Chapter 39: Selling Meat

Xiang Ye rapidly recounted everything he’d done during the day. He wanted Ying Li to know just how formidable he was.

If he was this formidable, Ying Li certainly wouldn’t want to be separated from him.

After hearing it all, however, Ying Li’s first reaction was worry. “Xiang Ye, from now on you must be careful. Don’t use up all your mental power. Without it, if danger arises, you’ll have no way to defend yourself!”

Xiang Ye felt a little defiant, but his face was all obedience. “I understand. I’ll be careful from now on. Big Brother Ying, when you’re out hunting, you also need to be mindful of safety. Fighting Mutant Beasts is far more dangerous than me training my mental power in camp!”

Ying Li caught Xiang Ye’s implied meaning and didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

What Xiang Ye said was true. The things Ying Li did were indeed more dangerous than what Xiang Ye did.

He’d just gone and killed an A-Rank Mutant Beast the day before. He really had no standing to lecture Xiang Ye.

Ying Li reached out and ruffled Xiang Ye’s hair. “Xiang Ye, you’re the most outstanding Guide I’ve ever met.”

Most Guides in Starlight City had been raised poorly, their potential wasted.

In his previous life, a large part of the reason Ying Li tolerated so much from Wu Nian was his understanding that Wu Nian had been deliberately shaped this way by those in power.

Guides like Wu Nian were so easy to control.

And once you controlled such a Guide, you could then control the Sentinel bound to that Guide.

Xiang Ye was delighted by Ying Li’s praise. Then he asked, “Big Brother Ying, what was that thing you gave me to drink earlier? It wasn’t just tasty—it helped restore my mental power!”

“It’s the sap of a certain kind of vine.” Ying Li explained its effects in detail.

Once Xiang Ye heard the full explanation, he immediately understood that this vine sap, like the tree gum Ying Li had given him before, was a kind of treasure. “Big Brother Ying, with this vine sap, I can purify even more meat per day. Also, if I completely drain my mental power then recover it, can that increase my strength? I feel like my control over my mental power is much better now than before.”

Ying Li said, “You don’t need to completely exhaust your mental power to gain benefits. Just use it every day. Mental power is like a person’s muscles. If you use it every day and train it, it will grow stronger. If you never use it, even if it doesn’t atrophy, it can’t possibly get stronger.”

Xiang Ye nodded seriously.

Ying Li brought out the stove and began cooking. He asked Xiang Ye, “Xiang Ye, have you ever thought about using your mental power to control Sentinels?”

Xiang Ye was taken aback. “Use mental power to control Sentinels?”

Isn’t a Guide’s mental power only for Combing a Sentinel’s Mental Sea? It can control Sentinels?

Ying Li had taught Xiang Ye some methods for training his mental power, but he hadn’t gone much further than that.

After all, in his previous life, how exactly Xiang Ye had used his mental power to control Sentinels—that was something Ying Li didn’t know.

So he couldn’t teach it now.

Ying Li said, “Yes, controlling Sentinels with mental power. I once saw a Guide who could use his mental power to control Sentinels of lower or equal rank, making those Sentinels serve him—become his enforcers… I don’t know how he did it, but you could try researching it.”

What Xiang Ye had done today was itself a form of exploring how to use his mental power. Ying Li felt it deserved encouragement.

If Xiang Ye could control Sentinels, his combat strength would increase dramatically!

And if someday Xiang Ye could even control Mutant Beasts, Ying Li would never have to worry about Xiang Ye’s safety again!

Ying Li recalled various things Xiang Ye had accomplished in his previous life, encouraging him to research his mental power further. Then he added, “On the last day of this hunt, I’ll go get more vine sap to help you train your mental power.”

Earlier, he’d assumed the vine sap he’d brought back would last Xiang Ye a long time. Now it seemed that wasn’t the case.

In a few days, he’d need to harvest more.

As they talked, the pork frying in the pan finished cooking.

Yesterday they’d eaten meat from other Mutant Beasts, not the Mutated Pig. This was Ying Li’s first time tasting A-Rank Mutant Beast meat.

It was unbelievably fragrant!

This Mutated Pig’s meat had a very high fat content. As it seared over the fire, it sizzled and oozed oil. The roasted meat had a golden, crispy exterior and a tender, juicy interior.

One bite, and Ying Li felt satisfaction flooding from his nose to his taste buds to his very body.

He sliced some of the meat into thin pieces for Xiang Ye’s bowl, then bit directly into the rest in large mouthfuls.

Today the wind was strong. The wilderness was cold. But perhaps from eating the Mutant Beast meat, Ying Li felt warmth spreading through his body, boundless energy surging in his limbs.

The two of them ate for two hours.

As they neared the end of the meal, Xiang Ye said, “Big Brother Ying, should we share some of this meat with Luo Qiming and the others?”

Ying Li replied, “I was thinking the same thing. We’re always going out to eat by ourselves—there’s no way they haven’t noticed something. Giving them some is good. We can also use it as a chance to come up with a cover story.”

The two of them settled on an explanation and returned to camp together.

This time, Ying Li made no effort to hide it. The moment they stepped into camp, Luo Qiming and the others caught the smell of meat on them.

The group looked at them curiously. Hu Xiangyang was the first to ask, “Captain Ying, what did you two eat?”

Ying Li smiled. “We went out and ate roast meat.”

Envy flashed across their faces. Luo Qiming asked, “Captain Ying, how did you prepare that meat? Why does it smell so good?”

Ying Li said, “We just roasted it casually. The reason it smells so good is because the meat itself is high quality. I got some good meat through a special channel. These past days when we went out alone, we were going to eat roast meat. Today there’s more meat than usual, so I’ll give you some.”

So saying, Ying Li pulled out a roughly two-pound piece of already-roasted meat and handed it to Luo Qiming to divide among them.

Luo Qiming’s mouth had been watering from the moment the aroma wafted from Ying Li. Now, seeing the meat Ying Li brought out, he couldn’t help but swallow.

He didn’t even bother to wonder where this meat came from. He just took it and said, “Thank you, Captain Ying!”

The four of them spent some time dividing the meat into four equal portions, then each took a bite…

These Sentinels, who had only ever eaten the cheapest meat in Starlight City, felt as if they were tasting a rare, world-class delicacy.

When they finished, Luo Qiming finally managed to speak. “How can there be meat this delicious?”

“Captain Ying, what kind of meat is this?”

“Captain Ying, where did you buy this? What’s the price?”

…

In Starlight City, a terrifying rumor circulated from time to time, resurrected periodically to frighten people.

The story went that someone had accidentally bought some cheap but delicious meat and only after eating it learned it had been human flesh.

This was something that had actually happened.

When Ying Li had first given them the meat, they couldn’t help but think of this rumor. They quickly dismissed it.

Human beings didn’t have this kind of muscle structure.

Judging by the meat’s fiber, it belonged to some kind of large animal… was it beef?

Beef was extremely precious. None of them had ever eaten it, so they had no way to identify it.

Ying Li said, “Someone turned a Ruins City into a breeding facility. They raise various plants and animals there. I have channels to trade crystal cores for meat from them, but the prices are extremely high. With the money you have now, you can’t trade for much meat.”

Luo Qiming and the others also understood that their current funds wouldn’t buy much meat.

They couldn’t even eat freely of those inferior-tasting meats, let alone this.

Only someone like Captain Ying, who could hunt B-Rank Mutant Beasts on his own, could afford to eat meat every day, right?

Thinking that they might never taste such delicious meat again, Luo Qiming and the others felt a pang of loss.

Ying Li added, “You can’t spread this around. If word gets out, we’ll be in trouble. But in the future, when I get meat, I can share some with you.”

Luo Qiming felt their contributions to the hunting team were too small to deserve eating the meat Ying Li provided.

But the meat was too good. They couldn’t bring themselves to refuse.

In the end, all four thanked Ying Li.

Ying Li carefully observed their expressions and mental energy fluctuations to confirm their loyalty hadn’t wavered. Only then did he start asking about the day’s events and guiding them further.

All four had signed contracts with him and were his Followers.

He didn’t want any betrayers among them.

While Ying Li ate meat until he was full, back in Starlight City, Wu Nian also ate a sumptuous dinner.

But his mood was foul. He was restless and uneasy.

After reuniting with Yu Mingwei, Wu Nian had begun living a comfortable life free from concerns about food and clothing.

At first, he’d been very happy. But as time passed, his unease grew.

Today, his anxiety reached a breaking point.

A Guide’s memory was no better than an ordinary person’s. Wu Nian hadn’t remembered every detail of his previous life.

But he did remember one thing clearly: the day he became a C-Rank Guide had been today.

Yet today, he felt no sign whatsoever of advancing!

Was it because he hadn’t trained his mental power since being reborn?

But that didn’t make sense. In his previous life, he hadn’t really trained either.

Back then, Ying Li had used money to threaten him, which was why he’d trained a little when Ying Li was home. When Ying Li left the city, he couldn’t be bothered.

He hadn’t believed the methods Ying Li taught him would work.

What could a Sentinel with no background possibly know about Guide training methods? It was a joke.

Besides, by this point in his previous life, Ying Li hadn’t yet started making him train.

As Wu Nian mulled it over, something suddenly struck him.

In his previous life, after signing the Guardian Contract with Ying Li, Ying Li had forced him to eat something—some weird thing he couldn’t identify.

Later, when he betrayed Ying Li and Ying Li demanded compensation according to the law, Wu Nian had been outraged. He felt that after spending so many years with Ying Li, there was no reason he should have to pay it all back.

Even if he had to repay, it shouldn’t be the full amount.

Ying Li had replied that the amount calculated by law only accounted for a tiny fraction of what he’d given, that he’d given many things that simply couldn’t be measured in money…

Wu Nian’s heart pounded violently. Cold sweat broke out all over his body.

Could Ying Li have been telling the truth back then? Had he been able to advance only because of Ying Li?

Impossible! How was that possible!

If Ying Li truly had such ability, how could he have ended up so poorly?

There had to be another reason he hadn’t advanced today. Could it be because, after being reborn, he’d been eating too poorly for a while?

Wu Nian’s thoughts remained unknown to Ying Li.

At this moment, Ying Li was chewing on jerky.

This jerky had been prepared by the Sentinels he’d hired in Freedom City. Some of it was well-made, but some had been ruined.

In the batch Xiang Ye had purified today, some pieces had been over-smoked and were slightly charred.

Ying Li planned to reprocess the burnt jerky tomorrow and take it to Freedom City to sell.

Food prices in Freedom City were double those in Starlight City, and items like meat were astronomically expensive there.

Pieces of jerky the size of a finger—people there were happy to trade D-Rank Crystal Cores for them.

Among the moles who’d infiltrated Freedom City, some had made small fortunes selling meat.

Why not sell some meat himself?

It was clear Ding Hua had loved the roast meat he’d given her. If he brought her more meat, she might even be willing to trade A-Rank Mutant Beast crystal cores for it.

A-Rank Mutant Beasts were very important to Starlight City’s great families, but to Ding Hua, they were nearly useless. None of Freedom City’s equipment required A-Rank cores for power.

After Ding Hua’s death in his previous life, the hundred-plus A-Rank crystal cores she’d left behind had all become spoils of war for those great families.