Chapter 383: Lunar People

Chapter 383: Lunar People

Su Chen zoomed in on the location of the Soldier and immediately saw a scene. In a large cave, about twenty people stood in front of five Red Alert Soldiers.

They appeared to be human, but that was Su Chen's assumption. They were roughly similar to humans in overall structure: a head, two hands, two feet. However, their facial features were different.

Their mouths were notably large that was Su Chen's initial impression. Their mouths were twice the size of the largest mouths on Earth. Next were their ears, also large, protruding quite prominently.

Their noses, on the other hand, were relatively small. While such features would have been acceptable for females, it was rather odd that males and females looked the same in this regard.

Their hair was black, though it seemed like it hadn't been cut for a long time. Everyone's hair was quite long, at least reaching their buttocks, and some even trailed on the ground.

The most important difference was in their eyes. They had their eyes closed all the time, and only a thin slit remained where their eye sockets were.

"So, these are lunar people? They're quite different from what I imagined." According to Su Chen's understanding, as Earth's closest neighbors, they should have had many humans living there in the early days, which should have resulted in few differences between the two.

However, the differences he observed now were quite significant.

"Who... are... you..." an Old Man with snow-white hair stepped forward and shouted at the Red Alert Soldiers.

Though it sounded strange, their language indeed resembled that of the Soldiers, indicating that they were indeed humans.

In other words, their ancestors had been Earth humans.

But after Earth's civilizations ceased, lunar humans seemed to be forgotten. Over time, they continued to reproduce and survive on the moon. Unfortunately, the moon's environment was not as favorable as Earth's, forcing them to live underground.

Countless years had passed, and their bodies had adapted to the lunar environment. They had larger palms and soles, sturdy bodies, and large mouths for consuming food quickly. Their large ears allowed them to hear distant sounds and avoid danger.

Of course, this was what Yun Ru had said. Su Chen himself was unaware of these details.

A Red Alert Soldier stepped forward. "Don't be afraid, we are from Earth."

When he was young, he had ventured outside for a short period of time, relying on his immense strength. Unfortunately, he had appeared on the far side of the moon, where Earth was not visible.

In his eyes, the surface world was pitch-black, with only faint stars visible above. What struck him most was a strange power that made him extremely uncomfortable. Unable to bear it, he returned underground and stayed there until now.

They didn't know when their ancestors arrived on the moon. They had searched through many ancient texts and speculated that it was probably hundreds of thousands of years ago. It was said that at that time, the moon had been as beautiful as Earth. However, something happened later, causing the lunar environment to deteriorate. Forced by circumstances, they had retreated underground.

In theory, humans had strong reproductive capabilities. After so many years, the lunar population should have grown, not declined.

Yet, reality was entirely different. Their numbers were decreasing every day. The primary issue was the scarcity of food underground. If they tried to support a large population, people would inevitably starve to death!

To address this, some influential individuals established a rule: those who didn't contribute to the tribe, like the Old Man and the disabled, had to fight each other within a set timeframe. Only the last survivor would be allowed to continue living.

It was a brutal rule, forced upon them by their circumstances.

Moreover, they controlled the birth rate of newborns, requiring permission to have children.

"Roughly how many of you are there?" Su Chen was quite curious and had the Soldier ask this question.

"I'm not sure of the exact number, but there should be no less than a hundred thousand."

Su Chen's expression turned strange. Was a hundred thousand a large number?

He had more than a hundred thousand under his command, and if this were on Earth, feeding a hundred thousand people wouldn't be difficult at all. Yet, on the moon, a hundred thousand couldn't be sustained. What was going on?

Suddenly, Su Chen thought of a question. "How far is the farthest tribe from here?"

"It should take a day and night to reach."

Su Chen suddenly understood. They must have assumed that this Underworld was limited to this area. They probably never imagined that there were numerous underground spaces on the moon. Not to mention a hundred thousand, even ten times that number wouldn't be a challenge. (To be continued)

[Read /maxnkoga , without ads and support the work.]