Endless Throne - Chapter 20

Zhou Yuan instantly felt like he was being targeted by a ferocious beast, and the tip of his tail went a bit soft.

“Brother Lin…”

Lin Yebai leaned forward slightly, and Zhou Yuan suddenly cowered, quickly retreating.

Brother Lin couldn’t have killed until his eyes turned red, gone berserk, and decided to casually pluck off his head too, right…

“Morning.” Lin Yebai seemed puzzled as to why Zhou Yuan was retreating.

Although his eye color had changed, he was still as expressionless as before. His demeanor remained indifferent, with only slight emotions visible through his eyes.

He was still the same Brother Lin. Zhou Yuan suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.

Phew, that was scary.

He seemed to catch a barely audible hint of amusement in Brother Lin’s eyes. Could Brother Lin have done it on purpose? Could teasing like this really bring happiness?

“Brother Lin, your eyes are so red.” Zhou Yuan didn’t quite dare to make eye contact with Lin Yebai.

Aberrants’ eyes were all crimson red at night and would glow, while they appeared relatively normal during the day. Brother Lin’s eyes were somewhat frightening – when making eye contact with him, there was a trembling sensation of being targeted by a large predator.

“Hmm?” Lin Yebai got up, preparing to go to the river. Zhou Yuan quickly called out to stop him:

“The tablet still has battery. Take a selfie and you’ll know – you can see more clearly.”

Zhou Yuan pulled out the tablet from his backpack, opened the camera, and had Lin Yebai look at the lens. No need for beauty filters or effects – that face was already flawless. The mystical mark on his forehead was noble and mysterious, his pupils crimson red, possessing a kind of alluring demonic charm.

Lin Yebai still remembered the feeling of ease in last night’s blood mist, with all shackles removed – something he had never experienced since birth. Unfortunately, the blood mist dissipated quickly, his body returned to normal, and the weakness brought by life force depletion followed like a shadow.

The eye color change should be a result of absorbing the blood beads. After dawn, he felt somewhat drowsy and began to dislike light. Other than that, there were no other side effects.

Using blood beads to restore internal energy wouldn’t shorten his lifespan, making them more practical than the red potions exchanged from the live broadcast room. These minor flaws were acceptable.

“How do you feel? When you see my head, do you want to chop it off?” Zhou Yuan rather lovingly touched his neck.

“You’re overthinking it.” Lin Yebai wasn’t lacking in points.

Zhou Yuan immediately felt relieved. As long as Brother Lin hadn’t lost his reason, he was very trustworthy.

“Come on, Brother Lin, let’s take a photo together.” Zhou Yuan clicked on special effect filters and selected the little bunny effect. On the screen, rabbit ears appeared on both their heads, along with rosy cheeks – cute and adorable.

“Make a peace sign.” Zhou Yuan poked Lin Yebai’s arm.

“?”

“Like this…” Zhou Yuan demonstrated by making a peace sign.

The peace sign wasn’t difficult to imitate, and Lin Yebai quickly made the same gesture.

His temperament was truly aloof, his eyes slightly puzzled as he made the peace sign – the lethal effect was enormous.

Zhou Yuan almost couldn’t breathe and frantically took photos.

“Excellent!”

Zhou Yuan switched to several different effects – little kitty, little strawberry, little cloud – arranging them all for Brother Lin!

Lin Yebai was seeing the photo function for the first time and found it novel. He asked Zhou Yuan:

“What’s the meaning of this gesture?”

“It symbolizes victory and peace.” Zhou Yuan was telling the truth, though through the development of times, the peace sign had become commonplace and was more inclined toward being cute.

Did he dare tell Brother Lin this? Of course he didn’t dare.

“I see.” Lin Yebai looked thoughtful, lowering his head to look at his own peace sign gesture, feeling one step closer to this world.

Coach Wang had also awakened. He watched Zhou Yuan deceive Lin Yebai with mixed feelings. After remaining silent for a while, he asked:

“Mr. Lin, with your eyes like this, is there any discomfort in your body?”

“No.”

“That’s good.” Coach Wang suddenly had a strong sense of déjà vu – he was like an old father taking care of two big kids and seven little ones.

“I want to take photos too! I want to take photos with Uncle Lin!”

“Uncle Lin has bunny ears, so cute!”

“The little kitty is also so cute.”

The little spiders had awakened and climbed onto Coach Wang’s shoulders, looking at the group photos taken on the tablet together.

Zhou Yuan held up the tablet with his tail and set it to delayed shooting.

“Come, come, everyone come. Let’s take a group photo.”

Lin Yebai stood in the center, Coach Wang on the left with three little spiders on each shoulder and one on his head, Zhou Yuan stood on the right, reminding Lin Yebai:

“Peace sign.”

Lin Yebai made a peace sign just like Zhou Yuan.

The little spiders tried hard but found they couldn’t make the gesture, so they raised their two front legs with great spirit.

Behind them was the vegetable garden stained with endless blood, yet the group chatted and laughed as usual, all extending peace signs together – positive, sunny, and full of hope.

“Click—” The moment was frozen.

After taking the photo, Zhou Yuan put away the tablet, and the three of them searched for transportation together.

The vegetable garden’s branches and leaves had withered. Severed limbs and remains were wrapped by plant roots and buried in the soil. The entire patch of earth was dyed dark red, and the thick smell of blood could be detected from far away.

At the edge stood a sign – Eastern Suburb Vegetable Planting Base.

No one knew what the sign had encountered, but it swayed precariously in the wind, not far from collapse.

Occasionally, some shriveled sacks could still be seen with words like “Jin Kela Brand Compound Fertilizer” printed on them. The sack Lin Yebai had used to collect blood beads last night was picked up from the ground and was still being carried in his hand – sturdy, durable, and exceptionally convenient.

Zhou Yuan searched around the area. All the vehicles he could find were damaged, and he only found one tractor that could barely run.

“Let’s take this into the city.”

Zhou Yuan and Coach Wang together moved the tractor onto the road.

“Old Wang, can you drive it?” Zhou Yuan had never driven a tractor before.

“I don’t know, let me try.” Coach Wang used the hand crank to start the tractor, sat on it, and attempted to control it.

As the sound of the tractor starting up rang out, the live broadcast room opened.

[Watermelon Patch Sinner]: A beautiful day begins!

[Literary Mentor]: Come watch the complete process of humanity’s first conquest of a wild tractor!

[Truth Supreme]: Old Wang isn’t pure human anymore either, counts as a lawful aberrant

[The Ordinary Me]: Hand-crank tractor?

[I Am a Little Green Dragon]: First sprinkle some decontamination powder

[No One Sleeps Tonight]: Ordinary Brother hasn’t started yet, what are you sprinkling

[Super Rich Tangerine Seat]: Why are baby’s eyes red?

[Abyss Monarch]: Interest flickers in those deep eyes as thin lips part slightly: “The bloodline is beginning to awaken… Try to absorb more flesh and blood essence to accelerate the awakening process.”

[Sexy Spider Louis]: Don’t know when complete abyssal transformation will happen, really looking forward to it

Lin Yebai occasionally glanced at the barrage, searching for relevant information. From the looks of it, the eye color change wasn’t a bad thing.

“Bringing a cucumber to eat on the road…” Zhou Yuan brought over a cucumber three to four meters long and placed it on the back of the tractor.

Lin Yebai and Zhou Yuan each sat on one side, with the old hen sprawled in the middle, responsible for watching the luggage.

Coach Wang drove the tractor back along the road they had come from. He was indeed an experienced driver and could easily handle even a tractor.

The tractor had quite a kick but was a bit bumpy.

The sunlight was gentle, and Lin Yebai felt lazy, wearing sunglasses and half-reclining against the big cucumber in a languid posture.

The little spiders also stayed on the back of the tractor. When they encountered uneven roads, they would be jolted into the air and then fall back down.

They were tethered by spider silk so they wouldn’t fall off, though the process was a bit thrilling. For the little spiders, this was quite an interesting game, and they laughed heartily from time to time.

With Uncle Lin there, they didn’t need to worry about big monsters suddenly jumping out – it felt very safe.

In reality, there indeed weren’t any aberrants on the road that dared to show themselves.

The aura emanating from Lin Yebai’s half-sack of blood beads was enough to make the vast majority of aberrants obediently cower and wait for daylight to pass.

“Experienced driver~ take me along~”

The little spiders were having fun and unconsciously started singing. Last night’s songs had played all the way, and the lyrics seemed imprinted in their souls. They sang back and forth, their voices sweet and childish, piecing together a complete song:

“Experienced driver~ take me along~ take me to the provincial capital~”

“A-li-li~ A-li-li~ A-li A-li-li~”

Coach Wang’s hands gripping the tractor trembled slightly, his feelings complex.

If you don’t work hard in youth, you’ll regret it in old age. Being uneducated will be a lifelong disadvantage. Should early childhood education be put on the agenda?

“Come on~ be happy~ there’s plenty of time anyway~”

The little spiders didn’t understand the meaning either but kept singing. After finishing one song, they switched to another, more persistent than car stereos.

“Only mother is good in this world~ children with mothers are like treasures~”

“Mommy, did we sing well?”

“Good.” Coach Wang was a parent who doted on his children.

“Uncle Lin, did we sing well?”

“Good.” Lin Yebai gave full affirmation.

“Uncle Zhou!”

“Fantastic! How can there be children who sing so beautifully! Uncle Zhou loves it so much!”

“Are you all little geniuses? Uncle Zhou is proud of you!”

With Zhou Yuan’s shower of rainbow compliments, the little spiders all became dizzy and felt very embarrassed:

“Actually… actually it’s not that good!”

“Number Seven sang off-key!”

“I didn’t sing off-key… Number Three forgot the lyrics!”

“Bah! Let Third Brother teach you how to be human!”

“Third Brother, we’re not human…”

“Bah! So much talking!”

The little spiders immediately rolled into a ball, playing with each other. After fighting for a while, it got more and more intense. Zhou Yuan used his tail to separate them, had them sit in a row, and began telling stories:

“Once upon a time, there was Snow White. She was beautiful and kind…”

“Uncle Zhou, did Snow White also have beautiful eight legs?”

“Yes.” Zhou Yuan continued the story. The little spiders listened carefully, chattering and asking questions from time to time.

With nothing else to do, Lin Yebai also listened.

The eight-legged Snow White was envied by the queen and later met seven dwarfs…

The plot was full of twists and turns, rich with childlike wonder.

After hearing the story, the little spiders obediently crawled into the cat carrier and fell fast asleep.

Zhou Yuan discovered there was a signal nearby and took out the drone, attempting to fly it.

Lin Yebai had originally been quite drowsy, but after Zhou Yuan briefly explained the drone’s principles, he perked up considerably and watched him operate it.

“There might never be a signal again in the future. Since we have the chance today, let’s take off first and see what the city has been destroyed into…”

The tractor had been driving for a long time and was already approaching the urban area.

The drone gradually rose into the air, leading the way in front of the tractor.

The footage would be stored on the memory card and could be viewed after filming.

After entering the urban area, the signal became unstable and the drone suddenly plummeted. Zhou Yuan ran frantically to catch it at the crash site.

To save the precious drone, he almost became a green blur and successfully caught the drone.

“Flying so high just now, it should have captured quite a lot of useful footage…”

Zhou Yuan was panting heavily. Before he could check what the drone had filmed, a car drove out from within the city, heading toward the tractor’s location.

Zhou Yuan immediately packed the drone into his backpack and remained on guard.

The car stopped near the tractor, rolled down the window, and the person in the passenger seat asked:

“Mr. Lin, why are you coming back on a tractor?”