Yes! This was it!
Just as its name suggested, the Dietary Therapy Mod gave food made by the player healing effects proportional to its crafting difficulty, allowing players to obtain potent medicine early on.
"...Sir? Were you listening?" After steadying her breathing, Firefly looked at Liu Bai with concern. "C-could it be that your hearing...?"
"It's nothing like that. I was just thinking." Liu Bai took a deep breath.
In truth, he needed to calm down even more than Firefly did.
But even so, he still had to face reality—the biggest problem now was stopping Firefly's bleeding.
"Do you have any ready-to-eat food on you?"
"Ready-to-eat... food? Are you hungry? Sorry, all my luggage was destroyed in the crash. I'd finally managed to head for... Ah, right, sir, I haven't introduced myself yet, have I? My name is Firefly. I'm a... um, ordinary passenger. What about you?"
Firefly's tone dimmed for a moment, but she soon brightened again and showed a cheerful smile—though with her face covered in blood, it looked a little terrifying.
Liu Bai sighed at her words, but he wasn't surprised.
A high-difficulty start. This kind of predicament was clearly normal—though having it become reality was downright fatal.
"My name is Liu Bai. I'm just an ordinary person." After speaking, he glanced back down the path they had come from. Firefly's bloodstains trailed intermittently all the way here. "Firefly, maybe we need to run a little farther... Wait."
Although the scenario start didn't provide anything, some mods gave starting items.
Those mods operated by simply and brutally stuffing items into the inventory after the game began. They had nothing to do with starting supplies.
For example... the Serenitea Pot!
Liu Bai carefully checked his clothes and immediately found the Serenitea Pot clipped to the back of his waist.
Serenitea Pot: Storage Backpack/Stronghold (Warning: after entering the pot, the pot itself will remain outside. It can be moved, but cannot be destroyed./Can contain nonresistant companions. Method of containment: point the spout at the companion, call their name, and wait for a response.)
"A pot?" Firefly looked at the earthen-yellow teapot Liu Bai had pulled out from behind him and tilted her head, obedient yet confused.
From the sound of it, there didn't seem to be any water inside.
Liu Bai pointed the spout at the girl before him and said, "Firefly."
"Huh?"
The instant Firefly answered, her entire body turned into light and was sucked into the Serenitea Pot.
Seriously... the setting for this Purple-Gold Red Gourd was way too damn ridiculous.
Liu Bai then opened the lid and was sucked into the pot as well.
After a dizzying whirl, Liu Bai found himself standing on a floating island when his vision stabilized again.
Beside him sat a completely bewildered Firefly.
"M-M-M-Mr. Liu Bai! Where are we?"
"You can think of it as my private space? Explaining it properly would be troublesome, so just understand it that way for now."
Liu Bai looked around. This was Roufu Den, one of the starting realms.
The whole space was lush and green. Above them was a mist-wreathed sky, but the vast emptiness made it feel desolate. Only a small thatched hut serving as the starting stronghold stood nearby.
At the hut's entrance was a large fat bird squatting inside a pot and floating before the door...
"Firefly, come with me. Can you stand?"
"O-of course!"
As Firefly braced herself against the ground to rise, her brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.
"...I'll help you." Liu Bai reached out and placed Firefly's arm over his shoulder.
When the Pottle Spirit in front of the hut saw Liu Bai approach, its floating pot body swayed, its voice full of enthusiasm. "Master, welcome..."
"Skip."
"..."
Ignoring the speechless Pottle Spirit, Liu Bai directly supported Firefly into the hut.
The hut's furnishings were extremely simple: bedding on the floor, a large wooden chest by the bed, and a Gacha Machine by the window.
"Lie down first. Wait for me." Liu Bai settled Firefly down, then headed straight for the wooden chest.
"Um..." Firefly propped herself up, seemingly wanting to say something.
But the next moment, a wave of dizziness rushed straight into her mind.
She could clearly tell that her condition was terrible.
Liu Bai, meanwhile, opened the chest and searched desperately.
It was full of mod items.
Love Potion Trial Version... Gacha Coins... Found it, a portable cooking pot.
Its formal name was Gourmet Seeker.
Although its durability was low, it wouldn't break unless someone actually tried to smash it.
To save her... Liu Bai silently lit the pot and tossed the weeds in his hand into it.
Since the conditions were lacking, Firefly would just have to make do.
For example... maybe she could eat some roasted weeds first?
"The target vanished?" A short-haired woman in a maid uniform, her bangs covering one eye, appeared in an alley. "The blood trail ends here... Did someone beat me to them? No, it doesn't seem so."
The maid thoughtfully raised her head and looked upward.
"Since the Serpent is here too, that means the two guests who fell from the sky merely hid themselves... Isn't that right?"
"Annoying."
A woman clad entirely in black stood atop the wall, coldly looking down at the maid before her—Rita Rossweisse.
"Since I can't catch the visitors from beyond the sky, taking an S-rank Valkyrie back with me doesn't seem too bad."
Getting Beaten, Yet Still Having to Take It
"I admire Miss Raven's confidence." Rita leisurely materialized a scythe, though the corner of her eye had already caught sight of something utterly out of place in the alley.
An earthen-yellow teapot.
Its brand-new appearance made it something that absolutely shouldn't have been here.
Was it related to those two visitors from beyond the sky?
Still, what could she say about her luck... How unfortunate. To run into the Serpent of all people.
Tch.
"I also like how composed you are—I hope you can remain composed until the very end." With most of her face hidden beneath her hood, Raven coldly extended a red gauntlet equipped with sharp claw blades from beneath her cloak.
Clang—!
Successfully completed one cooking attempt. Cooking skill unlocked. Current Cooking Skill Level: 1 Roasted Weeds (Food/Medicine): Are you sure this thing can be called food? Healing Effect: 1
"..."
This was all he had. What else was he supposed to do? Besides, weeds... couldn't possibly kill someone, right?
At least he had unlocked the cooking skill... though, unsurprisingly, it was only Level 1.
Hmm?
Wait?
Current Skills Cooking Lv. 1 (You should just stick to instant noodles. Food Deliciousness +0) Charm Lv. 10 (MAX) (There was no denying that most people in the world were attracted to looks, and you were the very object of their adoration. Creatures with human aesthetic standards had greatly increased initial favorability toward you, and your social success rate doubled.)
His Charm... was maxed out?
"Mr. Liu Bai... it's burning." Firefly's soft voice sounded beside his ear.
"Ah!"
Coming back to his senses, Liu Bai hurriedly used a wooden stick to pick out the blades of grass.
The roasted weeds had turned into charred roasted weeds.
But they still retained the properties of weak medicine.
"...Firefly, eat something."
Liu Bai nearly couldn't hold it together after saying that.
Could these half-black, half-green things really still be eaten?
"Eat... I-I understand." A trace of conflict flashed across Firefly's face, but it turned into resolve a moment later. As though facing death without flinching, she took the stick and swallowed the grass on it in one bite.
"Mmph! It's so hot!"
Firefly stuck out her little tongue, her face forming a "<" expression.
"And it's so astringent and bitter..."
"It is a little astringent... Ahem, I mean, it's freshly roasted weeds, after all."
Liu Bai awkwardly looked away from Firefly.
How should he put it? Her little tongue was indeed kind of... Ahem. Besides, her soft and adorable appearance really made him want to bully her.
"But you really ate it without hesitation. You even scared me."
Even Liu Bai thought feeding someone grass was absurdly ridiculous, yet Firefly had decisively eaten it right away.
"Eh... well... we need to conserve our strength right now." Firefly scratched her cheek awkwardly. "And besides... Mr. Liu Bai had no reason to trick me, did you?"
This girl looked just as naive and sweet as he remembered—but Liu Bai wouldn't forget the warrior-like determination in her eyes when he first saw her after crossing over.
So did this girl actually have a mech, or not?
"Hmm... Do you feel any better now?"
"Huh? It seems like... I really do feel a little better? Does the grass here have some kind of magic?"
At Liu Bai's words, Firefly immediately realized it, shock appearing on her face.
What was going on? Could people heal by eating grass these days? Did the grass have some kind of magic... No, the person in front of her was extraordinary.
Although she could still feel herself irreversibly heading toward her end, it was as though someone had forcibly pulled her back two meters.
A wonderful feeling.
Originally, she had only wanted to avoid wasting Liu Bai's kindness, but now it seemed...
Whether it was this space or those roasted weeds... she seemed to have been saved by someone truly incredible.
Was this power Preservation? Or Abundance?
Liu Bai checked Firefly's current condition.
Firefly Current Health Condition: Blood Loss (Moderate), Entropy Loss Syndrome (Mild), Bone Fractures (Wrist, Ribs...) Internal Organ Rupture (...) Estimated time until death: 7 hours
The bleeding had begun to stop, but her most life-threatening injury now... aside from Entropy Loss Syndrome, which was impossible to cure at this stage, was likely the internal organ rupture.
Liu Bai was amazed that the girl before him had endured such severe injuries and still dragged him along while fleeing.
But the problem was no longer that serious.
Although the healing power was only 1, weeds didn't cost anything.
"Firefly." Liu Bai solemnly placed both hands on Firefly's shoulders.
Firefly's shoulders trembled as she revealed a lost and helpless expression.
Before you continue