Help! I transmigrated to a Beast World-Chapter 57: Domino Snakes

Two hours later, Xin Yi stood in front of about thirty confused snake beastmen.

They were all staring at her like she had lost her mind.

"So," a snake called Kuan Tie said slowly. "You want us to......clear the entire eastern swamp?"

"Not the ENTIRE swamp!" Xin Yi gestured wildly at the area she had marked out with sticks and rope. "Just this part! About.....uh..." She squinted at the measurements in her new brain-knowledge. "Five thousand square meters!"

Dead silence.

"That’s....." one snake male started.

"...a LOT of swamp," another finished.

"I KNOW it’s a lot! That’s why I need ALL of you!" She clapped her hands together. "Okay! So! First we need to drain the water! Then remove all the vegetation! Then level the ground! Then—"

"Pink Skin?" Xiao Long’s voice piped up.

She turned. The little boy was standing at the edge of the crowd, dragging a stick twice his size.

"I’m here to help build!"

Xin Yi’s heart melted. "Xiao Long! You’re awake!"

"Uncle Qing said you were doing something important!" He puffed up his little chest. "I’m seven! I’m VERY strong! I can help!"

[DING! (╥﹏╥)]

[Too precious!]

[Warning: Cuteness overload detected!]

Several of the snake warriors made "aww" noises.

"Absolutely you can help!" Xin Yi grinned. "In fact, you can be my official assistant!"

"REALLY?!" His eyes went huge.

"Really! Here—" She pulled out a smaller rope from her dimensional storage. "You’re in charge of marking boundaries! See these sticks? You need to connect them with rope so everyone knows where to clear!"

"I won’t let you down, Pink Skin!" He saluted, which looked ridiculous and adorable, and scurried off with his rope.

Qing Lin appeared at her elbow. "You’re good with him."

"He’s a good kid." She turned back to the assembled beastmen. "Okay! Who’s ready to BUILD A CITY?!"

Confused stares.

"I’ll....explain while we work! Just trust me! When we’re done, you’ll have REAL houses! With roofs! And doors! And kitchens! And toilets!"

"Toilets?" one warrior perked up.

"What’s a toilet?" another asked.

"I’ll SHOW you! But first—CLEARING TIME! Let’s GO!"

~

It turned out snake beastmen were REALLY good at clearing land.

Like, REALLY good.

They could shift to half-snake form and use their tails to uproot entire trees. Their venom could dissolve stubborn roots. And they were strong enough to haul massive logs without breaking a sweat.

Within an hour, the area looked completely different.

"Over here!" Xin Yi directed, pointing at a cluster of thick bushes. "We need all that GONE! Yes—perfect! Now pile it over there—we’ll use it for compost later!"

"What’s compost?" someone yelled.

"I’LL EXPLAIN LATER! KEEP CLEARING!"

Xiao Long was taking his job VERY seriously. He had managed to string rope between all the boundary markers, and now he was walking along the perimeter like a tiny inspector.

"This part needs more clearing!" he announced, pointing at a muddy section. "Pink Skin said it has to be FLAT!"

The warriors scrambled to flatten it.

Qing Lin was watching from the sidelines, looking amused. "You are enjoying this, Xin Yi."

"I’m in my ELEMENT!" Xin Yi wiped sweat from her forehead. "This is what I’m SUPPOSED to be doing! Not getting distracted by—by—"

She cut herself off.

Not getting distracted by stupid panthers who banish you.

Qing Lin’s hand found hers, and squeezed gently. He then whispered in her ears. "Hmm. I like when you’re.... working. I’ll.....hmm...we’ll see later."

Later....

LATER??

Before Xin Yi could respond, he slipped away, covering his mouth so she wouldnt see his snickering.

[DING! (╥﹏╥)]

[The Snake King is really SMOOTH]

"I.....err...." Xin Yi stuttered. No, get back to work!

[DING! (ノ◕ヮ◕)ノ*:・゚✧]

[Progress Update!]

[Land Clearing: 67% complete!]

[Estimated time to completion: 2 hours]

[You’re doing great, Host! ☆]

~

By mid-afternoon, the land was completely cleared.

Five thousand square meters of flat, empty ground.

It was beautiful.

Xin Yi stood in the middle of it, turning in a slow circle, her heart pounding with excitement.

"This," she breathed, "is where we’re going to build everything."

The snake warriors were all staring at the cleared area with something like awe.

"I have never seen so much flat land," Kuan Tie said quietly.

"It’s.....big," another added.

"It’s PERFECT!" Xin Yi spun around to face them all, her eyes shining. "Okay! Tomorrow we start building! But today—" She pulled out a stick and started drawing in the dirt. "—I need to show you the plans!"

She sketched rapidly. Houses in neat rows. A central plaza. A workshop area. A soap-making facility. A textile building. And in the back—

"A palace?" Qing Lin read over her shoulder.

"MY palace!" She grinned up at him. "With DOORS THAT LOCK!"

He raised an eyebrow. "Should I be offended?"

"You can visit! With PERMISSION!"

"How generous."

A small snake child tugged on her leg wrap. "Pink Skin? What’s that building?"

"Oh! That’s the communal bathhouse! With HOT WATER!"

Every single snake warrior perked up.

"Hot water?"

"Like......warm? For bathing?"

"ALL THE TIME?!"

"Yes!" Xin Yi was practically bouncing now. "We’ll build a heating system! And drainage! And—"

"PINK SKIN!" Xiao Long’s voice rang out. "I DID IT! I FINISHED ALL THE BOUNDARIES!"

Xin Yi turned, grinning. "That’s amazing, Xiao—"

The little boy was jumping up and down in celebration. Jumping VERY enthusiastically...Right next to one of the corner markers.

"Xiao Long, wait—"

Too late.

His tail, which he had shifted out in excitement, whipped around and smacked directly into the stick.

The stick fell.

Which pulled the rope.

Which pulled the NEXT stick.

Which pulled MORE rope.

"Oh no," Xin Yi whispered.

It happened in slow motion.

Stick after stick toppled like dominoes. The ropes that Xiao Long had so carefully tied started unraveling, tangling around themselves, around OTHER sticks, around—

"WATCH OUT!" Kuan Tie yelled.

A warrior who had been standing too close got his foot caught in a loop of rope. He stumbled forward, crashed into another snake, who fell into ANOTHER snake, who—

"ACK!"

"MY TAIL!"

"WHO’S STEPPING ON ME?!"

"THE ROPE—IT’S EVERYWHERE—"

[DING! (⊙_⊙)]

[Oh no.]

[OH NO.]

[CHAOS LEVEL: MAXIMUM! ☆]

Xin Yi watched in horror as her perfectly marked boundary system collapsed into complete anarchy.

Snakes were tripping over ropes. Ropes were tangling around tails. Sticks were flying through the air as people tried to untangle themselves and just made it WORSE.

"Stop moving!" someone yelled.

"I CAN’T! MY TAIL IS STUCK!"

"WHOSE TAIL IS THIS?!"

"THAT’S MY LEG!"

Xiao Long stood in the middle of it all, eyes huge, his little hands covering his mouth. "I... I didn’t mean to..."

Qing Lin pinched the bridge of his nose. "Xin Yi."

"I SEE IT!" 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"Should we—"

"DON’T MOVE!" Xin Yi shouted at the tangled mass of snake warriors. "EVERYONE JUST—STOP!"

They froze.

Well. Most of them.