MTLNOVEL Chapter 4: Dusk Skirmish
The journey was rather tedious. Wild grass stretched out endlessly, and we didn't see any animals along the way, only a few rabbits with fur the same color as the weeds darted by, but they quickly disappeared into the burrows.
"Those rabbits are very nimble, hard to catch. Besides, the rabbits here are particularly sparse and have little meat, so catching them is not worthwhile," Sura said, talking about the prairie as she was bored with the journey.
"There isn't much food here, so not many people settle down. Only a few small settlements like ours stay here."
The three of them continued walking. By noon, without the shade of the trees in the jungle, the sun was unbearably hot, and their bodies walking in the grass were enveloped by the stuffy hot air, making sweat stream down.
"Phew—" Sura stopped, somewhat fatigued, indicating that she needed a rest.
"Aren't you and your friend tired?" she asked, seeing that Tilan didn't seem to sweat much.
"I'm fine, maybe because I'm lighter, so I use up less energy walking." Indeed, someone with a lighter build would find long-distance running less taxing.
On the other side, Ores was also a bit tired at this point; her steps had slowed significantly. Seeing Tilan stop, she also sat down on the ground and didn't move.
"Tilan, tired."
"Got it, let's take a break." Tilan thought for a moment and took out a water cup from the small basket she carried, slowly gathering the moisture around her. However, it was quite dry here, and the speed was much slower than in the jungle.
Watching Tilan gradually generate clean water, Sura looked on enviously.
"With an ability like yours, you'd be welcome in many settlements. There are very few places to drink water in the wild, and carrying water is too heavy and tiring."
"Don't others have this ability?"
"I haven't heard of it. Generally, Transcendents focus on mastering a few important skills, especially related to combat, rarely on daily living skills."
"By the way, you can read, right?" Sura suddenly remembered something.
"Uh, I do know how to read."
Speaking of which, the term 'reading' had almost no application in modern society, which made Tilan hesitate momentarily upon hearing it.
"That's wonderful! The kids in the settlement play around all day and learn nothing, with no one to teach them. It gives Chief Moose a headache. If you could teach them, that would be great."
"How many people live in your settlement?" Tilan finally became curious upon hearing this.
"Including adults and children, there are 26 people, which is quite a number. Initially, there were only four of us, including me and Chief Moose."
"But with more people, feeding everyone became a problem, so I came out this time to try my luck."
"Can you bring the prey back by yourself?" Tilan asked, noting that Sura seemed fatigued just from the journey.
"Of course, I'm a sophisticated human who knows how to use tools, so I can definitely do it. With just four wheels and some wooden rods, I can easily drag it."
"You probably don't know about our Iron Core Species' unique ability: it's transforming other materials into iron. This ability can sometimes be used on our bodies to withstand damage."
"Impressive." No wonder she said she was popular. This ability was a rare productivity force in this relatively backward, non-industrial world.
"Hehe, but this ability is not as strong since Hephaestus went out, or else we could build a world of iron barehanded." Sura felt immensely proud, as if she had received great affirmation after hearing Tilan's praise.
"That's enough talking, let's move quickly, I'm hungry." After a brief rest, Sura stood up. Her stamina was indeed impressive; within a few minutes, she had regained much endurance.
So, the three continued their journey. As the afternoon passed, they walked and stopped, slowly getting a view of the reddish-brown mountainous terrain in the distance, the color similar to terracotta.
After checking the simple clock in her bag, Sura told Tilan that it was already past three in the afternoon, and they could reach the settlement by evening in time to join everyone for dinner.
"Chief Moose fenced a piece of land in the mountain valley and planted some crops there using the safe soil dug from underground. We used to rely on this for living, but now with more people, it's not enough anymore."
"Safe soil?"
"Yes, most of the surface soil is polluted. Although plants can still grow, they accumulate a lot of toxic pollution, causing strange diseases if consumed too much. You see, the grass here is interwoven yellow and green, rarely showing clean tender colors."
"Animals are the same; their internal organs are basically inedible, and even the meat can't be eaten too much."
"It's said that some powerful species have occupied lands with little pollution, and the grains and bread produced there are precious trade goods, used to exchange for things across various places."
"It's truly not easy," the girl couldn't help but lament. This also reminded her of the past Jade Skirt, where many northern regions experienced the same plight. Fortunately, the Four-leaf Crystal Star Domain wasn't an isolated place, the Federation had abundant grain production everywhere, and there were various artificial plantations to supplement fruits and vegetables.
The three continued forward, slowly approaching, Tilan saw thin blue smoke rising behind the mountain rock, and even detected a hint of burning smell in the air.
Are they starting to cook over a fire? She thought of old films where people in the past often cooked with firewood in the evening, a very comforting scene.
"No, it's a fire!" Sura suddenly shouted.
"Such great smoke, why aren't they putting it out? Yaca grass—no, maybe something's wrong." Sura thought of something, dropped her backpack, and quickly rushed towards the rocks, even too hurried to explain anything to Tilan.
"I'm going over to help, follow if you can, and if you're able to lend a hand, I'll have Chief Moose prepare a sumptuous dinner for you!" She shouted while running, waving the musket in her hand through the air.