BXBX NOVEL Chapter 219 - 219 – Regret
Four of my colonists\' horses were tied to a large tree while Kat cleaned the stable. The other three horses were obtained after raiding Jia\'s nomad group. Fortunately, unlike the horses that had been purchased from the merchants of the Acornhull tribe, the three horses had been trained to be able to be ridden by humans.
Not long after, Gwen passed the amber-eyed woman with staggering steps.
"Are you all right?" Kat asked, noticing Gwen\'s pale face dotted with dark bags under her eyes.
"Do you have to ask that every day, Kat?" Gwen smiled faintly. "Well, if I said I was fine, of course, I would be lying. I have lied to you for seven days. But don\'t worry, I\'ll try to sleep now."
The incident that happened to the merman kingdom still haunts Gwen. She couldn\'t sleep for several days, and her appetite was poor. I\'m worried about her condition, but talking to her directly is no longer possible. She didn\'t want to talk to me anymore. Even if he wanted to, that was also impossible.
I checked the blonde woman\'s stats.
[Gwen Quinney, 22 years old (Colonist)]
STATS:
Ranged attacks: 48/100
Melee attacks: 9/100
Construction: 7/100
Crafting: 70/100**
Cook: 5/100
Plants: 1/100
Mining: 1/100
Animals: 1/100
Medic: 85/100
Psychic: 92/100
TRAITS:
Fast Learner – Gwen can learn things much faster than anyone else.
Nocturnal – Gwen prefers to be active at night. Her mood will be reduced when awake during the day.
Night Vision – Gwen can see clearly in the dark.
Slow Shooter – Gwen took more time to aim, but her accuracy got better because of it.
Nudist – Gwen enjoys the feeling of freedom that comes from being nude. She can handle clothing but will be happier without it.
Exhibitionist – Gwen likes to show her naked body to others, especially the opposite sex. Occasionally she would do so without warning.
The woman\'s Psychic stats, as well as her nudist and exhibitionist traits, were grayed out, a sign that they were all off. Her depression deactivated her psychic stat, and she couldn\'t enjoy what she loved anymore.
So, she won\'t be able to see me even if she wants to.
"Is there anything I can do for you?" Kat asked again, still with her expressionless face.
Gwen widened her smile. "Nothing, Kat. However, thank you for worrying about me."
The blonde-haired woman came to the emergency shelter and lay down there without bothering to take off her clothes. Everyone at work – Manu and Yvonne making the bricks, Tom and Eric building the house, Seb and Alice watering the plants, and of course Kat – looked at Gwen together. Only Leva and Miro weren\'t there. They carry out their respective duties outside the colony area. Leva is mining, and Miro is taking clay further afield, as the lake is polluted.
I\'m sure they must be worried about Gwen. Even though Alice, Yvonne, and Tom hadn\'t known the blonde girl that long, I guess they felt the same way. Because of Gwen\'s sacrifice, the three of them were free from Jia\'s nomadic group.
But, all of this has happened. I\'ve learned a lot. Regretting all this constantly won\'t do me any good.
"All of you, continue your work." I sighed, and after that, the colonists began to return to their respective activities.
However, Alice faced the other way instead.
"What\'s that?" The woman with the braided hair stared into the distance.
Seb narrowed his eyes in the same direction. "I do not know …. And my eyesight is a bit lacking, so I can\'t see clearly."
I choked. It looked like a creeping merman, complete with its protective armor, but this time its lower body was in the shape of a tail instead of two legs.
"What the fuck." Manu hissed, also stopping his work. "Is it a merman? Did he survive the explosion?"
Tom lined the bearded man. "Should we save him?"
"No, stay here! You should kill him now!" I gave orders to my colonists. "Kat, take the sniper rifle and shoot him."
Kat froze.
"Go! What are you waiting for, Kat!?" I screamed in frustration.
The amber-eyed woman finally ran to the warehouse accompanied by her dog.
"We can\'t get close to him." Eric joined in. "Maybe it\'s emitting radiation from his body. Look, he doesn\'t look all right."
"You said we should kill him?" Yvonne chimed in, and it immediately drew the attention of the others.
Hearing the commotion, Gwen opened her eyes and looked in the direction the merman had arrived. The woman\'s eyes immediately widened. "Re\'i!"
"No, Gwen! Don\'t go near him!" I shouted at the woman. "The radiation in his body could kill you!"
However, Gwen still stood up and ran towards the merman king.
"Hey, you guys don\'t just stand still! Stop Gwen from getting close to that creature!!!" I\'m getting frustrated with the situation.
Except for Seb, who could only stand shaking, all of my colonists immediately restrained Gwen\'s body. Of course, Gwen tried to escape, but her strength was clearly outmatched by her fellow colonists.
"Let me go! Let me go!" Gwen was screaming hysterically.
Then, Kat came out of the warehouse, walking forward while aiming with the sniper rifle.
"Shoot to one point. If the bullet doesn\'t go through, shoot again at the same point." I gave instructions in a trembling voice.
This must be done for the safety of my colonists.
"Nooo!!! What are you doing, Kat!? Don\'t shoot him!!!" Gwen\'s voice grew louder. Kat had walked a few yards in front of the blonde woman, then crouched down to shoot. "He\'s totally innocent, Kat!!!"
"Don\'t listen to Gwen, Kat! Shoot him now!!!" I snapped again. "He will be a threat to you and your friends!!!"
However, Kat never pulled the trigger on her rifle. Now his body was shaking violently. If I could, I\'d take the weapon and shoot it myself.
"We have destroyed the kingdom! Now you guys are blocking me from hearing his last words!?" Gwen burst into tears. "You guys are crazy!"
And with those words, my colonists loosened their grips, allowing Gwen to break free, running to the merman king. I can only stand still, staring at it in silence.
"Re\'i!" Gwen approached the king, whose armor was already covered in rust. The blonde-haired girl crouched, immediately choked when she saw the king\'s face. The half-face of the half-fish creature was now covered with scarlet sores and lumps filled with disgusting liquid. There was even one big lump that made his left eye unable to open.
Re\'i pressed one of the buttons on his bracelet, then the water inside his helmet shrunk. With Gwen\'s help, he removed the helmet. Without further ado, Gwen pressed her forehead to the king.
"Your Majesty, what happened to you?" Gwen asked tearfully.
Ah, his psychic abilities are back again. Maybe it\'s this emotional state that makes her like that.
But, this is a dangerous condition. I still can\'t get my other colonists to take Gwen away.
"I don\'t know. All of a sudden, there was a tremendous explosion in the lake where my kingdom is." Re\'i wore a big smile. "I don\'t know what it was, but what is clear is that the explosion made everyone in my kingdom sick. In a short time, many of them died. I was still able to survive because I was in a kingdom that had an extra level of protection, but in the end, I was hit too."
"I-I\'m sorry to hear that."
"I knew that I would die. So, I came here to give you my last message, Gwen." Re\'i\'s eyes that were still open started to shed tears. "Well, it\'s a bit difficult to escape from the royal guards because they think swimming to the shore of the lake will make me sicker. Well, what they say is true."
"My apologies, Your Majesty." Gwen took a deep breath.
"Huh? Why are you apologizing again? You weren\'t the one who made all of this happen."
"One of us did it." Gwen\'s tears flowed harder.
Re\'i was silent for a while. "What? What did you say? Don\'t be joking at a time like this, Gwen."
"I am not lying. One of my friends did, and I apologize for that."
For the second time, the king fell silent. The smile on his face was now completely gone.
"Why?" The king asked. His tears also flowed more and more.
This time, it was Gwen who fell silent.
"You know how many died in my kingdom? From children to adults, they suffer before they die, Gwen. Their screams of pain became a nightmare to me." Re\'i shook his head. "Please tell me why are you doing this, Gwen? Is it because you don\'t like me so much? Because I\'m a half-fish creature?"
"Again, I\'m sorry." Gwen\'s breath started to get out of control. "It wasn\'t me who did that, but someone from my group. However, you could say I was guilty of not being able to prevent it. And that reason my friend…. You will not understand, Your Majesty. I can only say, I have absolutely no ill will towards you and your kingdom…."
Gwen opened her eyes, then turned her head away from the merman king. Re\'i\'s gaze had gone blank.. His hands fell limp.