Chapter 96: The stench turns to filth (VIII)
Lin Heng set up three tents in the open space outside the welfare home.
He used insect energy to grow a circle of thorny roses outside the convertible. The roses were as strong as blood and emitted a rich fragrance to prevent insect monsters from invading.
"How is it?" Lin Heng asked.
Xie Mian took the wet wipes handed to him by his brother and shook his head.
Since coming back, E Shifang has become unable to speak again, as if the words "Wife, let's go" he just said in the cabin were just an illusion.
He first wiped the dust off the eggshell of Goose Shifang with a wet wipe to ensure that Goose Shifang was still a "fragrant egg", and then cleaned himself.
"Brother, do you still remember what Xiaohua said?" Xie Mian's slender fingers passed through the wet wipes, recalling Xiaohua's words, "Brother... don't save us anymore... it's useless... there were kind people who saved us before..."
"Someone once saved them - but they still died - and then gained a 'painful' new life."
"Rescued—Died—Stimulated insect energy—Reborn again, back to the painful starting point."
Lin Heng listened to Xie Mian's analysis thoughtfully. He leaned against the SUV, his fingertips entwined with the dark green rose vines.
He raised his eyes, his gaze penetrating the cracks in the tent and landing on the huddled, thin figures:
"I've seen several time-based insect followers at the base. They can go back a few seconds, or temporarily stop the flow of time in a local area..."
"This kind of resurrection from the dead, this cycle of rebirth, is the first time I've encountered it. A whole group of people became insect-followers at the same time, and erupted with the same insect energy..."
“They are all children.”
"Mayfly...little friend..." Xie Mian pondered.
Green insect energy overflowed from the palm of his hand, expanding into a huge circle of light, shining on the tent and lasting for three minutes.
Three minutes later, the curled up little figures slowly stretched out.
This time, Xie Mian only dared to treat their simple skin injuries. He did not continue with deeper treatments because he was afraid that it would cause the children to become infected with worms again or even die.
"They transform into mayflies, perhaps because their lives are as short as mayflies'."
"To be born and die in the morning, to be reborn again... It sounds like a blessing, a cyclical hope, but this 'rebirth' is more like a curse to them."
"Every 'birth' is merely the beginning of a painful cycle. Their lives are as fleeting as those of a mayfly. The moment they flap their wings, before they can even feel the warmth of the sun, they are enveloped by the shadow of death. Perhaps this transformation into an insect isn't a chance choice, but rather the only twisted resonance they can grasp at the end of their fleeting despair."
Inside the tent, the children's eyes were filled with emptiness, numbness, despair, and fear... They seemed to be trapped in a quagmire from which they could never climb out.
"resonance?"
Lin Heng chewed over the words, his eyes sharp as a knife. "You mean, their insect form is a reflection of their life essence? Born and dying in a single day, so they become mayflies?"
"It was the intense desire to survive that gave rise to insect energy, but insect energy itself has become the strongest prison. It welds 'being rescued' and 'inevitable death' together, forming an unbreakable causal loop."
"I don't think it's a causal link, it's a brand," Xie Mian corrected, "a mark that fate has carved deep into their souls."
"Their intense desire to survive led them to grasp at the straw of time worm energy on the brink of death, but this straw only dragged them deeper into the quagmire. The mayfly's form mirrored the shape of this quagmire—ephemeral, fragile, forever trapped in a cycle of emerging from their cocoons only to be doomed to perish at sunset. Their bodies remembered this 'ephemeral' nature, so even after transforming into a worm, they could only become mayflies, living and dying in a single day."
Xie Mian slowly raised his hand, and an extremely faint light green halo lingered on his fingertips. It was no longer a treatment, but an exploration.
The halo penetrated into the body of one of the children and then emerged from between the child's eyebrows.
"You see, their 'life' is like a mayfly emerging from its wings. Every time they are rescued and find happiness, it's like completing a new flight, gaining a brief rebirth. But then..."
Xie Mian's voice trailed off. "Like a mayfly in a mud pit, its mouthparts grow and disappear; its wings grow and disappear; the sun rises and sets, and it can only wait for its life to run out."
"Their 'rebirth,' accompanied by some invisible 'shackles,' is destined to lead them to a welded 'death' in a very short time."
"Time worms simply faithfully follow these cruel 'rules' that stem from the essence of their lives."
Lin Heng's eyes darkened, and the thorns pierced his fingertips, causing a drop of blood to flow out.
"So, the key to breaking the cycle isn't saving them, or stopping the insect transformation... but rather shaking the 'transience' imprinted into their very essence? Rewriting that damn 'rule'?"
The conversation between the two reached a deadlock here.
Their hearts were heavy.
Can the rules created by insect energy be changed? If so, how can they be changed?
Lin Heng took out a cigarette, lit it, and put it in his mouth.
He raised his head, looked at the blue sky and white clouds, and slowly exhaled a puff of smoke.
In Xie Mian's arms, Goose Shifang moved restlessly, and its smooth eggshell rubbed against Xie Mian's clothes.
E Shifang knew clearly that Xie Mian would never leave here unless he saved these children.
He struggled violently and rolled out of Xie Mian's arms and fell to the ground, rolling towards the trunk of the SUV like a clumsy bowling ball.
"Ten directions?" Xie Mian was stunned.
Goose Shifang had a clear goal. He jumped into the trunk, his small body shoving around among the pile of supplies, finally landing on a dark brown glass bottle and rolling back and forth on it.
The eggshell hit the glass, making a crisp sound.
Xie Mian followed and looked at the egg playing happily on the wine bottle, feeling a little amused and helpless: "Are you thinking... of drinking and transforming?"
The goose Shifang stopped rolling immediately, and the egg body shook back and forth with great effort. Although the amplitude was small, the meaning was clear - yes!
Since none of the three of them can solve the current problem, it would be better to let that guy out.
To be honest, although that guy is shameless, he does know a lot and his strength is beyond doubt.
Solve the problem quickly and leave here. If he stays any longer, he always feels that something big is going to happen.
A faint glimmer of hope crept into Xie Mian's heart.
He quickly took out a foldable plastic bowl from the side, unscrewed the cork of the bottle, and poured the wine into it.
The rich, mellow aroma of wine instantly filled the air, carrying a certain spiciness from age. Xie Mian picked up the goose and placed it in the center of the wine bowl.
Time seemed to stand still for a moment.
There was no expected transformation.
Goose Shifang just floated quietly on the surface of the wine, as if he was swimming on his back.
"Could it be that the time is too short?"
Xie Mian was a little puzzled, so he stretched out a finger and gently pressed the goose meat to the bottom of the bowl.
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