Ch. 297 - What, You Think I'm a Rookie

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"Why did it feel like something weird just snuck in here?"

Fang Si's expression froze. Chen Shu was shouting with just as much fervor as the rest of them.

"Chen Pi, what the hell are you calling?"

Chen Shu blinked. "Sis Fang Si, are you confused? My name's Chen Shu, styled the Nanjiang Bandit!"

"..."

What kind of enterprise-level comprehension was that? [1]

Fang Si shook her head. The group officially set out.

A thin white mist hung over [Living Wood Swamp]. Even Black Iron-rank beast tamers had their vision impaired.

The ground beneath their feet was soft, and the air carried a faint odor of rot.

Black, twisted trees stood everywhere, their shapes eerie and unsettling.

"Awooo awooo!"

The husky charged ahead, barking nonstop.

Though Ning Qingyi's Swift Wind Sparrow was a flying-type passenger contract spirit,

the group chose not to ride it, proceeding entirely on foot instead.

Black Iron-rank beast tamers had powerful physiques, so their marching speed wasn't slow at all.

Thanks to the Spirit Suppression Bureau outpost, there were no fierce beasts nearby — the area was utterly tranquil.

Fang Si locked onto a direction and led the team forward at top speed.

"Awoo!"

Right then, the husky sprinted onto a patch of black soil and started hopping around excitedly.

"Holy shit, dumb dog! Get back here!"

Chen Shu's mouth twitched. The husky's body was actually gradually sinking — but the dog hadn't noticed a thing.

"Awoo!"

Receiving the command, the husky pushed off with all four legs... and began accelerating its own descent.

It finally realized something was off. A panicked look crossed its face as it thrashed about, quickly sinking straight down.

With the weeds covering everything, all five of them could see was a dog head, staring with its wise eyes, howling continuously...

"Is this really a combat-type contract spirit..."

Fang Si and the others exchanged glances. A bad feeling crept into their hearts.

It didn't even need fierce beasts to attack — the husky could get itself killed all on its own...

"Roar!"

The Frost Dragon flapped its wings and flew over the marsh. Its talons clamped down, hauling the husky out.

"Awoo!"

The husky shook the filth off its body and pressed itself tightly against the slime, ending its dangerous wandering session.

"Let's move, time's tight!"

Fang Si called out. There wouldn't be any fierce beasts nearby, so the group headed directly deeper into the space.

While the group was on the move,

on the topmost level of the Spirit Suppression Army outpost, three people were in the middle of a discussion.

A stern-faced middle-aged man in military uniform spoke:

"Has the geography expert arrived?"

A Spirit Suppression soldier replied, "Reporting, Commander — they should arrive at the outpost this afternoon!"

"Mm, make it quick."

Wang Zhenlong nodded. Worry flickered in his eyes.

He was the commander of the Spirit Suppression Army regiment stationed at [Living Wood Swamp], responsible for all matters within the space.

Recently, according to the outpost's monitoring equipment, [Living Wood Swamp]'s temperature had broken past its stable threshold.

It was only two degrees above normal, but Wang Zhenlong took it extremely seriously.

Dimensional spaces had no seasonal changes — their climate stayed fixed within a narrow range year-round.

Even a tiny shift could signal a massive crisis on the horizon.

"Hopefully nothing goes wrong."

Though he was a Gold One-Star beast tamer, even he might not be able to handle every possible scenario.

"Hm? Those people?"

Wang Zhenlong paused, his gaze landing on the contract spirits beside Chen Shu and the others.

With his veteran experience, he could assess their spirits' potential ratings at a single glance.

"Geniuses from Huaxia Academy?"

He murmured to himself, then said, "Impressive, so young and already so capable. Black Iron-rank and they dare enter [Living Wood Swamp]."

...

Evening fell.

The group pressed on and had reached a remote, rarely traveled area.

Though a dangerous-level dimensional space carried enormous risks, it also meant higher rewards.

Fang Si's voice was decisive. "Rest here. No traveling at night!"

"Sis Fang Si, we haven't even run into any fierce beasts yet — you sure we're stopping?"

Chen Shu was briefly taken aback, then spoke up.

"?"

Qiao Yue looked at him quizzically. "Junior Chen Shu, why would you want to run into fierce beasts?"

The others turned to look at him too. What, you can't sleep at night unless you've killed some fierce beasts or something?

"That's not it. Without fierce beast meat, the stuff I brought would go to waste, wouldn't it?"

With a perfectly straight face, Chen Shu pulled an iron pot and an assortment of hotpot seasonings out of his backpack...

"?"

The others' eyes went wide. Were you treating this like a spring field trip? Cooking hotpot in a dimensional space?!

"Good thing I brought a bit of food."

Chen Shu calmly produced, one after another: century eggs for hotpot, fatty beef rolls, tender beef slices, omasum tripe...

"Uh..."

The group was utterly speechless. None of them had expected Chen Shu's supplies to be entirely this kind of stuff.

Lu Zhining spoke up. "Junior Chen Shu, you can't tell me it's all food in there..."

"Senior, how could that be?"

Chen Shu grinned. "What, you think I'm a rookie!"

The others breathed a quiet sigh of relief. So Chen Shu did have some experience after all.

But the very next moment, they were completely dumbfounded.

Chen Shu quietly pulled out two large bottles of cola...

"Of course I brought drinks too."

"..."

The group found it absolutely ridiculous — they half-wondered if they were still on Blue Star.

Still, jokes aside, hotpot was hotpot — you didn't turn down hotpot!

The four of them licked their lips, swallowed discreetly, and crowded around together.

Chen Shu gathered wood from the area, built a simple stand, and hung the iron pot from it.

"Dumb husky, come light the fire!"

Chen Shu rubbed the dog's head and forcibly dragged the husky over.

"Awoo~"

The husky looked completely unwilling, but under the bandit's oppressive authority, it had no choice but to obediently use [Fireball Barrage].

Bang!

The fireball blasted out — and sent the iron pot flying into the air...

"Holy shit!"

Chen Shu's hands were quick. He caught the iron pot and steadied it in one fluid motion.

"You motherfucker!"

His mouth twitched as he set the pot back in place. He hadn't expected the husky's fireball to pack that much punch.

"I'll do it."

Fang Si stepped in and ordered the Scarlet Flame Dragon forward. It spat out a thin stream of flame.

"For cooking hotpot, dragons are definitely the way to go!"

Chen Shu gave a thumbs-up, then rubbed the dog's head. "Useless piece of shit!"

"Awoo~"

The husky looked over at him, thoroughly aggrieved. It had done everything exactly as Chen Shu commanded.

A moment later, the hotpot oil in the iron pot was boiling, and the fragrance filled the air...

"Gulp!"

Fang Si and the others swallowed in unison. They never imagined they'd get to eat hotpot in a dimensional space.

"You see that, Dumb Husky?"

Chen Shu pointed at the bubbling oil in the pot. "This is just like you — waste! (Boiling waste, too!)" [2]

"Awoo awoo~"

The husky pawed furiously at the ground, voicing its displeasure.

Just then, something suddenly dropped from the sky, headed straight for a splashdown in the pot.

"Holy shit! Ruin my hotpot and we're sworn enemies for life!"

Chen Shu's expression shifted in alarm. Adrenaline spiked — in a single instant, he threw a punch.

He didn't even have time to register what the hell was falling.

[1] 企业级理解 (qǐyè jí lǐjiě): "Enterprise-level comprehension." Chinese internet slang originating from mocking corporate jargon. It describes someone who applies systematic, "professional-grade" logic to completely miss the point in the most absurd way possible. Here, Fang Si asks what Chen Shu is calling (shouting), and Chen Shu interprets it as asking what his name is — a classic example.

[2] 废物 / 沸物 (fèiwù): A pun. 废物 (fèiwù) means "waste" or "useless thing." 沸物 (fèiwù) has the exact same pronunciation but means "boiling thing." Chen Shu points at the bubbling hotpot and calls it 沸物 (boiling thing), which sounds identical to calling the husky 废物 (waste). The pun works as an insult double-entendre: the husky and the hotpot are both "fèiwù."