Chapter 148 – Grilled Fish
She didn’t feel that her earlier life had been difficult; on the contrary, she had even enjoyed it a bit, savoring the freedom and the lack of pressure to constantly push forward.
She missed the first world.
In the second world, where she felt lost, she missed the first world even more.
Tu Ran woke up from hunger. When she opened her eyes again, she found herself in a familiar cave.
After a moment of catching her breath, her memory slowly became clearer.
She had fainted from excessive exhaustion after using the [Wheel of Time], and before losing consciousness, she had instructed Pangpang to find a safe cave.
This cave was the same one they had left in the morning. Tu Ran propped herself up on her elbows and saw the dry, cracked ground.
Pangpang had carried her for an hour to return here.
At that moment, Pangpang was snuggled up next to her, sound asleep. Its fluffy feathers covered half of her, keeping her warm, probably to prevent her from getting cold.
Tu Ran couldn’t help but smile.
This chubby creature seemed silly, but it turned out to be so reliable and considerate.
She moved quietly so as not to wake Pangpang.
Standing up, she felt her body was not as weak. To avoid disturbing Pangpang’s sleep, she grabbed her backpack and crawled out of the cave entrance through the grass.
She ate two protein compressed biscuits, which eased her hunger a bit, then drank some nutrient solution and a dose of glucose.
Her hunger was finally alleviated, and her strength returned.
Tu Ran kicked at the grass and swung her fists, feeling good.
She glanced down at the time.
Hmm? Federation Time: 7 AM?
She had slept from 9 AM the previous day to 7 AM today?
Had she slept nearly a whole day?
Was it really that long?
The cost of activating the [Wheel of Time] was too high.
But she still had two holographic recording bracelets to handle.
Tu Ran took out the remaining bracelets from her backpack.
Her prolonged unconsciousness might have been due to the extended time she pushed forward.
This time, she would try a shorter duration.
Turning the time backward.
Holographic recording rings naturally have a long lifespan, but their manufacturing date isn’t very long.
Tu Ran mentally activated the [Wheel of Time].
Then the time dial she had seen yesterday appeared in her mind.
The year, month, and day were set to today.
Tu Ran adjusted the time to twenty years earlier.
A faint glow flashed.
The two rings in her palm instantly transformed into a pile of brand-new components.
It worked.
Although it was only twenty years, Tu Ran could clearly feel her recently filled stomach grow hungry again.
It was just twenty years.
This superpower was incredibly draining.
But at least she had finally dealt with these two ticking time bombs that had been weighing on her mind.
Despite how useful this superpower was, she vowed not to use it again unless absolutely necessary.
She took out a compressed biscuit and ate it while conducting her usual perimeter check.
She needed to find some food for Pangpang.
The fruit Pangpang had painstakingly picked yesterday had been given to the pioneer.
Although Pangpang hadn’t shown any dissatisfaction, she still needed to make it up to it.
Otherwise, following her would be no different from following the leader of the Dang Hu tribe.
Both would mean going days without proper meals.
After expanding her search, she still didn’t find any edible fruit but did come across a river teeming with fish.
The scales had a slight golden tint, not as bright as those of the river carp, but resembling them, with large, plump bellies that looked very fat.
Tu Ran wasn’t sure of the exact species of fish, but she had seen this type in Pangpang’s memories. The Dang Hu tribe leader would reward some of the more deserving subordinates with this kind of fish. Pangpang had never had the chance to eat them.
Since Pangpang couldn’t catch them on its own, it had a particularly deep memory of these fish.
Tu Ran speared three such fish with her knife.
Each fish weighed about twenty pounds, roughly the length of one of her arms.
Three fish of this size were more than enough for Pangpang.
She cleaned the fish, removing their entrails and scales, then strung them together and headed back to the cave, picking up some dry twigs along the way.
Pangpang was still asleep.
It really could sleep for a long time.
Tu Ran didn’t wake it up. Instead, she set up the twigs outside the cave, lit a fire, and skewered the cleaned fish to roast.
The smell quickly wafted through the air, and soon, Pangpang rolled out of the cave.
Yes, it really did roll out.
Its eyes were still closed, but its nose had led the way, rolling out to follow the delicious aroma.
The once dense grass was flattened as if by a steamroller.
Once Pangpang saw the fish roasting over the fire, it finally believed it wasn’t dreaming and sprang up with excitement.
“Wow, it’s Zhu fish! Zhu fish! Pangpang has never eaten Zhu fish before!”
It excitedly rubbed up against Tu Ran.
Tu Ran struggled to keep the fish rack steady as Pangpang bumped into her. “Calm down, it’s not cooked yet!”
“Can Pangpang eat it raw? Raw is fine too!” Pangpang’s eyes were glued to the roasting fish. Tu Ran noticed a silver line forming at the corner of its mouth.
How pathetic, it was drooling in anticipation.
“No, it tastes better when it’s cooked.”
“Okay,” Pangpang said, sitting on the side in agony. “When will it be ready? Pangpang is hungry.”
“In about ten minutes,” Tu Ran replied casually, flipping the fish.
“How long is ten minutes?”
Pangpang had no concept of human time.
Tu Ran thought for a moment. “Ten minutes is roughly the time it takes for you to eat a red-skinned melon.”
“Oh~” Pangpang flapped its wings happily. “Then Pangpang can eat soon!”
“Don’t get too excited. If you fan the fire too much with your wings, the fish will burn, and burnt fish tastes bitter.”
“Oh, okay.” Pangpang immediately folded its wings, resembling a large triangular rice ball.
When the ten minutes were up, Tu Ran finally handed the fish to Pangpang, whose mouth was already watering.
“Eat slowly, be careful, it’s hot.”
Pangpang didn’t pay much attention to her warning and took a bite immediately. As expected, it was so hot that it kept puffing out air.
Despite this, Pangpang didn’t let it cool down. It chewed through the fish, swallowing it and then taking another bite.
“Eat slowly. There’s enough fish to fill you up,” Tu Ran said, both amused and exasperated.
Pangpang glanced at the fish. Indeed, the three fish were quite large, so it slowed down its pace.
The second fish was also done.
Tu Ran cut a piece of meat from the top and ate it.
She couldn’t finish a whole fish on her own, so she left the remaining one and a half fish for Pangpang.
Pangpang quickly finished off the first fish, patted its slightly full belly, and went for the second one.
After Tu Ran finished her share, the last fish was done. She put out the fire.
“Roasted Zhu fish tastes really good,” Pangpang praised between bites. “If only Pangpang had endless fish to eat.”
“You could settle down here,” Tu Ran suggested.
Pangpang’s glass heart shattered once again. The fish didn’t taste as good anymore, and it looked at Tu Ran with a pitiful expression. “Is the boss going to leave Pangpang behind?”
