After resolving the emergency, David leaned against the wall and walked back to Bella's side with a face full of pain.
"Are... are you okay?" Bella muttered. "I don't remember having such a big reaction when I drank it."
"What do you think?" David's eyes cut Bella like a knife as he snatched the Mold Soup from her hand.
Business was business; David was still greedy for the health-recovery effect of this Mold Soup. This little side effect would just be training for his stomach's tolerance.
"Ha, then I won't disturb you." Bella tactfully shrunk her neck and pointed to a dark green tent in the camp.
The tent was surrounded by various pots and pans, as well as several crates containing common military canned beans and compressed rations.
"Remember to come when I'm cooking tonight; I'll show you my real skills."
With that, she climbed back up to the lookout point in a few moves and continued her sentry duty.
With the recipe sorted out, David wandered around and arrived at the gathering place for the wounded.
Bleeding I, Weakness I, Chills I... most of these wounded people had some debuffs on them.
David looked down at Otis, who was following closely at his heels, and a kind smile slowly curled at the corners of his mouth.
"It's your turn to perform, buddy."
Otis suddenly felt a chill, and a familiar sense of dread welled up in its heart.
"Moo!" It let out a long cry full of accusation, but David ignored its protest.
He switched to an empty bucket and began the collection work.
A moment later, he carried a bucket of beast milk to the wounded soldier with the most debuffs.
The soldier's face was a deathly gray, and sweat rolled down from his temples.
"It hurts..." The words were squeezed out from deep in his throat, having already used up all his strength.
David squatted down, moved gently, and tilted the rim of the bucket toward the man's shriveled lips.
As the warm liquid touched his lips, the soldier unconsciously opened his mouth and instinctively began to swallow.
After a few gulps of beast milk, all negative statuses disappeared.
The soldier's brow smoothed out, and within just ten seconds, he fell into a deep sleep.
"Hey, brother!" A soldier nearby, who had been watching from the side, saw the vigilance in his eyes turn into surprise.
He wore a somewhat deformed helmet with the number 3 scribbled on it in white paint.
Propping up his upper body with his elbows, he leaned toward David.
"What good stuff is that? Give me a couple of gulps too; this wound is hurting so much I'm twitching."
David handed the bucket over. Soldier No. 3 took it, took a sip, and his eyes immediately widened:
"Whoa, it really works. I feel like my body doesn't hurt as much."
"And it's so delicious, sweet."
He smacked his lips and raised the bucket to drink more, but his movement suddenly froze in mid-air.
Hesitating for a few seconds, he looked at the little beast milk left in the bucket and then glanced at the other wounded soldiers around him.
Finally, he swallowed hard and handed the bucket back to David. "My injury isn't that heavy, I can bear it. Give it to those who need it more first."
"Number 3, how many times have I told you? Do you want your wound to burst open!"
A soprano voice yelled out, getting closer.
"Carmine is here." Soldier No. 3 shuddered, gave David a thumbs up, and immediately lay back down, closing his eyes and pretending to be unconscious.
Hurried footsteps stopped beside No. 3.
David was squatting on the ground; the first thing he saw was a pair of mud-stained military boots with tightly wrapped leggings.
Looking up, the knees of the military trousers were worn white, and the belt was hung with rolls of bandages and several small glass bottles.
It was the female medic who had been arguing with Sergeant Victor earlier; according to No. 3, her name was Carmine.
Carmine wasn't wearing a jacket, only a shirt with sleeves roughly rolled up above her elbows.
She had a pleasant face, though long exposure to the harsh environment had made it a bit rough.
She quickly checked No. 3's bandages, and after confirming everything was fine, she turned her gaze to David.
"What are you doing here?" Her eyes moved back and forth between Otis and David. "And, what is this?"
"It seems to be some kind of analgesic," No. 3, who was lying on the ground, spoke up.
So, you didn't pass out after all. Staring into Carmine's eyes, No. 3 rolled his eyes and lay back down again.
"Analgesic?" Carmine's gaze sharpened. "That stuff is usually highly addictive."
She looked at the wounded soldiers in poor condition, and the second half of her questioning words was swallowed back.
David didn't explain. He pulled over the reluctant Otis and performed a live demonstration.
Carmine witnessed the whole process, and the wariness on her face turned into confusion.
What did she just see? An ordinary empty bucket was just brought near that animal, a simple contact was made, and then it was full?
She frowned, walked to Otis's side, and began to observe.
"Is this... a Steig Beast?" she muttered uncertainly, reaching out to gently touch Otis's fur.
"I've seen similar livestock in Fervius of the Segmentum Obscurus, though the breeds there seemed more irritable."
Carmine took a notebook from her bosom, flipped to a page, and held it up before Otis's eyes.
Otis, who had been sulking on the ground, glanced at it nonchalantly.
"Moo!" It let out a startled cry, its limbs went weak, and it collapsed on the ground.
Then it wriggled its body, scrambling to hide behind David, burying its massive head behind David's calves.
David looked at the terrified Otis, then leaned over to look at what was in Carmine's notebook.
On that page, with skilled and fine strokes, was a sketch of a venomous snake with its head raised and tongue flicking.
"Sure enough, this is a Steig Beast." Carmine nodded and closed the notebook, unable to help a smile at Otis's reaction.
"What's drawn in the notebook is a Favius Viper, one of the main natural enemies of the Steig Beast on its home planet."
"Actually, if you really look into it, it's not strictly a natural enemy," she added. "Adult Favius Vipers are not large and pose limited threat to adult Steig Beasts."
"They mainly prey on Steig Beast calves. Logically, yours is already an adult; it shouldn't be this cowardly."
Carmine looked at Otis, who was still shaking behind David, with a strange expression.
"So that's how it is." David looked at Otis behind his legs with a mix of amusement and exasperation, nudging it gently with his foot.
"Hey, you're so big, and you're afraid of such a small snake? And it's just a drawing... you're really something else."
Otis only buried its head deeper, its whimpering growing louder.
"I remember that Steig Beast milk is indeed drinkable," Carmine returned to the main topic.
"But as far as I know, it's just an ordinary drink and definitely doesn't have any analgesic effect."
It's not an analgesic; it clears all negative buffs, David countered in his mind.
He shrugged, having no intention of explaining.
The fact that the wounded were improving was better than any theory. Carmine requested David, "Could you give me some of that beast milk?"
David nodded and handed over the beast milk in his hand.
Carmine took action. She removed the glass bottles hanging from her waist and divided the beast milk from the bucket into several portions.
She fed them one by one to the surrounding wounded and took out a notebook to start recording the situation.
The effect was immediate.
For the wounded who drank the beast milk, no matter how serious the wound, the pain subsided quickly.