A Test of Patience

"Linsey, this meat tastes weird?"

"What do you think my Culinary Skill are, some kind of magic wish-granting machine? If you really want some delicious meat, I can grill it for you right now..."

Upon hearing the first syllable of "barbecue," Hong decisively rejected the suggestion.

"Never mind, I'll just eat this... This noodle dish tastes really good, and the texture is completely different from meat! Can we eat this every day from now on?"

Linsey raised an eyebrow. "Then eat it for a month straight."

Hong bit her lip. "Uh... I think it's better to take turns eating different things."

Linsey didn't intend to keep making him blush, so she shook her head and chuckled, "Don't make that face."

"I still have potato and cabbage seeds here, so we can eat them alternately on the road. If we happen to find other crops, we'll have even more options for our meals."

Hong's attention was almost entirely focused on the new term.

Potatoes? Cabbage?

"And what is that? Linsey, I want to eat it now!"

Linsey glanced discreetly at the bats in the sky, then decisively refused. "No, cultivating plants consumes a lot of Essence. Let's talk about it tomorrow."

Red quickly finished the Vulture Noodles, then shifted her body to sit next to Linsey and extended her hand:

"Essence, is it? Use mine, I have plenty of this stuff!"

"..."

Where did you get this power bank from?

Linsey muttered a complaint, while the girl waved her fair arms in front of Linsey, still urging her on:

"Quick, take it and use it!"

*Slap! Linsey slapped away the red hand, revealing the cruel reality:

Even if you say that, I really can't do it!

Hong immediately countered. "But when you helped me sense the Essence before, didn't you put your own Essence into my body?"

"Why don't we try it the other way around now!"

Linsey shrugged:

"That only means giving you a little bit of Essence. It's completely different from extracting someone else's Essence and using your own skills. You're confusing different concepts."

Hong was very unwilling and said through gritted teeth, "Can't you think of a way? Even if you're a little harsh on me, I don't mind at all."

Linsey's tone remained unchanged. "If you can't do it, you can't do it. Give up."

"..."

After confirming several times without success, Hong could only accept reality. She put her hopes for the new food on tomorrow and stretched before going to bed.

Linsey waited a little longer.

He Sowing some more seeds, this time potatoes and cabbage, which took about half an hour.

Linsey then went into the camp and continued to doze off.

However, this performance yielded no results.

Whether it's what's shown on the map, the bats scouting from the air, or Linsey's own senses.

No new attackers have been found.

Except for the Rock Golem outside that has lost its power.

The sneak attack just now seemed like an illusion; the enemy hiding in the shadows made no further moves.

The next morning, Linsey and Red woke up right on time.

The two of them walked out of the camp, and the canyon that came into view was no different from yesterday.

But at the place where the Rock Golem was killed yesterday.

"It's gone!"

"Linsey, that thing called a puppet or something is gone!"

Hong opened her eyes wide and went forward to check the situation.

The girl bent down, her fingers and gaze sweeping across the yellowish-brown earth.

The traces of yesterday's battle are still intact on the ground and cliff face, except for the remains of the Rock Golem, which have vanished without a trace.

"Um..."

Linsey nodded slightly, and the Hunting Module was activated along with the action.

However, there were no footprints or any traces at the spot where the Rock Golem fell.

Something several meters tall had simply vanished into thin air! Linsey looked up at the sky:

"Come down, what happened last night?"

Upon hearing its master's command, the bat summon that had been guarding the area all night landed and began to report, "No enemies approached last night."

Linsey pointed to the spot where the Rock Golem had disappeared:

"Then how did this thing disappear?"

"After you go to sleep, it blends into the earth and disappears."

"..."

The description of the Rock Golem does indeed state that it can travel through the earth.

But Linsey doesn't believe that a destroyed puppet can still allow this ability to function properly.

Not to mention the timing of their disappearance, which came right after Linsey and Red had rested, clearly an attempt to deliberately avoid their notice.

"So they were still watching us from the shadows after all..."

Linsey muttered a quiet sigh, then waved for the bats to take flight again, remaining vigilant.

Red, who had also heard the bat's report, was slightly dissatisfied. "Linsey, your summoned creature is too stupid. It didn't react to such an obvious anomaly!"

Linsey blamed herself for the problem:

"Summoned creatures are inherently less intelligent."

"It was my fault for not being strict enough in issuing the orders. I only put it in charge of guarding against the enemy. I guess that's a lesson learned."

With that, Linsey turned to harvest the potatoes she had planted the night before.

Since the attackers went to such lengths to detail, they must be planning to remain in hiding. It's highly unlikely they'll get any further information by staying put for now.

Hong followed.

Watching Linsey's movements, she followed along to help without being reminded, and her potato-digging movements were quite impressive.

Linsey very keenly noticed something.

While digging potatoes, Hong secretly took a bite.

As for the taste of the raw potatoes... at least judging from her expression, she was quite satisfied.

This scene inspired Linsey, reminding him of the street food he ate as a child.

"When we have the ingredients, maybe we can try making some skewers?"

"..."

A few minutes later, Linsey from the Red Gang finished collecting the food and prepared to tidy up the camp.

She discovered that Linsey hadn't returned; instead, she was at the spot where she had planted the day before, enthusiastically digging in the soil.

What are you digging in the dirt for?

Linsey explained, "I used Essence to cultivate this soil. I can take it with me and use it a few more times. I can't let it go to waste here!"

waste...

Red looked thoughtful, then held out her right hand to Linsey: "Hey, give me that thing of yours."

Linsey immediately realized that Red was asking him for the [Ice Badger Claw Pendant].

He countered with a question, "Is it cold now?"

Red turned around, puffing out her cheeks, and was about to burrow into the camp when her voice floated out:

"You're so nosy! Just tell me if you're going to give it to me or not!"

Smack! "Linsey, don't hit my head!"

"..."

The journey ahead.

In addition to the arduous task of traversing cliffs and precipices, Linsey and her companion also had the added mission of finding the attackers.

But the actual situation was unexpected.

They were gone for two whole weeks! A full two weeks passed, and the anticipated second attack never came, as if the attackers had completely given up on the two of them.

Until the afternoon of the sixteenth day.

After crossing countless cracks in the earth.

Finally, a forest stretching as far as the eye could see appeared in their field of vision a few kilometers ahead.

The area is lush with trees, their shade blocking out the sun.

The air in the forest was fresh and moist, filled with the rich fragrance of plants; Linsey could even smell it on the wind.

Just then, a voice suddenly rang out behind the two of them.

A deep growl spoke in Common Language: "Human."

"If I were you, I would never set foot in this forest."