Chapter 1094: Dr. Hu Secretely Wishes a Fly Would Land on Me Now
"The first point, and perhaps the most relatively acceptable," Lin Sanjiu started, glancing at Bohemia with a hint of apology. She had indeed been deliberately trying to prevent Bohemia from converting, and she couldn"t exactly pinpoint the reason – maybe it was just because she wanted to leave with Bohemia. The thought of shattering her expectations left Lin Sanjiu feeling somewhat guilty.
"It"s about the locals being a part of the natural cycle here, quite literally," she explained.
"What do you mean?" Bohemia leaned in.
"Here, the mushrooms have a dominant position, right? But even they don"t have the same unrestricted freedom and unchecked power that humans enjoyed on Earth. Oh, you wouldn"t know..." Lin Sanjiu paused for a few seconds and continued, "In any case, based on the information we"ve received, the mushrooms, when alive, are responsible for purifying the air, accommodating the residents, and maintaining society. After they die, they turn into soil nutrients, providing resources... You see, even the mushrooms themselves have their exteriors peeled off to be used as materials for roads, clothing, and so on. If that"s how the mushrooms are treated, then what about humans?"
Dr. Hu let out a long yawn and proceeded to wash its face with its paws. Perhaps there was no more boring topic of conversation for it than this one.
"Human beings can"t only reap the benefits of this society without any obligations. Unlike human societies on Earth in the past, the people here take from nature, so they must give something back..."
"So, what is it then?" Bohemia, who had been hanging on the edge of her seat, lost her patience, "Are you ever going to get to the point?"
Lin Sanjiu sighed, "Have you forgotten, or did you not tell me this yourself... After the people here die, there are no funerals, no resting in peace. They will just become nutrients... feeding the growth of new mushrooms."
Old Da from the Junkyard managed to acquire so many corpses because he knew that new mushrooms would sprout from those bodies. Lin Sanjiu still remembered that many of the corpses were elderly, indicating that the natural death rate was likely not low. Those who died naturally would have been buried casually in places where mushrooms needed to grow.
Bohemia turned her head, and there was a faint gleam in her golden-brown eyes.
"Like that?" She seemed unfazed by it. "You"re already dead; why should you care about how you"re buried? Other animals and plants go through the same process, don"t they? You people from the old world are so overly dramatic. Even when you"re dead, you still want to be encased in coffins with layers of chemicals. I"ve seen them; those coffins are impervious to worms, and even a hundred years later, you"ll find a corpse that looks like plastic. It"s just a huge, indestructible piece of garbage. To me, it seems like you folks from the old world are overly pampered."
Dr. Hu turned to look at Lin Sanjiu. While a cat can"t smile, its whiskers twitched for quite some time.
Even though Lin Sanjiu had antic.i.p.ated Bohemia"s nonchalant att.i.tude, she felt a bit fl.u.s.tered.
"What"s with all these bizarre burial practices across the Twelve Worlds? No, listen to me. Funerals are not just about being overly dramatic... They are a way for humans to comprehend life and death. Treating death like life, essentially, is because we cherish life so much that we cannot understand why it eventually ends. In other words, we hold our lives in such high regard that we regard death with such solemnity... We hope that death is just another facet of life."
She paused, took a deep breath, and noticed that Dr. Hu had fallen into a deep slumber, unable to keep its eyes open.
"Once the human psyche"s ambivalent att.i.tude towards death, which is both fearful and fascinated, disappears, death itself becomes insignificant. As a result, the psychological impact is that life doesn"t seem so precious anymore." Worried that Bohemia might not grasp the concept, she used an a.n.a.logy, "For instance, imagine you have a lover - okay, let me use a different example. Imagine you have a pair of earrings, and you feel like it doesn"t matter if you lose them. When you possess them, do you consider them rare?"
Bohemia shook her head, and her emerald-green stone-like earrings tinkled.
"That"s the second point I discovered. People in the mushroom society place great importance on the meaning of life but don"t really value life itself — it"s quite contradictory."
"How do you know this?" She was a bit incredulous.
"I"ve found several clues that confirm this," Lin Sanjiu answered promptly, relieved that Bohemia had asked. "For example, in the Lobster Body Repair Center, there are only very basic facilities like ointments, sickbeds, and bandages. It should serve as a replacement for hospitals, but, in reality, it can"t handle any slightly complicated illnesses. I found it strange when I took Puppeteer in. There were no doctors or nurses on duty, no medical equipment, and no emergency facilities. It doesn"t even compare to Exodus" medical room."
She raised her eyes, looking at the nearby Experience Hall with its closed doors, and said, "So, I just went through all the professions listed in the experience book. Garbage worker, strawberry farmer, writer, molecular disa.s.sembler... every occupation is there, except for doctors or nurses."
Bohemia pursed her lips and remained silent.
"Given how brutally Mei Jia was beaten, she should have been sent to a hospital, right? After all, she"s just a regular girl in terms of physique, with no evolution. But in her memories, she only "skipped school and rested at home"... That made me sure she didn"t go to a hospital because the people here don"t have the habit of going to hospitals."
"What happens if someone gets sick?" Bohemia asked, looking up.
"I guess the way they treat sick animals in the wild is how they handle people here," Lin Sanjiu answered matter-of-factly. "Possibly with slightly more extensive treatment options. The living conditions here are good, and people don"t fall ill easily - except for natural degeneration that comes with age."
Dr. Hu, who had suddenly opened its eyes at some point, interjected, "Exactly! Live until the day you die; why worry about it? I really don"t understand you people. You"re living well, but you"re obsessed with death..."
Bohemia stared at it but didn"t say anything. This might not be as impactful for children from the Twelve Worlds, who were already lacking proper medical care.
Lin Sanjiu decided to bring up another matter. "Do you remember that old lady?"
"How could I forget!" Bohemia"s expression changed.
"At the moment she opened the door, she looked perfectly fine. She wasn"t young, but she was still in good health. But when she recognized us as the wanted criminals from the TV... she started acting as if it was her last day. She kept making us recall the past, eating food she used to make as if her time was running out. What was even more astonis.h.i.+ng was that after reminiscing, she actually died - so suddenly."
Bohemia seemed to stand up straight, like an owl spotting something unusual. "You mean..."
"Yes, I finally understand now. She discovered we were wanted criminals and decided on the spot to sacrifice her own life to keep us here."
This statement naturally led to more questions. Bohemia didn"t hesitate and immediately asked, "Can a living person just choose to die like that? What do you mean when you say she used her life to keep us here?"
"The answer to your first question is yes," Lin Sanjiu pointed to her own temple, "The willpower produced by the human brain is enormous... If your brain doesn"t believe your left leg can move, you"ll genuinely become a cripple. Besides, her situation may be a bit different from ours. As for the second question, the answer is aimed at your next question. Do you remember what happened to the old lady"s body afterward? She didn"t become a zombie, even though her body did "move" to the window and snapped in half... At that time, something poured out of her body in large quant.i.ties. You should be able to guess what it was now, right?"
Bohemia hesitated for a moment and whispered, "Spores?"