Heroic Death System (Bl)

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The next day, Rhine's body temperature was far too hot and his consciousness fuzzy. The poison from the Scarlet Bone Fish had flared up and with his constitution, although it would not be life-threatening, it would further delay his recovery.

Shang Ke climbed down the tree and stripped off his shirt and scrubbing it clean before climbing back up the tree to help wipe down Rhine's body. Observing his current condition, it would be far too dangerous they could hurry back. It was wisest to remain where they were and wait for support. They were somewhere in the arthropod's territory, well past the defensive line. They were at risk of being found at any moment and could presently only rely on the pine valley tree to hide them.

Shang Ke felt around his body and found a signal mirror. Although it could not directly send a signal to the base, it could absorb solar energy and reflect red light. As long as a unit was passing by, they would be found. But shining it at night was too conspicuous, easily drawing the attention of the arthropods, so Shang Ke had not used it.

Shang Ke fed Rhine half of a tube of nutrient fluid and once again used tree's vines to keep him stable in the tree fork lest he falls. After that, he climbed down to check their surroundings and hopefully find something edible to bring back with him.

In the arthropod's domain, edible plant life was basically extinct and the only thing he could catch were a few aquatic animals and common insects. Finding wild beasts was not something he would think about right now; he had neither the time or strength to catch one. Any beast that could survive in the arthropod's territory was no doubt beyond tough and likely very aggressive.

Shang Ke stabbed and caught two fish in the river, dug up several scallops and after cleaning them a bit, returned to the pine valley tree.

Rhine suddenly opened his eyes, but seeing that Shang Ke was back, his gloomy expression relaxed somewhat.

"I caught two fish! We're eating sashimi today." Shang Ke raised the fishes and scallops that were wrapped in leaves.

Rhine silently gazed at his smiling face with gentleness and single-minded devotion.

Shang Ke sat perched the tree fork and an adjacent branch, took out his dagger, and sliced the meat with practiced ease on the carefully arranged leaves. Following that, he picked up the scallop, and a fishy smell hit Rhine straight in the face, causing him to wrinkle his nose and frown.

Shang Ke noticed his reaction and laughed, "Not used to this smell?"

Rhine nodded.

"That's fine, try it after it's roasted."

"Roast?" Rhine did not know how Shang Ke was planning to roast anything-this place was clearly unsuitable for making a fire.

"Watch me." Shang Ke found a couple of tree branches that were still full of moisture and would be hard to burn and nimbly set up a small grill atop the fork. He placed the cleaned scallops on the frame and poured a couple drops of nutrient fluids on each. After that, he sparked a small fire and started to roast them.

Rhine watched, stunned. He really didn't expect that Shang Ke could still roast food in this kind of situation where they were faced with the barest of supplies.

"Here, eat some sashimi to pad your stomach first." Shang Ke dangled a piece of fish over Rhine's mouth with his fingers.

Rhine silently ate it, his hair drooping over his forehead. His gaze when watching Shang Ke resembled that of a large dog waiting for his master to feed him.