act31side

A thunderous clash of the drum rings from behind the Shennong shrine, thicker than heavier than the bell just now. The farmers stop to listen to the twelve drum beats that announce the hour of noon.

The first beat brings the spring rain and cracks the frozen earth.

The second beat cracks like spring thunder and causes brown branches to sprout green again.

The twelfth beat covers the rich earth with prosperous snow.

The farmer raises his stick and delivers the final beat—

Bang!

Harvest—!

Harvest!

Firecrackers like strings of red peppers are lit, exploding in joyful golden light and assaulting the eardrums.

The sound of firecrackers is soon replaced by engines rumbling, driving into the fields that stretch as far as the eye can see.

The fields are like golden cakes and farmers like frosting, starting on the edges and creating joyful tracks.

As tires leave their trails in the mud, the harvesters spew golden waves from their rears, tiny particles mixed with the occasional clump of grass and dirt.

Kaoliang liquor? Just bought it at the fair.

Laoshi will have your head if she finds out you're drinking on the job.

All we're doing is watching the water levels and keeping track of a few numbers. I could have three bottles in me and still catch any unusual data with one glance—

Hey, am I actually drunk? Cross-check that Originium level in the silt for me.

What the...?

Close the gate—

BOOM—

A crack of summer thunder overhead causes the clouds to tremble.

The farmers standing on the levees look up at the sound. All they see is the sun over their heads, its rays reflecting off the water in the paddies.

Why did you follow me? Shouldn't you be playing the flute for the opera?

You were the one who sneaked out.

Why do you always come here with food by yourself during the Shennong Festival? Did you come to visit the mute uncle?

Who is he? Why doesn't he live with the others?

He has an illness that he's afraid he could pass onto others. That's why he moved here on his own.

Oh...

The others are all afraid of him. Aren't you, Grain Buds?

Well, a little...

I saw him when I was looking for Mianmian a few days ago. He wasn't as scary as people say. It's just the way he looks, and the axe he carries.

But I can tell he's not a bad man. When he's angry, he glares at me the same way Xiaohe glares at the students who don't do their homework.

You're a smart kid.

Stray stockbeast foals become aggressive and distrustful.

But it doesn't take long for them start acting like the normal when they've spent some time eating and playing with other stockbeasts.

Maybe that uncle will be happier if he has someone talking to him. It's sad that he has to be in this place by himself.

There are so many Tianshis in Dahuang. Can't any of them cure his illness?

Someday, maybe.

Shu... does his illness have something to do with the monsters in the legends?

Why do you ask?

There's this dream I've had more than once.

It takes place right here on this levee, and sometimes I see that mute uncle standing on it.

In the dream, the weather gets really bad, sometimes very dry, sometimes raining heavily, and the wind brings strange things from the other side of the river...

All the seedlings in the fields die, and the granaries run out of grain...

Have you... ever told this to anyone?

Whoa! Thunder?

Run, Grain Buds. Hurry back.

Rain...?

Rain... not that unusual this season, is it?

Something's not right with the skies...

Who cares? *hic* The Tianshis didn't say anything. Can't be Catastrophe—

Just disappointing that a day like this is spoiled by rain.

The water in the paddies looks muddy...

No!

What's the matter? Where are you going?

The actors are still singing on stage. Thunder rumbles with the drums, and massive raindrops fall on the ground like the drumsticks falling on the drums.

Dark clouds gather rapidly like spilled ink, lightning flashing as they clash with one another to form what looks like an enormous, black monstrosity.

A torrent spills from the clouds. The dust stirred in the fields is quickly drowned under the deluge.

A small cluster of Originium bloom in the fields.

The rice stalks look down towards this tiny black flower.

How many more times must we see this?

Newly-sprouted seedlings, stalks bending from the weight of grain, branches filled with fruit... all gone before Catastrophe.

Locusts, draughts, blizzards, frost, floods...

Frost in early spring almost wiped out the seedlings. It took all our effort to preserve a small portion of them.

What will it take to feed everyone?

A sudden rain has drowned any festive spirit.

The rain begins to subside, but not the water accumulated in the fields, which has reached ankle depth.

How could so much water accumulate so quickly?!

It's turbid... did the rain carry dirty mud from upstream? It's going to pollute the fields!

Gai si de! What are they doing at the construction site? Drain the damned thing already!

This is bad! The dam's burst!

Ta ma de! You've gotta be kidding me!

What's going on?

Apparently, an Originium vein upstream exploded, sending fragments down the river that got caught in the machinery, blowing a hole in the dam.

Why didn't anyone notice?!

The water levels were normal. We didn't detect any unusual Originium reactions, or expect the Originium activity to be so irregular...

Jiangui de... during flood season, no less.

The water is filled with Originium silt. It's going to wreak havoc on the crops, maybe even cause infection.

Everyone be careful! Dam repairs will take time. Get people downstream to block the flow!

The current is getting faster. What do we do if the entire dam collapses?

What do you think we can do? Stop it with your Arts, your lives!

The polluted water continues to spread. The fields are already filled with mud.

Step on it! More sandbags!

We need to protect the experiments in this field! Don't let it get flooded!

Aiya! Your specialty is playing with sand, isn't it? Get to it!

You're the one who plays with sand! My specialty is soil analysis! Ai, I'll do what I can!

Farmers and Tianshis line up to deliver sandbag after sandbag to the banks, scrapping together a makeshift dam with Originium Arts.

There is one last gap in it.

Gah... I can't...

The youth leaps up with a bag of sand in his arms and tries to block the gap, but a gust of wind stops him in his tracks.

What are you doing?!

That water is mixed with Originium-filled mud! Are you trying to get infected?

It's my job to protect the people...

You think everyone needs your protection? You're different from the people standing here because why?

I—

How can I help?

The flood is caused by a burst dam. It's overwhelmed the field's drainage system.

We're in flood season, and it'll take time to repair it. The situation will only get worse if we don't do something.

You're a Messenger, right? Are you fast?

I suppose... what do you need me to do?

Someone needs to take charge in this chaos.