Chapter 399 - 389: Takeout Service

Moira Lynch, who had been complaining nonstop about these Treants just a moment ago, suddenly had no complaints at all.

All they needed was water to become the best helpers. What more could she ask for?

By the time Moira Lynch finished a tour of the area, the people arranged by the Steward had arrived.

There were a full two hundred of them.

It was clear that all of them had been carefully selected; they worked with great efficiency.

With so many people, it wouldn’t take long to clear out the territory.

Moira Lynch checked the time. It was already afternoon, so she chose to log out of the game.

Getting out of her game pod, she saw Hugh Finch sitting at the dining table with a bowl of claypot rice in front of him.

The savory aroma instantly made Moira Lynch’s mouth water.

Hugh Finch seemed to read her mind and said, "I ordered it from the game forum."

"The game forum?"

Hearing this, Moira Lynch opened the game forum and discovered that a food delivery service had been added at some point.

However, this service was different from the previous ones. Here, customers had to provide their own ingredients and pay a fee with some extra ingredients.

"Did the system get an upgrade?"

"No." Hugh Finch shook his head. "Apparently, a player who awakened a cooking skill started it with a few other players and some chefs."

"That player seems to have obtained an item in the game. Besides, those people were chefs before the apocalypse. With this hellish weather outside—snowing, thick fog—you can’t even see your hand in front of your face during the day, let alone at night."

"Starting this service is like them getting back to their old trade. And for us, we get to satisfy our cravings and have a decent meal once in a while."

Although their own cooking skills were decent, and they had Zion to help, the food they made still couldn’t compare to dishes from actual certified chefs.

After hearing Hugh Finch’s explanation, Moira Lynch opened the delivery service page.

There was no menu inside; it was all based on customers ordering a dish and then providing the ingredients.

Moira Lynch thought for a moment and suddenly craved a spicy stir-fry pot.

She went ahead and sent over some large prawns, some vegetables, and a few meatballs, then added an order for thirteen-spice crawfish.

While the chefs were preparing her order, Moira Lynch steamed some rice on her end.

"By the way, how are things in the game?"

When Hugh Finch asked, Moira Lynch recounted what had happened in the game that day.

Hugh Finch nodded repeatedly as he listened. He hadn’t expected Moira Lynch’s progress to be so fast.

"How’s that other matter progressing?"

"The certificate hasn’t been delivered yet, so I can’t go check on the situation. But judging by the time, it should be soon. It’ll probably arrive today or tomorrow."

Hugh Finch nodded after listening. "When it arrives, do you want me to go with you to check it out?"

"Better not," Moira Lynch refused. "If we run into any real danger, you being there would just be a liability."

Hugh Finch wasn’t offended at being called a liability. Instead, he said with a serious expression, "So you’re still planning to cooperate with them?"

Moira Lynch nodded. "There aren’t any other options. We only have a year. Besides, didn’t you say it would be fine?"

"It is indeed fine. According to my divination, it’s a fireball completely enveloped by something. It seems dangerous, but it’s not. What’s more, that place might hold a way to alleviate Caelus’s current situation."

Hearing this, Moira Lynch’s head snapped up. "You mean, alleviate the extreme cold?"

"That makes sense. The data shows that the temperature there is very high. If that’s the case, I think we should ask for more."

Hugh Finch gave Moira Lynch a gratified look. "Great minds think alike."

Meanwhile, Chase Shepard, who was arranging for a group of people to enter Veridian Prime, couldn’t help but shiver.

"Captain, why the sudden shiver? It’s not cold in here."

Ever since they got the Elf Tree House, the inside and outside were like two different worlds.

It was just a shame the Elf Tree House didn’t come with a yard; otherwise, they could have followed Shane Rhodes’s example and grown some vegetables outside.

But even if they couldn’t grow vegetables, they could still figure something out for mushrooms.

And so, thanks to their efforts, all sorts of mushrooms were now sprouting up everywhere inside the Elf Tree House.

While these mushrooms didn’t taste as good as the alien ones from SoySauceDrunkard, beggars can’t be choosers. As long as they could eat fresh mushrooms, it was good enough.

"It’s nothing. Just feels like someone’s got their eyes on me."

Ten minutes later, Moira Lynch was tucking into a fragrant spicy stir-fry pot and thirteen-spice crawfish.

’It really does taste different from when I make it myself.’

’Food always tastes better when someone else makes it.’

’The cooking is so good, I’m tempted to get a monthly subscription.’

’Too bad the price is a bit steep, and they even skimped on the ingredients.’

’Hmph, did they think I wouldn’t notice they took some of the vegetables? And the meatballs—did they think I couldn’t tell after they chopped them up? So naive.’

However, Moira Lynch didn’t plan on making a fuss about it. Her desire to order from them frequently simply changed to ordering only occasionally to satisfy a craving.

After eating her fill, Moira Lynch returned to her room. Just as she was about to rest, the Planet Property Certificate was delivered.

Looking at the familiar silver certificate, Moira Lynch eagerly activated the attached Teleportation Gate.

The next second, a wave of heat washed over her.

Fortunately, Moira Lynch had prepared in advance, putting on her temperature-regulating clothes to protect herself before entering.

The scenery here matched the planet’s appearance from the outside—everything was pink, even the rocks on the ground.

Not far away, there was a bubbling hot spring, its temperature visually estimated to be over a hundred degrees Celsius.

She took out the Planet Exploration Device and set it up.

Only after seeing the Planet Exploration Device functioning properly did Moira Lynch feel relaxed enough to observe her surroundings.

This time, however, she didn’t dare to venture too far. Geysers of water, hundreds of degrees hot, erupted from the ground from time to time, and she was afraid the Planet Exploration Device would be damaged. It was the only one she had.

The surrounding plants were also pink. No, more like a pinkish-purple.

She casually plucked a leaf about the size of a large fan and played with it in her hand.

As she idly fanned the leaf, a burst of purple flame shot out from it, giving Moira Lynch a start.

Luckily, she was wearing a helmet, or her hair would have been singed. It was incredibly dangerous.

She dropped the leaf.

The instant the leaf touched the ground, the moisture within it evaporated, and it immediately ignited, turning into a pile of black ash.

Witnessing this, Moira Lynch gained a new appreciation for the planet’s extreme heat.

About an hour later, the Planet Exploration Device finished its work.