Dinner time.
Wu Shuang fired up a barbecue by the attic window using a brazier. What he was grilling was, of course, the big rat he had killed earlier. When he pulled it out, it was still about the same as when it had just died; the preservation capability of the Hero's Cabinet was quite good.
Since it had been killed by an axe blow, the rat's blood had long drained out, so there was no need to bleed it. It was practically cleaved into two.
Wu Shuang gutted it, severed the head and tail, discarded the internal organs, and tossed the whole thing into the brazier.
Originally, he had wanted to skin it, but that was delicate work. After a few failed attempts without a suitable small knife on hand, he simply decided to roast the whole thing together.
When the time came, he would just scrape off the outer layer of carbonized black ash, slather on some devil hot sauce, ensure it was fully cooked, and a roasted rat would be ready.
He busied himself back and forth for nearly forty minutes before finishing. It was a bit overcooked because he truly didn't dare eat raw meat, but upon taking a bite...
"Holy shit, how is this hot sauce so spicy?" he muttered under his breath.
Wu Shuang immediately stuck out his tongue. Furthermore, the spiciness was accompanied by the smoky bitterness of burning wood, as the firewood wasn't particularly good quality to begin with.
Still, it was cooked and barely edible. Washing it off would reduce the heat; he had slathered on a bit too much sauce this time.
He planned to eat the roast rat for dinner, supplemented by three sour persimmons, since he had eaten quite a bit during the day.
It had to be said that the sour persimmons dealt him another critical strike. It didn't feel like he was biting into persimmons, but more like the persimmons were biting him; his expression was practically ascending, his eyes almost rolling back into his head.
The persimmons were filled with sour juice—sour and astringent, bursting with a single bite to brutally assault Wu Shuang's taste buds.
"...So this is the Holy Kingdom's fruit! It tastes so damn awful! A land flowing with milk and honey, my ass—even pyramid schemes aren't this deceptive!"
Wu Shuang cursed, yet he still gritted his teeth and finished them bit by bit before sitting back down on the bed.
In the chat channel, many Heroes were also complaining about how terrible the hot sauce and sour persimmons tasted, but someone soon discovered the proper way to eat them.
"Mix the hot sauce with the juice from the sour persimmons, add a bit of fresh water, and spread it on black bread. The flavor is actually pretty good."
"Holy crap, you're a genius, dude!"
"A one-to-one ratio, plus an equal amount of fresh water—a perfect hot and sour sauce!"
"..."
Wu Shuang's face froze slightly as he looked at the three persimmon skins on the floor that he had sucked dry, unsure of what to say for a moment.
Oh well, what was eaten was eaten; he couldn't start over from scratch.
He lay on the bed. He had spent most of today lying down, but his harvest wasn't small. He had bought plenty of supplies and obtained a vast amount of intelligence.
By checking the chat history and asking people directly (mainly Doctor Zeng), he had also cleared up the Hero Alliance's arrangements and application process.
Similar to a job application self-description, applicants needed to state their pre-transmigration identity, age, gender, how long they had been here, whether they had combat experience, and so on. They also had to inform the Hero Alliance of their Main Quest and provide a photograph of the monster.
Specialized talent was prioritized, such as doctors, but virtually no one was rejected—at least, no one had claimed to be turned down.
Then, these people would come in sequence to help complete the Main Quest, teleporting directly over using an item called a Teleportation Stone.
[Name: Small Teleportation Stone]
[Quality: Special]
[Description: A magical item crafted by the Holy Kingdom, capable of enabling rapid movement between most towns and cities within the kingdom.
Before use, the Teleportation Stone must be activated to record the coordinates of the current town, a process that takes 24 hours.
Once recorded, it can be activated again to consume mana and teleport to that town. A single teleportation can transport up to 10 people, with a total mass not exceeding 1,000 kg.
Reusable. Coordinates must be re-recorded after each use, with a cooldown duration of 30 days.
Minimum consumption is 5 mana points. Additional headcount and total mass will increase mana consumption, which can be shared collectively among the teleporting personnel.]
This was likely an item reserved for Official Heroes, though Kingdom merchants might also sell it, given that it was a creation of the Holy Kingdom.
Through regional trading, these Teleportation Stones could be transferred to Apprentice Heroes for them to record the coordinates and then traded back, after which the Hero Alliance would dispatch personnel.
After helping newcomers complete their Main Quest, they could use another Teleportation Stone to return to the Hero Community. The whole process would actually take only a few days—a very mature operational model.
By tomorrow afternoon at the earliest, once the first batch of Teleportation Stones finished recording coordinates, members of the Hero Alliance would begin arriving one after another to assist with Main Quests. When the time came, keeping an eye on the chat channel might offer further insight into the Hero Alliance's strength.
Wu Shuang lay in bed pondering his subsequent plans. He prepared to start clearing the residential houses on the north street tomorrow to gather supplies and money. Once fully prepared, he would head to the ruined church to complete the side quest of grave digging.
As he was thinking, the room suddenly darkened. Just like the previous times, the sky instantly went black.
He immediately stood up, pulled the window shut, lit the oil lamp, and extinguished the brazier on the floor.
The burning firewood produced a heavy odor, which posed a risk of poisoning without ventilation, making it unsuitable for illumination.
Only after finishing all this did he sit back down. He glanced at the time: only 7:27 PM. It had gone dark before the expected time again, and it would likely continue like this from now on.
He pulled out his handbook and checked the goals he had set earlier. Having completed them all, he wiped them clean and wrote down new ones.
1. Scour the north street to collect living supplies and usable tools, and retrieve the pickaxe and shovel.
2. Locate the hunter's house and search for ammunition and firearms.
3. Find a larger, brighter oil lamp.
4. Enhance combat capabilities and raise base strength to five.
5. Study the conversion of Humanity...
He wrote five small goals again; acting with a clearer purpose would prevent him from darting around like a headless fly.
[Warning: Your Humanity is draining...]
At the familiar warning sound, Wu Shuang looked up at the darkness seeping in through the windows, walls, and floorboards, no longer as panicked as at the start.
"The Black Beast... how on earth do you kill something that can't be touched or seen?"
"Tsk..."
Wu Shuang held his forehead. For some unknown reason, he couldn't stop himself from pondering strategy methods, wondering if it was because he played too many games or read too many Isekai web novels.
Relying on the dim oil lamp, he endured another full night. When 10:00 PM arrived, he suddenly broke his usual routine, no longer curling up on the bed. That was a sheer waste of time; he needed to grow stronger faster.
Thus, he began exercising in the room, performing basic movements—push-ups, squats, planks, working out intermittently, staying hydrated, and even eating a bit more food.
Whoever came up with combining the hot sauce and sour persimmons into a hot and sour dipping sauce was truly a genius; it made the black bread taste more than a little better.
Unfortunately, adding water like this made it difficult to preserve, requiring it to be mixed freshly each time.
"Right, I also need to supplement protein. Carbs and vitamins alone won't cut it; I still need to work out," Wu Shuang suddenly remarked to himself. He hadn't seen meat or jerky for sale in the Hero Alliance's shop earlier; perhaps quantities were limited, and it had already sold out by the time he looked.
Thus, Wu Shuang added another target: searching for high-protein food.
Rate on N.U.
