"The Dark Continent."
Menchi, who had five braids, looked around, nodded, and then shook her head. "I get what Germain meant by that sentence earlier."
"What sentence?" Buhara asked, pulling down the hem of his shirt to cover his large belly.
"'Whether it's dangerous or not depends on the actual situation,'" Menchi repeated unhappily, placing her hands on her hips and sounding a bit sharp. "Weren't you paying attention during the meeting?"
"The Dark Continent isn't completely off-limits to humans."
"For instance, when the United States of Saherta arrived at the Dark Continent, they crossed the sea of trees and traveled 400 kilometers before reaching the Ancient Labyrinth City."
"This proves that humans can explore the Dark Continent."
"But the challenge is how humans can establish a base here and manage to return."
"The United States of Saherta ventured deep without any support and faced the Botanical Weapon Brion, with no solution and no way to retreat in time."
"Even if they had managed to evacuate the Ancient Labyrinth City, the return journey was so far it was nearly hopeless. It's a miracle they had two survivors."
Buhara nodded in agreement.
"Bisky, what do you think?" Menchi asked Bisky, who was looking around.
"How do I see it? Just like this."
"This is my first time in this 'dry valley' too," Bisky said with a smile. "It looks very interesting. I mostly agree with what Germain said."
"But as long as Germain is alive and can use the Lantern, we don't have to worry too much about that dire situation."
"Thinking about it is scary—being in such a dangerous place with no reinforcements and pursuers behind us, and having to find our way back on foot."
"Forget about the gatekeeper and guide. Just finding the coastline could take forever..."
"Hey, hey, hey—" Menchi interrupted quickly. "You're supposed to be a veteran, so why not comfort us 'newcomers' instead of scaring us?"
"I'm just trying to help," Bisky said with a smile. "Besides, a bit of tension can help people stay focused, which is a good thing."
"Well, you always manage to steer the conversation. It feels like I'm talking to Chairman Netero..." Menchi rolled her eyes and complained.
At this point, Germain spoke up to remind them: "The creatures of the dry river valley I mentioned in the Dark Continent are already stirring."
"You haven't defeated them yet?" Bisky asked, surprised.
"It's been several months; they probably don't remember me anymore." Germain replied, realizing Bisky was teasing. He shrugged and said, "No, I didn't beat them."
After a while, dust filled the valley as huge scarlet insects crawled towards them eagerly.
Germain pulled out his "Cleaver," Bisky took a fighting stance, Menchi drew two machetes from her waist, and Buhara warmed up.
The battle began.
Soon, everything was silent again.
The corpses of giant beasts lay scattered on the cracked rock. Sixteen "flesh-sucking red bugs" and two "poisonous mist centipedes" had been defeated quickly.
Germain picked up the "Cleaver," sliced open the shell of a "flesh-sucking red bug," removed the eroded tissue, and found a "color-changing stone."
Bisky took out her camera, which took clearer pictures than her cell phone. She also used her phone for notes. She snapped a few photos of the "flesh-sucking red bug" and the "color-changing stone."
"I was tricked by you," Bisky said, flipping through the photos of "color-changing stones" with a hint of disinterest. "They're everywhere; they're not real 'gems' at all."
Germain had explained the origin of the "color-changing stone" to her long ago, but she liked to complain anyway.
Germain was also quite disappointed, but for different reasons.
Previously, when he defeated the "Flesh-eating Red Bug" and the "Poisonous Mist Centipede," he received the "Gift of Resentment." However, this time, after killing a large number of them, he didn't get anything.
Germain knew it was just a matter of chance, so he wasn't too worried.
"This meat..." Menchi said, using a machete to cut open one of the giant legs of the "Poisonous Mist Centipede" and revealing the meat inside, "It looks a bit like shrimp and crab meat. What do you think?"
Bisky looked at it and shook his head, feeling uneasy: "No, no, no, it doesn't look like shrimp or crab at all."
"Anyway," Buhara said, patting his stomach, "Let's try it."
"Wait," Bisky said in a panic, "You want to eat that?"
"We're the ones who need to eat it," Menchi said, pointing at Germain, Bisky, Buhara, and then at herself, "Otherwise, there's no point in us 'Gourmet Hunters' being here, right?"
"I have a problem with insects..." Bisky said, looking slightly disgusted, "I can be decisive when killing them, but eating them..."
"Don't worry, Buhara will try it first."
Menchi patted Buhara's big belly, which started to jiggle.
"If it tastes bad or is poisonous or has germs, he'll let us know."
"Leave it to me," Buhara said confidently, tapping his belly like a drum.
"Besides," Menchi added, "Some ingredients might look ugly but taste really good. Insects, for example, can be delicious when fried."
"Some are even tasty when eaten raw," Buhara said, reminiscing with a nostalgic look and watering at the mouth.
"Germain," Bisky turned to the man in the black robe and bird-beak mask, seeking his opinion. "Can we eat the compressed biscuits we brought?"
"I think it's good to try new things," Germain said, disappointing Bisky.
"It was your idea to find Menchi and Buhara. They came with us to help compile the 'Dark Continent Recipe' for long-term plans."
Bisky felt regretful, thinking it was his own fault.
At this point, Germain changed the subject: "Since we'll be staying here for 16 hours, why not widen our search and see if we can find other ingredients?"
He doesn't have a new "lantern" right now, so after discussing with Bisky and the others, he decided not to go far from the "Dry Valley." This time, Menchi and Buhara will handle evaluating the ingredients.
"'Other ingredients'…"
Bisky understood what Germain meant. If he didn't want to eat food that didn't look appealing, he needed to find ingredients that were more suitable for people.
"Good idea!" Menchi said, her eyes brightening. "While Buhara and I process these ingredients, you two can look for and bring back anything that seems edible."
"In these 16 hours, we'll try to have Buhara taste all the food in this area."
********
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