Everyone had secrets. Since Mi Milo did not volunteer anything, Lan Grace would not press.
After all, Lan Grace herself harboured a "world‑shattering secret" she could not tell anyone.
Carrying the bottles of insects back to Sector Nine, Lan Grace had Mi Milo swing the bottles violently all the way.
By the time they arrived, their hands were sore from shaking, but the results were good—thrown into extreme panic, the insects had mostly emptied their guts.
Normally, it took two or three days of fasting for insects to void their bowels. She did not have the time to wait for their innards to clear "naturally." She could only use special means—external force to help the insects poop.
Lan Grace had traded a bottle of nutrient solution to a soldier for water to wash the insects.
Water was as scarce as food on Waste Star. The water natives drank was usually rubbish water filtered by crude means. It stank of refuse and drinking it made one gag.
When Lan Grace first arrived, she had drunk such water several times—and each time she had diarrhoea.
With no other choice, she made her own filtration device with sand and wood ash. Water run through it was only just barely drinkable.
Now it was different. Since Lan Grace had grilled that spicy, delicious rat‑on‑the‑griddle, her name had quickly reached the ears of the Sector Nine soldiers.
For a time, her relations were excellent. Trading for a bit of water was no problem at all.
When word spread that Lan Grace wanted water to cook with, there was almost no resistance. Someone soon carried clean water to the door of her dwelling.
She washed the two big bottles of insects she had caught—plus Mi Milo's—several times with water, then drained them to dry.
She set up an iron rack, laid an iron plate, and readied the fuel. Then she poured down some of the rendered fat she had saved when she had made rat‑on‑the‑griddle last time.
After ten seconds or so, the oil heated. She tipped the plump grubs onto the plate. Sizzle—! She stir‑fried them, the fat worms still writhing going through their final ten seconds of death throes.
A huge pile of plump grubs looked quite revolting at first, but after a quick toss in hot oil, they rapidly turned golden on the surface and began to smell good.
There was no sour bitterness in carrion rat fat. As the grubs flipped on the iron plate, soaking up the oil, their outsides turned golden and crisp, glistening with oil—a sight to whet any appetite.
Once the golden, crispy grubs were almost done, Lan Grace kept flipping with her fruit knife and sprinkled salt evenly.
Before the grains of salt had time to melt, she swiftly lifted all the grubs off the iron plate—piling a heaped plate to one side.
There wasn't much rat fat left on the iron plate. Only then did Lan Grace tip the other insects—the long‑legged hoppers—onto the plate.
Crackle! The insects gave a burst of popping sizzles the instant they hit the heat.
These required a different approach from the grubs—little oil, but a lot of salt.
From the moment they hit the plate, Lan Grace sprinkled salt continuously as she turned them, using high heat to drive out the moisture within. As the insects dried, the oil on the plate dwindled to almost nothing, replaced by a speckled crust of white salt.
The mouth‑watering aroma had already drawn quite a few nearby natives and stationed soldiers. Seeing that Lan Grace was behind it all, many soldiers crowded over, bubbling with excitement.
"Miss Lan, what are we eating to‑day?" Kane asked with an air of easy familiarity.
When Lan Grace had first made her rat strips, he had been drawn by the smell and had wanted to buy up the lot, only to forget that Alliance credits were of little use on Waste Star.
Once he realised how inappropriate his offer had been, during Lan Grace's second rat‑strip cook‑out he not only traded low‑grade nutrient solution for the delicious meat, he also went out of his way to apologise—a moment that made Lan Grace remember this simple‑hearted young soldier.
Lan Grace smiled at Kane and jerked her chin. "Dare you eat insects? Have a taste first. If they're not good, no need to trade nutrient solution."
"Haha—what would I ever not dare?"
Though young, Kane was bold. Seeing the plate of golden‑coloured, glossy grubs, he pinched one the size of a fingertip and popped it into his mouth.
His teeth broke the crisp golden skin; a rich, mellow flavour filled his mouth. The protein‑packed grub burst with juices, sending a thrill through him that made his jaw drop. A heartbeat later, he was chewing away in a hurry, unable to wait!
"Delicious! Crisp and salty with a rich, mellow bite—absolutely delicious!" Kane blurted, giving his true feelings upon tasting.
Lan Grace smiled, satisfied. Kane's words were the best advertisement for her food.
Sure enough, hearing his praise, those who had balked at the idea of insects now grew itchy—eager to try and see if these tasted as good as Kane said.
"Try this one as well." Lan Grace speared one of the just‑finished hoppers with her fruit knife and handed it to Kane.
Honoured to be the first to taste Lan Grace's cooking, Kane accepted it under the heated gazes of his mates and sampled it carefully.
Unlike the first's slightly surprising, rich savour, the hoppers—dried by high heat and a toasted salt crust—were fragrant and crisp, even more to his taste!
"Delicious! The more you chew, the more fragrant! I feel like I can't stop chewing!"
Listening to Kane's high praise, Mi Milo stood at Lan Grace's side, brow knotted and face tortured.
He could smell the aroma from these insects—and Kane's words roused his appetite, making him desperately want a bite to experience the food for himself.
But—
Argh! Argh! Argh! They were insects!
And some of them he had caught with his own hands!
When he had caught them, the plumper grubs had lain limply, squirming—enough to raise gooseflesh all over him!
The long‑legged hoppers looked even more terrifying!
And then there was the excreted faeces under external force—sticky and all mixed up with the insects…
Just thinking about it, he could not get over the hurdle in his heart and put the insects in his mouth.
So painful…
And yet he wanted to eat so badly…
Mi Milo felt he was facing a major life choice.