Here's the translation of the passage into English that can be understood by Western readers:
Zhou Yuan instantly felt as if he were being watched by a fierce beast, and his tail tip quivered a bit.
"Lin-ge..."
Lin Ye Bai leaned slightly forward, causing Zhou Yuan to jerk back, hurriedly retreating.
Could it be that Lin-ge has lost his mind, gone berserk, and is about to take his head off?
"Good morning." Lin Ye Bai seemed puzzled as to why Zhou Yuan had retreated.
Although his eyes had changed color, he was still as expressionless as before. His demeanor remained indifferent, with only a faint hint of emotion visible through his gaze.
Still the same old Lin-ge, Zhou Yuan breathed a sigh of relief.
He must've sensed a slight amusement in Lin Ye Bai's eyes, so did Lin-ge do it on purpose? Is being a bit mischievous really the source of his happiness?
"Lin-ge, your eyes are really red." Zhou Yuan hesitated to make direct eye contact.
For the strange beings, their eyes are usually crimson at night, glowing. By day, they appear more normal. Lin-ge's eyes were a bit intimidating, and whenever they locked eyes, it felt like being stalked by a large predator.
"Mm?" Lin Ye Bai got up and moved toward the riverbank, but Zhou Yuan quickly called after him:
"The tablet still has battery, let's take a selfie to get a clearer look."
Zhou Yuan took out his tablet from his backpack, opened the camera, and asked Lin Ye Bai to face the lens. No need for beauty filters or touch-ups—the face was flawless. His brow mark was mysterious and noble, his eyes a deep red with a kind of entrancing magic.
Lin Ye Bai still remembered the relaxed feeling he had last night amidst the blood mist, a sensation he had never experienced in his life. Unfortunately, the mist dissipated too quickly, and his body returned to its normal state, with weakness from vitality depletion following him like a shadow.
His eye color had changed, which was likely the result of absorbing the blood jewel. After daybreak, he began to feel a little fatigued, becoming averse to light. Aside from that, there were no significant side effects.
Absorbing the blood jewel to restore his internal energy didn't shorten his lifespan, which made it far more practical than the red potions available in the live-stream. The few drawbacks were acceptable.
"How do you feel? Looking at my head, do you feel like chopping it off?" Zhou Yuan jokingly rubbed his neck.
"You're overthinking it." Lin Ye Bai wasn't lacking in points.
Zhou Yuan immediately relaxed; as long as Lin Ye Bai hadn't lost his sanity, he was someone to trust without question.
"Come on, Lin-ge, let's take a photo together." Zhou Yuan tapped on a cute bunny filter, and on the screen, rabbit ears appeared above their heads with a blush on their faces—adorable.
"Do the peace sign." Zhou Yuan nudged Lin Ye Bai's arm.
"?"
"Like this..." Zhou Yuan demonstrated the gesture.
The peace sign wasn't hard to mimic, and Lin Ye Bai quickly followed suit.
He looked so aloof, and with his gaze still a bit confused, the peace sign he made had an intimidating effect.
Zhou Yuan almost couldn't breathe and furiously took photos.
"Perfect!"
Zhou Yuan switched between several other filters: little kittens, strawberries, and clouds, giving Lin Ye Bai each one!
Lin Ye Bai was fascinated by the photo-taking feature and asked Zhou Yuan,
"What does this gesture mean?"
"It symbolizes victory and peace." Zhou Yuan said honestly, though over time, the peace sign had become more associated with cuteness than its original meaning.
Would he dare explain that to Lin Ye Bai? Of course not.
"I see." Lin Ye Bai thought for a moment, then lowered his head, looking at the peace sign he had made, feeling closer to this world.
Coach Wang had also woken up, watching Zhou Yuan deceive Lin Ye Bai. His mood was complex, and after a brief silence, he asked:
"Mr. Lin, with your eyes looking like that, are you feeling unwell?"
"No."
"Good."
Coach Wang suddenly felt a strong sense of déjà vu, like a father figure with two grown sons and seven younger ones.
"I want to take a picture too! I want to take one with Uncle Lin!"
"Uncle Lin has bunny ears, so cute!"
"Little kittens are cute too."
The little spiders had woken up, climbing onto Coach Wang's shoulder, watching the pictures that had been taken.
Zhou Yuan lifted the tablet with his tail, setting it to self-timer.
"Come on, come on, everyone, let's take a group photo."
Lin Ye Bai stood in the middle, Coach Wang on the left with three little spiders on each shoulder and one on his head. Zhou Yuan stood on the right, reminding Lin Ye Bai,
"Peace sign."
Lin Ye Bai, just like Zhou Yuan, held up the peace sign.
The little spiders tried their best to imitate but couldn't, so they raised their front legs instead, full of spirit.
Behind them was the vast blood-red vegetable garden, yet the group was laughing, all with peace signs, full of hope and energy.
"Click—" The photo was taken.
Zhou Yuan put the tablet away, and the three of them began searching for transportation.
The vegetable garden had withered, with broken limbs and corpses wrapped in plant roots, buried in the soil. The entire land had turned a deep red, and the strong scent of blood hung in the air.
A sign near the edge read: "East Suburban Vegetable Plantation."
What had happened to the sign was unclear, but it was about to collapse, swaying in the wind.
Occasionally, a few shriveled burlap sacks could still be seen, marked with "Golden Fertilizer" and similar labels. The sack Lin Ye Bai had used to collect the blood jewels had been picked up from the ground and was still in his hand, strong and very convenient.
Zhou Yuan searched nearby, but all the vehicles were damaged. He found a tractor that could barely be started.
"We'll ride this into the city."
Zhou Yuan and Coach Wang tried to move the tractor onto the road.
"Old Wang, can you drive?" Zhou Yuan had never driven a tractor before.
"Not sure, let's try." Coach Wang cranked the handle to start the tractor and climbed in to test it.
As the tractor engine roared to life, the live-stream began.
"Mistake in the Cucumber Field": A beautiful day has begun!
"Literary Teacher": Come see the process of humanity's first conquest of a wild tractor!
"Truth Above All": Old Wang isn't a pure human anymore; he counts as a lawful other species.
"The Ordinary Me": A hand-cranked tractor?
"I Am a Little Green Dragon": Better sprinkle some decontamination powder first.
"No One Sleeps Tonight": Ordinary bro, haven't even started yet, and you're already sprinkling stuff.
"Super Rich Orange Throne": Why are the little spider's eyes red?
"Lord of the Abyss": His deep eyes flickered with some interest, his thin lips slightly parted: "The bloodline is beginning to awaken... Try to absorb more of the flesh and blood essence; it will accelerate the awakening process."
"Sexy Spider Louis": I wonder when I'll fully undergo Abyssal transformation; really looking forward to it.
Lin Yebai occasionally glanced at the bullet comments, searching for relevant information. It seemed that the color change in his eyes wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
"Bring a cucumber to eat on the way..." Zhou Yuan brought a 3-4 meter long cucumber and placed it behind the tractor.
Lin Yebai and Zhou Yuan sat on either side, with the old hen sprawled in the middle, keeping an eye on the luggage.
Coach Wang drove the tractor, heading back along the road they came. He was truly an experienced driver; even the tractor was a breeze for him to handle.
The tractor had a lot of power, but it was a bit bumpy.
The sunlight was gentle, and Lin Yebai was lazily reclining on the large cucumber, wearing sunglasses.
The little spiders also stayed in the back of the tractor. Whenever they hit uneven patches of road, they'd be jostled, but would always land back safely, thanks to the silk thread connecting them. It was a bit of a thrilling game for them, and they laughed joyfully.
With Uncle Lin around, there was no need to worry about any large monsters jumping out; it felt completely safe.
In fact, no other species dared show itself on the road.
The half-sack of blood beads that Lin Yebai had gathered together exuded an aura strong enough to make most species huddle up and wait for the daylight to pass.
"Driver, take me to the city!"
The little spiders were having so much fun, and they subconsciously began singing. Several songs had been played last night, and the lyrics seemed to be etched into their souls. They sang together, with the song coming together like a patchwork:
"Driver, take me to the city!"
"Ali li! Ali li! Ali ali li!"
Coach Wang's hand trembled slightly on the tractor's wheel as he listened to them, feeling quite complicated.
"Don't work hard when you're young, or you'll regret it when you're old. Without education, you'll always suffer in life." He wondered if they should start thinking about teaching the kids.
"Come on, let's have fun! After all, we've got plenty of time!"
The little spiders didn't understand the meaning, so they kept singing, switching songs nonstop.
"The world only has a good mother; a child with a mother is like a treasure."
"Mama, did we sing well?"
"Yes." Coach Wang was a very doting parent.
"Uncle Lin, did we sing well?"
"Yes." Lin Yebai fully affirmed them.
"Uncle Zhou!"
"Perfect! How could little ones sing so beautifully? Uncle Zhou is so proud of you!"
Zhou Yuan showered them with compliments, causing the little spiders to feel embarrassed and shy.
"Actually... actually, it wasn't that good!"
"Seventh baby, you went off-key!"
"I didn't go off-key... Third baby forgot the lyrics!"
"Hey! Let me teach you how to behave!"
"Third brother, we're not even human!"
"Hey! Stop talking so much!"
The little spiders immediately tumbled into a heap, playfully fighting. After a while, it got more intense, so Zhou Yuan used his tail to separate them and set them up in a row to tell them a story:
"Once upon a time, there was a Snow White, she was beautiful and kind..."
"Uncle Zhou, did Snow White also have eight beautiful legs?"
"Yes," Zhou Yuan continued with the story, while the little spiders listened carefully, occasionally interrupting with questions.
With nothing else to do, Lin Yebai listened as well.
Snow White, with her eight legs, was envied by her stepmother. She later met seven dwarfs...
The plot was complicated and full of childish fun.
After hearing the story, the little spiders crawled into their cat bag and fell sound asleep.
Zhou Yuan noticed there was a signal nearby, so he took out a drone and tried to fly it.
Lin Yebai had been feeling lazy, but after Zhou Yuan explained the principles of the drone briefly, he became much more alert and watched him operate it.
"In the future, we might never have signal again. Let's take advantage of today and fly it to see what the city looks like after the destruction..."
The tractor had been driving for a while, and they were nearing the city.
The drone gradually ascended, leading the way ahead of the tractor.
The footage would be stored on a memory card, and after filming, they could check it.
After entering the city, the signal became unstable, and the drone suddenly plummeted. Zhou Yuan ran to the crash site, trying to catch it.
In order to protect the precious drone, he became a green blur and successfully caught it.
"It flew so high just now, it should have captured some useful footage..."
Zhou Yuan was out of breath and hadn't had time to check what the drone had recorded when a car drove out from the city and headed toward the tractor's location.
Zhou Yuan immediately stashed the drone into his backpack and stood on alert.
The car stopped near the tractor, the window on the passenger side rolled down, and the person inside asked:
"Mr. Lin, why are you coming back on a tractor?"