The next morning, sunlight streamed into the wooden shed.
Mino woke slowly, blinking at the walls around her. Last night had been restless; she had lain awake, thinking about whether she should leave with Mu Liang. Eventually, exhaustion had taken over, and sleep had come without warning.
A faint, savory smell stirred her senses. "Sniff…"
She turned her head and saw a small charcoal fire glowing in the hearth. Above it hung an iron pot, and the aroma of cooking meat drifted in the air.
"Wake up. Come on, eat something," Mu Liang said, gently stirring the contents of the pot with a spoon.
Mino hesitated. She had already prepared breakfast before, but after a moment, curiosity won. "Is your body completely healed?"
"Yes," he said lightly, "I'm fine."
Breakfast was simple: compressed biscuits and boiled small lizards. Dark in color, plain in appearance—but it would fill the stomach. The biscuits were among the few items Mu Liang had managed to bring from Earth when the ground had cracked.
"Oh." Mino sat quietly on the edge of the hearth, watching him.
"I'm full. I'll go hunting with you."
Mu Liang packed the remaining breakfast into an iron lunchbox and handed it to her. On long trips, taking food along was necessary—even if there were only a few biscuits left.
"Good," Mino said softly, accepting the lunchbox. She recognized it from Mu Liang's backpack. She had once wanted to use it to pay taxes, but had hesitated.
Seeing her subdued mood, Mu Liang didn't offer comfort. He simply filled the inner layer of the lunchbox with some boiled lizard meat and ate his breakfast in silence.
"Quiet…"
The two ate in near silence. Mino stole glances at Mu Liang's profile, her curiosity mingled with a strange hesitation. Suddenly, she felt the conversation between them falter. She didn't know why, but words seemed harder to find than before.
"Crack…"
The rock tortoise stretched its legs, emerald-green eyes fixed on Mu Liang.
Mino quickly found a topic. "What about this tortoise?"
"It's coming with us," Mu Liang replied. He couldn't leave the creature behind. Level 1 rock tortoises were weak; anyone who found it would likely kill it for food. Besides, it could hunt for itself once outside the camp.
"Alright." Mino nodded, and silence settled over them again.
After breakfast, they packed their essentials into the shed. Mino's "house" was nothing more than a small wooden shed built from animal skins and scrap wood, sitting at the edge of the camp—a perfect spot for a secret departure.
The rock tortoise moved slowly, barely faster than a human walk. But its shell, the color of brown stone, offered excellent camouflage.
They headed north, toward the hilly region Mino had described. It was said to be teeming with small lizards. Along the way, Mu Liang noticed other figures keeping their distance. He guessed why—they feared having their food taken. In this wasteland, survival often meant betrayal could strike at any moment.
The hills weren't far. Soon, they reached the base of the nearest one.
"Little Black Tortoise, go find your own food." Mu Liang knelt and patted the tortoise's head. He had named it Black Tortoise—a symbol of hope.
"Oh~~"
The tortoise arched beneath his hand, then selected a direction and slowly began to crawl.
"It won't get lost, will it?" Mino asked nervously.
"No. I can communicate with Little Black Tortoise," Mu Liang said with a small smile. Domesticated animals could intentionally interact with him.
Mino breathed a sigh of relief and pointed ahead. "The trap I made is at the foot of the hills."
"You check the trap. I'll see what else is nearby." Mu Liang decided they should split up. Small lizards weren't enough to fill his stomach.
"Okay," Mino replied softly. "If you find something, call me out loud."
"Sure." Mu Liang nodded and walked in the opposite direction of the tortoise.
"Oh… why are you in such a bad mood today?"
Mino sighed, patting her cheeks to shake off the gloom.
Mu Liang didn't answer. His enhanced senses, strengthened by the tortoise, picked up even the quietest sigh. She was sentimental, especially after long periods of solitude. Encountering someone new made her want to hold on tightly. Mu Liang didn't plan to comfort her. If she didn't leave with him, any gentleness now would only hurt more later.
"The land is desolate… like the Great Gobi," he murmured, scanning his surroundings sharply.
"Sand~~"
The sound of shifting sand caught his attention. He focused on a nearby rock wall and spotted the culprit: a small lizard climbing up.
"I can't let you escape."
He drew his saber and swiftly pierced the lizard's head.
Puff… it was dead.
"Sand~~"
Another small lizard appeared, climbing immediately after.
"A chameleon lizard?" Mu Liang was stunned for a moment, then quickly reacted, pinning it in his hand.
These lizards weren't all the same species. The chameleon struggled in his palm; the others were twice its size. Most astonishing were its skin colors—red, green, and blue, all shifting.
[Ding! A domesticable animal is detected. Do you want to domesticate it?]