Chapter 66 — The Grass That Drinks Sunlight
S.C. 1510 — Mid September
Foosha Village — Underground Lab
The ladder opening cast a narrow beam of sunlight into the underground room. Ren sat near the bottom, carefully adjusting the fragile solar slab he had built yesterday. The reddish copper surface reflected faint reddish-orange light.
Zemo paced in a slow circle above, tail twitching with impatience.
"Give me a second," Ren muttered, rotating the glass shard slightly. "Even a tiny angle change matters."
He held still.
The sunlight hit the slab cleanly.
The battery wire responded instantly—warming faster, firmer than yesterday.
Not a lot.
Not enough for real equipment.
But enough to matter.
Ren's heart fluttered with excitement.
"The efficiency improved… even this tiny change worked."
Zemo let out a soft "hrrr" noise, as if demanding attention.
"Okay, okay," Ren said. "Your turn."
Zemo hopped down into the pit with a single graceful leap, his fur brushing against Ren's shoulder.
Ren placed the metal dish above the warmed wire again, testing the heat distribution.
Steady.
Better than yesterday.
Almost smooth.
He took out another blade of the strange grass.
The green surface shimmered faintly in the sunlight.
"Time for the next test."
Sunlight Reaction Test
Ren placed the grass blade on the heated plate.
At first, it lay still—flat and ordinary.
Then something changed.
The parts of the blade directly under sunlight darkened, just slightly.
Ren squinted.
"…It's absorbing the light."
Plants absorbed sunlight normally, but this…
This was different.
The blade didn't just darken.
It pulsed.
Softly.
Slowly.
Like a tiny heartbeat.
Zemo stiffened, ears flattening.
Ren leaned closer.
The edges of the grass curled inward—not from heat, but toward the light, almost like reaching for it.
"What are you…?"
He turned off the heat by disconnecting the wire.
The grass didn't uncurl.
It kept contracting gently, as though trying to store something inside.
Ren scribbled notes:
Unusual elasticity
Heat-resistant fibers
Strong cellular structure
Light absorption beyond normal levels
Unknown internal reaction
He gently touched the blade with tweezers.
It was warm—but not from the wire.
Warm from itself.
A self-generated heat.
Ren's breath caught.
"This is new…"
Many plants reacted to sunlight, yes. But not like this. Not with internal warmth. Not with this much resistance.
Zemo stepped forward and sniffed the blade.
His fur lifted slightly, a low vibration rumbling in his throat.
Ren pulled the blade away.
"Not for eating," he whispered.
Zemo stared at him accusingly, as if saying "why would I eat that?"
Ren smiled faintly.
The Second Solar Slab
Ren climbed up into the shed and gathered more copper-stained stones.
If the first solar slab worked, even at tiny power, then a second one could increase the charge enough to run two heating wires—or one wire for longer.
He smashed the stones carefully, sorting the pieces.
The problem was obvious:
He needed copper.
Real copper.
Not these fragments.
But the forest didn't offer pure metal.
So the solar slab had to be crude.
He heated another copper-stained piece over the fire.
The flames curled around it.
Black oxide formed.
Zemo growled quietly at every flicker of spark.
Ren stayed patient.
After slow cooling, he scraped the black layer, revealing a faint reddish surface.
He mounted it next to the first slab above the ladder.
Two panels.
Twice the sunlight.
Maybe twice the charge.
He connected them to the battery.
The wire trembled—then warmed steadily.
A grin spread across his face.
"Yes… that's it."
Unexpected Reaction
He took another grass blade.
Placed it on the plate.
This time, with more heat and more sunlight—
The blade reacted violently.
Not in danger.
But in intensity.
It twisted sharply.
The edges curled almost completely inward.
Tiny droplets of liquid emerged at the tip.
Ren leaned closer.
The droplets glowed.
Almost imperceptibly.
A faint greenish tint.
"What…"
He touched the drop with a glass shard.
It clung to the surface like gum.
Sticky.
Heavy.
Strange.
Zemo growled softly—not fear this time, but warning.
Ren whispered, "You smell something?"
Zemo didn't look away from the grass.
Ren placed the drop into a separate dish.
This needed to be tested later.
For now…
He stared at the curling grass blade again, feeling a mixture of curiosity and unease.
"…This plant is hiding something."
Something that reacted to light, heat, moisture, and pressure in ways no plant should.
Something special.
Something he wasn't yet ready to understand.
The Roof Disturbance
A thump hit the roof above the shed.
Hard.
Direct.
Purposeful.
Zemo immediately stepped in front of Ren, fur raised.
Ren froze.
Another thump.
Then a soft dragging sound—like claws moving across the roof.
The same creature.
It had come back.
Zemo snarled silently, body lowering into a hunter's stance.
Ren whispered:
"…It's getting too close."
The noises stopped.
Silence.
Not even birds.
After several breaths, the forest returned to normal.
Zemo did not relax.
Neither did Ren.
He packed away the grass blade, the strange droplet, and the wires.
They had work to do.
And now, they also had to prepare.
Because the forest predator wasn't just watching.
It was approaching.
And each time Ren discovered something new…
…it came closer.
End of Chapter 66