Chapter 20

What does it mean, what does he mean by "killing all"...

Cloudy felt like her brain was going to burn in Titus's hard embrace. In this current context, does Titus's "kill" mean the same as the killing she imagined? Does it mean killing all people? No... it can't be, Titus killed the people who came to her house in the morning? But those people are not his kin.

At this moment, Cloudy desperately hoped that those people were not Titus's kin, no, that's not right... even if they are not kin, one cannot easily kill people, right?

No, this is her modern thinking. In her era, taking someone's life is a very serious matter, but perhaps not as serious in this era. However...

"Cloudy, you're hurt."

Just as she was still pondering what Titus had done, this person suddenly tried to check her "injury": "Does it hurt?"

"Uh...! No!" Cloudy struggled, trying to stop Titus's actions. "No, I'm not hurt. I'm fine."

"Blood, I see it." He wiped the bloodstains on Cloudy's calf with his fingers. "I should have stayed."

This is not injured blood... Don't touch me. Cloudy saw that Titus was persistent in wanting to check her "wound," so she struggled harder to escape from Titus's embrace. "I'm fine!"

Unfortunately, Cloudy's strength was no different to Titus than a struggling insect. This time, he didn't relent with Cloudy, but instead, without hurting her, he grabbed Cloudy's wrists with one hand, lifted her, and used his body to hold her in place, freeing up his other hand...

In the end, Titus got his wish to see Cloudy's "wound," but it was also expected... he couldn't understand, it seemed like there was no injury, but indeed a little blood was flowing from the "wound." After tilting his head and furrowing his brows for a moment, Titus raised his head: "Cloudy, I don't..." He wanted to say he didn't understand, but he froze when he saw Cloudy's expression.

By the time he checked the wound, Cloudy had already given up struggling. The current Cloudy's entire head was flushed, like the red sun burning as it sets, aside from that, her red eyes were filled with tears.

She... has had many humiliating moments in her life, from being laughed at in kindergarten for not having trendy toys to being ridiculed by her life teacher in elementary school for eating three extra eggs because her family didn't have any, to being made to run errands everywhere in junior high for trying to play with students from higher grades. Even after starting work, the entire process was humiliating.
All the moments of humiliation and glory combined, pale in comparison to now, as Titus kindly observes her "wound" with such unbearable pain.

Cloudy finds herself in a whirlwind of humiliation, her mind empty. On the other hand, Titus is frightened by her expression, instinctively thinking he accidentally hurt Cloudy, the tearing wound making her very uncomfortable. So... he covers Cloudy's "wound" with his hand.

Everything is so vulgar, Cloudy doesn't know how to describe the situation now, is it funny? It seems a bit funny. Humiliating? Definitely one hundred percent humiliating. She doesn't blame Titus, on the contrary, Titus's concern makes her happy, just the timing isn't quite right.

"Titus..." She weakly moved, and Titus, because of her movement, carefully released her hand he was holding. "Let me go, I'm not hurt."

"Really..."

"Really, let me go."

Titus let go, but not completely, he still held Cloudy in his arms. "Why, Cloudy, in this place. I'm very worried."

I'm actually worried about what you did over there in the cave... Cloudy closed her legs and put on the pants that Titus had pulled off. "Exploring, this morning, came to the rainforest." Explaining to Titus what happened with her current vocabulary is unrealistic, so she can only try to tell him as much as possible about what happened from morning till now.

Later, she also learned from Titus what exactly happened.

Today, Titus didn't plan to leave the settlement, even though it's not his hunting season now, he still gets assigned some odd jobs in the settlement, like moving things, helping to organize and store food, repairing some damaged infrastructure, etc... The specific part of working in the settlement Cloudy didn't quite understand, so she skipped over it.

Then something happened, enemies, people who didn't belong to Titus's settlement, were wandering around the area. These people were the ones Cloudy had seen before.

Titus was then assigned a temporary task, to monitor the movements of these people. The rest of the story is quite simple, those people went to her cave for some reason, and when Titus arrived, he thought she was killed, so he... Later, Titus couldn't find Cloudy anywhere.

No body, no part of her... nothing. He just hoped that Cloudy happened to be out in the morning, not in the cave... Lost in thought, he expanded his search range, going to many places Cloudy had been to, and the final location was by a small stream in the rainforest.

Seeing her again after thinking he lost Cloudy, filled Titus's heart with unfamiliar excitement.
The feeling of excitement surged within him, as he wrapped Cloudy in his arms and began to sway back and forth, saying, "Great! We can play together!"

It didn't seem like the best time to discuss playing together now. How old is this guy this year? Cloudy just hoped there wouldn't be any trouble afterwards, and that Titus hadn't left the bodies of those people at the cave entrance. She couldn't bear the shock of such a scene.

The good thing is... those people aren't Titus's kin, so killing them shouldn't cause Titus much trouble, right...?

"Titus, killing those people, conflicts between settlements... will it lead to...?"

Titus tilted his head as if pondering, "It will, but that way, we'll have more food."

What does that mean? Does food increase because they eat the flesh of those people after killing them, or is it because they can seize their food after killing them? Cloudy was getting dizzy thinking about it. She felt she couldn't handle these questions at her current level. The matters of Titus's settlement and other settlements were too distant for her.

"Can I stay in the cave tonight?" Let's focus on the most basic questions first! Although the tree hollow was set up, the space was too small. Sleeping there for a night might leave her with aches the next morning.

The answer she received was negative. Titus stood up, holding her, and made Cloudy sit on his left arm, "I haven't dealt with the bodies, blood, and entrails are everywhere; wild beasts will come at night. It's not safe." He walked with Cloudy towards the stream.

"Where are we going now?"

"Taking Cloudy to the hunter's resting place. You're injured and need medicine."

How can I explain to make him understand that I'm not injured...

...

"Big, vibration?"

"Yes, very big, the water on the leaves, like rain, vibrated down." Cloudy gestured the situation at that time. "A huge creature? But I didn't see it clearly."

"It's the collapsing dew heading to another plain."

It took a while for Cloudy to understand what Titus meant by "collapsing dew," in short, it's the huge dinosaurs that eat grass. This news made Cloudy feel regretful; she would have loved to see it if she had the chance.

The two of them had walked a long way along the stream now. Titus wasn't running as fast as before because he was worried about tearing Cloudy's "wound" if he ran too fast. Today, they proceeded cautiously and slowly. The stream at their feet had already turned into a small river about two meters wide. Cloudy could see some transparent things swimming inside, like shrimps but larger? Flatter? Perhaps some kind of insect.
Titus seemed to notice Cloudy's gaze and straightforwardly said, "Can't eat."

Hmm... the dream of sweet shrimp sashimi is shattered.

The huge, maze-like rainforest beneath Titus's feet felt like a flat highway, with him being a bus driving on it, knowing clearly whether to turn left or right at the next intersection. The giant leaves and ferns in front of him were like road signs...

The area where Cloudy had just been was already exaggerated enough. As Titus led them further inside, the plants inside seemed to explode in growth from a single point. This hysterical vitality made Cloudy feel somewhat suffocated. The plants no longer seemed like plants; it was evident that these life forms, unable to speak or think, were relying on their ingrained survival instincts, continuously occupying precious spots of sunlight in the rainforest.

Perhaps during this time, plants unable to compete for sunlight began to gradually evolve towards moss and ferns, types that didn't require as much light.

"Titus, how much longer?" Although he was by her side, the overwhelming plants made Cloudy feel as helpless as she did at the beginning. "Can't we go back outside?"

"We're almost there," Titus reassured, patting Cloudy's back and sensing her unease. He encircled his arms around her, holding her a bit tighter. "There won't be anyone there, just you and me today."

By now, the rainforest had darkened, losing its strong sunlight. The once verdant leaves instantly changed color, and the whole space grew darker.

Finally, the resting place Titus had mentioned appeared. To Cloudy's surprise, it looked... recently destroyed? It seemed there were tents made of leaves and animal skins here, but now these materials were scattered on the ground, as if someone had trampled them.

Titus didn't seem surprised. "Enemies, or maybe beasts knocked them down. Wait here for a moment." He carefully placed Cloudy on the ground and handed her his bag. "There's food inside; wait for me, I'll fix these things." After handing over the bag, Titus gently patted Cloudy's shoulder. "Rest well, Cloudy. I'll help you stop the bleeding."

"Thank you..." Cloudy gave a helpless smile, her shoulders slumping. Even though she wanted to explain that it wasn't a wound, being cared for by Titus made her feel relaxed.

For now, let's leave it at that! There's nothing wrong with that.