Chapter 2172: Special Genes
"Thank you for helping me." Xu Huo stored the paper from the bed sheet into his luggage compartment and said to Ahai, "My leg is inconvenient. Could you help me to the restroom?"
"Wait a moment." Ahai quickly put down what he was holding and went outside to bring in a wheelchair. "I thought you might need this when you woke up, so I prepared it for you."
Ahai struggled to move him into the wheelchair, pushed him to the restroom, and thoughtfully helped him stand against the wall before leaving.
Xu Huo didn't actually need such assistance, but he accepted the kindness. When he came out, Ahai had already set out food on the table. "You've only been on liquids these past few days, so you must be starving. I figure you players recover quickly, so some solid food should be fine."
"The old doctor said you'd probably wake up in a day or two, so he specially marinated some meat." Ahai placed the rice and chopsticks in front of him, then paused. "You've injured one hand—do you want me to feed you?"
"I'm fine." Xu Huo picked up the chopsticks and, under Ahai's expectant gaze, picked up a piece of meat. He praised, "Your cooking is excellent."
Ahai was quite pleased. "It's nothing special. It's autumn now, so the smaller mutant animals have all gone into hiding. This is from the town's livestock farm. The wild ones are the real delicacy. In a couple of days, I'll head into the woods again and hunt some game to help you recover."
"This is already more than enough. Besides, mutant animals are dangerous—there's no need to take risks." Xu Huo said.
Ahai waved his hand dismissively. "I have to go anyway. Wild game is very popular in town, but everyone's too afraid to go deep into the woods for safety. I know the way, so I usually don't run into danger. In a little while, there'll be even fewer prey."
Xu Huo looked around the room. "Is winter very cold here?"
Winter clothes had already been sorted out inside the house. Ahai gestured for him to eat while he went to organize the garments. "Yeah, winter hits fast around here. Soon, the delivery trucks from outside won't be able to get through. These past few days, everyone in town has been checking what they're missing for the winter, so they can have the next shipment bring it."
Xu Huo asked more detailed questions to get a full picture of the town's situation.
Their town was extremely remote. Although there was a road leading to a big city, the areas it passed through were infested with xenomorphs. The town couldn't afford to keep the interference devices along the road running long-term, so supply trucks only came on a fixed schedule. Once the trucks delivered the goods and returned safely, the interference devices were shut off.
Thus, the road was only relatively safe during deliveries. No ordinary people traveled it.
Logically, such a remote and poorly equipped town shouldn't have survived in the xenomorph-infested mountains. But by coincidence, the mountains surrounding the town were covered in a vast expanse of highly toxic plants. Occasionally, more ferocious xenomorphs would wander in, but they never stayed long. The area where Xu Huo had fallen had fewer toxic plants, which meant more mutant animals and greater danger for the townspeople. Aside from Ahai occasionally venturing there, no one else usually went.
"It's not like we haven't thought about moving out," Ahai said. "But the big cities have limited space. They couldn't spare such a large area for us to live in. At least we can grow our own food and make handicrafts to sell. Life isn't too bad."
Relying entirely on natural protection wasn't safe enough. Not only was it unsafe, but they also had to live with extreme caution. Such a life was inevitably nerve-wracking, but over time, they had slowly gotten used to it.
And they truly had no better options.
"While you were unconscious, I took your measurements and bought you a set of winter clothes and shoes based on your height. Someone will deliver them next week," Ahai said. "In about ten more days, it'll probably start snowing."
"Is that so?" Xu Huo couldn't feel the chill yet.
After he finished eating, Ahai quickly washed the dishes and prepared to take him out for a walk. "A lot of neighbors have brought food and supplies over these past few days. I'll introduce you to them later... You really are a player, right?"
Xu Huo nodded.
Having received a definite answer, Ahai smiled even more happily but didn't press the issue further. Instead, he cheerfully led him outside.
Probably because they rarely saw a real player, Xu Huo immediately drew attention the moment he stepped out. Anyone passing by would come up to chat, though they didn't dare speak to him directly. Instead, they whispered their questions to Ahai to relay.
Ahai then remembered to ask Xu Huo's name. Xu Huo used the name Xu Zhi again.
"Are you really from another district? What are the other districts actually like?" Finding Xu Huo easy to talk to, the crowd gradually loosened up.
Xu Huo picked a few things to share about ordinary districts, which drew envy from many. Most of them had never left this town in their entire lives. They hadn't even been to the big city that supplied their daily goods, let alone other districts.
The town was too small, and the outside world was vast.
"Players are really strong—they're not afraid of those xenomorphs at all." Someone patted Ahai on the shoulder. "This is great. Now you can go to the Goddess Holy Land."
"What is the Goddess Holy Land?" Xu Huo asked.
"The Goddess Holy Land is our capital," Ahai said. "All the water from the Goddess Spring comes from the Holy Land. The Holy Land also has the Goddess Cult. Everyone born on this land dreams of joining the Goddess Cult, but the cult has never come to our town."
His words resonated with the crowd. Everyone began chattering about the Goddess Cult's gatherings they had seen on TV, their words filled with longing for the cult and envy of those who had joined.
Although Xu Huo already knew that many in the town were hermaphrodites, hearing them speak with such reverence about a religion centered on women—their faces peaceful and happy regardless of what they said—struck him as somewhat absurd.
From a natural standpoint, hermaphrodites were less likely to bear offspring and more prone to passing on genetic defects. Naming their religion "Goddess" might stem from a desire to nurture the next generation, which wasn't incomprehensible. But from the information in their words, this district had a small population. Yet when they discussed the difficulty of childbirth, they all wore expressions of willing acceptance, which seemed to defy human nature.
Xu Huo didn't interject into their conversation. Not long after, a half-grown child rushed over to tell them that the mayor's daughter was in labor and had already gone to the Goddess Spring.
Hearing this, the crowd stopped their discussion and hurried toward the Goddess Spring. Xu Huo went along as well. Ahai pushed him as they ran to the town's assembly hall.
The assembly hall was packed inside and out. As cries of pain occasionally came from within, everyone waited with a mix of anguish and anticipation, guessing the gender of the child about to be born.
Two hours later, someone came out to announce that the child born today was definitively a boy.