Protein Worms

It knew the Paoxiao's eyes were in its armpits; it knew the Hungong fish had an inner core that, once eaten, allowed one to understand the speech of alien creatures; and it knew that wherever hallucinogenic mushrooms grew, bloodthirsty vines lurked nearby.

Back when it was alone, it had drifted far and wide, seemingly gathering quite a bit of experience.

"Tell me, what's your Danghu leader's ability?"

"It can see who has an inner core hidden on them, and it can tell what ability that inner core represents," Fatty said. "The ability of those two Hungong fish was language-related—the leader told me that."

Tu Ran couldn't help but feel a stir of desire.

If she had that ability, she could directly identify who had an ability and whether it was one she wanted.

That would avoid the danger and trouble of physical contact.

"Since your leader has that ability, hasn't it ever taken inner cores from other species?" Tu Ran asked.

"Of course it has," Fatty said. "The leader took an inner core from a rabbit and gained the ability to teleport."

"Teleport?" Tu Ran raised an eyebrow. "If that rabbit could teleport, how did your leader catch it? Is your leader very thin and fast-flying?"

Fatty patted its belly. It suspected the two-legged creature looked down on it and its kind, but it had no proof.

"We Danghu birds aren't fat; it's just that our feathers are thick and numerous, making us look fat," it first emphasized, then lifted the fluffy feathers on its neck to show its 'slim' figure to Tu Ran.

Not worth looking at.

Tu Ran turned her face away.

Fatty also realized it wasn't quite suited to explain this point, so it covered its round belly again.

It continued as if nothing had happened. "That rabbit had just grown its inner core and hadn't noticed it yet, but the leader did. The leader led the other Danghu birds to corner the rabbit, skinned it, and then found the inner core."

"So your leader now has the teleportation ability too?"

"Yes," Fatty nodded. "So it's not easy for you to get the leader's inner core."

In the darkness, Tu Ran weighed the pros and cons, then decided to take the risk.

Though difficult, she could get two inner cores this time, so it was worth the gamble.

"You'll need to cooperate with me," Tu Ran said, looking at it.

By then, she had turned off her flashlight, and the entire cave was pitch black.

But the faint starlight coming in from outside still let Tu Ran easily catch its bean-sized eyes.

Because those eyes were so transparent they could reflect light.

"Sure. You spared Fatty's life, saved Fatty's life, carried Fatty to escape, and picked Fatty's favorite red-skinned melons for me—you're Fatty's good friend, and Fatty will help you."

Tu Ran looked at it and probed, "Aren't you afraid that if you help me, your Danghu clan will never acknowledge you again and treat you as a traitor?"

"Not afraid," Fatty shook its round head. "Fatty never liked staying in the clan anyway. They bullied Fatty, didn't give Fatty enough to eat, and stole Fatty's food. Fatty doesn't like them. Fatty is free. Fatty likes to wander around and explore."

Hidden in the darkness, Tu Ran's mouth nearly split ear to ear.

"I didn't expect you to have such a personality," Tu Ran said, looking at it with newfound respect.

"Personality? What's that?" Fatty didn't understand.

Tu Ran smiled and shook her head, too lazy to explain. "It's a compliment."

"Whoa, the two-legged creature finally isn't calling me fat; instead, it's complimenting me."

"Haha..." Tu Ran was amused by its cute antics.

Meeting such a lively companion in the Threshold, chatting and teasing it, helped relieve a lot of stress.

Tu Ran glanced outside—it seemed brighter than when she had woken up.

"When will dawn break?" she asked.

Fatty took a look. "It'll be light soon."

It turned to face the wall, and with its claws, scratched a few crooked vertical lines on the stone.

"What are you doing?" Tu Ran asked.

"Fatty is recording the time. When I come back to this home next time, I can look at the lines and know when I visited last."

"What time is it today?"

This was something Tu Ran was curious about.

The lengths of day and night in the Threshold had no pattern at all.

She wanted to know how these alien creatures that lived in the Threshold their whole lives recorded time.

Fatty glanced outside; the sun was rising rapidly, and the weeds growing outside the cave were now clearly visible.

"Today's sun rose from the west. That happens only four times a year, and this is the second time this year."

Tu Ran: So it's that simple and crude.

"Gurgle..."

The sound of a stomach growling was amplified several times in the cave.

Tu Ran rubbed her stomach; it was hers.

She was hungry. She had eaten most of a red-skinned melon yesterday, and after all this time, it had long been digested.

Fatty heard the sound too and quickly turned around, hopping up. "Boss, wait a moment. I'll find you something delicious."

Tu Ran was about to say she had food and didn't need to search, but Fatty had already run out of sight.

Sure enough, now that its leg injury was healed, it ran fast.

Tu Ran wasn't in a hurry either. She wanted to see what food Fatty would bring her.

After waiting about ten minutes, Tu Ran heard footsteps.

She craned her neck and saw Fatty coming back, holding something unknown in both wings, walking cautiously.

Tu Ran actually felt a bit of anticipation.

But when she saw exactly what it was, Tu Ran's face abruptly darkened.

Worms.

A writhing pile of worms.

Pale and squirming.

Teeming and dense.

"Boss, eat up! These worms are springy and chewy, and very nutritious. Eat them, and you won't be hungry all day."

Tu Ran wanted to kick it and this skin-crawling pile of worms out of the cave!

Fatty hadn't noticed her disgust yet, holding them up close to Tu Ran's face.

"I'm not eating that. Take it away."

"Huh? Why?" Fatty's eyes were filled with hurt.

It had taken a long time to find these, so why wouldn't she eat them?

"I'm not a Danghu. Humans don't eat worms," Tu Ran explained, feeling a bit uncomfortable under its pitiful gaze.

"Oh," Fatty said, looking regretfully at the pile of squirming delicacies before it. "Humans don't eat worms. Then I'll have to eat them all myself."

"Go ahead, eat them all—take them over to your side," Tu Ran urged.

She couldn't stand those pale worms wriggling in front of her.

Fatty reluctantly carried the worms to the corner, buried its head in them, and started pecking.

One by one, it ate them with relish.

Tu Ran turned away, trying not to hear the sounds of it chewing the worms.

Hungry, Tu Ran took out a piece of compressed protein biscuit and ate it.

Fatty heard the sound of her biting, lifted its head from the worm pile, and craned its neck curiously. "Boss, what are you eating?"