At night, deep within the Forbidden Mountain Range, a group of people was making camp in a relatively spacious clearing.
Campfires were lit all around, illuminating the surroundings. In the middle of the fires stood several tents. Aside from a few special forces soldiers on guard duty, the rest were eating.
These people were precisely the exploration team led by Freya and Jones, venturing deep into the Forbidden Mountain Range.
The exploration team consisted of a squad of special forces and a squad of regular soldiers. Accompanying them were three birdkin responsible for scouting the air and guiding the way.
With ten special forces soldiers, ten regular soldiers, plus the three birdkin and the two beast-eared girls, there were a total of twenty-five people. This was the entirety of the exploration team.
Jones and Freya sat together by a campfire, holding military canned food and eating.
Sizzle...
Over the campfire, two suckling rabbits were roasting. Golden drops of fat fell into the flames, producing a sizzling sound.
"I really wonder what Lucas's brain is made of to invent so many delicious things," Freya sighed in admiration as she ate from her can.
"He is a miraculous person," Jones's eyes flickered, reflecting a faint cyan light under the campfire's glow.
During this period, they had been eating military canned food. From canned fish to the current canned beef, every flavor was excellent. Although it couldn't compare to the delicacies of the Drunken Night or the castle, it was still far better than what they used to eat.
Moreover, one must not forget that this was the wilderness. In the past, they could only eat dry rations and wild fruits in the wild, which couldn't compare to what they had now.
"Yes, a miraculous person indeed." Freya and Jones exchanged a glance, the corners of their mouths twitching slightly.
The two could be said to be very similar; the people they were each supposed to protect were princesses, and in the end, both princesses had stayed by Lucas's side.
The only difference was that one was a human princess of the Siacan Kingdom, while the other was a beastkin princess of the Valtoria Kingdom.
"A few more days of traveling, and we will thoroughly penetrate the deepest part of the Forbidden Mountain Range. We don't have many of the supplies we brought left." Freya looked toward the dark, deep forest behind her, then picked up the vegetable soup beside her and took a sip.
The supplies brought by their exploration team weren't much, especially items like wound medicine and insect repellent, which were almost used up.
"It's time to head back and rest." Jones also took a sip of the vegetable soup, a rare look of contentment appearing on her face.
During the day, they worked hard traveling and exploring the surrounding environment. Even for meals, they would hastily eat some dry rations and continue moving. Only at night, when they set up camp to rest, did they have the time to comfortably eat some canned food and other proper meals.
Therefore, nighttime was when they were happiest, able to enjoy warm canned food and delicious vegetable soup.
Freya nodded. They had been out for quite a while this time. After pressing forward for a few more days, it would be time to head back.
"I wonder what Her Highness the Princess is doing right now?" Freya looked behind her, toward the direction of Sedona City.
"Probably eating and drinking a lot," Jones said flatly. This was the exact time for meals at the castle.
Given the castle's food standards, it could be said they had a feast every single day, with different foods appearing from time to time.
"You're making me crave it just by talking about it." Freya smiled wryly. Then she took out some spices from the waterproof leather bag beside her and sprinkled them on the roasted suckling rabbits. Instantly, an appetizing aroma wafted out. These spices were prepared for them by Nicole before they departed. When catching wild game to eat in the wilderness, these could enhance the flavor and eliminate any gamey taste.
After all, anyone who had lived in Sedona City had their palates spoiled. Having eaten so many delicacies, making them eat flavorless food would probably ruin their appetite, and everything would taste bland.
As the saying goes: going from frugality to luxury is easy; going from luxury to frugality is hard.
After dinner, Jones took out a piece of paper and a ballpoint pen Lucas had given her, and began to write.
She wanted to write down everything they had seen and explored during this time. At the crack of dawn, she would have a birdkin take it back to Sedona City. They also needed to send back the newly discovered herbs and wild fruits they found along the way so the people at the Research Department could study their uses.
"Oh right, take these two peculiar stones back as well." Seeing Jones writing the letter, Freya immediately thought of something and pulled out two stones from her backpack.
Each piece of stone was about the size of a fist. Originally, it was a single piece, but it had cracked into two.
The cross-section of the fracture was actually green, and under the illumination of the firelight, it even emitted a faint green glow. This was why Freya called it peculiar.
This was something that had tumbled down from the top of the mountain when they passed by a cliff during the day. Originally a complete stone, it happened to hit a protruding rock on the side and broke in half.
Seeing how strange the stone was, Freya kept it, intending to send it back for Lucas to examine. Perhaps he might recognize what kind of stone it was.
Jones nodded. She folded the finished letter, put it into an envelope, and then placed it along with the two stones into a backpack, which also contained some wild fruits and herbs.
Jones looked at a birdkin standing guard not far away and said calmly, "Roman, head back to Sedona City tomorrow and take these things back."
"Yes." Roman stepped forward and took the backpack.
Roman was precisely one of the three accompanying birdkin, and also a member of the Air Force. His strong physique meant he would reach Sedona City much faster if he returned first.
......
Meanwhile, inside the castle of Sedona City, at the foot of the Forbidden Mountain Range, there was a scene of laughter and continuous playful banter.
The fox-eared girl was leaning against the table with one hand while holding chopsticks with the other, fishing for something in the hotpot. However, she couldn't find the beef tripe she had just dropped in.
Annie was confused. She had clearly just put the tripe in, so how did it disappear?
Then she looked at Mina and immediately flared up, yelling angrily, "Wah, that's my tripe! You despicable cat girl, that's the one I just put in!"
The cat-eared girl opened her mouth, shoved the tripe from her chopsticks inside, and mumbled vaguely, "No I didn't, I didn't see any tripe."
"Despicable, you mutant cat girl!" Annie was furious, her fox ears standing straight up.
"Don't steal mine, this is my..." Ayesha's hair bristled; the beef she had just put in was gone too.
"..."
"Hahaha..."
"Achoo..."
Lucy suddenly sneezed and muttered, "Is someone missing me?"
"You didn't catch a cold, did you?" Nicole asked with concern.
"No, no."
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