C3 Devouring in the Dark

Lost in his memories, Situ Yu jumped at the unexpected voice. He looked around in a panic, but the darkness revealed nothing, and a wave of fear washed over him.

"Ghosts in a mine? This isn't a mass grave," Situ Yu muttered to himself, trying to shake off the fear.

Despite his searching, nothing turned up. He began to relax, convincing himself it was just an illusion. A head injury, too much blood loss—it had to be auditory hallucinations. Yes, that was it. He took a deep breath to steady his racing heart.

Before he could exhale, the mechanical voice interrupted again, "Would you like to activate medical treatment?"

A dry cough escaped his throat. This time, he was certain the voice was real. Situ Yu looked down and spotted an object the size of a quail egg, faintly glowing.

"A talking gem? Never heard of such a thing," he thought, bemused.

Cautiously, he reached out with his finger toward the egg-like object. As he came within a centimeter of it, the object sprouted tentacle-like appendages that latched onto his finger.

Startled, Situ Yu leapt up, flailing his arm in an attempt to throw off the oddity.

After a fruitless struggle, he realized the strange object wasn't doing anything else. He stopped flailing and examined the object in his hand.

"It looks like a mini glowing jellyfish with a round head," he mused.

Then, feeling a bit foolish, he asked the object, "Can you speak?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, he felt a twinge of embarrassment, his cheeks warming slightly—though it was invisible in the dark.

"Yes, host," came the reply.

Hearing this, Situ Yu's surprise was evident. Now he was sure the little thing was speaking.

Recalling its earlier words, he inquired, "What did you mean by 'medical treatment'?"

"Host, the star core has detected an abnormality in your current physical state. You've sustained a blunt force trauma to the head, resulting in bleeding. Without treatment, you stand to lose 15% of your total blood volume before the bleeding stops and a scab forms."

Situ Yu's heart skipped a beat at the news. Fifteen percent of his blood? How many bowls of rice would it take to replenish that? With that thought, he urgently addressed the star core, "Quick, treat me now!"

"Command acknowledged."

The star core on his finger began to squirm. Situ Yu felt a tickling sensation. Observing the star core closely, he saw it merging with his finger at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Situ Yu was stunned. "What in the world? What's this strange thing entering my body?"

Inside him, the star core made its unhurried way toward the pineal gland in Situ Yu's brain. Once there, it sprouted several ultra-fine tendrils that wriggled around the wound, quickly weaving a cellular spider web.

The web proliferated with cells, visibly mending Situ Yu's injuries.

The itching on his head subsided, and the severe pain diminished significantly.

In under a minute, his scalp was as good as new. Situ Yu felt no pain at all. He touched his head, pressing gently, then more firmly.

"It's not hurting anymore, not one bit, and there's no bleeding!" Situ Yu exclaimed in amazement.

"Repair of the host's cerebral cortex is complete. Mission accomplished. This treatment consumed 0.02% of energy, leaving a reserve of 0.07%. Please recharge the star core promptly!"

"What? That's all the energy left? Is this a second-hand product?" Situ Yu thought, disheartened.

"Host, refrain from speculative assumptions. The limited energy is due to the star core having been without a host for an extended period in the universe. It received no replenishment and eventually landed on this planet, home to only large animals and dense forests. With the main brain and most functions shut down, it operated on minimal energy consumption. Based on the remaining energy, it must have been over a hundred million years. Hence, the scant energy reserve."

The mechanical voice persisted, “Should the energy not be replenished before depletion, the star core will meet its end alongside its host.”

Upon hearing this, Situ Yu inwardly swore, “Damn it. What kind of junk have I stumbled upon? Even a Little Tyrant learning machine without batteries wouldn’t claim its owner’s life.”

“Hold on, I didn’t say that out loud. How does this piece of junk know what I’m thinking?”

“To clarify, this is a star core, not junk. The star core has now formed a mental link with the host, enabling direct communication through thought.” With that, the mechanical voice fell silent.

Stunned, Situ Yu couldn’t help but think, if this is how you play, you aliens really know how to have fun. He didn’t let his mind wander any further. Instead, he focused on a critical question: “How do I replenish the energy?”

This was a life-or-death situation that demanded his full attention. He had completely forgotten his current predicament, teetering on the brink of death. Even if the gash on his head had stopped bleeding, he was still trapped in a collapsed mine with no way out. Naturally, this detail had slipped his mind.

The mechanical voice echoed once more, “There are numerous methods to replenish energy: electrical, solar, kinetic, thermal, chemical, biological, nuclear, and so forth. Given the host’s limited scope of knowledge, I’ll spare you the details on the rest.”

Situ Yu’s expression soured as if he had just swallowed something foul.

“What’s that supposed to mean? Are you calling me dumb or uneducated? Well... it seems like both.” His spirits sank, and he slumped in defeat.

He scanned the darkness around him. How to replenish energy? No sun, no moon, no chance for solar energy. Kinetic energy? Should he run in circles like a hamster in a wheel to generate electricity? No, that’s absurd... Thermal energy? There wasn’t even a fire to harness. Chemical energy? He had no batteries to charge.

Biological energy? What even was that? Nuclear energy? He vaguely remembered something about nuclear power plants from books, but he’d never actually seen one. Mulling over these options with a heavy heart, Situ Yu’s enthusiasm waned once again.

The mechanical voice chimed in once more.

"Host, your recent scan detected minerals in the vicinity that contain energy. Would you like to absorb them?"

"What are you talking about? This is just a coal mine, isn't it? What energy could there possibly be? Hold on, don't tell me you're talking about the coal itself?"

Situ Yu inquired with a hint of hesitation, "Is it the coal nearby?"

"Indeed, host. The coal possesses a trace amount of energy, sufficient to supplement our energy reserves."

Situ Yu questioned with uncertainty,

"How am I supposed to devour it? Surely, I'm not expected to eat all this coal?"

His mind wandered off again,

"I've had my fair share of meals, but never anything like this dark, slippery stuff. If this star core really expects me to eat it, what then? To eat or not to eat?" His face twisted into an expression akin to the color of liver.

Star Core reassured him, "Host, you're overthinking it. I can absorb it on my own. There's no need for you to do anything."

Situ Yu's anxiety subsided considerably. His heart, which had been thumping wildly, steadied. His complexion, previously the shade of a pig's liver, improved significantly. He addressed the star core,

"Go ahead and devour it." He then looked around, curious to see how the star core would proceed.

Star Core confirmed, "Command acknowledged. Commencing the absorption of the surrounding low-level energy materials." What Situ Yu witnessed next was bizarre,

Several tentacle-like appendages sprouted from his arm, reaching out slowly to the surrounding area. The tentacles glowed faintly brighter as they grew. Inside them, a stream of light, similar to a small creek, flowed back towards his arm.

Situ Yu observed the process in silence. In less than five minutes, a considerable amount of space had cleared around him. He mused that this method was far superior to any mining machine.

After surveying the area, Situ Yu sensed something amiss. He took another look and abruptly yelled, "Stop, stop, stop! Cease the absorption immediately!"

Star Core complied, "Command halted. Energy reserves replenished by 0.2%." The extended tentacles slowly withdrew, assimilating back into Situ Yu's body. He was left in awe,

"This is some high-tech stuff. Wait a second, have I just turned into some kind of tentacle creature?"

Situ Yu promptly communicated with the Star Core,

"Listen, Star Core, can we be a bit more discreet with our absorption process? We're civilized beings; we can't have such a messy appearance. Could you absorb in a manner similar to mining tunnels? Otherwise, this method of absorption could create an even larger cavity. Not only could it potentially collapse again, but what if someone stumbles upon this odd space? Right?"

Situ Yu spoke with caution.

After a brief silence, the Starseed spoke again, "Taking into account the host's current environment, the intelligent devouring program will now be initiated. This program will emulate human biological mining methods. Would you like to activate this program?"

Situ Yu felt a wave of relief wash over him; at least he wouldn't be done in by this Starseed.

"Starseed, execute the program." The delicate tentacles reappeared, transforming into a path and voraciously consuming their way deeper into the mine.

At first, Situ Yu found the sight of the tentacles' fervent devouring quite fascinating. It reminded him of fluorescent willow catkins swaying in the dark. But the novelty soon wore off, and he grew bored. The rhythmic movement of the tentacles was almost hypnotic.

Gradually, Situ Yu's head began to nod off, like a pecking chicken, and before he knew it, several hours had slipped by.