Chapter 7

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Ed closed the trading interface.

He had to prioritize what he was doing now first, most of which turned out to be staring at the fire in a daze.

Sitting cross-legged on the ground, he stared motionlessly at the fire before him. He would throw in wood from time to time, ensuring that the fire continued to burn.

If it weren’t for his occasional blinking, he’d be mistaken for a statue.

Two hours passed in a flash, and Ed couldn’t wait any longer.

If it wasn’t for the fact that the soil had become extremely hot due to fire burning above it, he might have dug it up directly with his hands. Using his axe as a shovel, he dug up the soil, removing the Beggar’s Chicken.

The strong aroma of cooked meat assailed through his nostrils. He forcefully swallowed down a mouthful of saliva.

After gently brushing off the soil that coated the outer layer, he peeled off the last few layers of leaves.

A tenderly cooked chicken beheld itself before Ed’s eyes.

This was the first time in his life that he had cooked a Beggar’s Chicken. He hadn’t expected for it to turn out quite so successfully, looking delectably appetizing.

He held up the chicken whole as he ate it. There was no one to contend against anyway, it was all his.

Delicious!

So fragrant!

The taste was just right!

In a short while, half of the chicken, save for the bones, had been swallowed right into his stomach. He couldn’t eat anymore after that.

Ed burped contentedly.

Leaned back lazily against a piece of wood, he drank some of the boiled water. He was more than comfortable.

Ed was probably the only one currently who was living so comfortably in such a treacherous environment.

He had even left behind a small part of his meal.

It wasn’t that he held back, but rather it was that he really couldn’t stuff himself anymore. He was too full.

Moreover, he had other uses in mind for this small portion of chicken.

Using the axe, he chopped down a few more pieces of wood to make a simple outdoor shelter. As he continued to sip contentedly on his water, then leaned back and waited.

…

Soon, a bright moon hung high in the sky.

However, this moon was different from what Ed was used to. The moon he was familiar with emanated a pale, whitish-yellow light. The moon that hung in the sky now seemed to be emitting a somewhat demonic light.

Ed thought to himself that night had arrived.

This was precisely the strange moonlight that had been described by the ancient voice. He stared up at the luminescent moon for a long time. The light it was emitting filled him with a sense of dread and made him a little uncomfortable.

“Guess now’s the time,” Ed muttered.

Shifting his gaze away from the moon, he looked toward the trees in the distance that he had cut down. He had not activated the Flames of Hell on these trees. He was treating them as a sort of experiment, waiting to see what changes would occur as night fell.

Under the moonlight, the stumps began to twitch and grow rapidly.

Ed kept track of the time.

About fifteen minutes passed.

The stumps that had initially been only pathetic, short discs had now grown to a height of almost twenty centimeters.

If it had been any other day, Ed would have scoffed at such a tale. Yet now, he could not deny the scene that was happening before his eyes.

The trees did not stop growing. They continued to shoot up at a speed clearly visible to the naked eye.

It seemed that it was just as the voice had said. As long as the tree’s roots remained, they would grow back under the moonlight as if they had never been cut down.

At the same time, the frequency of the texts in the chat interface had accelerated.

“Help me! The plants in the forest are alive! I’m bound by a vine!”

“Can someone tell me what’s going on? I was dragged away by an unknown plant as soon as I entered the forest. Now I can only see moving branches around me. What’s going on?”

“I’m bound by the branches! They’re tightening around me…”

As he watched the wall of text, Ed’s expression didn’t falter much.

He had seen this coming a while ago. Going into the forest alone at night was a classic case of courting death. By now, the people who had been crying out for help had probably already been killed.

It seemed that only the vicinity of the small wooden cabin was safe.

The difference in the behavior of these towering trees during the day and night was clear. At night, the trees became aggressive.

Stepping into the forest without preparation would lead only to death.

Ed guessed that the trees attacked whatever they could, including possibly the beasts hiding in the dark. Then again, maybe the beasts had mutated, and had a special method of avoiding death.

The fire was slowly dying down, so Ed continued to throw in firewood.

Another two hours passed.

Ed thought to himself that his chance had come.

In the two hours, he had been observing the changes in the surrounding environment, and of course, he had been watching the chat interface. 

Most of the people were hungry, begging for food, or water, or anything at all.

Of course, there were also those who were trapped in the forest.

Seizing the opportunity, Ed procured the remaining Beggar’s Chicken. Delicately wielding his axe, he divided the remaining meat into four portions. His thoughts flew as he made the preparations.

Soon, an advertisement was sent out into the chat interface.

“I have three pieces of Beggar’s Chicken meat in my hands. There’s not much left. If you want it, offer something in exchange for it. I’m not interested in wood. First come, first served.”

The advertisement was short but succinct. Ed had expressed everything that had to be said.

The chat interface exploded immediately as the message went out.

“What? Why do you have meat?!”

“Big Brother, I’m begging you. I’m starving. Please be kind and give me a piece of meat!”

“I’m still eating wild grass. I didn’t expect that someone would be eating delicious chicken!”

Ed was also privately messaged by many people.

With so many messages, he naturally avoided replying to them one by one. Instead, he sifted quickly through them.

“Brother, I have a forging blueprint of a barbecue grill with me. Can I exchange it with you?”

A message had caught Ed’s attention.

As expected!

The blueprint that Ed had been longing for had appeared.

Without the slightest hesitation, he agreed.

The Gold-grade Barbecue Grill was in his hands!

The price now could have been said to be too low. After all, this Beggar’s Chicken was only Ed’s leftovers. Feeling conscientious, he gave the seller an extra portion in the transaction.

The unknown person thanked him profusely.

Just as he completed the trade, another request came in immediately.

“This is all I have left from my fortune.”

The message was attached to an offering of a pool of resources.

Ed did not mind this and accepted.

Although the trade had been mediocre, he would take what he could.

Besides, there was still one last portion of Beggar’s Chicken!