Chapter 95: Chapter 95
"Jin seems particularly sensitive to sudden rejections... Just now, there was indeed a fleeting impulse to kill me. I need to be more careful in the future and minimize instances of rejecting her."
In fact, Yi Chen completely understood Jin's momentary emotional shift.
Back when he was at the orphanage, children abandoned by their parents—especially those who were abandoned after becoming self-aware—or those abused by their biological families, often developed certain "psychological barriers."
Once those barriers were triggered, their temperament would undergo drastic changes, sometimes leading to reckless actions.
There was once a boy who got along well with Yi Chen. One day, another kid casually said to him, "Can you stop acting like a dog?"
The boy immediately pounced on the speaker, pinning him to the ground and biting off the other child's nose and ears. He even nearly tore off the entire skin of his face.
It was later revealed that this boy had been locked in a dog kennel and raised like a dog by his parents during his childhood. Any sign of disobedience would result in him being hung up and whipped.
As for Jin, her situation might be even worse.
Yi Chen made a mental note to tread carefully and avoid triggering Jin's "barriers."
She lived separately from the villagers, silently observing the changes in the forest and the village. Of course, her possible connections to the church could not be completely ruled out.
The exact situation would only become clear after meeting her.
Soon enough, the black chicken led them to what it referred to as "Granny's dwelling."
It was an enormous tree, grotesquely bloated, its surface covered with pustules that oozed fluid incessantly. The tree was at least three times the size of a regular tree.
"Granny lives underneath this. Follow me," the black chicken said, flapping its wings.
It hopped toward a half-meter-long, wriggling crevice in the tree trunk. The opening seemed to exude a pulling sensation, as if eager to absorb anything nearby.
Without hesitation, Yi Chen stepped forward, pressing his hand against the tree trunk. The crevice widened slightly under his touch.
Shrouded in his coat, he squeezed through the opening, navigating the sticky, sap-covered passage.
Inside the tree trunk was a slippery "slide," its texture somewhere between flesh and plant. It carried Yi Chen down to a mysterious underground space.
After approximately fifty meters of spiral descent, he landed amidst a pile of straw.
Before long, a swarm of small, yellow chicks surrounded him, as though welcoming this outsider.
Using Little Grape’s vision, Yi Chen quickly scanned the environment.
It was a fairly large underground space, hemispherical in shape, with walls plastered with feathers of various colors. The feathers seemed to serve as a shield against the outside world.
The space was roughly divided into three zones:
Rows of iron chicken coops of various colors were stacked along the walls. Numerous eggs were being incubated within. The chicks now surrounding Yi Chen had evidently hatched from these eggs.
Living roots from the massive tree above extended downward, each root piercing into the body of a larger-than-average chicken. The roots absorbed nutrients from these chickens. Once a chicken was drained dry, the next in line would step up to take its place.
This process of self-sacrifice nourished the giant tree, Keep reading on NovelHub - where stories come alive!
Meanwhile, the essence secreted by the tree was collected into nutrient troughs. Newly hatched chicks could rapidly grow by consuming this liquid.
Chicks that grew to become articulate, swift, and sharp-eyed would earn their "freedom," taking on tasks for Granny outside the forest.
Those that proved ordinary and useless would be labeled as "meat chickens" and join the sacrificial queue.
Located on the other side of the underground area, this zone contained living essentials such as a stove, dining table, fireplace, and bed.
An elderly woman with a plump figure sat in a wooden chair. She wore a floral apron, and her short, dark wavy hair showed hints of gray.
Her bare feet rested on the ground—though they couldn’t wear shoes. While her soles appeared normal, her toes had mutated, growing elongated, wrinkled, and dark, with sharp, curved claws at the tips.
In her arms, she cradled a round, golden-feathered chicken, gently stroking it.
Her back was turned, so her face was unclear, but the scene reminded Yi Chen of his encounter in the attic earlier.
You are truly exceptional, managing to capture Little Pei—he’s the fastest chicken I have here."
Hearing this, Yi Chen immediately released the black chicken Little Pei from the vines that bound it. Trembling, the black chicken scurried back to Granny Chicken’s side.