Chapter 6: The Roots Remember
The next morning started weird.
The chickens were missing.
Not all of them—just the rude ones.
Alex stood by the coop, scratching his head as Jun and Meilin checked the ground for tracks.
"I'm tellin you," Jun said, "they walked out. These prints look like... like chicken feet, but organized."
Meilin frowned. "Organized?"
"Yeah," Jun said. "Like a squad formation."
Alex blinked. "My chickens formed a military unit?"
Jun shrugged. "Weirder things happened."
Alex turned to the system. "System, confirm chicken location."
"Five chickens currently traveling west at 2.3 km/h. Pattern: tactical wedge."
He squinted at the sky. "...I really gotta stop givin them high-spirit feed."
Meanwhile, deeper under the farm, the thing in the dark kept shiftin.
Not fast. Not urgent. But steady—like a drum beatin once every ten seconds. Each thump made the hill tremble just a bit.
Alex felt it in his teeth.
At breakfast, he couldn't even finish his tea.
Jun poured more. "You okay?"
"Yeah," Alex said. "Just... the earth's too loud lately."
Meilin looked out the window. "You think that thing is gonna burst out like some cultivator horror story?"
"Hope not," Alex muttered. "I just fixed the fence."
Later that day, Alex tried distractin himself by doin actual farming again.
Not the fancy spiritual stuff—just real dirt, simple seeds, sweat on the back.
Jun helped, though he accidently summoned a blade of wind that chopped off part of a plum tree.
"Sorry!" he yelped. "It was reflex!"
Alex stared at the ruined branch. "System, remind me to make a Reflex Suppression Headband for this guy."
"Noted. Adding to workshop list."
Meilin stood nearby, arms crossed. "You sure you're a farmer?"
Alex looked up from the soil. "Lady, I've got dirt under nails older than your whole sword style."
She rolled her eyes—but smiled a little.
That night, a root popped up through the floorboard in the chicken hut.
It wasn't dead.
It wiggled.
Liuna screamed.
Alex arrived in seconds, pants still halfway on, staff glowin faintly.
"What happened?!"
Liuna pointed at the root.
It twitched again.
Alex blinked. "...Okay. That's new."
"Alert: Memory root resonance detected. Farm reacting to deep trauma signature."
Jun leaned in. "What's a memory root?"
Alex sighed. "It's a root that stores old emotions. Sometimes it leaks... nightmares."
Meilin raised an eyebrow. "Your farm has PTSD?"
Alex deadpanned. "Wanna see what happens if I grow onions while sad?"
Everyone: "...Nope."
The next few days were strange but peaceful.
The chickens returned—wearin tiny leaf armor Alex definitely didn't make.
The crops glowed brighter, as if encouragin the humans to smile again.
And even the roots seemed to hum softer.
But every night, Alex still walked the boundary.
One hand on his staff.
The other on the soil.
Listenin.
Because no matter how fun the day was... the roots remembered.
And somethin beneath them still dreamed of wakin up.