Target: Great Western Continent

In Hua Xi's worldview, food had always been completely unrelated to refinement or deliciousness.

Well, perhaps only the upper echelons of those major companies and great powers had the means to pursue fine cuisine.

But for the overwhelming majority living upon this Wasteland, food had never been anything more than a necessary resource to sustain life. Nothing more.

For refugees, being able to eat something every day and not starve to death was already satisfying. "Eating one's fill" was an even rarer luxury.

As an Evolver, a Wasteland Hunter had it considerably better than a refugee, but only to a limited extent.

In this world fraught with danger at every step, they still had to stake their lives and brave the wilderness.

Much of the time, in order to avoid being discovered, they did not even dare light a fire. They could only gnaw on rock-hard frozen jerky and flatbread, washing it down with snowmelt to fill their stomachs.

Thus, the word "delicacy" had never existed in Hua Xi's dictionary.

Until this moment, when she dazedly and clumsily, with near-stiff hands and feet, grabbed a clump of food and stuffed it into her mouth, feeling the warmth and the fragrance of seasoning-laden food explode across her taste buds.

Her mind went blank for an instant.

"Is... this food? Can meals... really taste this good?"

The thought surfaced in her heart, impossible to suppress.

Hua Xi suddenly realized that she could no longer control her hands.

Unused to chopsticks, she simply cradled the lunchbox and wolfed it down with savage ferocity, as though she feared it would be snatched away if she ate too slowly.

Lin Tuo had deliberately ordered a large portion. He had only taken a few bites when Hua Xi, in temperatures below minus twenty degrees, had already started licking the lunchbox.

"Burp!" After licking a few times, she choked, rolling her eyes as she burped.

"Eat slower..." Lin Tuo stared in astonishment, though his tone softened considerably. He reached over, took a bottle of mineral water, and handed it to her. "Take a drink and wash it down."

"Tha... burp!" Hua Xi could not finish speaking. She merely gazed admiringly at the bottle in her hands, hesitated, unscrewed it, then cautiously took a sip.

Compared with snowmelt covered in dust, the sweetness was such a stark contrast that she did not dare take a large drink.

She only carefully sipped a few mouthfuls before screwing the cap back on, instinctively intending to tuck it into her pocket.

"Why are you hiding a bottle of water? There's a whole case right there..." Lin Tuo said helplessly.

Then he pointed at the large bag of grilled skewers and snacks. "Still not full? There's all this too."

Thus, Hua Xi's shriveled stomach encountered many more new things. A handful of meat skewers nearly had her swallowing the sticks along with the meat after just a few bites.

As for the snacks, she only sampled a few bites before putting them away.

Well, since she was no longer hungry, it was more worthwhile to save these for the road.

Lin Tuo watched without saying anything.

Hua Xi, on the other hand, now looked at him with entirely different eyes. She stared as he finished his lunchbox before suddenly asking:

"Who exactly are you?"

The origins of this food were simply too bizarre. Though she could not understand much of the writing on those exquisitely packaged snacks, they were clearly very similar to creations of the Old Era.

But thirty years had passed. Aside from a tiny amount of food, all that remained preserved were the wrappers... Yet these were fresh.

And those steaming hot meals were even harder to explain. Their source was deeply suspicious, utterly illogical no matter how she looked at it, unless...

"Could it be that your ability is conjuring food out of thin air?" Hua Xi suddenly asked with a serious expression.

In her eyes, that seemed to be the only possibility.

"Pfft." Lin Tuo was drinking water and nearly sprayed it out. But after thinking it over, that really did seem to count as his "ability."

He screwed the cap back on, put on a stern face, and said:

"Don't ask about things you shouldn't know. All right, you've eaten. Now it's time for you to keep answering my questions. Well, if you're unwilling to talk, then I can only..."

"Ask away. I'll tell you everything." Before he could finish, Hua Xi sighed and surrendered.

She could not resist anyway, not to mention that one could hardly bite the hand that fed them.

Lin Tuo froze briefly, then laughed. After considering it, he said:

"You've probably noticed that I'm not from around here. I came from a distant place and do not understand the local customs. So... I want to make contact with the Three Major Powers you mentioned. Where can I find them quickly?"

"You want to find them?" Hua Xi paused, suppressing the urge to ask why. She answered seriously, "Normally, you could just go to each of their Main Cities. But right now... you can only go to the Great Western Continent."

The Great Western Continent...

At the term, Lin Tuo's gaze shifted. Keeping his expression calm, he asked, "Why?"

"Because not long ago, radiation levels in the Great Western Continent began to decline. The main forces of Blaze, Gray Mountain, and Floating Apocalypse all swarmed into the Great Western Continent mountain range.

They're exploring that region and searching for the legendary Secret Seal."

Hua Xi explained.

"Secret Seal? Tell me about the Great Western Continent in detail." Lin Tuo's expression grew more serious.

Soon, through Hua Xi's account, he roughly pieced together the course of events.

A legend had always circulated among Wasteland survivors.

It said that more than thirty years ago, the reason the Mad Emperor had so easily controlled the researchers and carried out that world-destroying experiment was because he had relied on an extraordinary artifact called the "Secret Seal."

According to legend, the artifact had been created by the Spirit Tide that appeared every few years, and possessed the power to influence other people's minds.

There were even rumors that the reason the Mad Emperor had successfully usurped the throne, founded the New Dynasty, and held the reins of government for decades was also because of this mysterious treasure.

Of course, there was no hard evidence for this claim, but it was likely not smoke without fire.

When the Cataclysm occurred, that Secret Seal had been buried within the western mountain range alongside the Mad Emperor and the entire Great Western Continent Laboratory.

Because that region had been closest to the explosion, its radiation Corruption was also the most severe.

Over the past thirty years, many people had attempted to enter the Great Western Continent, but none had returned alive.

As a result, it had become a forbidden zone of death upon the Wasteland.

Only in recent years, as radiation Corruption declined, had the various powers turned their attention there once more.

Especially recently, when the Corruption had entered a period of rapid decline.

The entire Great Western Continent was no longer quite so perilous. Thus, the Three Major Powers had all mobilized their main forces and headed there, intending to excavate that forbidden zone and search for the Secret Seal.

"The Three Major Powers are all afraid that one of the others will find the Secret Seal. After all, if it truly possesses such miraculous power, whoever obtains it will change the Wasteland's balance of power.

Even many Evolvers have gone... And taking a step back, even if they cannot find the Secret Seal, legend says the Great Western Continent Laboratory contains many good things.

The Old Era's largest weapons production site was there.

So... whether for the Secret Seal or for the resources there, the Three Major Powers could not possibly give up..."

"So, about one or two months ago, their main forces had already entered the Great Western Continent. They should still be exploring deeper inside right now. If you want to find them, going there is the easiest way. You can run into all of them at once..."

As Hua Xi spoke, she suddenly sighed and muttered:

"I originally got that batch of weapons because I was thinking of going over there to take a look too."

Lin Tuo smiled, then fell into thought.

The information Hua Xi had brought indeed filled in some gaps in his knowledge and gave him a clearer understanding of the matter.

The Spirit Tide was probably connected to his harvesting of Aether... That left Lin Tuo both amused and somewhat surprised.

After all, even Earth civilization outside the Sandbox had not yet figured out Aether...

Well, perhaps that was not quite right. Lin Tuo had never carried out worldwide harvesting outside the Sandbox, nor had he disturbed Earth's Aether environment on a large scale.

If one day he became capable of harvesting globally, Earth's scientists would naturally discover the anomaly as well.

Compared to that, what interested him more was the item known as the Secret Seal.

"Extraordinary power... related to the Spirit Tide... What exactly is it?"

Lin Tuo was curious, even tempted to immediately teleport to the Great Western Continent. But after thinking it over, he restrained himself.

The entire Sandbox was under his control anyway. No matter what, the Secret Seal could not escape his grasp. There was no need to hurry.

But he still had to go to the Great Western Continent. He had been traveling west all along, so he could use the journey to hunt Mutant Beasts and speed up his Body Tempering progress—killing two birds with one stone.

Having made up his mind, Lin Tuo asked again:

"One last question. What exactly is your ability?"

He vaguely felt that the extraordinary ability possessed by the Secret Seal might share some similarity with the "abilities" of these Evolvers.

This was the second time he had raised the question. This time, however, Hua Xi struggled briefly, sighed, and confessed:

"My ability... is actually Pain Self-Healing... That is, once my body is injured, it can repair itself quickly, but the price is consuming nutrients within my body.

So every time I get hurt, I become especially, especially hungry..."

"When I fought those people from Burning Fire Company earlier, I was injured. My body repaired itself on the road, but I was nearly starving to death too. That's why I went to Mine Town to find food."

So that was it.

Understanding filled Lin Tuo's eyes. No wonder he had been puzzled earlier. She was clearly being hunted, yet she had still found time to steal food. So that was the price of Pain Self-Healing.

The reason Hua Xi had recovered so quickly after he injured her earlier had also been a manifestation of this ability.

"Sounds like some kind of rapid cell proliferation... I wonder whether it can be replicated. If it can be researched..."

Lin Tuo felt tempted and could not help thinking.

The two sat for a while longer, going over more details.

Once they had rested enough, Lin Tuo led Hua Xi back into the vehicle. "You've eaten. Time to get moving."

"Where are we going?" Hua Xi, now untied, scrambled awkwardly into the vehicle and asked.

"Click... vroom..." He turned the key, and the engine roared to life. The modified vehicle trembled. Amid the rumble, Lin Tuo pressed the accelerator and replied calmly:

"The Great Western Continent. We're heading west all the way!"

P.S. Thanks to longtime reader Maya Wo Zhazhe Shuai for the ten-thousand reward!!

Thanks to readers: Even If I'm Muted I'll Still Show Off, Li Shipu, I Bought a Bottle of Sweet Water but Won't Drink It—I'll Mess Around With It, Blood Dream of the Mortal World, and Huaji Great Heavenly Lord for their support and rewards!