Chapter 68

As for seasonings and the like, there were absolutely none.

Is this even edible?

"Waaah, no, you don't know—I haven't tasted meat in so long!"

"Waaaaah! I feel like I'm about to cry!"

After she finished speaking, she immediately buried her head in the roasted Fowlbeast and began to devour it.

As for the initial concern that these birds were attracted by the mercenary corpses, was that true?

Please! Imagine waking up in an unknown environment, living a life of hardship, constantly encountering misfortunes, and risking your life with the slightest carelessness. Every day, your only food is leftovers scavenged from the trash or dry, hard coarse bread!

The fact that she could immediately connect the dots under these circumstances to using the corpse as bait to attract birds—wasn't that a bit too morbid? That she showed enough morality and rationality!

Now, facing the golden-brown roasted Fowlbeast, do you still care about what happened before?

Are you kidding me?! This is meat! Meat!

With his weak constitution—capable of only sitting on the ground drooling over Fowlbeast in the sky or running away with his tail between his legs at the sight of wild animals on the ground—what was there to worry about after seeing meat?

Let me tell you! Every second she hesitated was a disrespect to nature!

That's what they said...

However, in reality, the Doctor's own appetite is quite small.

He didn't maintain his ravenous eating for long before sitting down next to Zuo Jian by the campfire, exuding a lazy aura.

"Ah... I'm satisfied. Even if I die now, I won't have any complaints."

After she finished speaking, she reached out and began to warm herself around the fire.

"This is... what happiness feels like."

Zuo Jian glanced at the Doctor, who was sitting around the campfire, exuding a lazy aura and looking like he was about to melt, and said with a hint of helplessness.

"You... you're really easy to please."

"Satisfy... how is that possible!"

After hearing this, the Doctor blushed and hurriedly explained.

"I... I... I could never be that kind of person! I'm not a beggar! Even if I really had to be satisfied, at least... at least!"

"At least what?"

Zuo Jian, watching the Doctor's stuttering.

I don't know why... but I always have this strange feeling in my heart.

For example, when I see someone eating, I always feel a strange sense of anticipation...

What am I really expecting?

He squinted, looking at the Doctor's slender arms.

Come to think of it... those roasted Fowlbeast had absolutely no flavor... and yet I didn't feel any regret.

Ma...

Why...

[Zuo Jian... Ugh... I can't eat anymore...]

Laurentina's murmur suddenly rang in his ears, abruptly pulling Zuo Jian Zuo Jian reverie.

"... Speaking of which, she can feel her body eating even when she's asleep... It seems like she still retains her sense of taste."

Zuo Jian and realized that even when the little Shark was asleep, it still maintained dominant control over its body.

How worried she was that she might sneak away...

"That's it! A blanket! A blanket!"

The Doctor's voice from the side caught Zuo Jian's attention again, and the latter turned his head to look at the other person who was warming his hands by the fire.

"Damn it... It reminds me of sad things... If Blanket-san were still here..."

She lowered her head and wiped her eyes sadly.

However, the next moment, a large red blanket was placed directly over her.

"?"

"A blanket wouldn't be a bad idea either."

Zuo Jian moved his hand joints and watched as a long cut on his forearm healed quickly.

It's just mimicking textiles; such a small thing doesn't require much physical effort.

However--

"Waaaaah! You can actually do something like that?!"

The Doctor's eyes widened; he was completely wrapped in the blanket, looking like a giant rice dumpling.

"If you don't mind that this thing is actually a mimicry of flesh and blood tissue..."

"Disdain? How could I! Even if you said it was found in a garbage dump, I wouldn't disdain it!"

After the Doctor finished speaking, he wrapped himself in a blanket, huddled by the campfire, and let out a happy chuckle.

Zuo Jian looked at her and smiled slightly.

She's so easily satisfied.

That look reminded him of Anita from Saltwind City.

If only happiness could be achieved so easily for everyone.

"But then again, Doctor, you've read that guide before."

Zuo Jian leaned against the car, looking at the "zongzi" (rice dumplings) surrounding the fire, and said.

"Guidelines? What guidelines?"

"This one."

He took the yellowed Terra Travel Guide strapped to his waist and waved it in his hand, but the other person was taken aback, then squinted at the cover.

What is this?

"?"

This time, it was Zuo Jian's turn to be confused.

"The guide, you know, that opening passage about Victoria you described earlier, wasn't it memorized from this guide?"

"That's true, but I'm not looking at yours... wait a minute!"

As if something flashed through her mind, she jolted awake and immediately lunged Zuo Jian, saying...

"Um, um, could I take a look at your guide?"

"And another thing, this guide of yours... where did it come from? How many years ago is it filled with stories?!"

Zuo Jian looked at the Doctor's expression, then thought carefully.

"This guide came from a remote little town in Iberia, from the room of an abandoned monk."

"Judging from the state of disrepair of the house and the age of the book, it can be roughly estimated that this book was printed at least seventy years ago?"

"As for the recorded time, it could be seventy years, or it could be one hundred years? After all, I haven't fully understood some of the text about time mentioned above."

Zuo Jian looked at the Doctor, whose expression was very serious. She took out a thick guidebook from the car, which was more stylishly bound and looked brand new, and placed it on the ground.

"My book was printed and published in recent years, and the dates recorded on it are from Terra about twenty years ago..."

After saying that, the Doctor placed the two books side by side and opened them to the first page together...

The first thing you see is the author's signature.

Kal'tsit and... Dr. Lady.

Exactly the same author.

Keep flipping through.

The first few pages are almost identical, but the differences become more pronounced as you go on.

Victoria is the most powerful nation in Terra, possessing numerous settlements and enclaves.

Although Victoria remains one of the most powerful nations in Terra, it has begun to show signs of decline in recent years.

Columbia colony...

Columbia, an independent nation.

Leithanien at its peak... the Witch King...

Overthrow... Twin Empresses ascended the throne.

The two guides, written at different times, presented her with scenes of the country at different periods.

The starting point a century ago... up to the current situation nearly 20 years ago.

The intermediate process is blank, but based solely on this information, the Doctor was able to roughly deduce what exactly happened during that time...

Damn it... why...

This feeling... it's too much of a coincidence...

Her eyes widened as she stared at the cold words on the two books.

It's like... it's like...

They are specifically divided into different categories... just to help me understand what this land has experienced during that period.

Why? Why do I feel this way?

Why do I need to understand this?

In an instant, she felt as if she were back on that chessboard.

But this time...

She was no longer the player holding the white pieces... but rather a piece in the opponent's hand...

What's wrong? You don't look well.

Zuo Jian forward and asked with some concern.

Is there anything in these two guides that particularly interests you?

The other person's words gradually calmed the Doctor's trembling heart.

Damn it...

No, even if she knew, what difference would it make? What does it have to do with her anyway?!

Yeah, right now she's just a nobody who has to fight tooth and nail just to survive.

What are you thinking about here?

The Doctor shook his head, then adopted his previous somewhat cute and naive expression and said to Zuo Jian.

"I was just thinking... this guy named Kal'tsit actually wrote a similar book so long ago... and he was still writing it twenty years ago..."

"Could she be some kind of ultimate old hag? How can she live so long?!"

Zuo Jian was taken aback, looking at the Doctor's serious expression, and then stroked his chin as well.

"Yes, that's true. How could someone write a book over such a long period of time... Perhaps it's a code name? The kind that can be passed down."

"No, she must be an ultimate old woman!"

"Huh? Why do you say that?"

"Intuition!"

The Doctor gave Zuo Jian a simple, honest smile.

"Pfft, really?"

Chapter Twenty-Nine, Victoria, what a wonderful place!

The border of the Flame Kingdom.