Chapter 362 - 352: Can It Be Neutralized a Little?

"Let’s keep some to grill today. We can dehydrate the rest," Shane Rhodes suggested.

Hearing this, Moira Lynch nodded and lowered her head to start sorting the mushrooms. Different mushrooms were prepared in different ways.

[Smoke Mushroom: After eating, a puff of smoke will come out of your mouth. Suitable for grilling, delicious flavor.]

Moira Lynch picked up a red mushroom, and Patience automatically began its introduction.

Next, she picked up another mushroom that looked like a giant fang.

[Sharp Tooth Mushroom: Meaty and rich, has a teeth-whitening effect.]

Just as Moira Lynch finished sorting the mushrooms, she suddenly heard a loud noise coming from the direction of the warehouse.

Turning her head, she saw Kai York walk in, pulling two machines, one in front and one behind him.

One looked just like a huge, double-door refrigerator, and the other was a barbecue cart with a giant leaf on top.

Needless to say, these were two more things Kai York had gotten from opening his blind boxes.

"Good thing I didn’t listen to the boss and sell these. See? They’re coming in handy now."

The thing that looked like a double-door refrigerator was a rapid dehydrator, capable of quickly drying out anything placed inside while completely preserving its nutritional value.

The other machine was, you guessed it, a barbecue cart. The green leaf on top was something like a range hood.

It could absorb all the smoke and acrid smells produced during grilling.

Seeing Kai York’s smug expression, Shane Rhodes didn’t hesitate to take him down a peg. "Isn’t it because nobody would buy them that you stuffed them in the warehouse?"

Although Kai York had gotten a lot of things from his blind boxes, most weren’t very practical, like this dehydrator and barbecue cart.

Most people couldn’t even afford to eat, so who had food to put in a dehydrator? And barbecue? Barbecue what?

The base was buying, but Kai York was a step too late. Someone had already sold their own unboxed dehydrator and barbecue cart to the base.

Only the first of any item could be sold for a high price. If the same thing appeared again, the base wouldn’t buy it at the original price.

And coincidentally, the dehydrator and barbecue cart submitted by those two people were identical to the ones Kai York had unboxed.

So, unwilling to take a loss, Kai York had simply tossed the two items into the warehouse.

Moira Lynch put the mushrooms into the dehydrator.

There were too many mushrooms to fit them all in at once, so she could only dehydrate them in batches.

As the machine started up, it let out a rumbling noise.

Moira Lynch noticed a mute button on the side and pressed it. A second later, the rumbling noise vanished.

She glanced at the time displayed on top. The first batch of mushrooms would be dehydrated in about an hour. The efficiency was quite high.

Just then, the enticing aroma of barbecue wafted over from the nearby cart.

Seeing that the barbecue would still take a while, Moira Lynch went over to help Shane Rhodes skewer the remaining mushrooms.

"When will the next batch of mushrooms be ready?" Shane Rhodes asked.

Hearing this, Moira Lynch glanced at the mushroom maturation schedule Patience had listed for her and saw that another batch would be ready tonight.

This type of mushroom, called Black Pearl, liked to grow in dark environments.

These mushrooms contained a large amount of melanin. Although delicious, eating too many would cause one’s entire body to turn black.

However, this blackness could be metabolized and would eventually fade.

When Shane Rhodes heard what Moira Lynch said, he blurted out, "Then wouldn’t these mushrooms be perfect for you and Hugh Finch?"

To be honest, the two of them were just too pale right now—frighteningly so.

There’s a saying that a fair complexion can hide a hundred flaws, but that refers to a healthy, rosy-white, not the deathly pallor of Moira Lynch and Hugh Finch.

Moira Lynch was fine since she wore makeup, but Hugh Finch had completely given up, scaring who knows how many people with his appearance.

Hearing Shane Rhodes say that, Moira Lynch thought it might be worth a try.

In fact, she also felt that her paleness was a bit scary. It was probably caused by eating too many Snow Chestnuts.

But as they say, to wear the crown, you must bear its weight. And who could she blame but herself for lusting after the benefits? This side effect was acceptable, it was just...

"Patience, if this side effect can’t be eliminated, can it at least be neutralized? I’m not asking for much, just neutralizing it a tiny, tiny bit would be great," Moira Lynch asked, her face full of anticipation.

[There is something. The Blood Red Flower from Apexia. After eating it, even a terminally ill person would gain a rosy complexion, showing no signs of their severe weakness. However, this flower only grows on Apexia, and it must be eaten immediately after being picked, or it will wither within minutes.]

Hearing what Patience said, Moira Lynch knew she wouldn’t be able to find this flower in the System Mall.

’Oh well, I’ll leave it to fate.’

’What if the system sends us players to Apexia for a mission one day? For now, satisfying my cravings is more important.’

Over by Kai York, the first batch of mushrooms was already grilled.

Moira Lynch took a skewer of grilled Smoke Mushrooms, bit into one, and an exquisitely savory flavor instantly filled her mouth.

She swallowed the mushroom in her mouth, and then, uncontrollably, she opened her mouth and a puff of white smoke came out.

After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, the mushrooms in the dehydrator were just about done.

They collected the dehydrated mushrooms and put them in the warehouse.

"Once the Treasure Chickens are grown, we can use these mushrooms to make some chicken and mushroom stew," Kai York said.

"We probably won’t have to wait too long for that," Moira Lynch said.

After all, Treasure Chickens grew very quickly.

When night fell, Moira Lynch woke everyone up on schedule.

In the darkness, the Black Pearl Mushrooms emitted a faint fluorescent glow, looking just like real black pearls.

Because they had to be careful not to step on the other mushrooms while harvesting, it took them several hours to pick all the Black Pearl Mushrooms.

They put the mushrooms into the dehydrator to dry, and then the group went back to their rooms to rest.

Little did they know, they were already being watched by people with malicious intent.

「In a dimly lit room.」

A husband and wife were talking in low voices.

"Are you sure everything you found out is true?" the man asked.

The woman nodded. "Of course I’m sure. Not only that, I saw it with my own eyes. Their yard is full of all kinds of vegetables. When I went today, I saw they were also growing mushrooms and raising ducks and chickens. It’s obvious they’re not short on food or water."

"And I also found out there are four young people living there, probably siblings. All four of them are players, and they’re from the first batch."