One Step Ahead

The best way to start the day was to get up in the morning and throw out the damned alarm clock.

Li Xiang's eyelids felt unbearably heavy, her head foggy. It was the light that finally woke her up.

She had looked at some stuff before bed last night, then spent the whole night having ridiculous dreams. It was well past midnight before she finally managed to sleep soundly.

Her whole body felt weak and sore, her head as heavy as if it had been filled with lead. She was so sleepy she could barely lift her eyelids.

She lay sprawled in bed for ages, dragging her feet. After several attempts, she finally managed to push herself upright.

She really had overdone it last night. This morning, she had nearly overslept and thrown off her entire day's routine.

After rubbing her face to shake off a little of her drowsiness, Li Xiang pulled on her clothes and left the girls' wooden cabin.

The camp was already bustling.

Cooking smoke curled into the morning air, and the fire crackled, throwing off tiny sparks. Yuzuriha had gotten the breakfast ingredients ready early and was quietly working by the stove.

Senku crouched beside the stone table, holding a charcoal pencil and scribbling on a stone slab. He was muttering something under his breath, speaking too quickly for her to make out.

Yawning, Li Xiang carried her cup and homemade toothbrush to the stream to wash up.

The cold water splashing against her face finally chased away most of her sleepiness. Her head cleared a little, but she still felt deeply exhausted, moving slowly and groggily.

With her eyes half-open and her mind blank, she paid no attention to Senku's muttering nearby, assuming he was dreaming up some bizarre invention again.

Until one perfectly clear sentence reached her ears.

"Next, gather the raw materials and make gunpowder."

Li Xiang's groggy brain froze for a second.

Make... gunpowder?

She had a large mouthful of clean water that she had been about to spit out.

Caught completely off guard, her throat instinctively tightened. Instead of spitting out the water, she swallowed the whole mouthful with a gulp.

Water went down her windpipe, and a burning, choking sensation instantly surged up her throat!

"Cough, cough-!!"

Li Xiang immediately broke into a violent coughing fit, doubling over as she coughed nonstop. Her eyes nearly watered, and her chest felt tight.

Yuzuriha, who had been tidying up the dishes nearby, heard the commotion and hurried over, her face full of worry.

"Li Xiang! What's wrong? Are you feeling sick? Did something go down the wrong way?"

The young girl fussed helplessly, gently patting her back, her eyes brimming with concern.

Li Xiang waved a hand. It took her a long while to get the violent coughing under control. She wiped the water from the corner of her mouth and took a couple of deep breaths to steady herself.

"I'm fine, I'm fine."

Her heart was still pounding.

"It's just... something startled me, and I accidentally swallowed wrong."

As soon as things settled down, Senku stopped writing and turned to look over.

The boy wore his signature confident grin, his expression brimming with swagger.

"Of course we're making gunpowder."

He scratched his hair, his tone certain. "We've already run into an enemy on a completely different level."

Tsukasa, the Lion King, was their greatest threat right now.

In a barehanded fight, none of them could take on Tsukasa, the strongest primate, head-on.

If they wanted to seize the initiative in the coming conflict between their factions, their only option was to rely on science and create firearms to close the gap in combat strength.

But instead of feeling reassured, Li Xiang's heart sank. A powerful sense that something was wrong began to creep over her.

She knew how deep Tsukasa's obsession ran, how extreme his beliefs were.

He was determined to stop Senku from reviving all of humanity and restoring the old world's civilization. He had even openly threatened to kill Senku himself the next time they met.

Logically, after their falling-out, Tsukasa should have come straight back to cause trouble, or even attacked outright.

Yet strangely, so many days had passed without a word from him. There had been no sign of him stirring up trouble.

He had quietly vanished into the mountains and forests, as though he had disappeared without a trace.

Alarm bells immediately went off in Li Xiang's head, and her brows drew tightly together.

Tsukasa wouldn't let Senku develop in peace for no reason.

"Senku!"

The more Li Xiang thought about it, the more uneasy she became. She immediately raised a hand and beckoned him over.

"Come here for a second."

Looking puzzled, Senku picked at his ear out of habit and ambled over to her.

"What's up? Why all the secrecy?"

Li Xiang looked him straight in the eye. "Tsukasa hasn't come to cause trouble for this long. Don't you find that strange at all?"

"He said he was going to kill you, yet he's letting us gather supplies in peace. There's definitely something wrong here."

"True. That doesn't fit the way he operates."

Watching Senku think it through carefully, Li Xiang's eyes lit up. Inspiration struck, and a safe plan that would solve both problems sprang into her mind.

She stepped closer and lowered her voice, quietly explaining the entire plan she had worked out to Senku in detail.

Senku listened in silence, his eyes growing brighter as she went on.

He paused for two seconds. "You're something else, Li Xiang. Only you could come up with a dirty trick like that."

At the praise, Li Xiang couldn't help smiling, her eyes curving as she waved a casual hand.

"No need for praise. Just the basics."

With the danger anticipated and a fallback prepared, she instantly felt much more at ease.

Once they had finished getting ready, the four of them sat together and ate breakfast.

Their main task for today was to make gunpowder!

As Taiju chewed on roasted meat, he scratched his head and asked curiously.

"Senku, we're making gunpowder today, right? So what's the first step?"

Senku gave a slight shake of his head. "The most crucial first step is obtaining natural sulfur, a key raw material for gunpowder."

"And there's only one place where sulfur is most concentrated and easiest to collect-a volcano."

To make gunpowder, they first had to find a volcano.

Fortunately, this untamed land still had its full range of terrain, and signs of volcanoes weren't hard to find. Landforms and geological traces made it easy to determine their general location.

Besides, they had already found a volcano earlier. This trip was just to scout it out and collect supplies.

The first objective was simple and clear-find the volcano and gather natural sulfur.

It wasn't especially difficult, but it was a long way away and required a lengthy trek into the mountains. After breakfast, the four of them quickly packed their bags.

They took waterskins, basic tools, and emergency rations, making all the necessary preparations for the journey.

The camp's everyday chores were put on hold. Building and expanding their housing, along with sorting supplies, would all have to wait.

Senku took the lead. With his knowledge of geology and terrain, he was responsible for guiding them and finding their destination.

Li Xiang followed close behind. Meticulous as ever, she stayed alert to hidden dangers in their surroundings and anticipated risks.

The team of four finished their preparations and stood ready to set out.

The volcano wouldn't be hard to find, but to cover their tracks, they had no choice but to destroy their current base. Senku looked at everything around him, then turned away.

Li Xiang scratched her head. "Do we really have to start from scratch again?"

Fine, I really am lazy, but we're all in the same boat now.