“Ahhhhh!!! Disgusting, disgusting!! Don’t come over, don’t come over!”
Taking advantage of the time before the Second Wave arrived, Lin Ran dealt with two things first.
The first was the continuous screaming and crying of a woman next door that had started earlier.
This wasn’t surprising, after all, the entire School was filled with screams now.
The only problem was, this was the boys’ Dormitory.
So where did the girl next door come from?
But it was indeed noisy enough to be annoying. Lim also understood Lin Ran’s thoughts, pressed close to the wall, and seeped some slime toward the other side.
It was probably some kind of slime carrying a “cease attack” message; the slimes on the other side also stopped attacking.
The girl next door soon stopped screaming.
The second issue was the problem with the portal.
He had tried as well—since the distance to the Minimart was over 100 meters, he set up a portal at the Minimart entrance to see if there was an air wall outside.
But the result wasn’t optimistic. He stuffed his spare Toothpaste into the portal, and the instant it was transmitted, it was crushed flat, with the Toothpaste squeezed up to the height of the third floor.
“Luckily I was smart enough not to go in myself…”
Lin Ran felt a lingering fear.
If he had sent himself through, he would now be an unnameable blob…
It seemed the air wall had spread throughout the world, so the portal to the Minimart would need another upgrade.
Since that was the case, with nothing better to do, Lin Ran began preparing water for the slimes while opening the New Student Group to see if there was any new information.
As expected, just as he was strategizing with the slimes, he received the latest message.
[If you have time to check your phone and see this message, congratulations, you have likely survived the first wave.]
[Next is a brief Rest Time. Please try leaving your room.]
[Please note, the outside world is matched nearby. Be cautious of neighbors with whom you have conflicts.]
“Rest Time? Leave the room?” Lin Ran muttered, his gaze subconsciously drifting to the Dormitory entrance.
But outside the door, he could clearly sense the presence of the air wall…
He turned off his phone and looked toward the door.
Somehow… it really felt a little off.
The wooden door, as the wind blew in from outside, brought a scent of grass.
The Dormitory door swayed slightly in the wind, emitting a faint creak.
Had the scene really changed?
A thought stirred in Lin Ran’s mind, and he quickly spoke to the slimes sitting in rows waiting to drink water:
“Don’t drink yet, everyone. It looks like we can go out! Let’s check it out!”
To avoid enemies outside, Lin Ran planned to take the slimes with him—more firepower was always better.
He carefully picked up Lim, who still hadn’t figured out what was going on.
Taking a deep breath, he gently pushed open the Dormitory door.
The sight outside left him stunned.
It was no longer the familiar Dormitory corridor.
But a vast, endless plain covered in green grass!
A gentle breeze brushed by, filling his nose with the fragrance of earth and grass.
And on the plain, slimes of every color bounced about happily!
He tried taking a step forward—there was indeed no air wall.
[Your Rest Time location is—Slime Plain (LV.0~3)]
[Please attempt a simple exploration and return to your residence within 30 minutes to prepare for the Second Wave of enemies.]
Sure enough! There really was a Rest Time!
The slimes at his feet clearly became excited as well.
Upon seeing their kin on the plain, they bounced over at once.
After the two groups of slimes converged, they began colliding with each other, communicating in their own unique way.
Finally, they all faced Lin Ran.
He saw all the slimes doing their best to compress their round bodies downward, upper halves leaning forward.
They were mimicking a human bow—a clumsy yet sincere gesture!
“Uh… Hello?”
A chorus of responses erupted, and the slimes jumped up and down in place.
Lin Ran touched Lim, still clinging to his shoulder.
He could pretty much guess it—it had to be the story of them feeding Ham Sausage spreading.
Lim, on his shoulder, puffed out its nonexistent chest in pride.
Still, this was a bit troublesome.
The slimes could understand his words, but without vocal organs, they couldn’t communicate with him.
“It’d be best to find a way for Lim to turn into a slime girl or something…”
Lin Ran stroked his chin, beginning a dangerous fantasy.
Yes, nothing impure! How can romance and communication exist without the most basic ability to converse!
His thoughts wandering, Lin Ran quickly pinched his temples, pulling his mind back to the plain before him.
He could more or less understand why the slimes felt grateful over a single Ham Sausage.
Back when he’d been forced to eat only vegetables for three days by the literature club’s senpai, he’d nearly cried with joy on the fourth day when he finally got a chicken leg.
These slimes were probably in the same situation.
The Slime Plain had nothing but weeds; the first time they ate a carefully processed human food, they were filled with gratitude.
But… in this resting area, having only slimes and grass wasn’t much use.
This world outside the door, called a resting zone, was actually for them to search for resources.
Lin Ran could see that clearly, and he figured others would understand as well.
In a completely sealed world, every expedition meant using all available resources.
Others might pull up some grass to fill their stomachs, or even catch and eat a few slimes.
But Lin Ran was different.
He had a group of laborers loyal to him.
“Lim.”
He tried giving instructions, supplementing with gestures.
“Can you… manage to move some stuff?”
He pointed at the dirt and grass on the ground.
Lim followed his finger, pondering adorably for a few seconds.
Then, as if understanding, it jumped off Lin Ran’s shoulder, bouncing a few times on the ground in excitement.
It looked just like a child thrilled to be sent on an errand.
Lin Ran nodded and dug into the ground.
A large clump of soil mixed with grass was brought up.
“Take this pile of dirt back to my Dormitory and see, good luck!”
Lim took the lead, moving over to cover a small patch of dirt and grass, and then contracted its body, managing to balance the dirt on its round head!
It looked just like a little hat—absurdly cute.
Then, wobbling, it began to move toward the Dormitory door.
Its movements were earnest yet awkward.
Once this was all over, Lin Ran thought he’d have to give this adorable creature a good squish!
Seeing their little princess take the initiative, the other slimes instantly became fired up, rushing to copy her.
The smaller ones carried dirt on their heads like Lim, while larger ones wrapped a small clump inside their bodies for transport.
The strongest teamed up to lift a whole patch of sod, hauling it toward the Dormitory.
A few especially clever ones, dissatisfied with Lin Ran just watching, even wrapped their tentacles around some grass and tossed it at his feet, then pushed at his leg, signaling for him to stop lazing around and get to work!
And Lin Ran’s reason for all this was simple.
That’s right, this land… had awakened a certain instinct deep in his soul.
—Farming!
The soul of a farmer was already blazing within him!!
The soil of the plains looked fertile, and though the weeds might taste bland, they were abundant and filling!
Bringing them back to plant would completely solve the slimes’ food problem!
And if he later got seeds, he could even grow vegetables and fruit—now that was the real long-term solution!
“Perfect! Once I’ve claimed the Minimart downstairs, two meals of grass and one of Ham Sausage a day—nice balance of meat and vegetables!”
The slimes heard Lin Ran’s plan and bounced up and down in excitement.
Seeing how happy the slimes were, Lin Ran finally joined in the transport team.
Thirty minutes passed quickly, and the slimes had carried a huge amount of dirt.
However, amid the adorable hustle and bustle—
A sharp voice rang out from the side.
“Ugh… So gross. What kind of Rest Time is this, with slimes crawling everywhere… Damn!”
As she spoke, she lifted her foot.
And stomped down on a small slime nearby, one that had only approached to pick a little flower to give to Lin Ran.
The slime hadn’t attacked her.
She’d simply done it out of spite.
Lin Ran had just carried a pile of soil back to the Dormitory and didn’t see this happen.
But upon his return, seeing that most of the slimes on the ground had turned black, he made a connection.
When Lim was happy, it turned pink—so this black color…
Lin Ran felt a bad premonition.
Looking at the woman, he instantly recognized her.
It was that legendary junior who’d once had a black baby and could chase him for three months—Xia Li.
He wasn’t too angry about it—after all, she was just one of the many legendary figures he’d encountered and was long since used to it.
But he soon noticed the pool of dissolving slime at her feet.
That little slime, having stretched out half its body, was still clutching the dirty flower it had been trampled on, struggling to crawl toward him.
Even after three years of being a nice guy, this was the first time Lin Ran felt killing intent.