Chapter 75: Crino Prairie 19
"It’s already dark outside. Going out now would be dangerous, so we’ll stay here for the night and leave in the morning," Moira said casually.
Although Moira had already given them plenty of surprises, they were still stunned to hear this.
The two of them couldn’t help but recall how they’d been roughing it for the past few days.
The first and second rounds of the game had provided food and lodging, so there was nothing to complain about. As long as you completed the tasks on time and didn’t do anything reckless, you were unlikely to be eliminated.
In the third round, the difficulty increased. You’d encounter danger at night, but the daytime was still safe, and food and drink weren’t an issue.
But in this fourth round, Shane Rhodes and Kai York didn’t know how the others were faring, but the two of them had a solid streak of bad luck from the very beginning.
Aside from the one mission where they met Moira, which had been relatively normal, the rest weren’t difficult, just draining. Each one took up the better part of a day.
The reason they couldn’t collect their wages was that they were always in a rush. At one point, they got so hungry on the road they couldn’t bear it and ended up eating whatever grass roots they could find.
They didn’t dare touch any kind of mushroom, because they’d personally seen a player start foaming at the mouth after eating a gray one.
Seeing that the two of them were silent, Moira paid them no mind and asked, "Are you coming to eat? If so, keep up."
"They even provide meals," Kai York said, putting on an exaggerated, deeply moved expression. "This is pure bliss."
He was rewarded with eye-rolls from both Shane Rhodes and Moira.
Shane Rhodes even gave Kai York a kick. "Stop making a fool of yourself. Let’s go."
The three of them arrived at the cafeteria and felt like Dwarves who had wandered into the Land of Giants.
Even the trays were nearly as tall as Moira.
"I think one portion would be enough for all three of us," Kai York suggested earnestly.
Moira, however, quickly shot down his suggestion.
’If the three of us only eat one portion, how am I supposed to milk this for all it’s worth?’
Ultimately, at Moira’s insistence, they each ordered their own meal.
Fortunately, the cafeteria had robots to deliver the food. Otherwise, Moira would have struggled just to lift one of the huge trays, let alone fill it with food and carry it to a table.
The mental image was... comical.
As Talents, the three of them had much larger appetites than ordinary people. Even so, Moira ate until she was stuffed but had only managed to finish a quarter of her meal. The remaining three-quarters were completely untouched.
Shane Rhodes and Kai York fared slightly better, managing about a third of their food before they couldn’t take another bite.
"I’m so full. I haven’t been this stuffed in forever," Kai York said, rubbing his belly.
"It’s a shame to leave so much behind," Shane Rhodes said, looking at the leftovers on his tray.
Moira could see the regret in his eyes.
"Don’t worry, it won’t go to waste. Why do you think I made you each get a portion?"
As she spoke, Moira pretended to take something from her Space Button, but she actually pulled three large stainless steel basins from her personal space.
She poured her leftovers and the other two portions into the basins, sealed them with plastic wrap, and stashed them in her Space Button to eat later.
Watching her deft movements, they figured this wasn’t the first time she’d done something like this.
Back in the day, Shane Rhodes and Kai York would never have touched leftovers. But now? Hunger was the best cure for a picky eater.
The crisis Caelus faced wasn’t just the extreme heat. According to the data, the germination rate of seeds had dropped to below thirty percent.
This meant that out of ten seeds that would normally all sprout, now only two would.
This meant that food could potentially become a non-renewable resource.
After eating and drinking their fill, Moira showed no intention of leaving immediately.
When they saw she wasn’t leaving, Shane Rhodes and Kai York stayed put as well. They were in an unfamiliar place and didn’t speak the language; even if they wanted to leave, they had no idea where to go.
Besides, they had a feeling Moira had some deeper reason for her actions.
Finally, when almost everyone had left the dining hall, Moira quietly slipped into the back kitchen.
Seeing the chefs inside were still busy, Moira boldly walked forward and introduced herself, "Hello, I’m a Recycler. Is there anything I can help with?"
A Beastkin in an apron bent down to look at Moira. "Oh, it’s you. The capable but pitiful little thing. You’ve come at a good time. There are some leftover ingredients and prepared meals over there. Take them, if you don’t mind."
"I don’t mind at all!"
Smiling, Moira headed in the direction the Beastkin had indicated.
Shane Rhodes and Kai York followed behind her, dumbfounded. They only snapped out of it when Moira reached a pile of ingredients and called for them to help.
"What are you gawking at? Come and help."
’If these two hadn’t followed me, I could have stored all this with a single thought. Now I have to stuff everything into the Space Button piece by piece.’
Hearing her, the two quickly stepped forward to help.
After they finally finished packing away all the ingredients, Moira started on the leftover prepared food.
Shane Rhodes and Kai York had become somewhat numb to her antics. She was so incredibly frugal, but they liked it.
Once everything was packed away, Moira led the two of them to their accommodations. There were two rooms in total; Moira took one for herself.
"You two can make do with the other one."
That night, lying in bed, Moira replayed the day’s events in her mind, considering Shane Rhodes and Kai York’s behavior. ’So far, they seem trustworthy enough, but I still need to observe them more. We haven’t known each other for long, after all.’
As her thoughts drifted, a wave of sleepiness washed over her. Moira closed her eyes and sank into a deep sleep.
Little did she know, the two men in the other room were discussing her at that very moment.
"Boss, do you think SoySauceDrunkard’s ability is a Space Talent, like Moira’s Space Button?"
"The only way to be sure is to ask him yourself."
Kai York pouted. "Who knows how many people are looking for SoySauceDrunkard right now, but no one can find him. Plus, if he catches anyone trying to figure out his real identity, he blocks them instantly, no questions asked. Now no one dares to make a move."
As it stood, neither of them connected Moira with the identity of SoySauceDrunkard.
After all, Moira had already told them her in-game name. They could easily check if it was true after leaving the game, so there was no reason for her to lie. Especially now that they were traveling together, a lie would be pointless.
The next morning, the three of them scrounged another free breakfast before finally leaving.
"Why didn’t you go to the kitchen today?" Kai York asked.
"No more space," Moira huffed, thinking, ’And whose fault is that? It’s because you two are here.’