Chapter 751 - 452: From Thrift to Extravagance is Easy, From Extravagance to Thrift is Hard

Chapter 751: Chapter 452: From Thrift to Extravagance is Easy, From Extravagance to Thrift is Hard

After gathering a large pile of branches, enough to start a fire for cooking, Lin Li returned to the base of the large tree and placed the dry branches under his pot.

He mobilized the Spiritual Energy in his Dantian. With a flash of Spiritual Light in his palm, a fist-sized, blazing Fireball immediately materialized out of thin air.

He casually tossed the Fireball, and the branches under the pot ignited within seconds.

Lin Li watched the flames lick the branches. Feeling there wasn’t enough water in the pot, he added some more and put on the lid. Now all he had to do was wait for the rice to cook, stir-fry a couple of dishes, and make a soup. Then he could enjoy a delicious lunch.

...

Although the sweltering summer was nearing its end, the scorching sun hanging in the sky still beat down mercilessly, baking everything on the earth below.

The Exotic Beast Hunters trekking through the perilous wilderness checked the time and also began to look for a place to eat lunch.

WHIRRR... A large transport drone took off, carrying away a container holding a Mutant Beast, and flew swiftly toward the city.

Several Exotic Beast Hunters watched the drone fly away, their faces wreathed in smiles.

They had been busy all morning cornering and killing a Mutant Beast. Now that the transport drone was taking it away, they calculated that by evening, a sum of cash would be deposited into their accounts.

"You’ve all worked hard these past few days," the Exotic Beast Hunter team’s leader said to his companions with a smile. "After we’re done today, we can finally take a good long rest at home."

"I’m starving! Let’s hurry up and find a place to eat lunch!"

"After lunch, we can rest for a bit. Then this afternoon, let’s put in another push and see if we can hunt one more Mutant Beast."

"We’ve been at this for so many days, I’m honestly exhausted. The way I see it, let’s just eat lunch and call it an early day. We can head back to the city this afternoon."

"I agree with heading back early. My nerves have been stretched tight these past few days. Including the Mutant Beast we just killed, our haul has been pretty substantial. There’s no need to keep hunting while we’re exhausted. It’s too dangerous."

The members of the Exotic Beast Hunter team voiced their opinions one after another. In the end, the majority wanted to head back to the city early, so the few yielded to the many. They decided to set off for the city at three in the afternoon, right after lunch.

"Let’s go. We’ll find a spot for lunch in that open area up ahead," the team leader said to his companions, pointing toward a flat expanse of land in the distance.

Open areas offered better visibility. In the dangerous wilderness, that meant they could get an early warning if a Mutant Beast attacked.

"What a delicious smell!"

"It smells like scrambled eggs with chives."

"And shredded pork with shiitake mushrooms."

As the Exotic Beast Hunters made their way through the dense grass, they suddenly caught a whiff of a very familiar, home-cooked meal drifting on the air. They couldn’t help but twitch their noses and take a deep sniff.

They were all completely stunned. How could there be the smell of a home-cooked meal out here in the dangerous, remote wilderness, where a Mutant Beast could appear at any moment?

Puzzled, the Exotic Beast Hunters emerged from the tall grass and looked in the direction of the aroma. There, under a large, leafy tree not far away, they saw a young man stir-frying food.

"Wh-what is this?"

None of the members of this Exotic Beast Hunter team were rookies. Each of them had at least three to four years of experience. Even so, this was the first time they had ever encountered a fellow Hunter setting up a wok to cook in the wild.

Lin Li transferred the freshly stir-fried shredded pork with shiitake mushrooms from the wok to a plate and set it on a small table.

With the scrambled eggs with chives and the shredded pork with shiitake mushrooms—two of his time-tested specialties—now ready, all that was left was to quickly make some tomato and egg drop soup, and then lunch would be served.

Just then, Lin Li noticed some movement nearby. He turned his head and saw a group of Exotic Beast Hunters staring at him with wide, astonished eyes, as if he were some kind of strange creature.

Lin Li knew why his fellow Hunters were staring at him with such surprise. He gave them a nod as a simple greeting.

Then, he picked up a bottle of mineral water from the ground, poured some into the wok to wash it, and once the pot was clean, he began making the tomato and egg drop soup.

’How is he all alone? Where are his teammates?’ the Exotic Beast Hunters thought to themselves, murmuring quietly about this fellow Hunter who was cooking over an open fire in the wilderness as if he were on a camping trip.

"Alright, let’s stop staring at the young man," the team leader said to his companions. "Let’s go over there to eat lunch and get some rest."

He then took the lead, walking toward an area to the front and left of the large tree where Lin Li was. There was a large patch of woods there, with enough shade under the trees for all of them to rest.

The water in the pot would take a while to boil. Lin Li saw the other Hunters, who were resting not far from him, reaching up to pick and eat some unknown fruit from the trees. After a moment’s thought, he also reached up and plucked some wild fruit from the branches of the large tree beside him.

"Ptooey! This wild fruit is a little sour!" Lin Li said with a frown after taking a bite. He immediately spat out the pulp.

He had seen the other Hunters eating the wild fruit with such relish and assumed it must be delicious. He never expected it to be so unpleasantly sour.

When Exotic Beast Hunters hunt in the wild, they carry a limited amount of drinking water to maintain their agility.

Therefore, unless they find a water source, Hunters are as frugal with their water as possible, in case an accident leaves them with nothing to drink.

The wild fruit that Lin Li found a bit too sour was, in the eyes of these Exotic Beast Hunters accustomed to the spartan life of the wild, not so bad that it was inedible.

In fact, once you got used to the tartness, the taste was actually quite nice.

This type of wild fruit, common in the wilderness and a good source of both vitamins and hydration, was actually quite popular among Hunters who frequently ventured into the wilds.

It’s easy to go from frugal to lavish, but hard to go from lavish to frugal. For Lin Li, who could use the Mysterious Small Island to store vast quantities of supplies, it was naturally impossible to empathize with his fellow Hunters’ need to conserve resources in the wild.

"How on earth did that guy bring so much stuff all the way out here?"

"Look! He even brought that much bottled water with him..."

The Exotic Beast Hunters, who were munching on the sour wild fruit, felt both baffled and a little envious when they saw the case of bottled mineral water next to Lin Li.

After the water in the pot came to a boil, with a few quick steps, the tomato and egg drop soup was ready.

By the time Lin Li placed the tomato and egg drop soup on his table, the self-heating meals that the distant Exotic Beast Hunters had opened were also just about ready.

One side was eating the self-heating meals they were sick of, while the other was enjoying delicious, home-cooked stir-fry. The difference was stark.

Although Lin Li’s cooking skills weren’t the best, out here in the remote wilderness, even a poorly made, home-cooked stir-fry was far more delicious than any convenient self-heating meal.

WHOOSH...

A gentle breeze swept through, causing the grass and plants of the wilderness to sway lightly.

CHIRP, CHIRP, CHIRP...

The chirping of the cicadas in the trees mingled with the rustling of the wind-blown vegetation, creating a sound that was almost hypnotic.

After finishing lunch, Lin Li began to clean up his pots, bowls, and utensils.

In the distance, the Exotic Beast Hunters in the shade of the woods had finished their lunch long ago, since they were just eating convenient self-heating meals. They were now leaning against the large trees, resting.

After busying himself for a while with scrubbing the pot and washing the dishes, Lin Li finally had everything clean.

Just as he was about to store his camping gear back into the Mysterious Small Island, a loud, blood-curdling scream suddenly echoed from the distance.

CLUCK CLUCK CLUCK...

Lin Li had hunted quite a few Luhua Chicken Beasts, so he was all too familiar with this sound.

’Why does that Luhua Chicken Beast’s cry sound so miserable? What’s going on?’ Lin Li lifted his head and gazed quizzically in the direction of the piercing shriek.

...