Free Web NovelChapter 84: The "Farm"
Only when she felt secure did Kestrel realize she was hiding in a place like a farm – maybe it could be called a "farm."
With the animal keepers gone, the large greenhouse was filled with rows of metal cages, similar to chicken coops, with a food tray at one end and an egg conveyor belt at the other. But these narrow cages were not home to birds, but to human beings.
Kestrel hid under a shelf. Across from her, within her view, a young man lay in a cage. His head stuck out from the cage, his neck limited by the small opening, forcing him to lie on his back. A feeding tube was forced into his mouth, constantly supplying food, causing his stomach to bloat.
At the other end, the conveyor belt moved, and after a while, a large, snow-white egg with a shell was moved out, heading to an unknown place.
The man in the cage had suffered some harm, one arm cut off at the elbow, the other attached to the cage, his stomach covered in terrifying, strange symbols, the red runes glowing on his skin.
Cruel torture had crushed the man’s spirit, and he lay there blankly, his eyes open as food was steadily pumped into his stomach through the tube.
Kestrel squatted under the shelf, staring at the man across from her for a long time, biting her own fingers.
Every man in this greenhouse was in a similar state, constantly being fed on one side, large shelled eggs being moved away on the other.
Almost all of them had completely lost their minds, some laughing oddly, willingly stretching their necks to lick the food in the feeding tray, some murmuring, "the Erdtree, hehe, the Erdtree..."
Only the man in front of Kestrel retained some trace of human awareness and emotion.
Kestrel remembered a man on the road who had pointed at her and screamed, causing her to lose a tendril. However, she also remembered at home in her yard, Nicole sitting across from her, her eyes shining as she said, "There are some annoying guys among alphas, but there are also good ones. We’ve met many people, experienced many bad things, only then do we really know there are many lovely people in this world."
Kestrel crawled out from under the shelf, peeked her head out, and carefully took out the feeding tube from the man’s mouth.
She was ready—if the man screamed or yelled, she’d be prepared to push the tube back in. But before that, she wanted to ask him, "Do... do you need my help?"
Kestrel wasn’t sure if she should ask, as she wasn’t certain she could carry a seriously hurt man out of here. She even doubted whether she could escape herself.
"Kill me," the man saw Kestrel at the edge of the cage.
He closed his eyes, his voice barely a whisper, begging, "Kill me."
Kestrel thought for a moment, then asked the man seriously, "I might be able to open this cage. Are you sure you don’t want to live?"
The man’s tightly shut eyes quivered, and after a long while, tears ran down his face. He turned his head to one side, opened his mouth, and whispered something.
Kestrel could not hear what he said, but she understood that he wanted to live.
On Kestrel’s wrist, a black and white bracelet melted away, flowing into the lock of the cage. Kestrel squatted by the dirty, smelly cage, struggling for a long time.
During this process, the conveyor belt churned loudly, laughter and nonsensical words filled the room. New eggs dropped and were whisked away by the conveyor belt.
A giant chicken, several meters tall and wearing an apron, passed by the window. Its enormous red eyes came close to the glass.
Kestrel quickly hid under the shelf, staying still.
The chicken leaned against the outside window, peered inside for a while, found nothing unusual, wiped the glass with a handkerchief, and left satisfied.
Kestrel crawled back out and continued to struggle with the lock.
With a click, the cage lock finally opened.
The man inside the cage bit his lip and, unable to hold back, began crying, his shoulders shaking.
He didn’t cry for long. Kestrel unlocked the chain binding his wrist. By the time she reached out to help him, he had regained his composure, struggling to crawl out of the cage. He had likely been trapped for a long time and his legs were weak. With Kestrel’s help, he managed to stand. Blood stained his legs, but he clenched his teeth and, with determination in his eyes, limped out.
He seemed to know the way, leading Kestrel out through a small hole and into a room stacked with hay and various objects. Inside, several pairs of farmer’s trousers hung.
The hurt man pulled down a pair of trousers from the wall and try to put them on. His only remaining arm shook constantly until he had successfully put on the trousers. Only then did he squat next to the hay, collapse against the wall, as though getting dressed had brought back his sense of safety, reassured him that he was still a human being, and not livestock constantly overfed and locked in a cage.
"Excuse me," the man leaned against the wall, his remaining arm hugging his shivering body, "Do you have any beta pheromone?"
"Beta pheromone?" Kestrel was surprised. "No, I don’t. Do you need grooming?"
The man looked surprised, his eyes widening as he looked up, only then realizing that the person standing in front of him was a beta.
Normally, it was easy to tell alphas and betas apart due to the natural mental connection between them. But he was so weak and distraught that he hadn’t realized his savior was a beta.
He couldn’t believe it - a beta showing up in such a terrifying Polluted Zone.
He remembered the story he had heard several months ago - a beta who had stayed in the outpost for a long time, even entering the Polluted Zone like the alphas. He had thought it was just a strange tale at the time. But now, it seemed to be true, with that beta standing right in front of him.
"Why are you here?" asked the alpha as he looked at the young and beautiful girl standing before him.
Her face was injured and bloody, her body covered in dust, her hands dirty, but her gaze was strong, unafraid of the strange world around her.
"I want to find the Erdtree," Kestrel said. "Then get the key and open the portal here."
Kestrel cleaned her hands and reached out to touch the alpha’s forehead, but the alpha moved his forehead away.
"No need," his voice was dry and rough. He could barely sit up, just leaning against the wall. But he declined Kestrel’s offer,
"Save your energy for your own tasks."
"And what about you?"
"I’ll be here, waiting for you to open that portal."
There was a narrow skylight high up in the storage room. Sitting in front of the hay, he could see the distant sky. If the escape portal was opened, he would see it from here.
Kestrel looked at the alpha. He was very weak, injured all over, with one arm gone, having suffered cruel torture, but his eyes were bright. He wanted to live.
"I did the right thing," Kestrel thought.
"You’re going to make it," the alpha told her with confidence, "I’ll wait for the portal to appear in the sky. When that shows up, we’ll meet at the exit."
"Okay. See you at the exit."
As Kestrel turned to leave, the alpha stopped her.
"Do you know where to find the Erdtree?" he shared all he knew with her, "Go to the rosarium. The rosarium at night."
***
Ren stood in a long street. He had entered with a few top-notch members of the royal guard. As soon as they crossed the border line, they were all scattered.
He walked alone, through the creepy and quiet blocks, for quite a distance. He wanted to find someone, but after checking many places, he couldn’t find the person. Finally, he ran into a familiar face - the tall alpha with a full beard, known as "Cockroach", who had mocked him at the tarven not too long ago.
When Ren ran into Cockroach, a bull-headed monster suddenly sprang from the ground, carrying a sharp knife and almost sticking to his face, its chilly sharp blade thrusting right in front of him. Cockroach pulled him aside, and the two rolled to the side of the road, barely avoiding the charging bull.
Ren flipped over, jumped onto the roof, and hid all his emotions in the shadow of the roof. He knew from the info he had collected earlier that the monsters here detect humans through emotional changes, so he hid all his slight feelings.
Ren was skilled at this, a talent he had sharpened from entering and exiting the Polluted Zone 380 times. He rarely ever lost control, except when he was in front of Kestrel.
However, not every alpha could do this, for example, Cockroach couldn’t manage his emotions as freely as Ren. The killer intent he triggered during the roll wasn’t completely controlled and was detected by the monster.
The mad bull-headed monster, with its long knife, rushed toward him. The freezing sharp blade was as quick as a flash.
Cockroach, with his powerful arms and sturdy body, had a giant blade over six feet long. He raised his blade to meet the charge, and the clash between man and bull sent him stumbling back until his back hit the wall.
"Damn it. What a monster, so strong," Cockroach cursed in his mind.
Just then, a whole team of identical bull-headed monsters turned out from around the corner. Each one of them was holding a long knife, making deep-throated sounds, and charging at him in a neat line.
"Is this the mutant of Zone 77?" Cockroach asked in fear. "Am I going to die just after getting in?" This thought crossed his mind.
A row of sharp blades was already before his eyes. The gusts from those long blades were almost poking his skin, but at the last second, the blades lost their force and fell to the ground with a clatter.
The afterglow of a blood-red blade lingered in the air.
Ren’s blade returned to its sheath. Those strange bull monsters had their legs cut off by the swift passing of the red glow, and they all fell to the ground.
Ren grabbed Cockroach’s arm, growling, "Go!"
Cockroach, who had narrowly escaped death, reacted and rolled into a dark house on the side of the road with Ren.
The two rushed into the house, immediately held their breath, and stayed still in the pitch-black home.
Outside the house, those legless bull monsters gradually got up. Their legs, which had been completely severed a moment ago, had already healed. freewebnσvel.cøm
But that brief moment was enough for the two experienced alphas to hide their emotional changes completely. They went unnoticed.
The bull monsters grunted, unable to find their targets. Soon, they forgot all about what had just happened, lined up, carrying their knives, and slowly moved away.
"Man, I was saved by you," Cockroach gasped inside the house. "Thanks, dude."
He offered Ren a beta pheromone, but Ren shook his head and declined.
"Going to the Imperial Nexus changes you. You’ve seen real betas, haven’t you? You even snub beta pheromones," Cockroach couldn’t help teasing. But then, he slapped his own mouth lightly, "I’ve got a big mouth. Nevermind, you saved me. I won’t tease you anymore."
"I need to find someone, have you seen her?" Ren, standing by the window, suddenly asked a random question.
"Who? Who are you looking for? Name? Which alpha squad is he with?" Cockroach asked, lighting a beta pheromone.
"No,", Ren merely responded, "She’s not an alpha."
"Not an alpha?" Cockroach, puffing on his beta pheromone, said in confusion, "Ordinary people wouldn’t come to such a place."
Ren stopped talking, preparing to jump out of the window.
"Hold on, where are you going?" Cockroach stopped him.
"To find the Erdtree."
"Take a break, kid, it’s going to be ’nighttime’ soon." Cockroach grabbed Ren, saying, "Why are you in such a hurry? In such a risky place, you should wait and watch the others’ situation. You, an experienced one, don’t even know this?"
"I need to open the portal." Ren said, "The sooner, the better."
The place was too dangerous. Ren wanted to open the portal because he was worried for Kestrel to get out first, but he didn’t say that. He disappeared from the window, jumping away until he was out of sight.
"What’s up with this guy?" Cockroach stood at the window, watching the direction Ren had disappeared in. "Why is he so reckless now, nothing like his old self."
"Forget it, considering what he’s been through, it’s not surprising." Cockroach stroked his beard, deciding never to tease Ren again.
