C1 The Consequences of Eating Food Without Thinking

"Who am I? Where am I? What's happened to me?"

In the midst of a tropical rainforest drenched by a heavy downpour, Bao Guo slumped on the ground, soaked to the skin. Yet the rain was oddly warm, not chilly in the slightest. Speckles of sunlight filtered through the canopy above, making the sunshower surprisingly pleasant against his skin.

All of a sudden, a gigantic bug, as thick as his wrist, scuttled past his feet. Its black and red body reminded him of an insect he'd seen online—a mole cricket. But this thing was monstrous, a meter and a half long. And it reeked. Disgusting was an understatement.

"Ah!" Despite his usually unflappable nature, Bao Guo was terrified, scrambling backward so hastily that his backside ached from the effort.

"Crack!" His right hand had landed on something, eliciting a sharp snap. Turning slowly, Bao Guo's gaze fell upon a sight that sent a scream tearing from his throat, his soul nearly leaping out of his body in fright.

Before him lay a human skeleton, its decayed clothing barely recognizable. A rusted blade—sword or knife, it was hard to tell—lay discarded nearby. The skeleton was missing an arm and a leg, and Bao Guo had just crushed its shoulder blade to bits under his hand. Clearly, the bones' owner had been dead for quite some time.

His body felt unbearably heavy, yet his breathing was steady. He blamed the oppressive weight on the aftereffects of his recent unconsciousness, which severely limited his mobility. Running was out of the question, as was any vigorous movement.

The danger of his current situation was unmistakable: an unidentified, oversized insect, a human skeleton—who knew what else might lurk in this place? He needed to find a way to defend himself, and fast.

Reaching for the half-buried weapon beside the skeleton, he managed to grasp it, but lifting it was another matter entirely.

"Hiss, why is it so heavy?" It was only when he gripped the hilt that Bao Guo realized he couldn't lift it at all. The weapon wasn't metal; despite the rust-like stains, it seemed to be some sort of stone, akin to raw iron ore crudely fashioned into a weapon without any smelting or refinement. Bizarre, indeed.

Just then, a barely perceptible hum buzzed from nearby, startling Bao Guo. Without a weapon in hand, he decided to grab a stone—anything was better than being unarmed.

Amidst the torrential downpour, over a dozen dark red shapes, each the size of a coconut, were steadily advancing toward him through the air.

Bao Guo wiped the rain from his face for a clearer view and gasped in horror. His legs nearly buckled beneath him. The creatures flying at him were, unbelievably, mosquitoes.

"Mosquitoes? Are those really mosquitoes? They sure look like them, only magnified to an incredible size. Their abdomens alone are as big as coconuts. And those mouthparts, over ten centimeters long—if one of them stung me, could it be the end of me? No, I can't let that happen."

Talking to himself, Bao Guo waited until the creatures were less than five meters away before hurling the stone with all his might, yelling, "Get away! Get back! Don't come any closer!"

The throw was off the mark. Besides, the stone, the size of his fist, felt like it weighed a good five or six kilograms—utterly nonsensical. Everything here seemed unnaturally heavy, including those infernal mosquitoes. How could they even take flight with such massive bellies?

But this was no time for pondering such mysteries. If he didn't make a move, he was sure to face a grim fate. Yet, how could he run, and where to, in his current state? He felt as though he'd been submerged in water for three hours, just emerging, drained and heavy, his balance off-kilter. It seemed his only option left was to await his doom.

Suddenly, a wave of severe dizziness washed over him. Bao Guo stumbled and fell to the ground, just as a small, gray-and-white creature lunged at his back.

The trembling returned, that familiar sensation, but now his consciousness was fading in a different way. Bao Guo's mind was filling with something intangible, like a sudden influx of knowledge.

Memories, or perhaps disjointed images, began to flood his thoughts, relentlessly pressing into his mind. The overwhelming sensation nearly lulled him into sleep.

Everything transpired in the blink of an eye. As Bao Guo resigned himself to his fate and braced for death, he vanished. Vanishing along with him was the small grey-white creature poised to ambush him from behind.

...

"Hu~ Hu~ Hu~"

Harsh gasps echoed from the kitchen of Bao Guo's grandmother's house. There he lay on the concrete floor, gasping for air like a fish out of water, his eyes rolling back as his limbs twitched spasmodically. To any onlooker, it would seem as though he was in the throes of an epileptic seizure or some other medical emergency.

But Bao Guo alone understood the truth. He wasn't suffering from an illness; he was undergoing something that could only be described as parasitism, or more accurately, a fusion.

This ordeal could be attributed—or rather, blamed—on the egg he had greedily consumed. It was no ordinary egg, but rather the seed of the Void Crow, or in other words, its egg.

Despite the name 'crow,' it was no bird. Whether the Void Crow could fly was unknown to Bao Guo, but it was capable of freely traversing between two planes. This ability to shift planes wasn't without limits; it required energy, which meant it needed to feed to continue its travels.

Had Bao Guo not stumbled upon this white egg, its hatching would have spelled disaster for someone. The Void Crow, upon emerging, would seek out the nearest source of sustenance, making any living being its potential prey. Unlike the fragile chicks of Earth's avian species, the Void Crow lacked a physical form, rendering Earth's arsenal of weapons ineffective against a creature without corporeal existence. Its only foreseeable action, aside from consuming everything in its path, was unlikely to be anything less than catastrophic.

"So, have I just saved humanity? But what's happening to me—am I being parasitized, or am I merging with the Void Crow?"

Bao Guo sat on the ground, speaking to himself with a bewildered look. Rainwater dripped from his hair and chin, and his gaze was distant, unfocused, as the process of inheritance was still incomplete.

"That means the rainforest we were in before couldn't have been Earth, because the Void Crow, upon birth, would depart its original plane and leap to another to feed. Once mature, it would return to its birth plane to reproduce. So, what does that make me? Wait, am I... have I returned?"

The legacy of knowledge that had concluded in Bao Guo's mind left him with a mix of disdain for the knowledge itself and concern for the vulnerable Earth.

The Void Crow species was exceedingly rare, with lifespans that bordered on the infinite. While there were beings capable of killing them, such a feat was no easy task. These creatures lacked a spoken language, instead relying on a form of communication akin to telepathy or biological wavelengths like brainwaves.

Their memories, passed down through generations, focused on the essentials of survival: what to eat, how to eat it, and how much was needed to grow quickly, comfortably, and safely. Such instincts were fundamental to life, yet utterly irrelevant to Bao Guo, a human being.

"I still need to eat. Why do I feel like there's something edible behind me? What could it be? I've already scoured the house for anything edible." As Bao Guo turned around, his expression soured.

Lying dead on the ground behind him was an odd little creature with pigeon-grey fur, slightly larger than a lamb but almost the size of an adult goat. Most notably, this accursed creature had somehow followed him to Earth.

"But is this thing even edible?" Bao Guo scratched his head, his face a picture of despair. The creature resembled a rabbit, yet lacked the characteristic long ears, and its size made it an unusual beast to consider as food. Yet, he couldn't help but think it might taste good.

"Ah, what the heck. If I don't eat my fill, I can't travel through the void. And if that place isn't Earth, well, I'm quite curious to see what's out there. Who knows, it might just change my life." Bao Guo resolved.

He hoisted the little beast, estimating it to weigh between thirty to forty kilograms, and set to work. He fetched a large basin, skinned and deboned the creature, then chopped it into large chunks on the cutting board. It was a laborious process, especially for someone not trained in butchery. As for how to cook it, he decided to fry it up.

He poured the rest of the peanut oil into a large pot and stuffed the remaining firewood into the pot's base, which still held a dying flame.

Minutes later, the oil was sizzling, and Bao Guo tossed a large basin of meat, scrubbed clean after countless washings, into the fryer, eliciting a sharp hiss.

"Hiss, it actually smells pretty good. I just don't know how it'll taste. If only we had some cumin powder, that would be perfect," he mused, the aroma not at all offensive. In fact, it was oddly enticing.

After several rounds of frying, the meat turned a deep golden brown, its rich scent permeating the house. Despite its odd appearance, the fragrance was far from repulsive.

Forty minutes of cooking later, the house was awash with the aroma. Once the stainless steel basin was nearly full, Bao Guo decided it was time to wrap things up. Setting aside the creature's peculiar looks, the scent wafting from it was surprisingly agreeable.

"I can't resist anymore; this smell is too alluring."

With a snap, Bao Guo broke off a small rib and, despite the heat making him yelp, the irresistible aroma compelled him to take a bite.

"Hiss, that's delicious! Aside from the earthy undertone, there's no weird aftertaste. It's even got a hint of sweetness. Yum!"

Having polished off the small creature, Bao Guo felt a twinge of regret. "Tasty, but there are too many stones inside. And they're odd, all crystalline."

While cleaning the creature's abdomen and head, he was meticulous, knowing that overlooking something could be dangerous. He unearthed three pale green stones, the largest the size of a kidney bean, the smallest like a green bean, all tinged with shades of green, from pale to dark. Under the light, they were quite conspicuous.

"I'll keep these. They're a memento from my first meal in that world. I'll find a box for them later. But first, I need to consider how to safely return and explore more. That world might be key to my future fortunes. It all starts today. Ha!"

He started by using his removed T-shirt to bundle up the leftover bones, offal, and fur. Of course, he wouldn't just toss the shirt, but he also refused to use a plastic bag and throw it all into that other world—that would be a serious lack of civic responsibility.

And concerning the wild beasts that had followed him from another realm, could they carry bacteria or viruses capable of wiping out humanity? Well, he had already devoured everything, so pondering that now seemed pointless, didn't it?

Besides, he was merely an ordinary guy, fresh out of trade school. He didn't believe he possessed the power to annihilate mankind. Even if he did, he wouldn't exercise it. But if he inadvertently doomed the entire planet, he could only offer an apology for his impotence and unintended mistake.

The decrepit general store had long been closed, yet sounds of searching and overturning items echoed from within.

"Watermelon knife, Grandpa's old padded coat, leather gloves, fleece-lined work boots, a large pot lid, and my own motorcycle helmet. Hmm, that should do it."

Gazing at his reflection, Bao Guo felt ridiculous. In his left hand, he held a large pot lid; in his right, a watermelon knife over 20 centimeters long. He was decked out in a black padded jacket over three layers of jeans, with steel-toed work boots on his feet. Dressed like this, stepping outside might just leave onlookers in stitches.

"I think I'm ready. Let's hit the road. Here I come, whatever world you are, hahahaha."