Brother Mouse, Eat Your Fill

A chilling wind swept across the red sands of the Wasteland. At this moment, the scorching Fire Element finally subsided, and the raging Wind Element began to dominate the Elemental Tide, tearing apart the remaining warmth of the earth's surface.

It was late at night. Li Ziran was in a newly built Mill, with only four thick walls and a roof. A three-bladed windmill hung precariously on the roof, telling passing travelers that this was a Mill that could provide hospitality.

Mading'er!

Li Ziran didn't find his Goddess of Fortune; no merchant caravan was willing to take him in along the way. Fortunately, with the help of his two legs, he finally reached his desired destination. However, the Mading'er was no longer as prosperous as it used to be.

Jon completely melted the land, and after freezing, it formed a vast expanse of red crystal-like crystalline material, which was transparently red even in the dark.

This is good news for the Wasteland creatures, as it means that this is a fixed settlement, making it easier to settle down and build a town than the Wasteland full of yellow sand.

Bang! Bang!

Li Ziran stomped his feet twice. The red crystal was very hard, like steel. He could now imagine the high temperature at the time, which completely melted the sand and stones, and it must have been as deep as a three-story building.

Unconsciously glancing at Anfuni sitting cross-legged in the corner, her eyes half-closed in meditation, Li Ziran no envy. Perhaps what the mage envied most about him was that he didn't have to sit still and meditate.

It's tedious and boring, but I have to do it.

Li Ziran looked at Jon on Anfuni's shoulder, wanting to see how he would react, but the Frog had its eyes closed, as if it had no idea that this was its own handiwork.

"Sir, your milk tea!"

The milkman was a woman with a goat's head and huge horns. Not far away, there were seven lambs huddled together, boiling goat milk.

Milk is a good thing; it contains abundant nutrients and can quickly replenish the body's depleted nutrients.

These lambs are all very young, not even ten years old, but at this age they should be taking on the responsibility of supporting their families in the Wasteland.

They were lucky; they followed the tribe to occupy Mading'er, which would soon become a new town.

That's for sure.

This is the town closest to the Rhine Prairie, where Slave-Catching Group rest. It's also not far from the highlands inhabited by Beast Race Grasslands, so Orc often choose to come here for odd jobs. More importantly, there is a rare underground water vein here.

This waterway is enough to sustain the operation of a small town.

If these Ram-headed People can run the town according to the Centaur philosophy, it won't be difficult for it to prosper.

Of course, whether or not they can completely occupy Mading'er is not up to Li Ziran; it will require fighting and bloodshed. The benefits he can see are also visible to other tribes.

Without absolute strength, it is impossible to occupy abundant territory.

Li Ziran smiled at the Mill owner, took the milk tea and gulped it down. It had a strong milky flavor, but the goat milk had a fishy smell, which Li Ziran didn't like. However, the hot goat milk immediately relieved a lot of his fatigue from the journey.

"Is there any bread?"

"Yes, three copper coins each!" The sheep-headed shopkeeper looked at Li Ziran, as if asking how many he wanted.

Li Ziran frowned slightly. It was a bit expensive; normally one copper coin could buy two. But he could understand; the area had just been ravaged, and supplies were scarce.

Prices in the Wasteland have never been fixed; there are simply too many interfering factors.

"Ten, I guess!" Li Ziran said with a smile.

The sheep-headed shop owner was somewhat taken aback, clearly not expecting such a large deal.

"Sir, our Sheepfolk bread is quite large; you can have half," the sheep-headed shopkeeper kindly advised.

Li Ziran smiled again, but changed his tone, "How many do you have?"

"There are... more than thirty left, and some half-finished ones too," the sheep-headed shopkeeper stammered.

"Pack them all up." He tossed over a silver coin. "Is that enough?"

The moment the sheep-headed shopkeeper saw the silver coins, he realized the other party wasn't joking. He immediately instructed the Ram-headed People to pack all the bread in the cupboard into nylon bags.

The Sheepfolk's bread was indeed very large; thirty loaves filled a whole sack, and Li Ziran could barely lift them.

"Where are you going?" Anfuni, who was meditating, suddenly opened her eyes and asked Li Ziran, who had already walked to the door.

Li Ziran smiled and said, "It's alright, I won't run away. I'm thinking about you. The weather is nice now, so I just wanted to go for a walk."

Anfuni didn't believe the ghost's words. It was late at night, a strong wind was blowing outside, and the temperature was extremely low. Although it wouldn't freeze to death, it was hardly good weather. She wasn't worried about Li Ziran escaping, and she was also really bored. She had just been trying her best to meditate, but the Wasteland and the rainforest were completely different.

The scarcity of Water Element has resulted in a pitifully small number of Grass-Spirit Elemental Bug here.

More importantly, I always feel like my body is out of control and about to go crazy; I can't calm down at all.

She needs to grow up, she needs to return to the Queen's side, and she needs to do it quickly; Li Ziran must be urged to find a way.

She stood up and followed them out. Without the Mill's protection, Anfuni was almost blown over the moment she stepped outside.

Li Ziran ignored him, put on his wizard's robe and hat, and walked out of the Mading'er with a sack of bread in his hand.

The wind was strong on the Wasteland. Anfuni followed behind Li Ziran and unknowingly left the town. Without any shelter, the wind began to whip up yellow sand, which pelted her face like hail. Anfuni had to jump onto Frog for protection.

Before him lay a vast, Boundary darkness. In the midst of this world, Li Ziran resembled a frail old dog braving the wind and snow, his back hunched against the storm.

Anfuni found it strange; this person was completely problematic. Could he have masochistic tendencies?

Suddenly, Li Ziran stopped, took a piece of bread from his nylon bag, broke it into pieces, and casually tossed it into the yellow sand.

He didn't walk fast, as if he had calculated it, taking a loaf of bread every few dozen steps, and before he knew it, he had thrown out five.

Anfuni, perched on the Frog, couldn't help but chuckle. What kind of quirk was this?

Even if bread is worthless, it's still bought with money. Having spent two days in the Wasteland, she knew all too well the value of a silver coin here.

The Ram-headed People in the Mill, even after a month of hard work, probably wouldn't earn this much.

Running around in the middle of the night scattering money in the Wasteland? That's insane!

"Shall I help you?" Anfuni hopped over on her Frog.

Li Ziran shook his head and continued forward. Anfuni rolled her eyes in boredom. This person wasn't just sick, he had a serious problem.

But soon, Anfuni noticed something: Li Ziran wasn't just scattering the bread randomly. Instead, he was rhythmically circling around the Mading'er, tearing the bread into tiny pieces as much as possible. Whenever he saw a small hole in the Wasteland, he would squat down, tear off a large piece, and stuff the hole full.

This was definitely Anfuni's most difficult night, even more boring than meditation.

Why would she be out in the middle of the Wasteland with a man, exposed to the cold wind?

By the time Li Ziran finished throwing away the bag of bread, it was almost dawn. At that moment, Li Ziran's face was ashen and his lips were pale, clearly indicating that he was quite cold.

"Does it have any special meaning? Magic? Witchcraft? Sacrifice?" Anfuni kept asking.

Li Ziran shook his head and laughed, "No, just a labor of love." He then looked at the endless black Wasteland and smiled with satisfaction, "It's good to have friends who like to eat this."

"Friend?"

Li Ziran nodded, "I guess so." He didn't say anything more, quickly returned to the Mill, picked up the goat's milk, and gulped down two large bowls. Ignoring Anfuni's questions, he curled up on the straw mat and fell fast asleep.

He was very quiet.

Anfuni couldn't sleep at all, nor could she meditate. This person was snoring, which she found extremely annoying.

The sunlight finally emerged, gradually stirring the Fire Element and causing them to surge into a frenzy.

Annie kicked Li Ziran in the butt and shouted impatiently, "Get up, get up!"

She didn't stand on ceremony at all, because Li Ziran had instructed her to wake him up as soon as the sun rose, since morning was the best time to travel.

They had to make their way to Blackwind Pass during the coolest part of the morning.

Li Ziran sat there blankly, his eyes drooping, clearly not fully awake. But when he saw the sunlight shining on the Mill wall, he still stood up, still groggily, and said, "Let's go!"

He had to leave. Although he could sleep, the Wasteland wouldn't wait for him; in just two or three hours, it would become a new furnace.

The ground began to heat up. Li Ziran raised his head and sniffed hard. A hint of joy finally appeared on his tired face. He smelled a stench, the smell of a rotting corpse.

It's very light, but it's definitely not wrong.

"Keep pushing, we'll be there in half a day!"

Li Ziran said excitedly, nothing is more refreshing than this stench, and unconsciously his speed increased.

Anfuni frowned slightly. The strange smell made her nauseous, as if it were constantly eroding her nerve cells. The further she walked, the more she wanted to vomit. She had to use the brass-like aura of Frog to envelop herself in order to block the omnipresent stench in the air.

Gradually, the unique red color of the Wasteland began to disappear, and the ground began to turn dark red. These dark red lines formed interlocking patterns, clinging tightly to the sand.

The ground beneath my feet was no longer soft soil; instead, it felt like a sticky, viscous soil. This soil, weathered, had become a soft, fluffy sand. Stepping on it felt like stepping on the skin of a living creature—soft yet resilient.

"Anfuni, we'll be there soon!"

Hearing Li Ziran's excited shout, Anfuni looked up and saw a giant black and white mountain range towering high on the horizon, which looked like a huge bird's nest from a distance.

Undead Nest!