"If you know how to cook, make plenty!"
Katarina held the huge pile of ingredients Jiang Xiaofeng had provided, feeling rather speechless.
Why is this guy carrying a whole pile of raw meat and fowl around with him?
Katarina thought this without saying it aloud, then took off her purple coat.
Her green hair slowly faded to an ordinary brown as well.
Jiang Xiaofeng looked her over and praised her. "You've got quite a figure, little girl."
In Jiang Xiaofeng's eyes, anyone who wasn't as tall as an adult man or a mature woman was a little girl or a little boy.
After all, unless the person he possessed had ugly clothes, Jiang Xiaofeng wouldn't spend extra effort changing his outfit to match The Beheaded's.
Likewise, if they weren't tall enough, Jiang Xiaofeng would take the initiative to increase his height after possessing them.
Fortunately, though, whether it was the two burly men from before or the current debt collector, they were all far taller than the little boys.
I wasn't talking about Xiao. Really.
Hearing Jiang Xiaofeng's words, Katarina nearly lashed out at him, but under the pressure of his strength, which he hadn't even displayed, she swallowed her anger and began cooking.
Jiang Xiaofeng watched the cooking process from the side.
Looking at Katarina's head, he also asked, "Do your coats dye your hair too?"
Jiang Xiaofeng really hadn't expected something like this to be possible.
It seemed Electro Cicin Mages really weren't Sucrose... no, that should be, "Sucrose really wasn't an Electro Cicin Mage."
As she cooked, Katarina explained, "It's because we need to standardize our appearance."
"After all, Cicin Mages have all kinds of hair colors. Different colors would look strange when organizing the army."
"Purple looks like mist grass and would confuse the Electro Cicins, red doesn't fit Snezhnaya's style, and grayish white would clash with the Cryo Cicin Mages..."
Jiang Xiaofeng suddenly said, "Wait, why are you suddenly explaining everything so clearly?"
Katarina answered bluntly, "You asked, so I told you. It's not classified information."
In truth...
Katarina hadn't had anything good to eat in a long time either. She wanted to have some once the food was ready, so she was trying to please the person in front of her...
Finding this interesting, Jiang Xiaofeng asked another question. "Are Cryo Cicin Mages the same, then?"
Katarina shook her head.
"No. There aren't many Cryo Cicin Mage units outside Snezhnaya, so most of their members are Snezhnayan. That's why hair color is one of the criteria when selecting Cryo Cicin Mages."
Jiang Xiaofeng nodded.
The game hadn't provided information about them, but now that he'd asked, he finally had answers to most of his questions.
Katarina continued, "But we're relatively normal. Those big guys in our Skirmishers are the unusual ones."
"Their hair generally only changes color when they use their elemental powers. It has nothing to do with their uniforms."
Jiang Xiaofeng kept nodding as he watched Katarina cook and talk.
"You learn something new every day..."
As they talked, Katarina finished cooking. She picked up the pot and walked toward the camp.
Jiang Xiaofeng followed her.
Katarina put down the pot and was just about to lower her sleeves when she suddenly froze, then looked at Jiang Xiaofeng.
Jiang Xiaofeng had already sat down cross-legged.
He looked up at Katarina and asked in confusion, "Aren't you eating?"
Katarina sighed in relief and asked, "Do you want a bowl?"
Jiang Xiaofeng looked at the pot. "No need. Just give me whatever you can't finish."
Jiang Xiaofeng was wondering what on earth this huge pot of thick soup was.
Tomato and meat soup?
Doesn't look like it. What are those strips floating in it?
"I added some ingredients I had left over."
Katarina sat down with a bowl.
Oh, then that's fine.
Watching Katarina ladle out a bowl and slowly sip it, Jiang Xiaofeng couldn't help asking, "What did you make?"
"Soup."
"It's the most common way of cooking in Snezhnaya."
"Snezhnaya's climate isn't very nice, so fresh food is rare. We're used to stewing all the side ingredients we have at home together into soup."
"Oh."
Jiang Xiaofeng watched Katarina slowly eat bowl after bowl. Only when the pot was nearly empty did she gradually stop.
"..."
Jiang Xiaofeng stared thoughtfully at the pot, which probably had only a little left at the bottom.
She could eat that much?
Katarina looked a little embarrassed. "I haven't had this in so long that I accidentally ate a little too much..."
Jiang Xiaofeng shook his head, picked up the pot, and poured the remaining soup into his mouth.
Strictly speaking, it tasted pretty good.
Jiang Xiaofeng didn't ask Katarina where his fried eggs and the other food had gone.
Because as he poured it into his mouth, he felt pieces of broken-up toast...
Meanwhile, Katarina went pale at the sight of Jiang Xiaofeng's appearance, but didn't make a sound.
Only after Jiang Xiaofeng finished eating did she cautiously ask, "You... what are you?"
Jiang Xiaofeng stood up and lowered his head to look at the wary Katarina, narrowing his eyes.
Jiang Xiaofeng tried his best to convey a "smile," but Katarina couldn't read it. All she felt was that the person before her was sizing her up.
After a long while, just as Katarina was about to break down under his stare, Jiang Xiaofeng spoke.
"I like you quite a lot."
Katarina froze.
"You're the first person who hasn't attacked me on their own initiative since I came to this world."
Jiang Xiaofeng crouched down and looked at Katarina.
Katarina's face flushed a little.
Was a monster confessing to me?
No way, no way!
Why did this guy feel less frightening than before?
Before Katarina could think any further, Jiang Xiaofeng stood up.
"I've decided not to kill you."
Katarina froze again.
"Quite a few of the people who attacked me before didn't end up very well..."
"Thanks for the meal."
"It tasted good."
Jiang Xiaofeng pulled a huge pile of raw meat and fowl, along with a pile of Hilichurl masks, out from behind his back.
"These are for you. I hope they're useful..."
With that, Jiang Xiaofeng activated the Wings of the Crow and hurried toward the Geo Hypostasis.
After watching Jiang Xiaofeng keep taking things out from behind his back and then leave, Katarina stiffly stood up.
"He didn't seem to be joking..."
Still shaken, Katarina looked at the huge pile of things on the ground.
"He actually gave me so much meat... this will last a long time..."
Katarina crouched on the ground and began portioning out the raw meat and fowl, making sure she could enjoy more good meals while also making the food last longer...
After all, there were mist flowers nearby, so she didn't need to worry about keeping it fresh...
Meanwhile, back with Jiang Xiaofeng.
Jiang Xiaofeng hurried straight toward the Geo Hypostasis.
He remembered there was a pinwheel there that would create an extremely tall wind current when activated.
His Wings of the Crow could achieve a gliding effect similar to a Wind Glider's. As long as he could activate that pinwheel, he could return to the mainland...
Jiang Xiaofeng soon reached the Geo Hypostasis's territory.
"Hmm?"