"We worked almost the entire day, and we barely got a tenth of what we needed. I don't think this is going to work." Lexus was apprehensive. He had mellowed out, but his tongue was ever as venomous.
"We need more onions." Xiaolang said as he regretted bringing only a single tuber. "We don't have enough right now."
"That onion tuber can only be split into six pieces." Laurel said. "There are only six buds on it."
"I will go pick some more tomorrow," Xiaolang said. "We can expand the field in the meantime."
"I will go with you," Laurel said.
"No. It's better to do it alone. Less visibility."
"But… it's dangerous. What if there's some unexpected situation? Like poison. We need someone to carry you back to the lifepod in case something happens."
"I can do it." Bob offered.
"Hah. Why work so hard? We are going to die anyway. There is no way to get off this island." Lexus said while sighing.
It was not condemnation nor complaint, but despair. A sense of indifference, as though nothing mattered anymore. Despair had taken root in their hearts. Most of them cooperated because, deep down, they still feared death. But they wondered whether everything they did had any meaning.
Just as Lexus said, would they all die here? Was going home an impossible feat? Were they doomed the moment they detached from the starcruiser?
"Don't say that! We can go home! We must! To do that, we must work hard!" Lazarus yelled.
Despite the despair, they still struggled. They still moved, trying to swim against the current of fate.
"I will try to plow some more fields. We have nothing to do at night." Bob said.
"I will scout the eastern plain," Xiaolang said.
"Wait. It's dangerous." Laurel said.
"... We don't know that," Xiaolang replied. "We don't know what these creatures do at night. They might even be sleeping. If that's the case, visiting them at night would be better."
Xiaolang thought the rhinos had poor eyesight since they hadn't recognized him during the day until he was quite close. He thought they had seen a black dot moving and decided to chase it, believing it was a scarab. It was just a gut feeling, or perhaps hopeful thinking, as they needed to get the farm running as fast as possible. The crystal watermelons would last only a few more days at most. After that, they would have to forage for berries and other food.
Xiaolang thought hard about making traps. There were fish in the lake. Or they could hunt those scarabs and pigs for food. But those animals were dangerous, and Lazarus didn't want them to become murderers unless it was absolutely necessary.
"Do you need my flashlight?" Bob offered, holding out his watch.
"... Won't you need it?" Xiaolang hesitated. It would be great to have one, but he thought he could do without it. The forest was quite bright at night as almost every leaf glowed iridescently with a mixture of blue, red, and purple.
"The forest is bright enough to plow. And you might need it more than I do. Just in case you have to hide in the lake or a cave somewhere," he said as he removed the watch and handed it to Xiaolang.
"... Thank you. I will take good care of it." Xiaolang nodded and put on the watch.
"... You should take me or Lazarus with you."
"No need. I have the leaf clothes Lazarus stitched. They will help with camouflage. As long as I don't get too close, they won't know I'm there. If they do, I'll just bail."
"If you say so." Laurel sighed. Lazarus had work to do during the night. Bob wanted to plow the field. Lexus, Anna, and Shingo might be too weak to be of any help. She herself was hesitant. This alien night had its own way of getting into your psyche. The longer Laurel gazed into the forest, the more she felt lost. It was only thanks to the fire they had lit and the familiar lifepod that she could keep her sanity.
"I will be back in three or four hours." Xiaolang said as he departed into the woods, bringing a flashlight, a basket, leaf clothes for camouflage, a stone-tipped spear, and his trusty knife.
When Xiaolang departed, his confidence eroded. Only then did he realize that he had been unconsciously relying on the fire. That fire wasn't just for cooking or making salt—it soothed him in this alien world. Seeing something familiar had calmed him.
Now that he had ventured into the forest, everything was alien. The glow was dizzying. The purple amoebas gnawing on leaves added to the bizarre surrealness.
But he still trudged on. The paths and landmarks he recognized during the day looked different, but the children had passed through this forest multiple times, so they wouldn't get lost even if they traveled at night.
Xiaolang headed east past the lake, veered toward the river, and crossed it. He took out his phone as he saw the lake glowing. Several glowing amoebas and colorful fish swam through the water. Then, a black stone leaped at one of the fish.
Not a black stone. That was a scarab. Xiaolang's heart raced as he kept reminding himself that this was not a zoo. Everything here could eat him, and once they got to him, there would be no way to survive. He would die and become monster meat.
Xiaolang poked the river, wondering whether there were any dangerous fish or monsters inside. Colorful blobs of red, yellow, blue, and purple swam about.
"I wonder why only the purple amoebas come onto land," Xiaolang muttered as he crossed the river. The cold water sent shivers down his spine. The night had gotten colder.
After he crossed the river, he snuck onto the empty eastern plain. Yet only silence awaited. Xiaolang tiptoed across the plain, wondering where those carnivorous rhinos had gone.
His heart almost leaped out of his chest when a gray rock a stone's throw away stirred. He realized that the rocks were actually rhinos. After taking several photos, he tiptoed away from them. His eyes stayed on the ground. He didn't dare use the flashlight, as it might attract more attention to him.
Xiaolang realized that the eastern plains were full of metallic onions. It didn't take long before he found another patch hidden among the grass.
He wondered why these plants were so abundant here but nowhere else.
That wasn't important. He had accomplished his mission. With over two dozen tubers in his basket, he tiptoed back to the lake. The rhinos were all sound asleep. Unlike the scarabs, which kept a watchful eye out for prey even during the night, these rhinos were omnivores. Moreover, they seemed to be the apex predators on this island. They could afford to sleep through the entire night.
The trip back was easy. Once he had crossed the river, he turned on the watch's flashlight. Its beam shone ahead of him. It didn't help much, as the trees and grass themselves were glowing. Xiaolang then looked up at the sky. It was dark and empty. Few stars, and no moon or planets.
The sky was boring, even though life below was so colorful.
That was how he viewed this planet. When he came near the beach, he found Laurel anxiously looking toward the forest, tapping her foot on the ground.
If it weren't for the fire, the beach would have been dark. Xiaolang realized how surreal this alien planet was. Yet, in a way, it was balanced. The forest was darker at noon, while the beach was darker at night.
"I have returned." Xiaolang waved.
"Xiaolang!" Laurel said, almost leaping to hug him.
"Are you done playing hero? Don't get arrogant. It could get you killed." Lexus said as he put more branches on the fire, boiling more seawater to produce salt.
"Where is Bob?"
"He is plowing the field with Anna and Lazarus. I think we could get another plot up and running before dawn," Laurel said.
"Here, I got about two dozen metallic onions. If we have too many, these could be our breakfast." Xiaolang handed her the basket. "I think sneaking into the plains at night was easier than doing it at noon since the rhinos were asleep. But we must stay alert because they resemble rocks while sleeping."
Xiaolang turned toward the lifepod, wondering whether he should talk to Mistral and submit his videos and pictures.
"Mistral is still offline. Shingo has almost finished teaching Auscella coding. He said that Auscella might be able to talk to Mistral in two or three days," Laurel said.
"I can just submit the photos tomorrow." Xiaolang didn't think much of it. His attention was on Auscella. Why was she here? How could she be so smart? Learning a language in less than a week was amazing. Auscella was already capable of talking like a toddler, pointing at things and forming simple sentences even though she was technically only a week old.
"Hmm… I wonder if we can just cut out the eyes and eat the rest. Just separating them by their buds seems like a waste…" Laurel turned to the metallic onions, which might soon become their staple food.
"The buds won't have enough nutrients to grow then." Xiaolang shrugged. "If we run out, I can just nab some more. The plains were full of them. No wonder those rhinos make their nests there."
"Let's get to work." Laurel said as she took the stone knife Bob had brought. Tonight, they were going to finish the second field no matter what.
Lazarus and a bored Auscella came out and helped them.
Xiaolang glanced at them longingly. Yet beneath his stoic face, a small smile formed. The warmth he had felt so many years ago was returning.
A sentient creature capable of talking to AI since birth. A human who can communicate wirelessly. A telepathic human was here. Auscella was amazing. She might be the next generation of humanity. ~Shingo