Chapter 19: True Fragrance

"Its attack power isn't bad... It seems all that food didn't go to waste."

Although this was a vine he had intentionally held back on creating, resulting in limited durability, the power Snow Cake had just displayed far exceeded that of most young beasts on Earth.

Han Ning estimated that in terms of sheer explosive power, this little guy was probably already close to a healthy twelve- or thirteen-year-old boy.

"AWOO?"

After snapping the vine, Snow Cake seemed a bit confused. It shook its head, spat out the residual vine fibers from its mouth, and then looked up at Han Ning. Its tail wagged gently, as if asking for praise.

"Go play." Han Ning lightly nudged its side.

"AWOO!"

With Han Ning's permission, Snow Cake went back to frolicking around the living room.

Looking at the newborn little guy, and then at his hard-earned stockpile of supplies that was rapidly depleting, Han Ning had mixed feelings.

On the bright side, Snow Cake had immense potential; once it grew up, it would definitely be a powerful asset. On the downside... this little bottomless pit was simply too voracious. The food he had just fed it was probably nothing more than an appetizer.

It wasn't even a meter long yet and already had such an appetite. What would happen when it grew to one and a half meters, two meters... or even three meters long like its mother?

"Raising you really isn't going to be easy..." Han Ning sighed.

Night fell.

Inside the eighth-floor apartment, Snow Cake was curled up in a makeshift little nest Han Ning had built out of old clothes. It let out soft PURR sounds, seemingly fast asleep.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.

A sudden knocking broke the silence.

HISS...

Snow Cake jolted awake from its deep slumber. Its brass-colored, slit-like pupils locked dead onto the front door.

"Don't be nervous. Go back to sleep." Han Ning patted its back and got up to open the door.

Outside, Liu Feng stood in the hallway, holding a lit candle.

"Is it convenient for you to head down to the fourth floor? We need to discuss our next steps together."

"Alright. You head down first, I'll be right there," Han Ning nodded.

"Make it quick, then."

Watching Liu Feng walk away, Han Ning glanced back at Snow Cake. After a moment of thought, he decided to leave it at home. He grabbed a pile of food, coaxed Snow Cake out of following him, and then headed down to the fourth floor.

Around the coffee table in Liu Feng's apartment, Lu Minghu sat leaning against the back of his chair. His face was pale, but his spirits seemed decent enough. Seeing Han Ning walk in, he managed a somewhat weak smile. The others were already seated to the side. Only a few candles illuminated the dark living room, making it look as though they were conducting some mysterious ritual.

"Everyone's here." Liu Feng got straight to the point. "From our trip outside today, everyone saw it—the situation out there is much worse than we expected.

"Just two Crocodile Lizards nearly caused a casualty, and that was even with us being prepared and coordinated. Minghu's injury won't fully heal for at least a couple of weeks, and we didn't even make it out of the residential complex.

"I previously planned to head to Bailu Port five kilometers away. Now, it seems I was being a bit naive.

"The situation outside the complex is far more complex, and there will only be more monsters. With our current strength, trying to force our way through is a guaranteed death sentence."

The men didn't argue, simply listening in silence.

Only Zhou Wan raised her eyes and spoke up, "Indeed, the risks far exceed our estimates. We need more thorough preparation."

"Exactly. Forcing our way out is pure suicide, so I want to change the plan," Liu Feng agreed. He leaned forward slightly, the bright candlelight flickering in his eyes. "After killing those monsters, our bodies absorb a peculiar Energy that not only heals our injuries but also makes us stronger.

"It feels like... like killing monsters to level up in a video game."

"So you want to... level up first?" Chen Yan asked thoughtfully.

"Right!

"We'll stick around our residential complex. Within this relatively familiar area, we'll actively hunt down lone or small groups of Crocodile Lizards.

"On one hand, we can acquire the scattered Energy released after they die to improve our own strength.

"On the other hand, we can clear out the surrounding threats while simultaneously scavenging for supplies nearby. Right now, we lack water, food, medicine... everything."

He held up a finger. "For the first cycle, I'm setting a tentative timeframe of ten days. For these ten days, our core mission is to hunt, absorb Energy, and strengthen ourselves.

"Ten days later, based on everyone's degree of improvement, we'll re-evaluate the risks of heading to Bailu Port and decide on our next move."

Liu Feng's gaze swept over everyone. "What are your thoughts?"

Leveling up? It was actually a pretty good idea.

Han Ning had been thinking the same thing ever since he killed that juvenile Crocodile Lizard. It was just that, hindered by his lack of manpower, he couldn't go out to kill monsters and level up on his own. Now that he had teammates, it would be much more manageable. Furthermore, he wanted to test if hunting Crocodile Lizards could help Snow Cake experience Rapid Growth.

After a brief silence, Lu Minghu was the first to speak. "I'm in."

"Sounds good."

The others, including Han Ning, voiced their agreement one by one.

PANT PANT~

As soon as he returned home, Snow Cake pounced on him like a puppy.

Before making dinner, Han Ning headed to the corner near the balcony, as usual, to check on the growth of his crops. The apple tree was perfectly normal. This type of fruit tree had a relatively slow growth cycle; even nourished by Rapid Growth, it had only grown to just over a meter tall. Generally speaking, an apple tree took three years to bear fruit, which was a very long time.

"Huh?"

When Han Ning looked at the cultivation containers planted with potatoes, his expression shifted. He had planted potatoes the most. The once emerald-green leaves and stems of the plants had now turned yellow and withered. Brushing aside the dirt, he found a cluster of potatoes of varying sizes impressively packed underneath. They weren't particularly large, but there were plenty of them, hanging heavily from the roots.

"It worked!" An inexplicable sense of accomplishment surged in Han Ning's heart.

This was the very first harvest he had created with his own two hands in this despair-filled world. He carefully dug out the potatoes one by one and placed them into a clean basin.

"Sixteen catties in total. Not bad, not bad at all!"

Han Ning beamed with joy, stroking the irregular, spherical earth-eggs in the basin. The empty flower pots and gardening soil he had scavenged from other rooms had finally come in handy.

He carefully cleared away the mature potato plants, leaving only a few of the sturdiest ones behind for seed stock. Then, he selected some medium-sized, full-budded potatoes from the newly dug batch, cut them into small chunks, and planted them individually into several empty pots filled with gardening soil.

It was worth noting that these empty flower pots weren't separated; instead, Han Ning had broken one side of each and pieced several of them together to expand the internal space. This was the only way to allow even more potatoes to grow.

Finally, he cast Rapid Growth once more.

A faint green light seeped into the soil. The newly planted potato chunks sprouted tender shoots at a visible rate, beginning a new cycle of life.

Having finished all this, the hunger in his stomach grew even more intense. Today, Han Ning decided to treat himself.

Using a cassette stove, he boiled a small pot of water, peeled and diced some potatoes, boiled them until they were soft, and then mashed them. On the side, he diced a portion of steak that hadn't yet gone bad, simply pan-fried it with some precious cooking oil, and sprinkled it with a little salt.

Finally, he layered the fragrant mashed potatoes at the bottom of a bowl, topped it with the piping hot diced steak, and drizzled a tiny bit of the meat juices left over from pan-frying the steak.

A steaming, deliciously aromatic potato and beef bowl was complete.

"Smells amazing!"

Smelling the mouthwatering, meat-scented bowl of food, Han Ning began to tuck in and devour his meal.