The Hero Turned Into A Potato And The World Fell To Ruin - Chapter 6: Awesome, Let Me Give You Applause

Liu Ji had no idea how long it had been since he had last seen another living person.

Though his days as a potato were leisurely and comfortable, they were equally lonely.

Even though he could endure a long potato life, deep down, he still hoped that one day he would encounter other people.

After all, he was fundamentally a human being.

Just that so much time had passed that he had already given up hope.

Yet, unexpectedly, he had indeed encountered other people upon reverting back—three of them, no less. How could he contain his excitement?

Unfortunately, it seemed that there was a language barrier; he couldn’t understand what they were saying, and they couldn’t understand him either.

He tried speaking Mandarin, English, some Japanese, Korean, and Thai lingo he knew, but the three others still looked confused. The petite girl on their side also seemed to switch between several languages trying to communicate with him, but to no avail.

This was rather frustrating. What happened to the universal translator that usually comes with transmigration? Why did it just fail for him?

After a series of futile gesticulations and attempts at communication, the trio moved aside to whisper among themselves. 

Liu Ji craned his neck, watching them, hoping they wouldn’t just leave him here and go away.

He had seen it. They were flying just moments ago.

As for whether they would be a threat to him…

Liu Ji glanced down at his bare body.

Well, he was utterly penniless with nothing on him. As for his innocence…

Umm…

That would just be absurd.

Liu Ji took a good look at the three of them.

They shouldn’t be that sort of perverts…

In any case, as a bare and broke individual, his personal safety was probably not a concern.

Just that he was bare…

Liu Ji looked down and dug around a bit.

Hmm, his little brother was in the soil, and his little brother was also bare.

Looking up at the three in the distance, Liu Ji felt a little overwhelmed.

This was awkward. It would be fine if they were all men, but that was a girl there…

And considering the girl’s height, whether she was an adult was questionable. Liu Ji couldn’t just run out naked, right?

The young man next to her had a sword; Liu Ji definitely didn’t want to be mistaken for a pervert and get cut in half.

Liu Ji mulled for a bit, then waved and shouted at the trio to catch their attention. He then pointed at himself, made the motion of putting his arms through the sleeves of a jacket, and mimed buttoning up, looking at them expectantly.

The three exchanged looks, muttering among themselves. For some reason, the tigerman confidently slapped his chest, then strutted over with his chest puffed out.

Liu Ji thought he was going to give him his coat, and hope sparkled in his eyes as he looked at the fur coat.

However, the tigerman didn’t take off his coat. Instead, he patted Liu Ji on the shoulder, squeezed his arm, and even poked his chest muscles, then gave him a thumbs up and nodded emphatically.

Liu Ji: “?”

Liu Ji pondered for a moment, then mimed pulling a T-shirt over his head and pulling it down.

The tigerman watched while stroking his chin. Then, he went around to check on Liu Ji’s back, patted his abs, and once again gave Liu Ji a thumbs while beaming radiantly.

Liu Ji: “???”

Liu Ji was bewildered and a bit anxious. Clenching his fist, he repeatedly mimed the motion of pulling on a coat, all while casting hopeful looks at the tigerman.

And then…

The tigerman faced him, made a pose as if showing off his pecs and gave him a brilliant smile that seemed to even glimmer.

Liu Ji stared at him in bafflement and was utterly speechless for a long time.

Seeing him stunned, the tigerman smiled radiantly again, then contentedly turned and walked away.

————

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“No wonder that lad was showing off, his muscles really are impressive,” the tigerman said as he walked back to his companions. “They might not look exaggerated, but they are solid and springy, and I can tell they are powerful.”

“But… Do you really think he was showing off his muscles? It didn’t look that way to me at all,” said the young swordsman, the corner of his lips twitching.

“Ha? How could it not be?” the tigerman asserted confidently. “Didn’t you see him first show off his arm muscles and pecs, then his back and abs, and finally he emphasized his chest muscles. If that’s not showing off muscles, what is?”

“While I don’t know what his gestures meant, I know that confusion was written all over his face,” muttered the young swordsman helplessly. “I think he either had a request or wanted to tell us something.”

“Really?” The tigerman scratched his head, turning to Yaine, who was deep in thought. “Yaine, what do you think?”

“Ah? What?” Yaine looked up. “What were you guys talking about?”

“We were discussing what the gestures of that strange potato man meant,” the young swordsman explained. “What were you so absorbed in?”

“Nothing, I was just trying to recall if there’s any language that sounds close to his vocalizations.” Yaine shook her head slightly, then turned to the tigerman. “Osar, what exactly were his gestures?”

“Oh, like this, this, and this…” the tigerman, named Osar, enthusiastically reenacted Liu Ji’s movements.

Of course, after his embellishments, the gestures indeed looked purely like flexing muscles.

“Oh, I see.” Yaine nodded, waved her staff, and conjured a small portal. She reached in and pulled out a coarse cloth robe, then casually handed it to Osar. “Here, go give this to him?”

Osar took the robe, blinked, and looked back at the bare Liu Ji, puzzled. “Wasn’t he intentionally showing off his muscles? Why are you giving this to me?”

“Unfortunately, you might be the only one interested in that.” The young swordsman couldn’t stand it anymore. He grabbed the robe and walked toward Liu Ji.

Seeing that someone finally understood his intentions, Liu Ji burst into a relieved smile. Once he got the robe, he quickly slipped it over his body and finally pulled himself out of the ground.

Feeling the solid earth beneath his feet for the first time in a long while was a strangely refreshing sensation for Liu Ji.

Looks like he had really been a potato for far too long.

Watching Liu Ji put on clothes and walk around with a look of novelty, the young swordsman stroked his chin and muttered to himself, “What a strange fellow…”

Of course, Liu Ji couldn’t understand what he was saying, so he just smiled at him.

The young swordsman, taken aback for a moment, smiled back.

Then he turned to leave.

Liu Ji considered for a moment, then followed behind him.

The young swordsman glanced at Liu Ji but didn’t say anything, allowing the latter to follow behind.

As they walked, Liu Ji observed the surroundings.

He felt that he might really have lived as a potato for far too long. He remembered that the area used to be flat, but now there was a huge pit.

Unfortunately, he hadn’t kept track of time, and no one knew exactly when he had transmigrated to this world, so even if he wanted to figure out how long he had spent as a potato, there was no way for him to do so.

Uh… And he just noticed that his hair seemed to have turned green.

While it made sense for his hair to turn green after so many years of photosynthesis, it still felt a bit odd.

While he was lost in his thoughts, a delicate and small face suddenly appeared in front of Liu Ji.

It was the staff-wielding girl in a tattered robe, who had walked up and was looking straight at him.

Just as he was feeling puzzled, Yaine raised her right hand and snapped her fingers.

Snap!

A small bird made of flames appeared on Yaine’s fingertip.

The little bird tilted its head, chirped crisply, then fluttered its wings, circling around them rapidly twice, and finally hovered in front of Liu Ji.

Liu Ji stared at the flaming bird, and the bird watched him.

Then suddenly, there was a pop, and the little bird exploded into a beautiful display of sparks and gradually faded away.

Liu Ji stared blankly at the spot where the sparks had dissipated, then looked at Yaine who was staring intently at him, seemingly awaiting his reaction.

After a second of thought, Liu Ji raised both hands and offered enthusiastic applause for the performance.