Chapter 178: The Past

Chapter 178: Chapter 178: The Past

This included her conjectures and speculations.

She asked the seniors about anything she didn’t understand. Through this back-and-forth, the truth of the instance and its curse was revealed.

The bones on the island were left behind by the seniors who had fought against the jackals that came down from the mountains.

In that backward era, they fought with their lives, using their own bodies to block sharp claws. But despite the overwhelming odds, they ultimately failed to stop the beasts from coming down the mountains to harm people.

When the battle ended, the few survivors on the island swore a venomous oath: even if their bodies perished and their souls were scattered, even if they fell into the eighteen levels of hell to become vengeful ghosts, they would return for revenge.

After speaking the words, they bit their own tongues and died right in front of the beasts.

It was because of this terrible oath that the beasts grew fearful. They were afraid that humanity would rise again and aim their hunting rifles at them once more.

So they took the bodies, sinking half into the sea and leaving the other half on the island.

Afraid the oath would come true, their dread intensified. They built the Sacrificial Platform and brought in ten giant stone pillars.

Later, humans returned to the island. The jackals and wolves were defeated. Time flew by, and eventually, this place was completely abandoned.

This was the truth of the instance, and the truth hidden on the island.

The creator of this instance had woven this history into its virtual fabric. What they hadn’t expected, however, was for it to resonate with the game instance itself.

The energy supporting the multiplayer game was indeed immense, but with so many instances, the amount allocated to each was small.

Because of this, they were able to awaken and, with their powerful consciousness, drive the game’s energy out.

The voice was weathered, filled with boundless emotion. "The days and years have passed one after another. I can’t believe it’s been so long. Time really does fly."

"Yes, it’s hard to believe it’s been so long."

The truth is often cruel. After learning it, Shi Zhile and the others fell into a heavy, oppressive silence.

Shi Zhile felt a pang of regret. She regretted not attacking them directly in the forest.

’I shouldn’t have hesitated. Hesitation leads to defeat. I have to go kill them.’

’I need to be more ruthless!’

Wen Changming took a deep breath and led the group in a salute. The others saw this and followed suit, standing at attention and saluting as one.

One of the seniors sighed. "We are trapped here and cannot leave, so we can’t offer you much help. However, we can at least ensure your safety on this island.

"Young lady, you said you could bring more people in if the spatial restriction is lifted. How confident are you that you can do it?"

Shi Zhile took out the Wish Drifting Bottle. "As long as this works, I’m one hundred percent confident."

The senior took the Wish Drifting Bottle and examined it for a moment.

"There’s a fluctuation of energy on this bottle. Its aura is the same as the one that seized this body, but not entirely."

"The energy is very mixed. Several types are blended together, creating a new kind of energy in the process."

"Never mind, let’s not get hung up on that for now. Our power is limited during the day. We can only break the spatial restriction when the black fog descends at night."

"But there really isn’t much food on the island. As for things like tomato beef brisket or sweet and sour pork ribs... I guess we’re out of luck, eh?~"

Shi Zhile blinked twice. "The meat is indeed in my backpack, but spicy rabbit, cauldron-cooked chicken, and roast goose are all delicious too."

Outside the game, these were all common dishes. But inside the game, where people couldn’t get enough to eat or proper clothes to wear, such meat dishes were an unimaginable luxury.

It wasn’t just the seniors whose mouths were watering; even the three base leaders were starting to feel hungry.

Since entering the game, they had never gone without fish, but they hadn’t eaten any other kind of meat.

Especially after the bases were formally established and the number of players increased, eating a full meal to their heart’s content had become a luxury.

Wen Changming thought of the fish on the sailboat and quickly had Wen Bai go aboard to bring it out.

Inside a small white bucket were three or four sea fish, each the length of a forearm. The rest were small, palm-sized fish.

And all of them had been caught by the three base leaders.

Base Chief Ye, a man of few words, nodded at the other two base leaders. Base Commander Zhou of Huaxia Base, equally taciturn, nodded back at Vice Base Commander Wen.

Wen Changming continued, "We may not have chicken or duck, but we have fish. Cauldron-cooked fish and braised fish are just as delicious. Seniors, why don’t you stay and eat with us? You can try the cooking of us juniors."

There wasn’t much fish, certainly not enough if divided up, but making a soup with all of it would definitely be filling.

The senior returned the Wish Drifting Bottle to Shi Zhile.

"No, thank you. We don’t need to eat. And because of the influence of us old-timers, fishing in these waters is indeed difficult."

"You go ahead and eat. It’s about time for us to head back."

Not needing to eat didn’t mean they didn’t feel hunger. In that era of scarcity, most of them had gone to the battlefield on an empty stomach.

Now, with supplies just as scarce, they didn’t want to be wasteful. They wanted to leave the food for the living.

Shi Zhile used her consciousness to pull a chicken out of her space.

This was the first time she had tried to pull a living creature out with her consciousness. She thought it might not work, but to her surprise, it came out easily.

Then, she pulled out a duck, just as easily.

A fat chicken and a plump duck suddenly appeared in Shi Zhile’s hands. Everyone fell silent.

She shoved the two live birds into Jiang Jing’s hands, clapped her hands, and then pulled out a pile of potatoes, corn cobs, and green beans.

A mound of fresh green beans grew higher and higher on the ground. Beside it appeared salt and other seasonings, making everyone’s eyes go wide.

Shi Zhile wasn’t done yet. She thought for a moment and then pulled out four rabbits.

Perhaps because she had taken out too much at once, she clearly felt some resistance this time.

After thrusting the rabbits into Wen Bai’s and Sun Ci’s hands, Shi Zhile finally stopped.

"What are you all looking at me for? Are we eating or not? We can’t have meat every meal, but there’s enough for a few feasts now and then."

"I’ve provided the supplies, so don’t expect me to do the cooking. You guys can handle it."

Jiang Jing stared at the fat chicken and plump duck in his hands, wishing he could give them a couple of kisses. But the thought of killing and eating them right away made him feel a bit reluctant.

"They’re so plump. They must still be laying eggs, right? We’re just going to eat them?"

Shi Zhile’s expression was firm. "Eat! If there’s not enough meat, we’ll supplement with vegetables. This afternoon, we’ll go out to sea and catch more fish with nets. Tonight, we’ll see if we can bring Elder Wen and the others over and have him make his crispy fried fish."

Jiang Jing, holding the chicken and duck, ran toward the shore with a grin. "Alright! I’ll go butcher them."

The senior who had been about to leave also stopped. He reached out and lovingly stroked the rabbit’s fur.

"A rabbit this fat must have a lot of grease. We should dry-fry it. Does anyone have a knife? I’ll skin it."

As soon as he spoke, another voice chimed in. "This rabbit fur is nice. If you skin it carefully, there’s enough to make a scarf and a pair of gloves."

"There are a lot of fresh hot peppers in the woods behind the village. They’d be perfect for stir-frying with the meat."

"Hey, hey, hey, old friend, let’s get this straight. There’s only one body. We’ll each take a bite just to taste it, and that’s it. No one eats too much. We can’t let the kid get a stomachache."

Jiang Jing, Wen Bai, Sun Ci, and Tang Yan, the young men of the group, ran to the seashore to prepare the chicken, duck, and rabbits.

Shi Zhiyi and Ms. He were off to the side, snapping green beans.