FPE Chapter 31

The dryads were at a loss, and they all turned their gazes toward another dryad.

Dryads had no human concept of gender — they were all hermaphroditic, and upon reaching maturity, their appearance carried an androgynous beauty that made it impossible to distinguish between male and female. The dryad upon whom the others had collectively fixed their gaze appeared more mature in looks; from within her thick, dark green hair grew two long forking branches, upon which dark red leaves grew sparsely, like a peculiar crown. She was indeed the leader among this group of dryads. The other dryads all looked toward her, yet her own gaze was fixed solely on Sal.

They heard the tall man address them. “But you’re in luck. My boss currently needs a batch of workers, and if you agree to work for my boss from this point forward, I can get you out of this slave camp.”

The dryad leader was named Nameia. Compared to the other dryads, whose expressions ranged from panicked to uneasy, her demeanor appeared perfectly composed. “You are also human, yet you want us to trust you — on what grounds?”

“Good question.” Under their watchful gazes, the tall man with cold, stern features slowly spoke, “The soil in the slave camp is dry and barren, with almost no nutrition whatsoever. Your root systems are cramped here — you’re no different from fish living in a sewer. Oh, I forgot — you’re slaves, after all, and slaves have no need for something like dignity.”

The dryads glared furiously, trembling with rage, yet were powerless to refute him. One dryad, too incensed to restrain themselves, tried to charge forward and teach Sal a lesson, but had barely moved a few steps before being tripped by the heavy chains and crashing to the ground with a loud clatter.

At this sight, Sal clicked his tongue, and the look in his eyes as he regarded them carried an air of lofty arrogance. “Even your very foundations are about to be torn up, and you still have the mind to negotiate conditions — perhaps when the gods created you, they forgot to give you brains. Get this straight: I am not asking you.”

As Nameia listened to this human’s cold, mocking voice, the branches and leaves all over her body trembled with fury. But she clenched her fists and buried every last ember of her rage deep within her flesh. She suppressed the anger and fear of her kin and lifted her head to ask him, “What kind of place is it?”

Sal curved his lips ever so slightly upward. “Naturally, the finest place in the world.”

But the lesson the dryads had learned from humans was that good things do not fall from the sky. This man who could slip into a slave camp without a sound might well be sending them off to another kind of hell. They suspected that if they provoked him, he would tear them out by the roots.

Just as the atmosphere was deadlocked, a gentle female voice drew closer from a distance, “Sal, the boss said to be a little more polite toward future colleagues.”

The dryads looked up, and all of them froze for a moment. It was a remarkably beautiful human woman, whose hair was even thicker and more luscious than a dryad’s own. What was rarer still was that she carried a very gentle force about her, one that immediately put them in mind of the warm, moist wind of a forest.

“My name is Chi Xiaozhen,” the woman said as she stepped forward. “We are employees of Fantasy Amusement Park, and we have come here to recruit staff on the orders of the park’s owner. Sal’s temperament is just this disagreeable — I apologize on his behalf.”

Sal immediately shot her a glare, but Chi Xiaozhen paid him no attention.

At the sight of Chi Xiaozhen, the dryads’ expressions softened somewhat, for in the dryads’ experience, human women did not look upon them with that nauseating, lecherous gaze.

“Sal did not explain things clearly to you. My boss has opened an amusement park for people to visit and enjoy. The children’s play area now needs a considerable number of staff, and after our assessment, dryads are the most suitable choice. If you agree, the park will provide you with nutrient-rich soil, will not bind you with iron chains, and your day-to-day work will be to care for and accompany children at play.”

There was no such thing as an amusement park in this world, and so when the dryads heard the words “for people to visit and enjoy,” they collectively thought of those filthy, degrading establishments — brothels, arenas, and the like — and their expressions all changed at once. How was this any different from their current situation? But upon hearing what followed, they realized they seemed to have misunderstood something, and their eyes gradually shifted from fury to confusion.

Nameia’s gaze lingered on Sal and Chi Xiaozhen for a moment. Her tone carried a note of mockery. “You know full well how humans have treated us. Are you not afraid that we would take the children as hostages?”

Chi Xiaozhen’s smile was gentle. “Dryads are a species that favors peace. Besides, I believe that as the leader of the dryads, you must have already noticed that neither of us carries any trace of dryad blood on us.”

Indeed — and that, in truth, was the real reason Nameia had been willing to speak with them at all. Although dryads were weak in combat, they were an extraordinary race and possessed innate supernatural abilities of their own. Anyone who had ever killed or abused a dryad would bear a dryad’s mark upon them, and this mark was visible only to Nameia, as their leader.

“We guarantee that not a single guest you will need to attend to will have ever harmed a dryad. We can also grant you equality and respect, and this can be put into an actual binding contract. We will come again tonight — time is short, so please consider this carefully. Trust me: anywhere, anywhere at all, is better than here.”

When she finished speaking, the man and woman both dissolved into a streak of light and vanished, right before the astonished eyes of the dryads.

Once they were certain the two had gone, a dryad beside Nameia said, “Chief, should we accept? They seem very powerful.”

Nameia said nothing. Her gaze fell upon the few members of her kin who had already borne fruit. It was not as though dryads in such a situation would ever want to bring forth new life — those few fruits had been left behind after vile humans had forcibly pollinated them. By now those fruits were nearing maturity, and a few hairline cracks, barely visible, had appeared in their skin. When the time came, new members of the kin would tear through the skin and emerge.

Nameia said, “That male human — what he said was true.”

Though the dryads had been reduced to slaves, they had never once entertained the thought of yielding. Even along this near-hopeless road, they had continued to drive their root systems deep into the earth, extending them ceaselessly outward. Nameia, being the most powerful of the dryads, had the most extensive and complex root network of all — one that had already stretched beyond the slave camp’s boundaries and caught wind of the matter of the interracial school.

This world was full of plants, and beneath the ground the tangled roots were beyond counting. Humans looked down on them, yet little did they know that even a weed by the roadside could serve as their eyes and ears.

Upon receiving their chief’s confirmation, the dryads were immediately plunged into anguished agitation. The pregnant ones gently stroked the fruits on their bodies with tender sorrow, their eyes filled with pain.

“If that is the case, I would rather pluck this fruit early.” Their bodies might be enslaved, but their spirits must never be.

****

Time passed in the blink of an eye, and the slave camp was swallowed by deep darkness, with only the patrolling guards still moving back and forth with their torches.

Raymond finished his day’s patrol and returned to the barracks, where he immediately spotted a piece of paper weighed down on the table — something that had not been there when he left.

Thinking it must have been left by a colleague who had come to call, he picked it up and gave it a casual glance — and his gaze froze on the spot.

Raymond, long time no see. Tonight let’s play an exciting game — how about blowing up the camp? — Sal.

At the sight of that familiar name signed at the bottom, Raymond’s eyes went wide. He immediately grabbed his weapon and charged outside, but every guard posted nearby insisted that no one had entered or left his room.

For all this time, every time Raymond thought of that swindler, he had been furious enough to stamp his feet — and now, how could he possibly let the chance pass? He immediately organized soldiers to search everywhere, yet they found nothing, and instead left everyone utterly exhausted and grumbling with complaints.

Damn it — have I been tricked by that swindler again?

Just as Raymond was thinking this, a familiar voice rang out with brazen flippancy. “My dear friend Raymond, long time no see.”

Raymond immediately exploded — who was his dear friend?!

He spun around at once, and sure enough, he saw Sal stepping out from the shadows.

“You despicable swindler — you still dare show your face?”

Sal looked thoroughly puzzled. “What swindler? When did I ever swindle you? If you mean the matter of the audience with the Queen, I had no choice — something more important came up and I had to leave first. I would think you wouldn’t go so far as to be upset over such a small thing.”

“A small thing?” Raymond drew his blade with a sharp rasp and leveled it at him, his tone scornful. “The church was rigged with gunpowder by heretics, and you tricked me into thinking it was your extraordinary ability, you wretched little thief — today I will surely—”

Before Raymond could finish, Sal waved a hand to cut him off. His languid tone seemed to carry a peculiar power that compelled one to listen against their will. “Who told you I was tricking you?” Then, right before Raymond’s widening eyes, he parted his lips and uttered a single word: “Bang.”

The next instant, a thunderous boom rang out as a gaping hole was blasted into the stone wall encircling the slave camp. The afterglow of the explosion ignited the nearby barracks, and the flames blazed in the pitch-dark night as bright as the sun.

Raymond was shaken, but given past experience, he still dared not believe it. “That’s impossible — you must have planted the gunpowder in advance.”

“Oh?” Sal opened his mouth again: “Bang.”

This time, it was Raymond’s former room that was blown apart. Before Raymond’s wide-staring eyes, Sal was like a wayward child, rattling off bang bang bang in quick succession — and as he did, the walls of the slave camp were rocked by one terrifying explosion after another. Flames sprang up from every direction, and every soldier was jolted awake in panic. After all, they were only ordinary people and had no way of contending with such a powerful extraordinary being. Worse still, as the outer walls of the camp were blasted open breach after breach, countless slaves grew frenzied and were breaking free one after another, scrambling in an attempt to escape.

Just as the slave camp descended into utter chaos, Chi Xiaozhen appeared before the dryads. “Have you made up your minds?”

Everything had happened so conveniently that Nameia immediately connected the chaos in the camp to the two of them. She said, “We agree — but there is one condition.”

Chi Xiaozhen tilted her head slightly in a gesture of listening.

Nameia said, “My kin can go with you, but I need to make a trip to the forest.”

Chi Xiaozhen smiled gently. “We can draw up a contract. However, the road to the forest is one you must walk alone — I can only help you leave the camp.”

Nameia agreed. A sharp axe suddenly appeared in Chi Xiaozhen’s hand, and before she brought it down upon the iron chains, she said with a sigh, “Nameia, Fantasy Amusement Park will truly be a promised land for all of you. If there ever comes a day you regret it, you may call the name of Fantasy Amusement Park.”

Nameia’s eyes flickered. “Calling the name is enough to receive a response?”

Chi Xiaozhen smiled. “Yes. Calling the name is enough to receive a response.”

……

…Meanwhile, on the other side, Sal leapt backward to dodge the blade Raymond had swung at him. He glanced sideways in the direction of the dryads and suddenly spoke up, “Game’s over — time for me to go.” And then, right before Raymond’s stunned eyes, he dissolved into a streak of light and shot off into the sky.

****

[The player has purchased thirty packs of Gunpowder (Traceless Edition), deducting 300 points.]

[The player has crafted one Mountain-Cleaving Axe of premium grade, deducting 1,000 points.]

[The player has used two Interdimensional Travel Cards.]

[Player has successfully recalled the character cards. Current reputation for character card Sal: 4,500. Current reputation for character card Chi Xiaozhen: 4,000.]

[Witnessed by Raymond and numerous soldiers, Sal has used the extraordinary ability Air Blast. Sal’s Skill 2 — Air Blast — has been successfully generated.]

[Witnessed by the dryads, Chi Xiaozhen has lifted a Mountain-Cleaving Axe weighing five hundred catties and severed the iron chains with ease. Chi Xiaozhen has gained the attribute: Immense Strength.]

[Your character cards have dissolved into streaks of light and departed before the eyes of many. The character cards have gained a new skill: Light Escape.]

****

The character cards had leveled up, but Chi Yizhen, who had been simultaneously controlling two character cards and performing high-precision operations, was utterly worn out. He looked at the two character cards and thought, Just hurry up and become real people already! Your dad is desperately short-handed.

As for the dryads — they had already signed the contract and been transported to his amusement park via the Interdimensional Travel Array. Chi Yizhen rubbed his hands together. It was time to build out the children’s amusement park.

As for the dryads themselves — who had just arrived and were filled with wariness and unease toward the unfamiliar surroundings — Chi Yizhen, buried in his busyness, had already completely forgotten that he needed to reassure them.