"I'm back!"
Xiong Ruoyou stood at the entrance and shouted proudly, striding in with a smug look on her face. She was just about to brag about how the Princess praised her today, but after glancing at the three people in front of her, she wisely shut her mouth.
She was brash, but not stupid.
Mu Qingyun had just had a verbal clash with the Princess. If she brought the Princess up now, those two would probably start fighting again.
She admired the Princess, sure. But she also genuinely respected Mu Qingyun. She liked them both. Whether or not the two could be friends wasn't her problem.
[Comments from the livestream]
[Wow, the black bear girl is pretty sharp. She's getting along with both the Princess and the ugly guy even though the two obviously don't get along.][Tch, that's not scheming. She's just being fair. One's a friend and teammate, the other's someone she admires. Admiring someone doesn't mean you have to force your friends to like them too.][Exactly. Besides, Mu Qingyun never said anything bad about the Princess in front of her. What else can she do? Fight anyone who doesn't like the Princess?]
Mu Qingyun glanced up and gave Xiong Ruoyou a slight nod as a greeting.
"Eat something," Su gestured toward the basin in the middle.
"I smelled it the moment I got to the cave entrance! Smells amazing!" Xiong Ruoyou shouted, dashing over and sinking her teeth into the grilled fish.
"Hey, you should eat something too," Mu Qingyun patted Fan Xuanye's arm and gestured toward the food with her chin.
Then, she walked back to her corner and curiously examined the laser gun she'd just acquired, completely baffled by how it worked.
She came from a cold-weapon era, and the original owner of her body came from a trash planet. Neither had ever seen a laser weapon before.
"You don't know how to use it?"
Su had been watching her. Seeing her confusion, he could tell she had no idea how to use a laser gun.
Something like that, if used incorrectly, could easily injure the user.
"Yeah," she admitted honestly, staring at the brightly colored buttons and not daring to press a single one.
"Hold it like this. Never point the opening toward yourself. The green button activates it. The red one retracts it. Blue controls the energy level."
Following Su's instructions, Mu Qingyun tried it out.
Sure enough, a streak of blue light shot out from the barrel. It wasn't long—about the size of a sword.
The blue glow crackled with electricity. She swung the laser weapon with great interest.
"Wait," Su grabbed a small rock and tossed it across the top of the weapon.
Zzzap—!
The rock hit the blue beam, and in an instant, it shattered into pieces and turned to ash.
This... this is high-tech?
Mu Qingyun was shocked. She quickly pressed the red button and deactivated the weapon.
Staring at the still-smoking remains of the rock, she furrowed her brows. In her world, this one weapon could change the outcome of an entire war.
This so-called "high-tech"... was terrifying.
[Comments from the livestream]
[I suddenly feel sorry for Mu Qingyun.][Same. She didn't even know how to use a laser gun—has she never seen one before?][Of course not. I looked up her home planet—can't even afford protein powder, let alone laser weapons.][Ugh, poor girl. She's never seen any decent tech.]
"By the way, you don't have a storage pouch, do you?" Su glanced at her. She was clearly carrying nothing but her clothes and a dagger at her waist.
Mu Qingyun shook her head. The original memory had mentioned storage bags—small in size but capable of holding a lot.
"Here, take one of mine." Su pulled a small pouch from his belt and handed it to her. "It's a basic one—about ten square meters of space."
Ten square meters?
That was plenty.
Mu Qingyun stared at the storage bag in his hand and hesitated.
Even the cheapest ones were pricey—not something the original owner could have afforded.
"Same deal as with him. From now until the end of the first trial, I get to share your food. You accepted the gun, so no reason not to take this."
Su said it sincerely. After a moment of internal struggle, Mu Qingyun finally accepted the pouch. "Thanks."
The temptation was just too much. She'd find a way to repay it later—maybe with something even more valuable.
"No need to thank me. Really, I should thank you. You've been helping me stay warm these past few days. If it weren't for that, I probably couldn't have made it with this body."
He smiled.
But his words made her frown. "Why aren't you coughing anymore?" she asked. He'd barely been able to finish a sentence when they first met. Now, he seemed totally fine. Suspicious.
Su froze. A moment later, he gave a forced laugh. "I had trouble adjusting to the environment when I first arrived. As long as I don't use my powers, I'm fine now."
Really?
Mu Qingyun studied his face for a long time, trying to spot any sign of a lie. But his expression was calm—no sign of guilt.
Forget it.
"Get some rest when you can."
"Okay," Su nodded quickly. Seeing her close her eyes to rest, he let out a quiet sigh of relief.
That was close.Gotta remember to keep my mouth shut from now on.
He returned to his spot. He looked like he was resting, but his eyes remained slightly open, fixed on Mu Qingyun, thoughts unknown.
On the other side, Xiong Ruoyou had finished eating and looked toward Mu Qingyun.
She hesitated for a moment, then walked over with a nutrient drink.
"Hey, want something to drink?"
Mu Qingyun opened her eyes, glanced at the drink in her hand, and took it without hesitation. "Thanks."
"…Do you have a problem with the Princess or something? She's really nice. If you got to know her, you'd see—she's actually a great person."
Xiong Ruoyou said it seriously, clearly hoping to change her mind. But Mu Qingyun only chuckled coldly and asked, "How long have you known her?"
"A long time! I knew about her ever since she became famous. I watched all her speeches on TV—she's so amazing." Xiong Ruoyou couldn't hide her excitement. "And today, I finally met her in person. She even talked to me!"
"So you two interacted for… what, fifteen minutes?" Mu Qingyun took a sip of the nutrient drink and said flatly, "And in fifteen minutes, you think you know a person? That's impressive."