"You can cure it?!"
Dier rubbed his chin, looking skeptical:
"Didn't you get your PhD in history?"
A history PhD proficient in medicine?
"Wait a moment."
Robin jogged back to her room and soon returned carrying a book.
"Muscle Fish synthesize muscle tissue constantly. To prevent excessive muscle from burdening their bodies, they evolved a toxin that dissolves muscle," she explained, flipping to a specific page.
"When humans eat this fish, the toxin enters their system. Once muscle mass reaches a certain threshold, the toxin activates and dissolves the muscles. Since humans can't continuously synthesize muscle like the fish, this toxin is lethal to us."
Footnote: This toxin is affected by male hormones, becoming more active and causing faster muscle dissolution.
Dier looked astonished. "Where did this book come from?"
"I found it at the previous port," Robin said proudly, turning another page. "Footnote 1: The natural counter to this toxin is apples. You don't need recent consumption - having eaten apples at any point makes you immune. The earliest recorded cases came from a winter island without apples, causing fifty-seven muscle dissolution deaths."
"Footnote 2: Already dissolved muscles won't regenerate immediately. If infected, eat apples immediately!"
"Since we're fine anyway, why not stay a few more days and have someone bring apples?" she suggested.
"Absolutely!" Dier agreed without hesitation. Waiting five more days wouldn't be troublesome.
Besides, it might take less time - Bege might be closer.
Brrrring~
Click.
"It's me..."
"I have important matters to handle. Don't call for the next few days."
Click.
The call ended abruptly. Dier scratched his head helplessly - looks like they'd need to wait the full five days.
With Bege unavailable, they'd have to rely on ships from Colon Island, his stronghold where all key personnel were under his control.
Colleen answered the call immediately and agreed to the request without hesitation.
After hanging up, Dier loosened his collar and told Robin, "I'm going to shower first. You explain everything to Sally and the others."
"Mm-hmm!" Robin nodded and hurried over to Sally, who was currently on deck.
"Gretchen, get down from the sails! That's not a playground!"
"Saki, put the gun down! It's dangerous - stop pointing it at Sharlene!"
The children were excited by the novelty of the ship, touching everything in sight and giving Sally a headache.
"I hope they don't anger Mr. Dier," she sighed, praying the crew would be patient enough not to throw the kids overboard.
"Miss Sally! You're saved!" Robin approached, holding up the book. "Look here!"
Sally smiled awkwardly. "Sorry, I can't read." Having lived in the primitive forest, she'd never had the chance to learn.
Robin had to read the passage aloud again. As the clear, pleasant voice reached her ears, Sally's expression transformed from embarrassment to joyous excitement.
The Forest Follower Tribe is saved!
The children won't have to leave anymore!
Not all children were willing to leave their homeland behind.
Many stubbornly wanted to stay, and it took Sally and the others using force to tie them up and bring them along.
If all the adults were to die out, leaving a group of half-grown children in the forest would be nothing short of suicide.
Now, things are better. Once the adults recover their health and the male soldiers are transformed back to their original genders...
Though dissolved muscles won't immediately recover, with some training, they can reestablish their footing in the forest without issue.
Her smile suddenly stiffened as she recalled the life they had lived.
The entire Forest Village not only lacked the concept of family but even the notion of a mother.
Male infants were taken away by men, while female infants were collectively raised by all the women.
"Miss Robin, take this with you!"
Gritting her teeth, she pulled the Favor of the Forest from her Four-Dimensional Pocket and handed it to Robin.
Then she turned around, taking a deep breath to ease the reluctance in her heart.
"What is this?"
Robin toyed with the green crystal before casually pressing it against Hina's forehead.
"This is the root of our Forest Follower Tribe's turmoil."
With her back turned to Robin and the others, Sally spoke in a low voice, recounting the tragedy of the women in the Forest Village.
The Favor of the Forest was the symbol of the tribe's chief. By giving it away, she would undoubtedly become a sinner to the Forest Follower Tribe.
But she knew all too well that this object was the root of all discrimination.
This was a primitive tribe that revered strength alone, and men were naturally stronger than women.
The ability to freely switch genders made the women of the Forest Follower Tribe seem dispensable.
Even if all the women suddenly disappeared, the remaining men could simply choose the weakest among them and transform them into women to continue reproduction.
Only by discarding the Favor of the Forest could women regain their status, and only then could they shine in various roles after reclaiming their place.
One minute later...
"Ahhhh!!!"
A scream rang out on the deck, the voice shifting from high-pitched to deep and rough.
Sally quickly turned around to see that Hina had transformed into a boy.
The small mounds on her chest had flattened, her smooth neck now bore an Adam's apple, and her delicate fingers had grown thick and strong.
"W-what is this?!"
Hina was utterly distraught, covering her face as she crouched down, sobbing muffledly:
"Hina doesn't want to be a boy!"
"You can change back! It's reversible!"
Sally hurriedly explained,
"Just press the Favor of the Forest against your forehead for another minute!"
Another minute later, Hina stood up, still sniffling, and immediately backed away, putting as much distance as possible between herself and the green disc in Robin's hand.
Robin held the Favor of the Forest uncertainly, half-tempted to return it to Sally.
Like Hina, she had no desire to become a boy.
"Only when pressed against the forehead for a full minute will the change occur. Holding it in your hand won't do anything."
Robin finally relaxed and pocketed the crystal,
"Since your illness can be cured now, there's no need to send everyone away. Let's take these children back first—our ship doesn't have enough rooms for all of them."
Even though many of these "children" were older than her, she said the word without the slightest hesitation.
She had always been more mature for her age, and after over two years on the run, her mental fortitude far surpassed that of these children.
After a long, exhausting day, nightfall was approaching.
With nearly a hundred children aboard, unless they slept on the floor, the ship simply couldn't accommodate them all.
Sally nodded in agreement with Robin's suggestion, then added:
"Though it's a bit embarrassing to ask, I still hope you can take a group of children with you."
"Not everyone wants to leave, just as not everyone wants to stay."
—But children from primitive tribes must mature even earlier, right? After all, they grow up facing death and the law of the jungle. In their worldview, survival is ingrained much sooner. In a primitive tribe, unhealthy children might truly be abandoned—this must be Robin's own belief about being stronger.