Chapter 45: Good food, and sleep!

Su Bai took out a portable cassette stove to start a fire for cooking.
This kind of stove could function normally even within the digitized zones, producing a flame that was both steady and efficient.
"Time for an extra meal today!" she said cheerfully, tearing open a pack of braised beef-flavored self-heating military rations. She then retrieved the Manto-mushrooms she had foraged earlier from the [Mist Forest].
These wondrous mushrooms possessed a texture as soft and fluffy as steamed buns, yet carried a natural sweetness, making them one of the finest ingredients she had ever discovered in the digitized zones.

They knew that, leaving aside the question of how to cross the hundred-meter-wide Poison Insect Cultivation Pool even if a method were found and everyone managed to get across, the dense swarm of giant beetles waiting on the other side would likely tear the newly arrived group into pieces in an instant.

The ice-covered planet was immense. According to data records, ice-attribute crystals and minerals were primarily concentrated around the North and South Poles, making those two locations the primary objectives upon arrival.

Ji Yining, whose mind had just been as serene as pine trees, was momentarily at a loss for words upon seeing the glistening tears still lingering at the corners of the girl's eyes.

Su Chengji, who was usually the most oblivious of all, managed to pick up on something this time. He kept his arm draped over Shan Mingxu's neck, though being slightly shorter than Shan Mingxu made the gesture rather awkward to maintain.

Zhiqiu felt that since she had already come this far with her, turning back halfway would mean all their previous efforts were wasted. Seeing Dongxue looking so terribly nervous, there just might be some major matter at hand, so she decided to continue following Dongxue, albeit with heightened caution.

Though unsure why Master Zhang was so agitated, Gao Shun nodded. A look of joy appeared on Master Zhang's face as he uttered a single phrase: There is hope.

For those who had left their homeland far behind, the mere sight of the two characters representing "hometown" was enough to stir an irrepressible surge of passion.

Linglongzi wore a ferocious expression, her entire body trembling. Golden primal energy roared as she desperately suppressed the burning of the black flames; despite the blessing of the character for 'Yang', she could still feel her internal primal energy draining away at a mad pace.

Things should stop right here. If Jun Ziye happened to be narrow-minded, she could simply smooth things over with a few pleasant words afterward. Intuition told her that Jun Ziye was not a narrow-minded person, yet her habitual caution still drove her to make such a probe.

At this hour, both tourists and passing locals were few and far between. Once the car doors were closed, all sights from the outside world were entirely shut out.

The band of deserters came to an abrupt halt, lifting their gazes upward. The pleading look in their eyes made Kuang Fu feel deeply uneasy.

"Feng'er, what do you plan to do!" Seeing that everyone else remained silent, Liu Yu instantly realized that while everyone present probably had a plan in mind, he himself was the greatest obstacle to those plans.

After the span of roughly a burning incense stick, four more horsemen appeared within the field of vision of Cheng Long and Han Shengxuan.

Everyone present was dumbfounded, but orders from a general could not be disobeyed. Coupled with the invocation of military law, to defy him would likely result in immediate execution.

Just as Guo Jia was busy writing letters over here, Yuan Shao was not idle either, having summoned Xu You and Guo Tu into the main tent to hold a council.

"Who knows? Perhaps you won't step out of there until it starts at ten o'clock," Ning Feng said with a pointed implication.

Brewing medicine was a slow and meticulous task, but with Old Ai's assistance, Song Huai'an completed it quite smoothly. When she carried the medicine pot back to Granny Jiang's place, she found the old woman sweeping the courtyard, looking much better already.

Chenghuan nodded, her eyes deep and hollow. Staring out the window, she began to recount the past between her and Fan Tingyu as she reminisced, her murmuring voice carrying a somewhat ethereal quality.

When all was said and done, these volunteer soldiers were much like the volunteers of later generations, save for the mere addition of the title of soldier.

Moments later, she took a deep breath, straightened her appearance, opened the bathroom door, and stepped outside.

"This is... Geostigma?" Tifa walked over to the vicinity of where Cloud was sleeping, staring at a white cloth stained black, and frowned.