My eyes roam the walls of the room, from floor to ceiling. The curvature and sharp cuts of the room show the surprising finesse that Gong and her spiders took, with hollowing out the room.
Or maybe this was the work of her friend… the one who was ‘taken’?
As this thought drifts through my mind, my eyes land back on Ai, who is seemingly waiting for me to speak further, while appearing as if she isn’t.
“I used to work for a tech company, one that focused on ...
2021-03-13 02:01:00 +0000 UTC
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As Ai’s arms wrap around me and the scent of freshly washed clothes fills my nose, my thoughts remind me of Wu Qing, for a moment.
Wu Qing’s embrace felt like pleasant vice, a binding of sorts that has been done countless times. In contrast, Ai’s hug from behind just feels like an awkward hug. Normal, but slightly anxious and unsure.
As her hands cross my chest, she pauses for a moment. From my scan, I can see that her lips have tightened. With a breath out, one of her hands...
2021-03-12 02:01:11 +0000 UTC
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Like an old car, my body struggles to move from its position. I can feel the waves of anxiety wash over me and down my spine.
Ahhh, come on James.
Move. You know you have to do this.
I take a step.
Okay, this is a start. However, I have so much more to go. Shit.
Forcing myself to continue, I trudge up towards the room, through the tunnels.
As I grudgingly make this seemingly arduous journey, a thought crosses my mind and I can’t...
2021-03-11 03:59:03 +0000 UTC
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As Gong and I walk up, moving further away from the grave, I can’t help but mull over what we discussed.
What she was saying, about making sure you are safe before you jump out there, makes sense. It also could have been an implicit suggestion to watch out on just jumping to do things.
… Things like healing people randomly, even if I know it might be dangerous.
To plan out what I’m doing better. To make sure it won’t ultimately hurt those around and close to me.
<...
2021-03-10 02:00:02 +0000 UTC
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As I walk through the gate, I can see several spiders camped out behind the large doors.
It seems they are prepared for a possible ambush. Which only makes sense considering the situations we’ve already been through lately.
Reorienting my eyes back to Gong, I can see the worry in her eyes, behind the smile she’s giving me. Reaching her, I see her arm come out toward me, which causes me to flinch a little. She pauses, until I look back up at her.
I see a soft smi...
2021-03-06 03:55:23 +0000 UTC
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My blood is still rushing, as all I hear are the low sounds of spiders moving around and munching, throughout the alleyway.
I throw out a pulse, to see if there are anymore enemies or surprise guests.
Based on my scan, most of the people who lived around here have run away from the area. There are still a few spies watching, but they look ready to bolt away, at any second. One is frantically writing notes, on a pad at their side.
That… was intense. I didn’t think tha...
2021-03-05 01:59:59 +0000 UTC
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He approaches casually, though his eyes are still locked on me.
100 meters.
My awareness and intuition are on full alert, showing me that he is clearly expecting a fight, despite his casual looking approach.
With my body tense, I can tell I am prepared for this. Mentally and physically.
Reading his every movement, ready for sudden movements.
It is at this time that my previous plans come to fruition, activating almost subconsciously. Before my eyes, I can see an ...
2021-03-04 02:01:00 +0000 UTC
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As I sense the unconscious bodies of the family moving farther away underground, I feel my hands shaking. Clenched and in pain.
I’m not shaking out of fear.
If I’m being honest with myself… I’m completely livid.
The way that man happily murdered that little girl, makes every hair on my body stand up. Before this, it sounded like he was already torturing demi-humans.
Wait a second. Could this have been that sound we heard, as we were headin...
2021-03-03 02:01:00 +0000 UTC
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As the man’s footsteps plod away, my mind is practically frozen.
I did nothing.
I could have stopped him.
The thought of how easily he crushed the head of the girl… the one I had talked to only moments earlier.
It’s not my fault.
But the almost lighthearted way he acknowledged me. The way I just watched him kill them.
I know that it would have been a horrible idea if I got involved. Both in regards to staying un...
2021-02-27 03:51:55 +0000 UTC
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Walking slowly and carefully, with both my awareness and intuitive scan up, I approach the hut.
A general pulse shows some local spies are looking around, as if confused, on why I’m heading towards an alleyway.
Likely, because this alleyway is on the other side of the street, in the opposite direction from Gong’s caves.
Dang it. I’ve shown multiple times I can detect things without seeing or being near them.
That’ll likely be another lin...
2021-02-26 04:04:16 +0000 UTC
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The road is silent on my way back. The only sound I hear, is the light clicking of spider feet behind me.
At that thought, I direct the spider to see if they can quiet that down.
Surprisingly, it happens quite quickly. A look at their feet reveals that they simply created non-adhesive web on the bottom of their feet, effectively silencing the sound.
With my bracelet hidden and the hood of my clothes up, I look like a regular person here. Minus the ears and tail.
The st...
2021-02-25 02:00:02 +0000 UTC
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Shi looks uncomfortable, but speaks quickly.
“Well… like I had mentioned previously, the group is and have been watching you for quite awhile now. Occasionally, our leader gets excited about someone and focuses her attention on them. The issue with this, is that she had trouble containing her illusion when she's overly excited about something. We know she’s nearing a breakthrough, where it can be maintained in any state, but is not there yet.
“So, our people, ty...
2021-02-24 02:00:01 +0000 UTC
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I, for one, am not looking forward to this conversation.
“So, as you probably expected, our people have been watching you for some time. We’ve generally been aware of you, since you made contact with big sis cranes group, alongside gong. We only really started paying attention to you, specifically, when we found out you had healed little Ming, the blonde young lady you had saved.
“What made this especially important to us, was the fact that your group had just decim...
2021-02-20 02:01:00 +0000 UTC
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As I head down the road with Shi, I see some debris on the ground move. As if by the wind.
My eyes automatically drift to Shi, seeing her putting away another note.
She looks toward me, seeing where my eyes were looking. Her mouth opens and then closes.
Ah… she’s probably being told to keep me here, if possible.
She clears her throat. “Ah… Are you sure you don’t want to stay the night? There’s… quite a bit that would be done to make you exceeding...
2021-02-19 02:01:00 +0000 UTC
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With the sudden realization that there is no way I’m going to be able to actually get to the market and that it is getting late, I attempt to close up shop.
With this in mind, I finish up working on this last woman, who was having chronic migraines. What she needed was a change in lifestyle habits, such as drinking more water, reducing stress, and exercising more.
As I walk this woman to the door, I stop the two women who were helping me from grabbing the next patient.
The...
2021-02-18 02:01:00 +0000 UTC
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Since it’s already been some time since she has been bleeding, the first thing I do wrap her hand tightly. That way, no more blood can flow out. Next, I use the mortar and pestle, as well as the ingredients, to create and apply a salve to the stump of her finger.
Contrary to my previous plans, this salve is meant to heal the initial damage. Replenish and increase the blood flow, while closing off that area. And to make her hand more receptive to healing.
Simply put my goal is no...
2021-02-17 02:00:01 +0000 UTC
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Approaching the injured woman quickly, I attempt to clear my mind. It seems to help further. A fog is clearing from my mind.
Okay. Okay. I got this. It’s not as b…
She just finishes unwrapping the bandages and reveals her pale, forefinger-less hand… holding a cleanly severed finger.
Gulp.
Alright, I may not have this.
How the hell do they expect me to deal with this?
Think James, think. What can I do?
2021-02-13 03:57:28 +0000 UTC
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I turn back to Shi, feeling a little more confident… but also a little ashamed.
“Yeah, I’ll see what I can do here. If you could help make sure things don’t too crazy, that would be a massive help.”
“I can do that.” She nods with confidence.
While I’m not sure of her status, Shi can’t be something simple, that’s for sure. I’ll be relying on her keeping them from dragging me away.
Stepping closer to the water tanks, I observe the situation...
2021-02-12 03:28:29 +0000 UTC
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I could feel a stress headache coming on from this news, but as I brought my hand up to rub my temples, it was immediately healed.
Not sure how to feel about that.
“So, what I’m hearing is… it will be difficult for me to stay low?”
“Well, yes. Though, since you already have me with you, there shouldn’t be too many issues. You had mentioned you just wanted to pass through? With that, even if some recognize you, you should be able to brush them off. If they ask me,...
2021-02-11 02:46:08 +0000 UTC
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Somehow, I find myself sitting in a comfortable chair, completely confused.
A beautiful red-haired woman is giving me shoulder rubs and asking when I started my body cultivation. Of course, I’m deflecting as much as possible.
All when my original intention was to use this back-alley street as just a pathway to the main area.
Alright… I should probably get going. Though, she seems to be getting into a more comfortable mood.
And this massage is pretty am...
2021-02-10 04:00:01 +0000 UTC
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As soon as I begin seeing her drop to the ground, I grasp her shoulders and say, “Please stand up, you don’t have to do that!”
Almost immediately, her back straightens like a rod. Before she can scream out her apologies, I hold my hands over her mouth.
“Waitwaitwaitwaitwaitwait, please don’t say anything!”
She goes silent, but her eyes are wide and shaking. Slowly removing my hands from her mouth, I take a breath.
“Okay… First, could I get your name?”...
2021-02-06 00:38:12 +0000 UTC
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Walking along the corner of the entrance, I can see a big, sleek black spider, the size of a person hiding beneath a crumpled ceiling.
Doing a quick wave at it, it waves back, before coming out to walk alongside me.
Huh, this reminds me of that waving spider before. I never found that little one after that. There’s no way it could have grown this large, this quickly though.
I think.
Continuing on, I follow my intuition through a series of alleyways ...
2021-02-05 01:47:30 +0000 UTC
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Moving up the stairs, I can see Gong, Ai, and Line speaking with each other, as I had noticed through my scan.
In an attempt to be friendly, I force a smile and say “Good morning!”
They all appear a little confused at my greeting, but Gong gives a smile and says “Good morning,” back.
Ai and Lin hesitate, look at each other, but then repeat it, as well. Ai seems to relax a little, but Lin is still appearing apprehensive.
Strange, maybe this culture doesn’t...
2021-02-04 03:15:26 +0000 UTC
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Making sure to be absolutely silent, and not tripping any of the transparent lines, I roam the tunnels using one of the backend ways to the surface.
All the while, I’m throwing my scan around with a pulse, just to be sure I haven’t been detected by the two women.
Nothing. Great.
I’ll figure that side out as things go along. For now, I should look at this aboveground farm.
With that thought complete, I travel through seemingly endless tunnels all...
2021-02-03 02:34:34 +0000 UTC
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Going through the 1st level of the farm relatively easily, I heal all the seeds that the spiders are to plant. While they will need more time to ‘till the field’, it is coming along well. With nothing left to do in this area, I move on to my next job.
Thus, I double back into the tunnels to head into the secret entrance to the lower, secret farms. Traveling along the walls towards the underground lake, I finally come across the entrance to farm. While it appears to just be a normal ...
2021-01-30 03:17:27 +0000 UTC
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“Yes, and I really appreciate you taking the time to help me with this.”
In response, she gives a wry smile.
“I wish I could spend more time with you, especially since you’ve already done so much for me. Though, there are so many things happening right now, that I need to handle… Groups looking to invade the caves, testing our defenses covertly, and even having to manage our own ‘allies.’”
For the last part of her sentence, she uses ‘air’ quotes. Another ...
2021-01-29 03:26:27 +0000 UTC
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As I walk into the corridor to the room, it’s clear to see that my new room is at the same place next to Gong’s room, that I had slept in a few times before.
It looks like the changes were mainly making the room bigger, but also a large bed… like larger than King sized bed.
There’s really no good reason to have a bed this large for one pe… ah. I think I get the message now.
Other than the bed there actually are a few pleasant additions, like a dresser and ...
2021-01-28 02:06:44 +0000 UTC
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After Gong’s rant about the incompetency and her irritation at the Vermillion Stripes gang as a whole, the group goes silent.
…
Ai is the first to break the silence. “Cough. So, since it seems your spiders will be doing patrols all over this area, are you getting any monetary compensation?”
With a shake of her head, Gong says “No, I always have done the patrols for free. If the spiders needed to eat or drink, then I would have to change that policy.
...
2021-01-27 03:09:22 +0000 UTC
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Gong speaks up, “Well. The original agreement was just mutual support. Big Sis Crane was going off trust and our previous conversations. The Yellow Sashes are connected to her, and if the spiders were effective, she wanted them to help cover gaps and provide extra security.
“If provided, they would support my claim as a gang. I just wanted it to be spiders, but Big Sis Crane suggested I leave it to the Yellow Sashes to decide. While we would not be a subordinate gang, we were defini...
2021-01-23 03:29:45 +0000 UTC
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“I mean as a person, of course…”
FUCKINGDAMMIT
“But as a man, as well.”
Oh.
“But I want to keep things like they are now.”
…Well. I don’t know why I got so excited for a moment.
I can feel the waves of disappointment wash out of me and into her nostrils.
She gives a tiny laugh, where I shoot a glare at her. She snorts a little more.
“Haha, I’m sorry. I really do like you a lot and maybe when thing...
2021-01-22 03:14:11 +0000 UTC
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