Don't Come Near Me

Black rings of stars shattered into being in the empty air. Space-time collapsed, connecting two worlds.

Kang De walked out carrying a shopping cart.

The mechanism for traveling between the two worlds was still a mystery. He could bring things along, but only physical objects in contact with him-in other words, he had to pick them up or hold them aloft.

Otherwise, he could simply have brought over some big shot's RV from the underground garage to live in.

Still, that might not be impossible forever. Every few days, a bizarre black beast would appear on the island. After hunting one down, he could cut a mysterious crystal from its heart and use it to strengthen his body.

With the help of a group of magical animals, his hunts were getting easier and easier. The mysterious crystals inside the black beasts could strengthen his body, and his strength was steadily growing. He estimated that in a few more years, he could try lifting a car. For now, he could only carry big things like sofas and refrigerators.

He couldn't take living creatures through, either.

He had tried taking prey of various sizes caught by the magical animals back to Earth. Whether insects, fish, or small animals, they all kicked the bucket as soon as they got there, without exception. Their corpses never rotted, either. Apparently, they had been sterilized and rendered inactive, inside and out.

Looked at another way, it was a good method of preserving food.

Someday... it might come in handy.

He really hoped it wouldn't.

Even so, he had taken many plants and animals from the other world back with him. He had made half into specimens and sealed the other half in welded iron boxes. Along with the large number of videos he had filmed in the other world, he had stored them all in a secret base known only to his family. In the worst of worst-case scenarios, his parents could hand them over to the state in exchange for certain promises and protections.

As for the crystals that could strengthen the human body, he had thought it over and decided not to include them.

He hadn't even mentioned them in his diary.

Human nature was selfish and full of dark suspicions, judging others by one's own standards. Even if his parents handed every last crystal over to the state, someone would inevitably suspect the two old people of having kept some for themselves.

After all, samples of plants and animals from another world could only advance biology and other fields by leaps and bounds, while those crystals could make a particular person stronger and healthier... The state, after all, was also a collective made up of many decision-makers and people in the know. There was no guarantee that every one of them would always have noble morals.

That would only bring his parents endless trouble.

He had thought it all through.

After all, in those three hundred-odd days, he had considered only two things.

Staying alive, and what if.

Of course, the priority was still to live well.

To live on, through hardship and with tenacity, on this desolate, lonely deserted island in another world.

Kang De put down the shopping cart and looked around.

He was in a sizable cave, illuminated by bright lights. The floor was level and covered with a soft carpet, and screens divided the space into inner and outer rooms.

The outer room contained a spacious mahogany desk, a pure white Nordic-style coffee table, a top-of-the-line Alienware desktop computer, an eighty-inch wall-mounted television, a Scorpio, a PS4, a soft sofa, and a high-end ergonomic chair. A floor-standing air conditioner stood in the corner, and a bladeless fan sat beside the sofa.

On the other side of the television was a small bar with a microwave. Beside it was a refrigerator stocked with drinks like gamer fuel and Vita lemon tea. Cabinets were mounted on the wall, displaying liquor such as Rémy Martin. There was also a shelf piled with snacks and a large bookcase filled with books.

All of it came from "losses due to force majeure."

The furnishings in the inner room were much simpler.

A rosewood bed, a latex mattress, a four-piece set of long-staple cotton bedding, a silk quilt, a Switch, a laptop, two wardrobes, a weapons cabinet, a personal effects cabinet, a few small ornaments, and an air purifier.

There was also a row of three connected glass display cases, home to over a hundred charmingly smiling wives.

This was his humble abode in the other world.

Only in this dwelling full of familiar things could he find a moment's peace.

It gave him a false sense of security.

As if everything familiar had never gone far away.

Kang De slowly let out a breath and smiled to himself. He took out the ink, notebooks, and other daily necessities and put them away, then pushed the shopping cart toward the door.

A short passage led from the cave to the exit. Three sandbag barricades had been piled up in it, with firing holes left in them. Safety first, safety first.

He reached the door, pulled the handle, and pushed it open. The door was ready-made, sturdy, attractive, and imposing.

He had even added a combination lock.

It was another "loss due to force majeure."

He opened the door and stepped outside. Brilliant sunlight and a fresh breeze poured in together. This was a small valley, Kang De's current home. As he stepped outside, the world instantly came alive, changing from a silent modern city to the wild scenery of another world.

There were flowers and tables and chairs, fresh breezes and parasols, bright sunshine and a hammock. He had done his best to make the place more comfortable.

A goose and a chicken were fighting each other while a marmot beside them let out agonized "ahhh" screams, seemingly providing sound effects for the battle. On the other side, a wolverine was frantically punching a miniature sandbag. Kang De watched for a few moments, when suddenly a loud cry rang out above him.

"Rua!"

A parrot with golden feathers all over swooped in and landed on Kang De's shoulder.

Kang De casually pulled the door shut, took a bag of spicy peanuts from the shopping cart, tore it open, and offered the parrot a few. "Try some."

The parrot rapidly pecked them up and chewed, then the heat left its whole body feeling wonderful, and it squawked, "AWSL!"

"Such vulgar language," Kang De said, eyeing it sidelong. "Who taught you that?"

The parrot understood his expression perfectly. Flapping its wings, it shouted, "Shameless old thief! Shameless old thief!"

"Coo, coo, coo, coo!"

A bolt of white lightning descended from the sky. A pigeon landed on Kang De's right shoulder and turned its head to look at him with ruby-like eyes.

Kang De gave it a few peanuts as well.

Meanwhile, an abnormal hopped closer. It had cute, furry ears, enchanting, moist eyes, an intoxicatingly gentle and serene air, and a pair of super-long legs.

Of course, it also had a body covered in bulging, well-developed muscles, and its enormous pecs were very Hokuto Shinken.

It was a kangaroo.

The kangaroo hopped over to Kang De, still chewing. Blood-red crumbs clung to her small lips, the last traces a packet of Weilong spicy strips had left in the other world-apart from the wrapper.

The kangaroo pulled her pouch open, gesturing for Kang De to look.

"Finished them, did you?"

Kang De took the two bags of crispy rice crackers from the shopping cart, tore them open, and poured the lot into her pouch. "Crispy rice crackers today... Also, as a young lady, you shouldn't go showing people your tits."

Only female kangaroos had pouches, and there were four tits inside.

The kangaroo had clearly understood Kang De, too. She shoved him with her right forepaw, sending him staggering.

The next moment, a hand steadied Kang De. A silver-haired gorilla carefully smoothed the wrinkles in his clothes, then glared at the kangaroo.

"A Xing." Kang De didn't seem to mind. He took the apples from the shopping cart. "Try some."

The gorilla shook their head and put the apples back in the cart, reaching out to help Kang De push it.

"No need. I can manage."

"I'll take these to the kitchen and sort them out," Kang De said gently. "Take these snacks and share them with everyone. Just half; save the rest for tonight."

He placed half the snacks from the cart in the gorilla's hands, smiled at them, and headed for the kitchen.

This natural valley was the magical animals' home, and now it had become his home, too. He had spent a long time building friendships with the creatures here and making the place more suitable for living in.

There were quite a few natural caves in the valley, five of which Kang De had claimed. One was a living room and bedroom for everyday life and relaxation. Another was a workshop for making tools and weapons. A third was a kitchen and storeroom. The remaining one was a bathroom for washing up, bathing, and cutting hair.

As for the last one... the outhouse, of course.

As the saying went, those who failed to plan far ahead would soon find trouble close at hand. If he ever had to consider farming someday, he would need to solve the problem of fertilizer. There weren't many options at present, such as digging up silt by the sea, though he didn't know whether that would work. By comparison, one method was definitely the most effective.

Farmyard manure.

So shit was something he had to save.

Of course, there seemed to be another highly constructive solution to this problem. The residential complex had nearly twenty buildings and several thousand households. Who knew how much excrement they produced every day? Even though the white fog had cut the complex off, there had to be plenty of that stuff in the underground pipes. If he really needed it someday, he could drive an excavator over, dig up the pipes, and pump it out... There was a subway construction site north of the complex.

But for now, he would rather not think about such a heavy topic...

He opened the door and pushed the shopping cart into the kitchen.

Behind him, the magical animals gathered in the open space in the valley.

The gorilla watched Kang De's retreating figure disappear, a trace of humanlike concern flashing in their eyes. They seemed to have seen the feelings Kang De hid beneath his cheerful exterior.

The kangaroo raised a paw to cover her eyes and made a whimpering sound, then pointed toward the kitchen.

The other animals nodded in unison.

The gorilla looked at the kangaroo with a questioning look in their eyes, but the kangaroo shook her head.

"Coo, coo, coo, coo!"

Suddenly, the pigeon cried out. It flapped into the air, drawing every animal's attention, circled a few times, then landed on the swing set and began its performance.

First, it spread its wings and pointed toward the kitchen. "Coo, coo, coo, coo."

The animals nodded.

Then the pigeon gripped the crossbar with both feet and leaned back as far as it could, thrusting its snow-white belly forward. It spread its right wing, put the tip in front of its belly, and began frantically stroking up and down.

As the pigeon did this strange thing, it shook its head, looking utterly frenzied. Then its body shook even more violently, and it let out an even more frenzied cry. After another bout of twitching, the whole pigeon went still, wearing an expression of utter disinterest.

The animals stirred and let out cries of emphatic agreement. Whether they were praising the pigeon's talent for imitation or agreeing about something was anyone's guess.

The parrot also shouted, "Social security! Social security!"

But the next moment, the pigeon went crazy again, hopping back and forth along the crossbar even more frantically than before. After a spell of madness, it spread its wings, covered its eyes, and made a series of sobbing sounds.

Apart from the gorilla, who looked completely bewildered, the other animals all nodded again.

The kangaroo called out to the pigeon a few times.

Looking supremely confident, the pigeon flapped over to the parrot. First, it strutted about, showing off its white feathers and spirited bearing. Then it walked around the parrot several times, displaying the parrot's gorgeous feathers and beautiful chest and belly.

Then it jumped onto the parrot, flapped its wings, and began thrusting frantically...

The parrot immediately went ballistic. It flew up and turned around to grab the pigeon, squawking, "Don't come near me! Don't come near me!"

Although the parrot was extremely uncooperative, the pigeon still completed its final performance, going from frantic convulsions to utter disinterest. Once it was done, it landed on the ground, thoroughly satisfied, and walked back and forth several times, displaying its white feathers and well-developed pectoral muscles. It looked calm, confident, and cheerful.

Then it nodded to the animals, who were watching without blinking.

A humanlike look of realization and agreement appeared in all the animals' eyes.

But the next moment, as if they had all thought of something, they immediately looked disdainful. Those whose eye structure allowed it even rolled their eyes.

A moment later, the furious parrot sent the pigeon flying with a swipe of its wing. "What the fuck are you talking about?!"

The pigeon flew into a rage and scrambled up to fight the parrot, but just then Kang De's voice rang out. "What are you playing?"

At his words, the animals instantly scattered...

Kang De looked baffled.

These animals' origins were a mystery. They were all like creatures that had gained sentience, with countless mysteries about them that Kang De couldn't figure out. The only thing he knew for certain was that every one of these beasts had a mind of its own...

So... what were they planning now?

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PS1: This chapter is almost four thousand Chinese characters long, so I could have just posted this one today—but if you all vote well, I'll post another chapter today. How about it!