Wasteland (3)
Mi moved the grass next to the water reservoir so that the insect residents who were about to go home would know that something had changed. She only wanted a little slightly purified water, not the bathwater of the insects or other creatures.
Mi stood guard at the cave entrance, watching the faint white light emanating from the bottom of the hole. Relieved, she knew the method was working; water was already seeping out of the cave. Mi sat back down on the stone bench, leaning against her bundle, thinking about tomorrow's plans. Ideally, she should fill the water bag before the blue moon set, to prevent the sandstorm from intensifying and burying the small cave.
Various insects rustled and crawled across the ground. Mi saw a massive army of ants, each almost half a finger's size, marching towards the patch of grass, followed by a force of lizard-like creatures with four legs and long tails, barely larger than the ants. Mi had no idea where so many ants and lizards had come from. Even more creatures, resembling scorpions with long, sharp tails, suddenly appeared, lying in wait to hunt the ants and lizards. The slaughter was both frenzied and silent. Hidden beneath the grass and gravel, on one side was an unstoppable carnage and devouring, on the other, a relentless, overwhelming army pressing forward. Mi watched as the ant army was torn apart, watched the lizards drag their broken limbs, and silently moved further away from the grass, gripping the dagger in his hand even tighter. Soon the blue moon rose, and the scorpions quietly retreated. The ant army and lizards all crawled into the clay, leaving behind some small, fragmented corpses on the ground. After a while, a plump, round insect crawled over, leaving behind a trail of silvery-white slime on the ground. Under the blue moonlight, it emitted a strange light, attracting Mi's attention.
After a while, all the plump insects burrowed into the clay. The ants and lizards that had entered the clay before them emerged and scattered in all directions. Just as they reached the burrow's entrance, they were stuck by the sticky residue left on the ground by the insects, struggling briefly before being pinned to the spot. A little while later, the plump insects crawled out of the soil again for their dinner. Unlike scorpions, these plump insects ate much more elegantly. The insects had mouths larger than their bodies, swallowing ants in gulps, and even lizards as long as a finger could be swallowed whole. Then, the insects' entire bodies became so round they looked like they were about to explode. These insects ate slowly and in large quantities, consuming far more food than their own bodies, and their bodies became increasingly round.
Mi stared warily at the insects, her mind racing as she considered whether to use the moonlight to quickly escape or—Mi drew her bow and arrow, shooting at the swarm of insects that had finished eating and were about to leave. The insects hit by the arrows exploded, splattering an unknown color of liquid everywhere. The insects, which were preparing to retreat, swarmed together. Mi cautiously stood up, only to see the fat insects suddenly transform into round balls and roll towards her, each one like a small white pebble. Mi slung her bow over her shoulder and began scattering small stones from a pile to the insects. These stones seemed to block the insects' advance, but in reality, the larger stones crushed the insects, while the smaller stones were swallowed whole, making the insects even larger. Just as Mi finished throwing the stones and was about to retreat, the insects suddenly stopped. Mi stopped in surprise, cautiously examining them. She took down her bow again, nocked an arrow, and put it on the string.
Soon, Mi heard the sound of flapping wings, and a flock of birds flew over. These birds had exceptionally large wings, gliding down one by one. With their wings folded, they had round, chubby faces, round eyes, and sharp beaks, like owls. The insects landed on the ground, rolling into round, chubby shapes, pretending to be stones. The owl-like birds sniffed around where the insects' juices splattered. Mi saw the birds, as if stunned, avoid the clump of insects. She quietly picked up a small pebble and threw it at one of the insects. The insect finally couldn't resist and poked its head out to swallow the pebble. The owl saw this and pecked at the insect. The insect, with the pebble in its beak, was swallowed whole by the owl—truly, an insect dying for its food.
Seeing that it worked, Mi grabbed a handful of fine sand and threw it into the pile of insects. Many insects opened their mouths and were then eaten by the bird. In no time, the insects on the ground were all gone. The owl-like bird circled around a few times, found there was no more food, flapped its wings, and flew away.
Only after the birds had flown far away did Mi light a torch and approach to examine the area closely. Where the insect sap had splashed, there were patches of greenish-black. The white slime left by the insects had dried and peeled, curling up in patches like fallen dragonfly wings, dry and transparent, one end still clinging to the ground. It would vanish without a trace when the wind blew it away in the daytime. The ants burrowed deeper into their holes, while the lizards, sensing the light, cautiously peeked out. Their heads emerged from the dark clay, like a famous British dish gazing at the stars.
Mi went over to examine the small hole; more water had seeped in. The ants and lizards had all avoided the area, and the small pool of water shimmered brightly white in the torchlight. Was this water drinkable? Mi hesitated for a moment but then decided against it. She only needed water to create her body; she didn't actually need to drink it.
Having witnessed the insect battle all night, Mi felt no relief. What else in this wasteland had Mi not discovered? Mi sat down on the sand a little further away, and after a while, she moved even further away. Mi always felt that there was an army of countless ants and lizards under her bottom. She found more stones to place under her, and the stone platform, which was almost half a person high, made her feel that the ants and lizards would not climb up.
As the blue moon waned in the west, the wasteland grew increasingly quiet. A breeze picked up, accompanied by rustling sounds. Mi looked up and saw the ant army and lizard troops beginning to venture out. Mi took out his water pouch and waited for the ant army and lizard troops to leave before filling it with the water that had gathered overnight.
The ants and lizards scattered as the wind picked up, and then, without warning, rain began to fall on the wasteland. The rain came quickly and suddenly, and Mi used the last bit of moonlight to reinforce her footing. The more anxious she became, the fewer stones she could find. The rainwater quickly accumulated, and the ground began to gleam faintly. Mi could only crouch on the stone platform, clutching her bundle. The darkness before dawn was the hardest to endure. Mi waited for daylight in the wind and rain. She didn't know how long it had been before the sky finally began to lighten. The wind hadn't stopped, and the rain hadn't ceased. The ground was completely covered in water, with yellowish-brown withered leaves and some blackened grass floating on the surface. The wasteland had become a murky mud pit.
The rain didn't stop during the day, but the wind that had been raging across the wasteland gradually subsided, and the water's surface rippled slightly, turning the once barren wasteland into a vast expanse of water. Mi stood on the stone platform, her bundle held above her head. She wiped the rain from her face. She had destroyed the homes of ants and lizards to dig a small well, and waited most of the night to collect just a little water. Now, the entire wasteland had become a water source.
Day passed, and night fell again. The torrential rain continued relentlessly, and the water was about to overflow the stone platform. Mi had no choice but to pull out her walking stick, insert it into a crevice in the stone, and place her bundle on it to rest for a while. The whole world shimmered with silver light, and the occasional black dots that appeared made Mi's scalp tingle. She cautiously took out her dagger. The stormy night passed, and the water had already overflowed the stone platform, submerging the lower half of her walking stick. The withered branches and leaves she had seen yesterday were completely gone, and the water's surface was covered with tiny black dots—whether mouths or eyes—that she couldn't tell. For a moment, Mi felt a pang of trypophobia; she almost fell into the water. "Stay calm," Mi told herself, "They can't see me, they can't see me."
At this moment, a black fish—Mi stared intently at the water's surface. The black fish cut through the water, creating a V-shaped ripple. Soon, more fish swam over, and the surface began to churn violently. These fish pounced on their prey, and the small creatures on the surface began to struggle and swim fiercely. Mi sheathed his dagger, drew his sword, and slapped a black fish that was about to crash into his cane, stunning it. The fish floated belly-up on the surface, its four small claws and long tail exposed beneath its half-arm-length body. This appearance reminded Mi of a crocodile, except that this crocodile's head wasn't as large; it looked more like the small lizard he had seen the night before, now grown up. After a while, even larger predators arrived. This time, the predators resembled crocodiles, a full meter long, with sharp teeth and a wide-open mouth. These mutant crocodiles were indiscriminate eaters, opening their mouths wide like whales, devouring everything in their path, leaving no trace of life. The large lizard that Mi had slapped also entered its mouth. Soon, several crocodiles surrounded Mi's cane. Mi drew the arrow, which was stained with insect juice, and shot it at one of the crocodiles. The arrow tore through the crocodile's skin and fell into the water. Soon, the crocodile turned its white belly up, and a large number of dead fish and insects floated up around it. The juice of those insects was extremely poisonous!
The crocodiles surrounding Mi quickly dispersed, leaving behind a group of corpses floating on the water's surface. The rain continued unabated; Mi's legs felt numb from squatting, her clothes were soaked, and the water level rose higher and higher. The water didn't affect Mi, but the package Annie had prepared was exposed to the wind and rain. Finally, she abandoned this body and chose the witch's body to roll up the package. From afar, a staff tip could be seen protruding from the water's surface, rainwater parting at the tip to form a circle on the water's surface, and thin streams sliding down from the air, as if there were a transparent umbrella there.
The torrential rain continued for three days and three nights, until finally the walking stick was completely submerged. A close inspection revealed a small groove on the stick; the bottom was dark and damp, shimmering with tiny points of light. Life on the wasteland floated in the water, and new predators appeared, relentlessly devouring these orbs of light, forming even larger ones. Life was light. For the first time, Mi had a more direct understanding of life. These lights appeared before consciousness; countless smaller orbs of light swam aimlessly and without emotion in the water.
On the fourth day, the rain finally stopped, and the wind, unusually, disappeared during the day. The long-awaited sun reappeared, illuminating the vast expanse of water with golden light. Plankton on the surface sometimes gathered and sometimes dispersed; some algae-like leaves and duckweed clumped together, only to be fought over and devoured by the fish swimming below. The once dry and desolate wasteland had now transformed into a biodiverse aquatic paradise.
Mi felt the bundle grow heavier, wondering if it was soaked in water. The wet bundle felt as heavy as a house on her back. The water receded very slowly, and Mi watched her walking stick gradually emerge from the water, mentally calculating how long it would take for all the water to recede. Just then, Mi heard the sound of oars and faint voices in the distance. She hesitated for a moment, then concealed herself on her walking stick and stood up. Far to the north, there were two boats, each with two people in black leather armor. One was rowing, and the other was retrieving something from the water. They were still far away from Mi. Mi thought for a moment and quickly made a decision. She secured the bundle to her walking stick and waded across the water towards the small boats. They were two small boats with pointed prows and sterns. Two men sat on them, their faces dark, their eyes like light bulbs, their cheeks painted with white circles matching their eyes. Their faces were expressionless, their eyes fixed on the water, surrounded by halos of yellow light.
Two men in boats were whispering to each other, sometimes shouting at each other as they worked together to pull a huge fish from the water. One of the men took a machete from the hold, chopped off the fish's head, and threw it back into the water. More fish gathered, creating a violent splash.
Mi couldn't hear their murmured words clearly, but she could sense that they were talking about stockpiling food during the rainy season, as the women needed to give birth and the children needed to grow up. Mi drew her sword and gently tapped the bow of the boat with the hilt, causing it to veer off course and slowly turn around. The men on the boat immediately stood up and drew their machetes, slashing at the direction Mi was standing.
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