Chapter 50

It's nearly 7,000 words, a small compensation for now. Tomorrow, it will probably be around 7,000 words as well, to make up for yesterday's shortfall. Additionally, thank you, old friend 面具丶人生舞, for the VIP ticket!

"Hey! How did you know?" Luo Li's face turned bright red, looking shy and feeling a strange sensation in her private area, she couldn't help but ask.

"Knowing is knowing!" Cook was also very embarrassed, not knowing how to answer this question.

"But, but the powder from the burned stones actually works?" Luo Li used two "buts" to express her doubt.

"Sir, don't ask. It just works." Cook's method was very simple: he ground the burned coal into powder, put it in a suitable cloth bag, and thus created a primitive sanitary pad. Although it might be a bit uncomfortable, its absorbency was definitely good, and it was not polluted, as it had been burned at high temperatures. However, Cook did not intend to continue this awkward topic. (Sweat! I don't know if this idea will work, but if you're interested, you can try it out, hehe!)

Hearing Cook's words, Luo Li realized that as a girl, she shouldn't be asking such questions, so she didn't pursue it further. However, Micky behind her looked worried, clearly having noticed Luo Li's strange behavior. Kangknie, on the other hand, smiled, seemingly deep in thought.

"Hey! I have some good news. The exit is just ahead, probably a few kilometers away." Cook looked at Xiao Hua, who had just bounced back, and immediately announced loudly.

"Great!" The women jumped up at this news. Micky and Kangknie hugged each other tightly, and Luo Li instantly hugged Cook, who was also excited and spun her around.

"Damn!" Mike, seeing that he had no chance with the beauties, could only hug Da Hui, feeling very dejected.

"Cough, but there's also some bad news." Cook was embarrassed to realize that he was tightly hugging Luo Li, and the softness of her body made him feel a bit aroused. At this moment, Cook realized that Luo Li was a very well-endowed woman, not just a master. Although Luo Li had been carried by Cook before, that was during an escape, and there was no time to feel much. Carrying a beautiful woman for a few minutes might elicit some reaction, but carrying a woman weighing a hundred pounds for several hours would leave anyone with no other thoughts, except perhaps to drop her.

"What's the bad news?" Luo Li also realized her impulsiveness and quickly asked.

"This little thing says it's very cold outside. I estimate we're above the snow line." Cook was a bit depressed. There was an exit, but it was in the snow, leaving Cook unsure of what to do.

"Let's go and see. If it's really too cold, we'll have to make some fur clothes first." Luo Li was also very depressed. If it was really a snow mountain, she, as a fire mage, would be completely useless here. Mages cast spells mainly by using their mental power and magic power, which is converted from the surrounding elements. Are there fire elements in the icy and snowy environment? Yes, but they are very scarce, and the cold greatly affects fire magic, reducing its power by at least dozens of times.

When the group excitedly approached the cave entrance, they could already feel the bone-chilling cold from the surrounding cave walls. Within just a few dozen meters, the walls were covered in ice.

"Damn! Damn!" Feeling the cold, Luo Li couldn't help but curse. She was still wrapped in a blanket, but the environment made her very uncomfortable.

"Sir, the exit is just ahead, a narrow crack surrounded by thick ice, at least dozens of meters thick." Cook rubbed his hands, as it was really too cold, and his fighting spirit was also greatly consumed. After a quick trip outside, he had used up a third of his energy in just a few minutes.

"Let's go back, we'll freeze to death if we go out." Luo Li wisely decided.

The group walked back about a kilometer, where the temperature was relatively warmer. Then Cook asked, "Sir, how long will we stay here?"

"Sigh, how long we stay depends on you. We can only leave if we have enough fur." Luo Li sighed.

"Alright! I think we need a comfortable environment." Cook was shaken and then helplessly shrugged.

"Mike, you're in charge of collecting those black stones, with Da Hui. Micky, I need an assistant." Cook's instructions were not opposed, so he began to assign tasks.

Mike helplessly shrugged and said, "Alright, since you're the boss." Then Mike led Da Hui deeper into the cave. The location wasn't far, about a few hundred meters, but for a long-term stay, they would need a considerable amount.

"Micky, help me with this." Cook handed the still glowing gem to Micky, indicating that she would be his assistant.

Cook carefully examined the surrounding rock structure. In such a large mountain, the rock structure is very complex. If the location for building a shelter was not chosen well, it could lead to a catastrophic accident. Finally, in front of a large rock wall, Cook swung his magic knife. It must be said that this magic knife, enhanced with a metal magic array, cut through the rock like tofu.

After a few hours, a three-bedroom apartment was completed, but Cook's fighting spirit was almost exhausted, mainly due to the excessive physical exertion. Wood-based fighting spirit naturally nourishes the body, but fortunately, Cook's fighting spirit automatically circulated.

When they say three bedrooms, they are only a few square meters each, with just a stone bed. One of the rooms was larger, for the three women, and the other two were similar in size. One was for Cook and Mike, and the other was for the women to bathe, located at the back. As for the living room, it was more like a long corridor, but a larger one, with a higher ceiling to accommodate a campfire. The entire room was carved out of a single piece of stone.

"Thank you for your help, or we couldn't have done it." Cook looked at the sweating Kangknie and Luo Li, and Micky, who had helped him dispose of the carved-out stones. Fortunately, the cave sloped downward, so the stones rolled far when thrown.

"Hey, where did you find this?" Cook was resting when Xiao Hua brought a bright red fruit, about half the size of Xiao Hua's head.

"Um! Um! It's for you to eat." Xiao Hua nodded vigorously, and Cook was deeply moved.

"The sun, he doesn't know if it's poisonous, so he's letting you eat it." Da Hui, covered in snow, flew back, shouting in dissatisfaction. In the underground cave, Da Hui was bullied by Xiao Hua.

"Damn, you want me to test if it's poisonous? Xiao Hua, what are you doing?" Cook grabbed Xiao Hua's ear and scolded him.

"Huh?" The other three women were also tired, but hearing Xiao Hua's cry, they immediately looked over and were surprised to see the red fruit in Cook's hand.

"Xiao Hua found it, but I don't know if it's poisonous." Cook tossed the fruit and used his magic eye to examine it, finding nothing unusual.

"Swallow! Why don't you try it first?" Luo Li's swallowing sound was very clear in the underground cave, and she smiled at Cook.

"Alright!" Cook had already used his magic eye to draw a basic conclusion: the fruit was not poisonous. The poisonous fruits on Cook's body, although individually non-toxic, showed a faint black glow under his magic eye, indicating mild toxicity. However, this fruit showed no color, remaining its original color.

"Delicious! Delicious!" Cook quickly ate the fruit, leaving a round seed in his mouth.

"Mom, how could you really eat it?" The three women were immediately alarmed by Cook's action, gathering around him, with Micky covering her mouth in shock.

"It's fine, it's fine. I'm a wood mage, so even if it's poisonous, my resistance is definitely stronger than yours." Cook, seizing the opportunity to show his kindness, smiled and explained.

"Do you feel uncomfortable?"

"Does your stomach hurt?"

"Are your eyes blurry?"

"Are you dizzy?"

For the next hour, Cook was constantly questioned by the three beauties. Cook enjoyed this feeling, but after an hour, he realized their intentions: "Since it's not poisonous, we'll have this fruit for dinner. Cook, the rest is up to you." An hour later, Luo Li finally revealed her intention, and the other two women nodded in agreement.

"But, but my work isn't finished yet?" Seeing the women's reaction, Cook tried to bluff his way through, knowing it was very cold outside.

"In that case, I'll give you three hours to recover your fighting spirit, and then we must have fruit for dinner. I'm tired of eating fish." Luo Li's words initially made Cook feel relieved, but her next words made him realize he had been fooled.

Three hours later, Cook, wrapped in a thick blanket, appeared at the cave entrance. It was a narrow ice-filled crack, with Xiao Hua bouncing ahead and Da Hui flying low due to the cold wind howling above the ice crack.

"Damn, it's too damn cold. Xiao Hua, lead the way!" The cold wind made Cook feel a bone-chilling cold that pierced through his blanket. Looking at the thick ice layers, Cook estimated it was a glacial crack. The crack sloped downward, and the exit was a downhill slope. This prevented the melting glacier water from entering the cave. However, the original entrance was likely upward, but a large rock, after the glacier melted, lost its support and tilted, narrowing the entrance and making it downward.

Cook tied some hemp ropes to his boots, but even so, he was cautious. The ice crack sloped downward, and although the slope was not steep, falling could result in a long slide on the frozen snow and rock.

"Xiao Hua, are you sure it's up there?" Standing in the ice crack, which was only about two meters high, Cook saw rocks ahead, indicating the bottom of the glacier.

"Of course, if you don't believe me, I'll go and get it for you." Xiao Hua's eyes twinkled, and he was about to run ahead.

"Forget it, if you go first, you'll probably eat it all before showing me." Cook grabbed Xiao Hua's furry tail and pulled him back, scolding him.

"Let go, let go. There are so many fruits, how many can I eat? Look at Da Hui, he's gone." Xiao Hua struggled, but Cook didn't let go, so Xiao Hua changed the subject.

"Boss, bad news, bad news. Someone is stealing the fruit." Da Hui suddenly descended, his mouth still red from the fruit juice, clearly having gone to steal some.

"How big is it?" Cook asked, his spirit lifted.

"About as tall as your knee." Da Hui looked and replied.

"Does it have fur or scales?" Cook continued.

"Fur." Da Hui answered.

"Are the teeth long?" Cook asked, as Da Hui's intelligence, though higher than Da Hui's, was not great in terms of expression, so Cook had to train him.

"The teeth are not long, but the ears are long, longer than my big mouth." Da Hui had learned the word "old man" from Cook's basic training.

"Great, we have a delivery. Da Hui, keep looking around to see if there are any more of them." Cook immediately became excited. This was clearly a rabbit. Cook was afraid of foxes, which are very cautious, but rabbits, though cautious, are still rabbits.

"Xiao Hua, here, I'll distract it, and you'll stab it hard." Cook took out a metal hook with spider silk from Kaka.

"I like to stab its butt!" Xiao Hua looked at the metal hook in Cook's hand and showed his large front teeth.

"Stab the nose or near the mouth, and I'll consider giving you more meat." Cook tapped Xiao Hua's forehead and tempted him.

"I want fruit, two more, two more." Xiao Hua bargained.

"Alright, two more. Hurry up, or the fruit will be gone." Cook took out his magic knife and carved two steps into the sloping ice wall, then told Xiao Hua.

"Boss, there are more, but they are very far away." Da Hui returned after a while and said.

"Damn!" Hearing this, Cook stuck his head out to look. Seeing a large patch of green plants on a sunny slope in the distance, with some red spots, clearly the fruit Xiao Hua mentioned, Cook cursed. He knew there were plants in the glacier, but he didn't expect so many.

Then Cook saw the target, a rabbit as big as a dog, leisurely eating the green plants, occasionally standing on its hind legs, stretching its ears, and looking around, clearly very cautious.

"Damn, is this a rabbit? It's like a big dog, but I like it." Cook used his magic eye to examine it and found no glow, indicating it was a wild animal.

Cook looked around and realized that approaching the rabbit directly would likely scare it away. After careful consideration, he decided to go through the ice crack and use rocks for cover. Once within twenty meters, Xiao Hua could act.

"Kaka, set up a rope trap around it with spider silk, just in case." Cook then instructed Kaka, adding a third layer of insurance. The first was Xiao Hua, the second was Kaka, and even if the first two failed, Cook himself would be there to ensure success.

After about twenty minutes, Cook finally saw the big rabbit behind a large rock. However, the rabbit became alert when it saw Cook, but relaxed when it saw a small thing the size of its toe, continuing to search for food in the rock crevices. The rabbit didn't notice that the small thing had a metal hook on its paw, which was Xiao Hua.

Xiao Hua was experienced in such tasks. Last time, he acted as a vanguard against the magic bear. A tiger might attack a rabbit, but would it attack a sparrow or a mouse? Only if the tiger was extremely hungry. This was a big rabbit, not a tiger or a lion. Although larger, it was still a rabbit.

"Almost, almost, faster, faster, done!" Cook continuously released spider silk, which was fixed to a large rock. When he saw Xiao Hua run past the rabbit's feet, he jumped up and fiercely hooked the metal hook under the rabbit's neck.

"Poof!" The rabbit felt a sharp pain, and its hind legs kicked hard, making it jump up. But this jump caused a stream of fresh blood to spurt from under its neck, clearly making its injury worse.

"Thud!" As the rabbit jumped, it didn't reach its target because its hind legs were tied up.

"Ya!" In an instant, Cook channeled his fighting spirit into his legs and covered the twenty meters in a single leap. Not knowing if the rabbit would scream, Cook didn't take any chances, drawing his magic knife and with a low cry, sliced off half of the rabbit's head.

"Bang!" But the rabbit's powerful hind legs delivered a final blow.

"Damn!" Cook knew rabbits had this ability, so he rolled to the ground, narrowly avoiding the attack.

"Shh!" Cook got up and found his arm and other parts scratched by the rocks. Seeing the rabbit's dying kick send a rock flying several meters, he couldn't help but gasp.

"Damn thing!" Cook quickly cleaned up the scene, a basic skill for a hunter. In the wild, there are many unpredictable dangers, mostly from powerful wild animals. Covering the blood with sand and soil, putting the prey in a leather bag to avoid leaving a bloody trail, and sprinkling some irritating powder are all very effective methods.

Cook then started collecting fruit. For Cook, these fruits were indeed good, and in this environment, food could be stored for longer. However, Cook had already caught the big rabbit, so he couldn't carry too much fruit, as he needed to reserve some energy for emergencies.

The return trip was smooth, but Cook was exhausted. Climbing up the icy slope was very tiring, especially with the added weight.

"Yay!" When the group saw the red fruit in the bag, they were all excited and eagerly grabbed and ate it. After eating fish for so long, they were eager for something different.

Cook began processing the big rabbit by the stream. The internal organs went to Da Hui, who had been starving for half a month after a good meal in the magic bear's cave. The rabbit's organs were a feast for Da Hui.

Cook carefully skinned the rabbit, which was crucial for their survival. The rabbit meat was made into dried meat, and it was cooked.

Over the next few days, Cook went out every day. The high motivation was partly due to the pressure of survival and partly because Cook found that after large amounts of fighting spirit were consumed, although the recovery was slow, the amount of fighting spirit increased slightly, which improved endurance and strength.

"Seven days, in seven more days, we'll have enough rabbit skins to leave this cursed place. But why haven't we found the target yet? Has Da Hui gotten lost?" Cook was now dressed in a white, furry coat, pants, and hat, looking like a snowman from a distance. He was hiding in a rock crevice, only his head exposed, about ten kilometers from the cave entrance. The big rabbits were very rare here, but from his vantage point on the hill, Cook could clearly see the thick glacier and ravines below, including the path to the cave, which he was very familiar with.

Cook wasn't just idling here. Although the fighting spirit recovery was slow, he could still manage. He decided to wait another hour and then return