, they surged forward, collecting the remnants and heading towards the next spot where the lights fell.
Their long-awaited annual feast was about to begin…
