Eating the Spicy Stir-fried Intestines, Garlic Ribs, Stir-fried Green Beans with Pork Belly, and Stir-fried Lotus Root Dices that Gu Xiaobei had sent in the group, Lan Qingyou looked at the coordinates on the card and thought.
That’s right—today’s meal was a boxed lunch, similar to fast food.
Although it lacked Gu Xiaobei’s usual sophisticated touch, for a traveler like Lan Qingyou, it had a unique flavor.
It felt like eating a bento during an outdoor excursion.
Very cozy.
After finishing her meal, Lan Qingyou continued her journey.
Because she could fly, she could ignore small obstacles and travel in a straight line.
However, because she spent so much time exploring and sight-seeing, she still hadn't reached the Abandoned Ruins by the end of the day.
Perhaps it was because she had wasted too much time on the road, or perhaps the distance was simply too great. That night, Lan Qingyou pitched her tent by a small stream, officially attempting her first night in the wilderness of another world.
Night fell.
Listening to the sound of the stream rushing over the stones, Lan Qingyou lay on a bed made of just a mattress, but she couldn't close her eyes.
There was no helping it; after all, this was her first time spending the night outside the shelter.
Even though she had tested things for so long and knew perfectly well that it was foolproof, she just couldn't fall asleep.
This wasn't cowardice; it was caution.
Right, it was for observation—a very serious, research-oriented final observation of a product by a developer.
If it weren't for the magic lantern and the dispelling light ball inside the tent, Lan Qingyou’s wide-awake eyes would have been bright enough to serve as lightbulbs themselves.
"It's 3:00 AM now. Everything seems to be fine."
Having stayed up until past three, Lan Qingyou glanced sideways at the alarm clock hanging specifically in front of her eyes and muttered to herself.
She then prepared to close her eyes and sleep.
But just then, a low, guttural monster roar from outside made Lan Qingyou’s muscles tense up instinctively.
In reality, these roars hadn't stopped since nightfall.
They were especially frequent and numerous between midnight and 1:00 AM.
Fortunately, those creatures hadn't managed to break in—or rather, they couldn't enter because of the dispelling light ball.
Moreover, after 1:00 AM, the roars had gradually begun to decrease.
From Lan Qingyou’s initial estimate of three to five monsters, it had dropped to one or two, and now, potentially just one.
"Are these bastards not learning how to hunt, but learning military strategy instead?"
"Why do I feel like the guy outside is using fatigue tactics?"
Lan Qingyou, who had just closed her eyes, opened them again because of the roar.
She didn't know what the monster outside was thinking, but one thing was certain: the creature didn't want her to sleep comfortably, or more directly, it didn't want her to sleep at all.
Every time she closed her eyes to sleep, the thing outside would let out a vocal performance, startling her.
Should she send out the bronze beasts for a confrontation?
Lan Qingyou had thought about this more than once, but the problem was she couldn't do it.
It was pitch black outside, and she couldn't go out herself. Sending the D-grade bronze beasts out without visibility would be suicide.
Who knew if those monsters had specifically sent one out to howl while the rest were camping like sneaky bastards, just waiting to play her?
Although she had twenty bronze beasts, they weren't made to be used like that.
Thinking of this, Lan Qingyou looked at the four Copper-hammers standing at the four corners of her bed like the Four Heavenly Kings guarding her.
They were designed specifically to protect her, so she definitely couldn't send them out.
And in the pitch-black darkness, combat-type golems like the Blade-roller and the Horned Lion would likely make mistakes without her direct command.
She wouldn't lose them—she had confidence in her designs—but it was certain that one or two would be worn down.
So, after thinking it over, Lan Qingyou ultimately decided to observe for one more night.
Thus, Lan Qingyou spent the entire night in a cycle of wanting to sleep, being startled by a roar, wanting to use the golems, and finally talking herself out of it.
The next day, she had originally planned to head out with dark circles under her eyes, but then she thought—it’s daylight now, so why not just sleep now?
If she woke up at noon or in the afternoon, wouldn't she be able to fight another long night tonight?
Genius!
With that thought, Lan Qingyou released the other sixteen golems, closed her eyes, and stopped caring about anyone else.
...
"It feels like the weather hasn't continued to drop lately."
"It's been a month already; it should be entering a stable period."
"Then do you think it's possible for it to warm up? To be honest, going out to gather wood for heat every day is a huge waste of mana points."
While Lan Qingyou was sleeping, a gathering squad of about a dozen people slowly walked down a slope.
They were chatting leisurely as they walked.
"If I'd known, I would've bought some stone heaters and kerosene from those profiteers earlier. I heard that woman Lan Qingyou hasn't produced much kerosene lately."
"Isn't there a guy named Seymer selling kerosene lately? The quality isn't great, but it's cheap and there's plenty of it. Why don't we buy some from him?"
"We'd need a kerosene stove first. Besides, do you really dare buy stuff from that bomb maniac?"
"Huh? Bomb maniac?"
"I heard he was some famous university chemistry professor. His daughter was assaulted by some thugs, and because of various reasons, they escaped judgment. So he made his own bombs, went to their house, and sent the whole family to the afterlife. He even took out those judges and lawyers on the same day. In the end, he was sentenced to twelve life terms."
"Hiss—what a madman. He's even more ruthless than us."
After hearing the leader's explanation, the guy next to him, who looked like a skinny monkey and had been talking non-stop, sucked in a breath of cold air, contributing his part to Kalim's global warming.
"Boss, look, what's that?"
The skinny monkey, who was still feeling a bit shaken by Seymer’s deeds, turned his head and saw a purple tent faintly visible in front of the woods by the stream.
Following the skinny monkey’s lead, everyone looked over and barely managed to see the tent through the bushes.
"Let's go take a look."
The leader frowned slightly and then pushed the skinny monkey forward, while he himself followed behind.
"..."
Why the hell do I have such a big mouth...
Seeing himself being used as a human shield, the skinny monkey couldn't help but curse inwardly.
Cursing aside, he still walked at the very front.
Although he couldn't escape his fate as the point man, he could at least control how many steps he took per second.
With caution and careful movements, the group, led by the skinny monkey, finally took about six minutes to slowly move to a spot where they could see the entire tent clearly.
"What's with this tent? It shouldn't have been here yesterday, right?"
Looking at the tent, which was about fifty or sixty square meters, the leader was completely baffled and filled with confusion.
Rate on N.U.
