Staring at Nangong Yi's back until he disappeared into the corner of the corridor, Shangguan Bing Xue frowned even more deeply and her eyes glittered with confusion. However, a split second later, her expression returned to normal as if it had never changed in the first place.
Although she had no idea what Nangong Yi was talking about, she believed that if she didn't know or if she didn't notice it was because it wasn't an important matter, to begin with; if it wasn't an important matter, then there was no need to worry or think about it too much.
Besides, it could even be Nangong Yi's idea and not something real.
...
About an hour and a half later, the group that had previously consisted of four and was later joined by two more people, was gathered in what was supposed to be the living room.
Because there was no furniture, the six of them were sitting cross-legged on the floor forming a circle in the center. Inside the circle were some prepared dishes such as rice, meat sauce, meat and vegetable soup, fried meat and boiled meat, four tins of sardines, and more.
Although the variety of the food was not much since Bai Zemin's group originally only planned to attack this place and not stay here forever, it was undoubtedly quite a sumptuous meal considering the current situation of the world. Even the high officials of the base could not necessarily afford to enjoy such dishes every day. Let alone considering that the meat that was in these dishes was not normal meat; it was meat from a mutated beast called Vicious Boar Level 15!
Nangong Lingxin picked up her chopsticks and while taking a small piece of Vicious Boar meat, she couldn't help but comment, "Although it's just a level 15 wild beast, its taste is top-notch!"
"Indeed. Maybe only the meat of the First Order Reinforced Iron Boar is more delicious than this dude's meat." Bai Zemin recognized Nangong Lingxin's words as he tasted the monster meat.
Yi Fang's eyes were filled with tears. These tears represented all her grievances, pains, bitterness that she had to swallow forced by life, but at the same time they were tears filled with gratitude; gratitude for still being alive, gratitude towards the new opportunity granted to her and her daughter, gratitude towards the group of people next to her.
Unconsciously, the woman looked at her daughter with eyes brimming with love.
Xiang Feng's eyes, unlike her mother's emotional ones, shone like stars in the night sky. She looked at the bowl with rice and a thin strip of meat as if she wanted to devour the food with her gaze alone.
Bai Zemin gave her a sidelong glance and felt really bad for this thin girl. To prevent Xiang Feng from having stomach problems, he limited the amount of food she could eat temporarily until her condition improved. However, he knew that probably in a day or two she would be back to her best condition or even beyond.
After all, what Xiang Feng had in her bowl was not normal meat.
Under her mother's loving eyes and Bai Zemin's curious stare, the ten-year-old girl took a small mouthful of meat to her lips before biting into it carefully with her pearly teeth.
When the meat entered her mouth, the delicious juice was the first thing she savored before the meat practically melted away automatically from how tender it was. Xiang Feng swallowed the food in her mouth and immediately felt a rush of energy travel through her body before disappearing as if it had never happened in the first place.
[You have received Health +5, Stamina +2, Strength +1.]
The chopsticks in Xiang Feng's hands trembled in sync with her body and her two little dark eyes widened as a strange message with green letters appeared in her retina. This was the second time she had seen something like this; the first time was a month ago when the Soul Record appeared on Earth.
"Feng Feng? What's wrong? Are you alright?" Yi Fang misunderstood Xiang Feng's sudden behavior. Seeing her suddenly tremble fiercely and stagnate after tasting the meat in her bowl, the mother became so worried that she immediately put down her bowl on the floor and approached the girl.
Xiang Feng seemed not to hear her mother and as if possessed by something, she took the strip of Vicious Boar meat with her chopsticks and began to devour it voraciously.
[You have received Health +3, Stamina +1, Strength +1.]
[You have received Health +1, Stamina +1.]
[You have received Health +1.]
After four bites, Xiang Feng stopped receiving those strange green messages. However, she continued to devour the meat as if her life depended on it. The strip of meat she had been given was not very large to begin with, so after a few small bites, the meat was completely gone.
Seeing that there was no more meat in her bowl, Xiang Feng raised her little head and looked at Bai Zemin with the eyes of an intimidated puppy. The little girl was so smart that she clearly knew who was the person in charge here. Besides, she was clearly aware that Bai Zemin seemed to care for her quite a bit so she unconsciously relaxed her guard against him.
"Don't look at me like that." Bai Zemin shook his head and said firmly, "Until tonight you can forget about eating any more of that meat. Your body is still weak and won't take it."
Although Xiang Feng had gained a total of 10 Health points, her body was not going to recover from malnutrition in the blink of an eye. It needed some time to adjust to the changes.
It was similar to Stamina; one could gain 100 Stamina points, but if you were previously exhausted and almost unable to fight anymore, you would still feel exhausted even if you could continue to fight more thanks to the increased stat.
Seeing her daughter Xiang Feng's attitude, Yi Fang was very surprised. But what she was most curious about was the reason why her usually reasonable daughter was acting that way; so she also put a piece of meat in her mouth.
[You have received Health +4, Stamina +2, Strength +1.]
Yi Fang's eyes glittered with disbelief. She looked at the piece of meat in her bowl and muttered in shock, "What... How can this be possible...?"
She could clearly feel how her soul seemed to be purified and, as a consequence, her physical body improved. For her, whose natural stats were even below average, the improvement in stats she received was massive!
Nangong Yi kindly explained, "The meat that you and little Xiang Feng ate is not normal meat. That meat came from a powerful beast capable of demolishing a small building with its physical body, and the Soul Power within it can improve the stats of those who are still relatively weak."
Wasn't this meat a sacred treasure then?! Yi Fang's eyes trembled at such a thought and realization.
Unlike her innocent daughter, Yi Fang was a grown woman capable of seeing beyond the question. Regardless of how tasty it was; a food capable of naturally enhancing physique, increasing stats, and bestowing power, it was undoubtedly a priceless treasure!
How many top government officials would be willing to kill for the pleasure of not only enjoying a delicacy, but also becoming more powerful from the comfort of their homes? Yi Fang was sure that a massacre could be unleashed at such a revelation. After all, in this world where death lurked in every shadow, one's stats represented power, and the more power, the greater the chances of survival in crisis situations.
To say that the meat she was eating was an extra life insurance was not too much of an exaggeration! Yi Fang simply could not accept such a precious food. She felt that eating it was a waste considering that she was a useless woman incapable of doing anything.
"I-"
Before Yi Fang could finish, Bai Zemin interrupted, "Just eat it. This kind of meat is no big deal, unlike what you think. In our camp, we have about five tons of meat that is a lot better in terms of value."
In fact, what First Order meat there was in Beginning Village was quite a bit. There was even some Second Order; though no one could eat it yet. Even Bai Zemin could only eat it carefully and in small quantities as the energy within it was too violent and brutish.
"Even more valuable than this meat?" Yi Fang sucked in a breath of cold air. Moreover, she caught some words that caught her attention, "Our camp...? You mean..."
Bai Zemin continued to eat calmly and began to explain who they were, where they came from, and the reason why they were here. He wasn't too worried about Yi Fang betraying them as she didn't seem to be the ungrateful type and still had to worry about the safety of her young daughter. But the real reason why he told her all this was because even if she betrayed them, at the end of the day, the end result would still be the same.
When Bai Zemin finished explaining everything in a rather small summary, Yi Fang was so shocked that she could not believe what she had heard.
The young man who saved her and her daughter from despair was the absolute leader of a camp with over 2000 survivors? In addition, there were about 300 armed men with military equipment?
The beautiful silver-haired, blue-eyed young woman who looked like an ice fairy out of a fairy tale was actually the second most powerful person in the settlement?
Attacking and taking over this camp with only 4 people?
Yi Fang felt her head spinning in a spiral and her mind momentarily went blank. This all looked too crazy for her. She certainly never expected to meet such amazing people while begging in the dirty streets of the ghetto camp.
She was not only shocked, but also scared! She only wanted a peaceful life for her daughter, but she had suddenly been caught up in a war between two strong factions and some warlords fighting for power.
"Are you afraid?" Bai Zemin asked calmly. He looked at her for a moment and said composedly, "If you are afraid, I can give you and Xiang Feng enough rations to be able to live comfortably for 1 week. After that, you can look for a job by yourself since by then this base will be under my control and many things will change."
Nangong Lingxin, Shangguan Bing Xue, and Nangong Yi stopped their movements looked at Yi Fang, waiting to see what kind of answer this woman who had been fighting against destiny for the sake of her daughter for so long before finally collapsing in the face of the harshness and cruelty of the world.
Yi Fang bit her lower lip hard and hesitated. Just as her mind wandered all over the place, her daughter's sweet voice helped her decide.
"Mom, it's okay." Xiang Feng put her small hand on her mother's and said with certainty, "Big brother is someone very powerful! Uncle is also very strong! And the two beautiful big sisters are also very strong!"
Nangong Yi was speechless. He was supposed to be the uncle? Although it was true that his age was old enough to be the little girl's uncle, but even so...
"They are very strong?" Yi Fang looked at her daughter with a look filled with confusion, "Feng Feng, how do you know that?"
Xiang Feng looked with her big innocent eyes at Nangong Lingxin and said cheerfully, "Big sister Lingxin told me in the bath before you joined us. Big brother is so powerful that even an entire army was already annihilated by him with a single wave of his hands! Blood spears came raining down from the sky as if it was a punishment from the gods angry at the human evildoers, the earth shook in fear, and buildings collapsed one after another like sandcastles!"
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Thanks a lot to all those who use their Golden Tickets to vote for BW <3