Chapter 345: Music Box??
"It stopped again..."
"What in the world is it trying to do?"
If it wanted to eat them, it could have just stuffed the spaceship in its mouth. Why did it have to torment them?
Everyone on the spaceship was utterly demoralized.
Thankfully, the cleaning bots were still functional. Otherwise, with so much vomit, the smell would have been unimaginably foul.
Everyone desperately wanted to go back to their cabins to clean up, but they couldn’t.
Because if their suspicions were correct, it wouldn’t be long before that giant tree started shaking them again.
And with each successive shake, they could clearly sense the tree’s displeasure, which was gradually turning into rage.
No one knew what it wanted.
When the shaking started again, Jiang Qin felt dizzy, as if she were spinning and spinning endlessly...
For some reason, she was suddenly reminded of a music box.
An old-fashioned music box, the kind that plays a song when you turn the crank, with a little ballerina on top, spinning ceaselessly.
’Wait a minute...’
’Could it be... that we’re the music box right now?’
Regardless of whether her guess was right, the moment the tree stopped shaking, Jiang Qin quickly opened her Light Computer and played some music.
It did grow quiet outside, but they weren’t sure if it was because the tree was just resting or because of the music.
It wasn’t until fifteen minutes had passed that someone said in pleasant surprise, "Is it going to stop shaking?"
"Could it be because of the music?"
"Can it actually hear it? Or is it just tired?"
"Whatever the reason, everyone, secure yourselves now and drink some nutrient liquid."
Lan Yuyan looked worriedly at Jiang Qin’s pale face and asked, "Do you want to go lie down in the Medical Pod for a bit?"
Jiang Qin shook her head. She felt okay, just a little dizzy and nauseous.
But the others had all suffered minor injuries to some extent. They needed the Medical Pod more than she did.
Besides, she had drunk quite a few Physique-enhancing potions. She might look a little delicate on the surface, but in reality, she felt her body was probably stronger than any of the males’.
"Why don’t you two go put on some ointment?"
Lan Yuyan nodded but didn’t leave her side. "I’ll just drink a vial of basic healing potion right here."
"Sister, I’m not leaving either."
They were both afraid that the moment they left, that thing would start shaking the spaceship again.
Jiang Qin, after all, was a vulnerable pregnant woman. They didn’t dare to imagine how horrible it would be if she was slammed against the ship’s inner walls.
So, the two of them adamantly refused to leave her.
Lan Yuyan couldn’t even be bothered to call out Lan Yan for his close contact with Jiang Qin.
’Under normal circumstances, he would have tossed a younger brother who coveted his sister-in-law onto a mining planet to dig ore.’
「...」
As it turned out, their fears were not unfounded.
The calm lasted less than half an hour. The giant tree outside seemed even more agitated. It wasn’t just shaking them anymore—after letting out a few roars, it started smashing the spaceship.
BANG! BANG! BANG!—
Although many people were strapped down, many of the males were still untethered inside the cabin.
So the sounds of bodies colliding with the hull rang out again.
"AHHHH—" Even though they were mentally prepared, everyone was still terrified by the sudden shaking.
"Damn it, why did it start again?!"
"Hurry up and think of something! Doesn’t it want to listen to music?"
"SOB SOB SOB— I’d rather be swallowed by an Alien Beast than be tortured to death by a tree!"
Amidst the violent shaking, Jiang Qin was also thinking, ’Why did the tree suddenly start up again?’
’Since it rested for so long after hearing the music, it must have had an effect.’
’So why did it suddenly get impatient?’
’Did it get tired of listening, or did it just not like that last song?’
At this thought, she quickly switched the song.
The spaceship paused for a moment, then resumed shaking and smashing.
"Fuck, if it keeps smashing us, the ship’s going to break!"
’Why?! Just why???’
Jiang Qin switched through several more songs—some she had sung, some by other singers, and even some by Imperial Mermaid Beastmen—but the giant tree didn’t stop.
Finally, she decided to try singing herself.
Because the ship was still shaking, she couldn’t sing anything difficult. She couldn’t even sing properly.
So, she simply chose to sing a cappella:
"The summer wind, I will always remember,
Saying so clearly that you love me.
I saw your cool smile,
And the moments when you were shy..."
The spaceship’s shaking stopped, but Jiang Qin didn’t dare to stop singing.
Her gentle, fresh voice, stripped of instrumental accompaniment, highlighted the ethereal quality of her singing even more.
"Yeah, en~"
After a simple hum, she walked to the window, looked outside, and sang:
"The July wind is lazy,
Even the clouds have turned warm..."
Wen Xueli whispered to her partner, "It... it stopped."
"Mm," her partner replied with a slight nod.
Everyone fell silent, not daring to disturb the young woman by the window who was gazing intently at the night sky and singing her heart out.
「...」
When the song ended, Jiang Qin stopped.
She saw with her own eyes that the moment her voice fell silent, the great tree’s roots stirred.
They twisted a few times, as if in agitation.
Seeing the roots binding the spaceship begin to writhe, Jiang Qin quickly played a backing track. She had no time to choose, just singing whatever came on.
Sure enough, it stopped again.
Now everyone understood.
The giant tree did want to hear music, but it didn’t want to hear songs played by the Light Computer. It only wanted to hear Jiang Qin sing live.
But even with this understanding, everyone’s hearts remained heavy.
After all, Jiang Qin was a person, not a machine.
People get tired, and their voices can give out.
If they couldn’t find a way out before Jiang Qin could no longer sing, they would still ultimately face death.
Watching Jiang Qin’s slender figure, Wen Xueli was the first to lose heart. Her eyes softened as she said:
"We’re doomed to die anyway. Why don’t we just give up? We can end it ourselves. That way, we won’t have to live under the threat of death anymore."
’And Qin Bao won’t have to suffer anymore.’
No one said a word. After all, not everyone had the courage to give up their own life voluntarily.
Being unable to live, not wanting to live, and wanting to die were three very different things.
Just then, Jiang Qin began to sing "Courage."
"Finally, I’ve made this decision,
I don’t care what others say.
As long as you are just as sure,
I’m willing to follow you to the ends of the earth..."
Although the courage in the song wasn’t the same as the courage they needed now, the words still resonated in everyone’s hearts.
"Actually... Miss Wen has a point. Even if Miss Jiang can sing for a long time, it’s only delaying our deaths."
"Yeah. Instead of passively letting a monster decide our fate, it’s better to take life and death into our own hands."
"No one has ever survived an encounter with a Cosmic Beast in space..."
"We were all mentally prepared for this, really. So we aren’t afraid of death."
Lan Yuyan let out a humorless laugh. "You’re not afraid of death, but when someone is buying you time, you can’t even think about how to survive?"
"But... that’s a Cosmic Beast!"
"So what? Maybe we’ll be the only ones to ever survive an encounter with a Cosmic Beast."