TDU Chapter 368
Chapter 368 The Power of Fairness
‘This is a line from {Sympathy for the Peasants}…’ Zhang Chenze murmured under her breath.
In the ancient poem, {Toil’s Sweat Nourishes the Soil} refers to farmers toiling in the fields during the busy farming season, their sweat falling onto the soil, representing both the intensity of their labor and the summer heat.
‘Busy farming season…?’ Zhang Chenze did her best to ignore the buzzing in her ears and carefully thought through the current situation.
Since she represented {Summer}, it made sense for her to play this {fortune stick} that embodied the spirit of agricultural labor.
After all, {Summer} was too far removed from the Nian Beast’s domain. If she wanted to contribute, the most effective way was through {farming}.
Zhang Chenze stood up, took a few cautious steps forward, then summoned her courage to brush aside the locusts on the table. She inserted the {Toil’s Sweat Nourishes the Soil} stick into the slot.
At this point, she had no way of seeing what was happening in the other rooms; she could only hope she had made the right move. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be fair to the others.
Just as Zhang Chenze let out a breath of relief and stepped back, ready to endure the torment a while longer, she suddenly felt a sharp tear at the back of her clothing. In that instant, the swarm of locusts surged in like an invading force, clawing and pulling at every inch of her skin.
Although locusts didn’t eat flesh, they had replaced her clothing, clinging to her body completely.
Zhang Chenze, who had only just begun to adjust to sharing a room with the countless insects, broke down once more. She could feel it clearly, every inch of her skin was crawling, as though she had become one with the locusts.
They squirmed, and their movements tugged at her skin, making it ripple with them.
Su Shan in the neighboring room suddenly sensed an odd disturbance. She turned her head just in time to see streams of glimmer surging toward Zhang Chenze’s room, colliding in quick succession.
With each impact of light, two brilliantly clear words rose into the air:
{Soul Reposition}!
‘Could these be…’ Su Shan suddenly understood the meaning behind those words. They had to be what the others referred to as {Reverberation}, and her ability was to directly see the names of these {Reverberations}.
Though this transcendent ability differed somewhat from what Su Shan had imagined, if mastered well, it could undoubtedly bring great benefit to the team.
After a full ten or so seconds, the distant tolling of a bell finally sounded, announcing to everyone at {End Point} that Zhang Chenze had activated her {Reverberation}.
‘The {bells}…are slower than me?’ Su Shan furrowed her brow, sensing a faint clue.
But now was not the time to dwell on such matters; they needed to win this game as soon as possible.
All four of them currently were {Reverberatees}. If they could win, it would be ideal; if not, it wouldn’t cause catastrophic consequences. Much of this was thanks to the swarm of {locusts}.
‘But… what does {Soul Reposition} mean?’
…
Zhang Chenze felt a ringing at her ears, and her thoughts cleared somewhat. The terror imposed by the crawling insects pressing down on her had slightly lessened.
Yet she had no idea what was happening outside, as the constant buzzing of the bell was drowned out by the chorus of insect cries.
She stepped forward and took the two remaining {fortune sticks} from the table, holding them in her right hand. They were {Torrential Rain Pelts Down Fiercely} and {Radiant Sun Embraces the Earth}, which would surely prove useful at some future moment.
If she didn’t protect these two {fortune sticks} carefully, they might once again be overtaken by the insects.
After retrieving the {fortune sticks}, Zhang Chenze crouched down again, acutely aware of the locusts crawling all over her body.
Suddenly, one flew onto her face. Amid her panic, she caught it with her left hand and, after a brief consideration, killed it. ‘Although this is unfair to you all… I really don’t want to be touched by you anymore.’
It was like smashing a raw quail egg; after the thin shell gave way, her hand was left covered in something slick and sticky.
A wave of nausea washed over Zhang Chenze, and she quickly wiped her hand on her pants. Yet a thought surfaced: If she wanted to move freely inside this room, wouldn’t the only option be to kill as many locusts as possible?
After all, the locusts were just part of the game’s design, not a real natural disaster, but a symbol—so their numbers couldn’t be endless.
Every kill thins their numbers.
Before she could fully devise a strategy to exterminate the locusts, she suddenly felt one of the {fortune sticks} in her right hand stir.
It was a bizarre sensation. Although it was just a wooden slip, that {fortune stick} seemed to have a pulse, beating in her hand like she was holding a living insect.
Zhang Chenze panicked and tossed the {fortune stick} away. The next moment, something strange happened.
The {fortune stick} inscribed with {Radiant Sun Embraces the Earth} bent slightly on the ground, then, using the recoil, it actually jumped up.
‘What!?’ Zhang Chenze stared blankly at the {fortune stick}, which seemed alive, bending repeatedly and hopping on the floor like…
A locust.
She felt like she was losing her mind.
Could it be that having been in contact with so many locusts for so long, she was now mistaking the {fortune stick} in her hand for one of them?
As the hopping {fortune stick} bounced toward her, Zhang Chenze snapped back to reality and reached out to grab it, but unexpectedly, the {fortune stick} leapt up again and jumped right at her face.
Startled, and still crouched on the floor, she reflexively shut her eyes and jerked backward. The abrupt motion nearly sent her sprawling.
By the time she steadied herself and opened her eyes again, the {fortune stick} had already plunged into the swarm of insects crawling across the floor, vanishing without a trace.
‘Oh no…’
Though Zhang Chenze didn’t know exactly what had happened, she was certain Terrestrial Dog had tampered with something.
Perhaps each person’s {fortune stick} had some kind of hidden mechanism, and failing to catch them would only make the game more difficult.
This scene was clearly observed by Su Shan.
Amid the twinkling lights of the crawling swarm, a radiant Zhang Chenze chased after a {fortune stick} inscribed with words.
Could this be caused by a {Reverberation}?
But from this eerie sight alone, Su Shan had no idea what Zhang Chenze’s ability truly was. She realized she still knew too little about {Reverberations}. If only she could recall the abilities of a few {Reverberatees}, she might be able to roughly deduce the principle behind Zhang Chenze’s power.
“Player Two’s {wish} complete; Player Three, kindly {draw}.”
Lin Qin, supporting her injured forehead, looked at the table where a {fortune stick} slowly emerged: {Fields Sway with Coming Harvest}.
Right in the chamber across, Su Shan forced her eyes open wide, enduring a slight sting as she stared intently at Lin Qin’s {fortune stick}.
She now had a full grasp of the game’s rules.
As long as she could {wish} for {No Land Shall Lie Fallow}, then Summer would draw {Toil’s Sweat Nourishes the Soil}. If Summer successfully used that {fortune stick}, then Autumn would draw {Fields Sway with Coming Harvest}.
Whether Summer, Autumn, and Winter could draw these particular {fortune sticks} depended entirely on whether {Spring} played {No Land Shall Lie Fallow}; this was a coordinated {attack method} involving all players.
Just like in reality, if Spring doesn’t toil, the other seasons can’t magically produce a harvest and will inevitably stay in their {default} (state).
TL Note: The poem ‘Sympathy for the Peasants’ by Li Shen from the Tang Dynasty is really famous in China. Kids learn it when they’re very young. It’s about being thankful for farmers who work hard to grow the food we eat. I used an original translation for the ‘Toil’s Sweat Nourishes the Soil (汗滴禾下土)’, but there are many interpretations out there. Such as:
Hoeing weeds at noon,
Sweat drips to the soil beneath,
Who knows that each grain in our meals,
Embodies a farmer's toil and zeal.
or
Hoeing grain in the blaze of noon,
Sweat drops fall — grain to earth,
Who knows food in the plate,
How toilful each granule is!
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