Doomsday Stewed Salted Fish C37.2

Hey, first of all, thanks for reading my lousy Machine Translation. To be honest, I’d really like it if you guys corrected the mistakes I made. But please speak nicely and politely. My heart is not strong enough to read your too-harsh comments. Have a nice day. 🙂

Chapter 37. (2/2)

“Are you going to watch the celebration tomorrow?” Gu Fan asked the Xinghe team over breakfast on the morning of the 14th.

Meng Lianying looked at Xinghe and said, “Sure, it’s the first celebration since the base was established. The next one will be fifty years later.”

Xinghe said, “Yes, I received an invitation from the government. If you’re interested, you can attend the evening banquet too.”

Fenghuo asked, “Why is the government inviting mercenaries?”

Xinghe replied, “They’ve invited five mercenary teams, and we’re one of them.”

Meng Lianying turned to Gu Fan, “My cousin will probably be there too, right?”

Gu Fan nodded, “He asked me to go with him to help ward off unwanted attention.”

Meng Lianying laughed, “With you there, those women wouldn’t dare approach him. By the way, dress like you did that evening. You’ll outshine everyone.”

Gu Fan wasn’t interested. She dressed up that evening to use her charm on Lu Ya. Tomorrow night, looking too good wouldn’t benefit her and might even cause trouble.

A beautiful woman without the ability to protect herself should keep a low profile.

After agreeing to meet at the banquet, Gu Fan went to Lu Ya’s villa in the inner ring early in the evening.

The effect of her charm strategy seemed to have worn off, and their interaction returned to its usual polite form.

“Do you want to go for a walk?” Lu Ya asked after they had dinner prepared by the housekeeper.

Gu Fan asked, “Where to?”

Lu Ya replied, “The central square. The night view is nice.”

Gu Fan didn’t mind missing an hour or two of cultivation and agreed.

Lu Ya drove them to the central square and parked. They then walked towards the square.

Compared to the dense high-rise buildings of the second ring, the inner ring had lower building density and more artistic architectural designs.

Streetlights were bright, and as they got closer to the square, they encountered more people—laughing girls, hand-holding couples, and parents with children of various ages.

“This place most closely resembles the lifestyle of the free era,” Lu Ya explained, looking at the distant crowd.

Gu Fan looked around, “These are all ability users, right?”

Lu Ya replied, “Yes. No matter the era, there are always distinctions of wealth and status.”

Gu Fan smiled.

Food stalls and artists were singing or playing guitars along the street. Despite the peace and tranquility, Gu Fan couldn’t shake off the fear of a possible beast tide.

Gu Fan signaled Lu Ya to sit by a long bench and spoke softly, “I have a question that’s been bothering me. By common sense, monsters have strong territorial instincts and prefer living in deep mountains and forests. If humans don’t attack them, they shouldn’t invade human bases on a large scale. Why can’t both sides coexist peacefully?”

Like in the cultivation world, ordinary people lived in regular towns, while cultivators established sects or roamed freely. They only entered monster-filled forests for herbs or necessary travels. Those monsters rarely left their territories to hunt humans.

Gu Fan wondered why the base’s humans couldn’t just stay in the base and enjoy peace instead of risking their lives for more freedom.

Lu Ya calmly explained, “Monsters do have strong territorial instincts, but humans have been at the top of the food chain on Earth for thousands of years. This means most monsters see humans as enemies. During the free era, animals couldn’t hunt humans. But during the Great Radiation, many mutated, and whether pets, zoo animals, or wild beasts, they all hunted humans first.”

“Some scholars believe that monsters have genetically marked humans as enemies. The three major bases were established because the strong deterred high-level monsters, and barriers kept out low-level monsters. If humans don’t actively clear monsters, the growing number of high-level monsters will eventually threaten human extinction.”

Gu Fan listened, understanding more clearly.

Earth’s technology was so advanced that even ordinary people could enjoy wild games. In the cultivation world, most people were regular folks who farmed daily, and even skilled hunters could only catch a few wild rabbits. They couldn’t make monsters see them as enemies.

Humans and monsters on Earth seemed destined for a fight to the death until one side achieved total victory.

“Who do you think will ultimately win?”

Gu Fan looked at Lu Ya, curious about this human powerhouse’s answer.

Lu Ya asked back, “Who do you hope will win?”

Gu Fan replied, “Of course, humans.”

Was that even a question? Although she wasn’t an Earthling, she was still a human. Only if she were insane would she hope for a monster victory.

Lu Ya suddenly smiled.

Under the soft light, his smile was like a snow lotus blooming on the summit of Fairy Peak, adding warmth to the surrounding cold.

Gu Fan instinctively asked, “Why are you smiling?”

Perhaps satisfied with her answer, Lu Ya elaborated, looking at her feet, “Normal people’s skin has color differences due to sun exposure. Except for your face turning pale or red from fear or excitement, the rest of your body is uniformly white. I’ve seen many wood-element healers, but none are like you.”

Gu Fan frowned, “Are you saying I’m not normal?”

Lu Ya gazed at the distant night sky, “I’ve suspected twice that you’re not human. Once, when I confirmed you could absorb metal and other elements for cultivation, I wondered if you were some kind of monster. The other time, when I saw your perfect feet, I thought you might be a legendary fox spirit.”

Gu Fan: …

“You’re the one who’s not human! If I weren’t human, why would I come to your base?”

Realizing her reaction, Gu Fan glared at him.

Lu Ya replied, “Exactly. So, I believe you are human.”

Gu Fan felt like she had hit a soft spot.

She stood up and walked back the way they came.

Familiar footsteps followed, keeping a two or three-step distance.

Turning a corner, the road became quieter, and Gu Fan noticed a couple kissing under the shade of a tree across the street.

Gu Fan quickly turned her head. These Earthlings were so casual, displaying affection in public. Even among ordinary people, men and women were strictly separated in the cultivation world. Cultivators, if serious, would become Dao companions and find secluded places for dual cultivation.

Lu Ya glanced at the couple, then focused back on Gu Fan, noting her quickened pace, seemingly uncomfortable with the scene.

A real fox spirit wouldn’t care about such trivial matters.

Ten minutes later, they got back in the car.

Gu Fan had forgotten the earlier incident, savoring a piece of chocolate.

It was very delicious. She couldn’t resist eating three pieces in a row.

Lu Ya suddenly stopped the car, looking at her seriously.

In reaching for a fourth piece, Gu Fan blinked, thinking Lu Ya was about to lecture her. Just as she was about to explain that she always brushed her teeth after eating chocolate, Lu Ya leaned in, his cool fingertip brushing the corner of her mouth.

“You got some chocolate here,” he said, showing his hand.

Gu Fan instinctively licked the other corner of her mouth.

Lu Ya’s Adam’s apple moved. He composed himself and resumed driving.