Chapter 179: A Test of Patience
Chapter 179: A Test of Patience
"Lindsey, the meat tastes a bit off."
"Do you think I'm some kind of wish-granting machine with my cooking skills? If you really want good meat, I can cook some for you right now..."
Upon hearing the first word of 'cooking', Hong decisively rejected the suggestion.
"Never mind, I'll just eat this... The noodles taste great, and the texture is so different from meat! Can we have this every day?"
Lindsey raised an eyebrow: "And then eat it for a whole month straight."
Hong bit her lip: "Well... I think it's better to alternate between different foods."
Lindsey didn't intend to tease Hong further, and he shook his head with a light laugh:
"Don't make that face."
"I still have potato and cabbage seeds. We can alternate between them on our journey. If we're lucky enough to find other crops, we'll have even more food options."
Hong's attention was almost entirely drawn to the new foods.
"Potatoes? Cabbage?"
"What are those? Lindsey, I want to eat them now!"
Lindsey glanced at the bats in the sky without a trace, and then firmly refused:
"No, cultivating plants consumes Essence. Let's talk about it tomorrow."
Hong immediately finished the vulture braised noodles and then moved to sit next to Lindsey, extending her palm:
"It's Essence, right? You can use mine, I have plenty of it!"
"..."
"Are you some kind of power bank?"
Lindsey mocked, and the girl waved her fair arms in front of him, urging:
"Come on, take it and use it!"
Slap! Lindsey smacked Hong's palm away and stated the cruel reality:
"Even if you say so, I really can't do it!"
Hong immediately brought up a counterexample:
"But when you helped me sense Essence before, didn't you put your own Essence into my body?"
"Why don't we try it the other way around now!"
Lindsey shrugged:
"That was just sharing a bit of Essence with you. Extracting another person's Essence and using your skills are two different things. You're mixing up different concepts."
Hong was very reluctant:
"Can't you think of a way? Even if you're a bit harsh on me, I don't mind at all."
Lindsey's tone remained unchanged:
"What can't be done, can't be done. Give up."
After confirming repeatedly without success, Hong could only accept reality. She put her expectations for new food aside until the next day and lazily stretched before going to sleep.
Lindsey, however, waited a little longer.
He planted more seeds, this time potatoes and cabbage, which took about half an hour.
Then Lindsey entered the campsite and continued his pretense of dozing off.
However, this yielded no results.
Despite the indications on the map, the bats in the air, or Lindsey's own senses, no new attackers were discovered.
Except for the rock puppet outside that had already lost its power.
The ambush from before seemed like an illusion, and the enemy hiding in the shadows made no new moves.
...
Early the next morning, Lindsey and Hong woke up on time.
They walked out of the campsite, and the canyon before them looked no different from the day before.
However, at the spot where the rock puppet was defeated...
"It's gone!"
"Lindsey, the puppet or whatever it's called is missing!"
Hong widened her eyes and walked over to check the situation.
The girl bent down and scanned the earthy yellow ground with her fingers and gaze.
The traces of yesterday's battle remained on the ground and the cliff face, but the remains of the rock puppet had disappeared without a trace.
"Hmm..."
Lindsey nodded slightly, and the hunting module also activated with his movement.
However, at the spot where the rock puppet fell, there were no footprints or any traces.
The several-meter-tall object had simply vanished. Lindsey looked up at the sky:
"Come down, what happened last night?
"Upon hearing the master's command, the bat summon, which had been keeping watch throughout the night, descended and began its report:
'Last night, no enemies approached.'
Lindsey pointed to the spot where the rock puppet had disappeared:
'Then how did this thing disappear?'
'After you fell asleep, it merged with the earth and vanished.'
'...'
The description of the rock puppet did mention its ability to move through the earth.
But Lindsey didn't think a destroyed puppet could still utilize this ability normally.
Not to mention the timing of its disappearance, which occurred after Lindsey and Red had rested, clearly avoiding their detection on purpose.
'So it's still monitoring us in the shadows...'
Lindsey sighed softly, gesturing for the bat to take flight again and remain vigilant.
Red, who had also heard the bat's report, was slightly dissatisfied:
'Lindsey, your summon is too stupid. It didn't react to such an obvious anomaly!'
Lindsey attributed the issue to himself:
'Summons are inherently low in intelligence.'
'The commands I gave weren't strict enough. I only told it to be vigilant against enemies. This is a lesson learned.'
As he spoke, Lindsey turned to harvest the potatoes he had planted the night before.
Since the attacker had gone to such lengths, they were likely preparing to remain hidden, and continuing to search in the same spot would probably not yield any further information.
Red followed him.
She watched Lindsey's actions and, without needing to be reminded, helped him by digging up the potatoes, mimicking his movements.
Lindsey keenly noticed something.
While digging up the potatoes, Red secretly took a bite.
As for the taste of the raw potatoes... at the very least, her expression seemed satisfied.
This scene inspired Lindsey, reminding him of the street food from his childhood.
'In the future, when we have the ingredients, let's try making some skewers.'
'...'
A few minutes later, Red helped Lindsey finish harvesting the food and prepared to organize the campsite.
However, she discovered that Lindsey had not returned but was instead enthusiastically digging in the spot where they had planted the previous day.
'What are you digging for?'
Lindsey explained:
'This soil was cultivated with my Essence. I can use it several more times if I take it with me. I can't waste it here!'
Red's expression became thoughtful, and she extended her right hand towards Lindsey:
'Hey, give me that thing.'
Lindsey immediately realized that she was asking for the Ice Badger Claw Pendant.
He asked in return:
'Is it cold now?'
Red turned around, her body language indicating frustration as she made her way back to the campsite, and her voice floated out simultaneously:
'You're being too nosy. Just say whether you'll give it or not!'
'Lindsey, don't smash my head!'
'...'
The journey continued.
Aside from the difficult task of crossing numerous cliffs, Lindsey and Red had an additional task of searching for the attacker.
But the actual situation was unexpected.
They traveled for a full two weeks!
After half a month had passed, the anticipated second attack never came, as if the attacker had completely given up on their pursuit.
Until the afternoon of the sixteenth day.
After crossing countless cracks in the earth.
Finally, several kilometers ahead, an endless forest came into view.
The trees there were lush, their branches and leaves forming a canopy that blocked out the sun.
The air in the forest was fresh, filled with the rich fragrance of plants, and even now, Lindsey could smell that scent in the wind.
It was at this moment that a voice suddenly sounded behind the two of them.
A deep roar spoke in the universal language:
'Humans.'
'If I were you, I would never set foot in this forest.'
(End of Chapter)
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