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Chapter 321: Chapter 34, Episode 12: Novatopia

Stipa Calamagrostis belonged to the Chenopodiaceae plant species, commonly found in the Ennedi Plateau and surrounding deserts. As a last resort to relieve their hunger, even camels would eat the grass that was as tough as an oak tree bark. The locals would twist the Stipa Calamagrostis grass to make ropes or use them as sleeping mats.

The Sahara Desert was 5,600 kilometers from east to west, covering a large land area from the Red Sea to the Atlantic Coast. Its plant species also varied according to the different terrains. The Libyan Desert continued for 1,000s of kilometers without a single grass. On the other hand, the Ennedi that Black Mamba had decided on was full of life, unlike its barren appearance.

Plants didn’t grow properly in desert regions like ergs or pediments. There were limited tree species like tamarisks and acacias. Grasses were more adaptive than trees. Acutiflora, cornulaca monacantha, Stipa Calamagrostis, and several types of invasive grass and ice plants specially adapted to droughts were commonly found along wadis.

Ice plants evolved to the point that they had become completely rootless. Amusingly, they stored large amounts of water when it rained to sustain themselves for several months. Their plump leaves would become a water source for camels or herbivorous animals that survived without enough water.

To block the wind coming in from the south-east, Nejma built a circular wall by digging into the sand with a shovel. He dug up at least 50 centimeters of sand and laid enough dried grass to fill it. He even wove the Stipa Calamagrostis skillfully into a pillow. He tried his best so that his wakil could rest comfortably.

“Wakil, please rest well,” Nejma said with a shy smile, covered in sweat.

“Good work.”

It was a rare luxury that a young kid built with his sweat. Black Mamba delightfully sat on the comfortable bed and laid down. The kid behaved just like Ombuti. If Ombuti was an unstoppable uncle, that Nejma kid could be his smart cousin. Surrounded by the fresh scent of grass, Black Mamba immediately dozed off.

“Huh, look at those guys.”

Professor Orifice nudged Professor Shernion, who was busy clicking away at the camera.

“They’re like a king and a servant. I doubt that strong black guy’s a human.”

Nejma spread a tarp to cover Black Mamba’s face. Next to them, Samedi was catching ants and shoving them into his mouth. Not even flies could avoid Samedi’s hands. With one swat of his large hand, a fly dropped to the ground. Professor Shernion pressed on the shutter. It was too rare a sight to miss.

“Ugh!”

Professor Shernion’s gag reflex activated. Even Professor Orifice turned his head away when Samedi grabbed a passing scorpion, shoved it into his mouth, and munched on it.

The sun descended over the western horizon. An orange-red light filled the sky. The desert’s sunset was unusually distinct and lasted quite a while. That was because the air was clear. Sometimes, when the fine sand carried by the Sahara wind soared into the atmosphere, one could also see the clear sky in hues of orange-red and dark purple.

“Sir Ddu-bai-buru-pa, I think we’ll have to substitute our meal with vegetable soup and C-rations.”

“Do what you can. We can’t enjoy a feast out in the desert, now, can we?” Black Mamba nonchalantly answered as he focused on the sunset.

The fact that they could enjoy soup in the Sahara Desert itself was a luxury.

The sand and sandstone pillars burned red in the sunset. The red sky and ground met at the horizon. The dreamlike scenery made him stand from where he sat.

“I’m going on a walk. Make sure you boil the water from the puddles. There are parasites inside.”

Black Mamba walked away, leaving his group of friends who were busy preparing for the night. If he was lucky, he could bring back an ostrich for a barbecue party.

Samedi and Nejma followed him like it was natural. Ahmad and Jamal, who had their spots filled, stared at each other and broke into smiles. A half-immortal guard and a smart servant stood by their master. It would only tire their master out if they insisted on following too.

“But why is that guy carrying around his shovel?” Jamal tilted his head.

“It seems like he considers it his weapon.”

Jamal nodded at Ahmad’s reply. It was understandable why Samedi would consider the reinforced stainless steel shovel as his weapon.

“It’s the birth of a shovel warrior.”

Although Jamal was joking, Samedi would end up using the shovel as his weapon.

If one was asked to make a list of animals living in the desert, the common answers would be foxes, scorpions, snakes, lizards, beetles, and ants. Still, only a variety of animals lived in the Sahara desert, depending on the region. There were gazelles, hyenas, jackals, rodents, hedgehogs, ostriches, owls, and many more. There were even alligators and baboons in the Ennedi Plateau. Since there weren’t many of them, they were hardly seen. Of course, a large number of flies and ants populated the desert. Then there were also grasshoppers.

“I’ll want nothing more if I can just have a glass of ice-filled coke. This desert’s as unlikable as it’s likable,” Black Mamba complained.

His throat was parched. No matter how tightly he wrapped his face, sand as fine as flour kept entering. Even the drinking water on their Jeep was three days past its expiration date. It was hot and smelly. He missed drinking coke, with its fizz and foam.

“What’s that?”

He pulled out a plate buried under the sand.

[l’utilisation propre/France Agence pour]

“For France government’s use/usage. What? Samedi, dig.”

“O-ka-y.”

Samedi started showcasing his key talent, digging. Nejma, who had experienced the onslaught of sand previously, moved further back. Samedi disappeared into the ground instantly.

Clang—

The shovel hit a hard object.

“Samedi, dig that out, and that only.”

At the order, Samedi dug a rectangular shape out of the sand.

“Huh, it’s a well!” he exclaimed unknowingly.

A cement structure appeared three meters below. It was a well, covered up by sand. It was a water hub built by France when they had power over Chad.

“I need to check this.”

Black Mamba jumped into the well filled with dry sand.

Whoosh—

The sand, which was pushed away by his resonance waves, soared into the air. He slowly sunk into the well like a beetle digging into the sand.

“Huh!”

Nejma took a deep breath at the incredible sight. The uncles had mentioned that wakil was God’s apostle, and they weren’t lying. Nejma dropped to his knees and started praying.

Five meters into the digging, he could feel the damp air. He couldn’t go any further.

Whoosh—

Black Mamba jumped out, accompanied by a shower of sand. He wanted to examine further with his resonance waves. However, he was tired, and it was late. It was the best time to sleep and replenish energy.

The well’s location was engraved in Black Mamba’s memory. He was a god-level sniper. Although he wasn’t as smart as the Bedouins who lived in the desert for generations, he could remember any location in the desert without using any marker.

“Nejma, let’s return.”

Although he didn’t find any ostrich, that was a much more valuable find. It was unfortunate, but he turned away.

Without spreading his dimensional sight, Black Mamba could hear constant vibrations and the sand sliding. That was the sound of a lizard running away in fear of a human’s presence. Even though it was a reptile, lizard meat was edible. The bellmesti smoked meat was especially sweet and juicy, reminiscent of a chicken.

Black Mamba shoved the dart back into his suit. There were 10 members in his group. A little bellmesti smoked meat wouldn’t do much to relieve their hunger.

“Morcha! Morcha!”

Amid his walk, Nejma looked at the ground and suddenly screamed. Black Mamba turned around. There were hoof marks of a four-legged animal on the sandy gravel floor. It was presumably large according to the size of the hoofs and the dents it left behind. A faint animal odor drifted in the air. It hadn’t been long since it passed.

“How can there be gazelles here?”

Gazelles weren’t like lizards or scorpions. What could they survive on in a desert without grass or water?

Black Mamba only said that because he didn’t know there were three kinds of gazelles in the Sahara. The Dorcas gazelles, otherwise called the Robert doe by Frenchmen, were small and weighed 15 kilograms. The Oryx gazelles were large species with large horns that weighed over 150 kilograms. The Addax gazelles were also called the screwhorn antelopes and weighed around 100 kilograms.

The Addax gazelles were herbivores adjusted to desert conditions, and most of them inhabited the Ennedi Plateau and Mordi basin to the north-west. Their round hoofs differentiated themselves from the Dorcas gazelles and Oryx gazelles. The “morcha” mentioned by Nejma was a local term for the Addax gazelles.

Boom—

Black Mamba released his dimensional sight. He detected a creature moving from at least 1,500 meters to the south. His dimensional sight ability improved after spending over a month wandering the underground caves in Syria’s northern regions. He could detect anything that moved within a radius of three kilometers. Of course, he could accurately draw out their location and shape as long as they stayed within a radius of 500 meters.

“Samedi, there’s meat over there. Bring it over.”

Black Mamba pointed.

“I-will-catch-meat.”

Samedi leaped forward from the ground. Clouds of white sand followed him. Black Mamba followed him leisurely as though he was on a walk. Samedi, the zombie, could run at a speed of 60 kilometers per hour. Although his speed was similar to a gazelle’s, he was definitely ahead in terms of endurance.

“Huh, look at him move.”

A screwhorn antelope appeared with clouds of sand in its path.

Keeee—

Keee—

Samedi screeched as he swung the shovel threateningly. He closed up on the animal every time it changed direction and guided it toward Black Mamba. It was a common strategy used by lion prides when they went hunting.

“Is he evolving into a human?”

The ends of Black Mamba’s mouth curled up. Samedi wasn’t a zombie who acted based on instincts and followed orders. That meant he could make decisions on his own. That was a good sign. Black Mamba picked up a rock as large as his fist.

He was skilled enough to hit a machine gun 400 meters away with a grenade. A gazelle running toward him from 100 meters away was a piece of cake. There was no reason to activate his dimensional sight either.

Whoosh—

The ground trembled.

Crack—

The Addax gazelle’s head was targeted right in the center. It leaped amid convulsions before dropping to the ground.

“Keeee! Keeee!” Samedi screeched as he leaped on the spot.

Samedi, who was about to hit the Addax gazelle’s neck with his shovel, stopped moving. He carried the Addax gazelle that weighed over 100 kilograms and slung it around his shoulders like a sack before running over.

“Wooow!” Nejma shouted excitedly.

Morchas were smart and fast. The villagers had attempted to catch the morchas several times with spears, but they never succeeded. Wakil easily caught a morcha by throwing a single rock.

His ability to beat up monsters, cut down large boulders to set up a headstone, and dig underground seemed implausible. He felt as though he was daydreaming. The ability to catch a morcha so easily was more realistic to Nejma.

Wakil will teach me one day. I’m done with sweet rice cakes. I can eat meat now.

He was tired of being hungry. He could feed his siblings to their fill as long as he picked up wakil’s ability. Nejma’s chest swelled with hope.

“Huh, this is an Addax!”

Black Mamba recognized the Addax gazelle at a glance. It was something that he had for two barbecues during the raccoon herding mission. Unlike the C-rations, that was just enough to satisfy their hunger.

Black Mamba enjoyed meat. The Epidium’s body exerted 20 times the power of a human in comparison. An equal amount of energy was required to replenish the body too. Meat provided 10 times more energy than a plant. Adult tigers could eat 30 kilograms of meat at once. As a substitute, tigers would have to eat 300 kilograms of rice to replenish the same amount of energy they gained from meat. Basically, leading them up to the point of malnourishment or death. Black Mamba was just like that. He had no choice but to eat meat.

“Good job, Samedi.”

Samedi smiled widely at the compliment.

“Huh, he even smiles!”

Zombies had no emotions. Humans smiled to express their emotions. If Samedi recovered his emotions, humanization would advance. He grabbed Samedi’s head with both of his hands and activated his dimensional sight. The dark membrane that covered his cerebral cortex was less dense. His condition was improving.

“Samedi, this is an Addax gazelle. Addax gazelle!”

“Ad-dax!”

Black Mamba nodded. Self-teaching was something that only humans could accomplish. He was definitely evolving into a human. Although it was too early to feel relieved, the rest was a problem that time would solve.

“Wow! Sir Ddu-bai-buru-pa brought us meat!” the group cheered.

Black Mamba received a grand welcome upon his return to the camp. Rather, it was the Addax gazelle that was welcomed. Ahmad pulled out a metal plate from the Jeep to use as a burner and grill. The Addax gazelle was torn apart instantly.

“It’s g-oo-d.”

Samedi managed to, albeit slowly, express his happiness after taking a bite of the barbecued meat. Black Mamba’s expression brightened up. Samedi wasn’t a zombie but a human. The last of his worries were washed away. He had gained a great partner thanks to Barungo.

Monk Dae Woo had once told Mu Ssang a story in passing.

Mu-Ah, you were born a human but turned inhuman. Since you’ve received Asura’s blood, countless Rakshasa and Yaksha will gather around you. Among them, five wise men and seven stars will become your aids.

Mu Ssang had ignored his teacher’s story. His teacher was someone who fooled around a lot and said random things at random times anyway. He had completely forgotten about his teacher’s story. Six of the seven stars, who would later be known as the Seven Hojangs[1], had gathered. Still, he was clueless.

1. Blacky (Yaksha): Former biological weapon of the Concretus, Adras. Specialty: ELF(Extremely-low frequency) burst attacks, physical morphing, teleportation, and physical attacks.

2. Sun WooHyun: Former North Korean scouting regiment officer. Specialty: Master of unconventional warfare.

3. Jamal Amud: Former ANO group leader. Specialty: Barrett sniping and bombing.

4. Ahmad Marwan: Former secret guard of the Syrian Orthodox Christians. Specialty: Inheritor of a medieval assassin organization, Circassians Mamluk.

5. Aishe: A Kurd tribe female warrior. Specialty: Sniping and dagger throwing.

6. Samedi Burupa: Former zombie. Specialty: Physical attacks, an advantage of his half-immortal body.

7. ?

[1] Seven warriors.