Wilderness Cave!

Tang Fei ran ahead carrying buckets, while Phoenix chased after him with buckets in hand.

As they ran, dense raindrops began to fall.

Tang Fei stopped, removed the huge conical hat from his head—the one Phoenix had secretly mocked as "ugly"—and placed it over Phoenix's head.

Phoenix was about to refuse when Tang Fei pressed down on her head. "Don't move."

Tang Fei gave the hat a gentle tug, and it rustled as it extended in all directions. Like a large umbrella, it covered Phoenix's entire upper body.

"It's made of iron sheets and covered with a layer of century-old python skin. It can block acid rain."

As he spoke, Tang Fei had already tied the strap beneath her neck. Then he grabbed the buckets and sprinted ahead again.

This time, he carried all four buckets.

He knew Phoenix had not yet recovered from her injuries, so running with buckets would be inconvenient for her.

She might be quite capable, but she was worse at carrying buckets than even Little Fatty. She had stumbled while carrying two empty buckets earlier, so there was no need for Tang Fei to make things difficult for her over something like this.

He truly was a simp through and through.

Phoenix froze for a moment, then quickly followed Tang Fei's pace.

Tang Fei was extremely experienced at avoiding acid rain. Familiar with the route, he quickly found a cave where they could shelter from the rain.

He plunged into the cave, tossed the four buckets onto the ground, and leaned against the wall, gasping for breath.

No matter how skilled you were, you still feared a cleaver.

And no matter how formidable a cleaver was, acid rain could still corrode it.

Only then did Phoenix catch up. She stood there too, breathing heavily.

Tang Fei looked at Phoenix's flushed, dark-red face and could not help laughing. "Take off the hat. It's pretty heavy on your head. Besides, it looks a little... ridiculous on you."

What he had wanted to say was "cute," but he could not bring himself to say those words. He was afraid it would make him seem too much like a simp, so he changed his wording.

Phoenix was not angry. Obediently, she untied the strap beneath her neck. Just as she was about to reach up and remove the hat, Tang Fei warned her, "Don't touch the surface of the hat. There's still acid rain on it. It'll burn your hand."

Knowing Phoenix would not know how to handle it, Tang Fei walked over and pulled a cord. The hat shrank back with a series of swishes into its original shape, several sizes smaller than before.

Tang Fei removed the hat from the inside and set it aside. "The outer layer has touched acid rain. It needs to be cleaned and disinfected before anyone can touch it."

Phoenix nodded and stood there, studying Tang Fei thoughtfully.

"What are you looking at?" Tang Fei touched his face. "Can't hide my handsomeness anymore?"

Pfft!

Phoenix chuckled. "This acid rain won't stop anytime soon, will it?"

"It won't. It could be as short as ten-odd minutes, or as long as several hours."

"Sit down and rest. I'm actually a little tired." Phoenix found a smooth spot in the cave. Seeing dry grass and leaves beside it, she grabbed a handful and spread them on the ground before plopping down. "Did you prepare these leaves too?"

"Yes." Tang Fei nodded, looking proud. "Impressive, right? I prepared several rain shelters along this road. The moment acid rain comes, I can immediately find somewhere to hide. Other people don't know about them, and they can't be allowed to find out either. If they did, this cave would be packed with people, and there'd be no room for me."

Phoenix nodded. She understood the rules of survival on Old Earth, and there was no way she would criticize Tang Fei for being selfish over something like this.

Everyone was struggling to stay alive. If you did not work hard enough, or if you lacked the ability, then your right to live would be taken away and given to someone else.

Seeing that Tang Fei was still standing, Phoenix asked, "Aren't you going to sit down and rest?"

So Tang Fei ran over to find an empty spot opposite her. He was a shy, bashful boy.

Phoenix patted the spot beside her. "I've already laid out dry grass for you."

Tang Fei went along with it and plopped down beside Phoenix.

The moment he sat down, an alluring scent drifted over.

It smelled wonderful, and Tang Fei could not help sniffing...

Even more of a simp.

"What are you doing?" Phoenix stared at Tang Fei warily.

A lone man and a lone woman, in a wilderness cave... what if he had improper thoughts about her?

Oh, she was a Cultivator. Then it was fine.

Only when Tang Fei met Phoenix's eyes directly did he realize what scent he had just smelled.

Body fragrance!

The body fragrance of a young girl!

Light and sweet, carrying the tart freshness of green lemons—a scent that was both the mark and reward of a girl in the bloom of youth.

Of course, Tang Fei could not tell the truth. Wouldn't that make him seem like a pervert?

"Do you smell something stinky?" Tang Fei asked instead.

Phoenix sniffed, then shook her head. "No. What bad smell? Why can't I smell it?"

"Your nose isn't sensitive enough. I smelled rat droppings. There are lots of rats in caves. One of them must have crapped in some corner."

Phoenix believed him completely and was deeply impressed. "You're amazing. You could even smell that."

"Of course. Without extensive survival experience, I'd have been eaten by wild beasts long ago." Tang Fei thought girls from New Star were just too easy to fool. Every one of them fell for it, every single time. If he ever made it to New Star...

Forget it. He could not go.

Hearing Tang Fei's words, Phoenix felt inexplicably sad.

She turned to look at Tang Fei's thin profile and asked, "Tang Fei, are you happy?"

"What did you say?" Tang Fei stared at Phoenix with wide eyes.

"I asked whether you're happy. Do you enjoy your life every day?"

Tang Fei was stunned for a long while before looking at Phoenix with utter disbelief. "How could you talk to me about such a heavy topic? Whether I'm happy or not, can't you tell? Isn't it as obvious as the wrinkles on Old Man's face?"

"..."

Phoenix felt deeply guilty. "I'm sorry. I just wanted to understand you better. I wanted to hear about your past life, your current life, and what kind of life you want in the future."

"If there's something you want to know, just ask. Don't ask me whether I'm happy." Tang Fei said, "Staying alive is hard enough. Talking about anything else is a luxury."

"Alright, I understand." Phoenix felt even worse. Every word Tang Fei spoke in that casual tone made people pity him. There was a sorrow that seemed to seep into the bones.

The less he cared, the more it showed that he had long grown accustomed to the hardships he had endured.

"What do you understand?"

"I understand that your lives are not easy."

"Yeah, so when you return to New Star, make sure you don't forget what you promised us. I'm not saying this for myself, but you saw it too—Little Fatty is still growing, yet he has to smash so many rocks every day. Poor kid..."

Tang Fei knew Phoenix liked Little Fatty's honest and straightforward nature. The "friendship" between the two of them was much deeper than hers with him.

He could tell that Phoenix had always been on guard against him.

There was no helping it. Who told him he was such a dangerous man?

"..."

Phoenix was utterly speechless.

So this shameless bastard had been digging a pit here, waiting for her to fall into it?

"Don't worry. I'll definitely keep my promises. There will only be more, never less." Phoenix was practically ready to beat her chest in guarantee.

"Mm." Tang Fei nodded firmly. "I trust your character."

"..."

Trust, my ass.

If he trusted her, he would not keep reminding her.

Phoenix said nothing, and Tang Fei did not know what to say either.

Thus, the cave fell into deathly silence.

Only the howling wind outside and the pattering sound of acid rain battering the branches, leaves, and ground could be heard.

For some reason, these trees had actually adapted to acid rain of this intensity. Not only were they surviving quite well, they absorbed it as nourishment and grew like mad.

Of course, the ones that had failed to adapt were already dead.

"Why do I smell sulfuric acid?" Phoenix asked.

Tang Fei's expression turned strange upon hearing that. He quickly sprang to his feet, took off his upper garment, then moved to remove his pants as well...

Phoenix was horrified and cried out, "Tang Fei, what are you doing?"

(P.S. Thank you to young lady sunny Ranran for becoming our Galaxy Alliance Leader. I'm not bragging, but I've watched this young lady grow up too.)