Chapter Ten: The Struggle for Food

Since it was his first day here, Yin Seventeen did not rush to go out and train with Owen, but stayed behind in the camp to repair his dilapidated stone hut.

As the saying goes, to do a good job, one must first sharpen his tools.

He would be staying in the training camp for quite some time, so there was no need to hurry. If he didn’t quickly fix up the stone house, he’d be in for a miserable night if the wind seeped in while he slept.

He worked all afternoon, gathering dry grass and small stones, and finally managed to patch up the holes in the stone hut’s wall.

Afterwards, exhausted, he lay on the stone bed and drifted off into a hazy sleep.

He didn’t know how much time had passed before a somewhat familiar voice reached his ears.

“Hey, Seventeen, get up and come with me!”

Struggling to open his eyes, Yin Seventeen realized that Owen had returned.

“Senior, why are you back? Is the afternoon training over?” he asked, rubbing his sleepy eyes and slowly sitting up.

“It’s almost dinner time. Come on, I’ll show you something!” Owen urged him again.

“Dinner?”

At these words, a strange rumble came from Yin Seventeen’s stomach, and a strong hunger suddenly overcame him.

“Looks like I don’t have much choice!” He rubbed his belly and shook his head with a wry smile.

Following Owen’s lead, the two of them quickly walked out of the camp.

“There are three fixed mealtimes in the training camp: six in the morning, noon at twelve, and six in the evening. The meal is announced by the sound of a gong—when it rings, everyone can start fighting for their food!” Owen explained as they walked.

Perhaps because it was nearly mealtime, the once-empty camp was gradually filling with more trainee warriors.

Seeing that everyone was heading in the same general direction, Yin Seventeen asked curiously, “Senior, is there only one dining hall in the whole camp?”

The thought of tens of thousands of trainees brawling over food made his scalp tingle. With his small build, he feared he’d be squashed flat in the crowd.

“No, no, no!” Owen shook his head and said, “There are too many people in the camp; gathering everyone in one place for a meal would never work.”

“I’m only taking you to the closest one right now.”

“There are dozens of dining spots, all evenly distributed around the outskirts of the camp, with the camp itself at the center.”

“I see!”

Yin Seventeen let out a small sigh of relief.

But even so, with hundreds of trainees gathering at each dining point, the competition for food was still fierce.

“Hey, Owen, why did you bring a little tagalong today?” Suddenly, another trainee came up quickly, put an arm around Owen’s neck, and grinned broadly, clearly an acquaintance.

Owen glanced at Yin Seventeen, then explained helplessly, “He’s a newcomer today. I agreed to be his guide.”

“That’ll be a handful for you this year! Good luck!” The newcomer released Owen’s neck, shook his head, and quickly disappeared down the path.

Guiding newcomers was generally considered a waste of training time, with little real benefit, so unless it was a fellow countryman, most people were reluctant to spend time on it.

After this brief interruption, Owen continued, “Besides remembering the meal times, there’s something else you need to keep in mind: you are not allowed to attack anyone who has already gotten their food.”

“Why?” Yin Seventeen was puzzled. “I thought all the food was up for grabs through fighting?”

Owen shook his head and explained slowly, “Trying to snatch food that someone already has only leads to chaos.”

“In the end, it’s possible that no one gets to eat.”

“Remember, the rule about fighting for food is just meant to stimulate your fighting instincts and test your training, not to create hostility.”

“That’s why the camp has a strict rule: you cannot steal food from someone who’s already claimed it!”

Yin Seventeen thought for a moment, then said seriously, “So, the key is to stop others from getting food. Once you have your own, the fight no longer concerns you, right?”

“Yes, exactly!” Owen nodded with a smile.

This newcomer wasn’t as dumb as he seemed.

“Then this rule actually works in my favor!” The tension on Yin Seventeen’s face eased a little.

He had worried that if he managed to grab some food, others might come after him. But this hard rule offered him substantial protection.

All he had to do was find a way to get food—then he was done.

Soon, the two of them had left the camp and found a large crowd had already gathered outside.

In the distance, a large wagon was slowly approaching.

Even from a fair distance, Yin Seventeen could smell the aroma of food drifting through the air.

Clearly, this was the vehicle delivering food to the camp.

The wagon stopped about two hundred meters from the camp.

Immediately afterwards, the clear sound of a gong rang out.

“Wait here for me. Don’t wander off!” Owen instructed, then dashed out in a cloud of dust.

He moved with incredible speed—nowhere near the speed of a Saint Warrior, perhaps, but to Yin Seventeen it was still inhuman.

“No wonder some people don’t risk igniting their Cosmos. Even with just this speed, they can lord it over ordinary folk!” Yin Seventeen marveled.

At the same time, many other trainees who had been waiting nearby sprang into action.

They were like a pack of hungry wolves, closing in on the “poor” food wagon from all directions.

Though Owen was fast, his poor position left him blocked by others.

With a burst of speed, he launched a surprise attack from behind, easily knocking down three people in front of him.

But as he attacked the trainees ahead, those behind him tried to take him down as well.

Fortunately, Owen was agile and nimble, dodging attacks with ease and even felling several more as he moved.

The crowd quickly descended into chaos, bodies tumbling over one another.

In less than a minute, Owen had fought his way to the food wagon, grabbed plenty of food with sharp eyes and quick hands, and retreated calmly.

“See that? This is one of the hardest trials you’ll face in the training camp!” Owen said, smiling as he glanced at the still-brawling crowd.

“Yes, I’ll adapt as quickly as I can!” Yin Seventeen nodded.

Owen split a roasted chicken in two and handed half to him. “For this year, you don’t have to worry—I’ll take care of it for you.”

“You just focus on training and mastering the basic skills.”

“At the very least, after a year, you should be able to get food for yourself from the melee.”

“Thank you, Senior!” Yin Seventeen said gratefully.

On the way back, Owen asked curiously, “By the way, if you hadn’t run into me today, what would you have done?”