Chapter 11: The Crispness of Chicken Flavor

Chapter 11: Chicken Flavor, Crisp and Crunchy

As Lu Ning savored the delicious crab, Xu Yi glanced at the single loquat nestled in his back basket.

“It seems we’ll have to rely on these loquats for lunch again,” he murmured.

Looking around, Xu Yi found nothing else. The terrain here was relatively flat, with no lowlands or slopes in sight—at least none he could discern. Nor did he spot any other edible fruit. For now, the loquats were all they had to sustain themselves.

Without these fruits, neither of them could replenish their moisture. The jungle was quite stifling during the day, with no breeze to offer relief. Xu Yi guessed they must be far inland, far from the sea, and at a relatively low altitude.

Without a water source, building a shelter was impossible. In the wild, a shelter must be near water—humans cannot live without it. The moisture in the fruits was limited, and earlier, Xu Yi had used his blunt stone knife to cut some vines, but none were water-rich.

“Dad, do you want some chocolate beans?” Su Keke shook her small bottle, which still had a few beans left.

Xu Yi smiled warmly but declined. “No, Keke, you eat them. Dad doesn’t like chocolate beans.”

With such a considerate little companion, Xu Yi felt no fatigue at all.

Su Keke opened the bottle and popped a bean into her mouth. Chocolate was excellent for a quick energy boost, but unfortunately, there was only a small bottle.

“Let’s have some loquats and rest a little before continuing to look for water,” Xu Yi suggested.

Su Keke nodded. She was used to running around the mountains and moving slowly through the jungle was no trouble for her. Compared to her, Xu Yi—who seldom exercised and was carrying the loquats—felt much more tired.

Activating his X-ray vision, Xu Yi scanned the dense foliage. Some snakes and other creatures often hid beneath the leaves, nearly invisible to the naked eye, but they showed up clearly under X-ray.

Wait—were those worms inside the dead wood?

He spotted a dozen or so wriggling larvae before switching off the X-ray view.

Su Keke noticed Xu Yi stepping forward and quickly followed. Xu Yi had told her to stick close except when he needed privacy.

She obeyed this well.

“I think I heard some crunching sounds coming from this dead wood,” Xu Yi said.

[Aha, inside must be beetle larvae. When I was a kid, my brother and I used to roast and eat these—they’re incredibly tasty.]

[Are they plump and white? We call them woodworms. Once fried, they’re delicious but can cause heatiness.]

[Those are longhorn beetle larvae, rich in protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals. Definitely good stuff.]

[Makes me hungry. I want to relive childhood memories too.]

[So many people have eaten these? Doesn’t it gross you out?]

“Are they those tree worms? The tasty kind?” Su Keke, who grew up in a village, had eaten plenty of edible insects. All the mischievous kids in her village made sure she tried every kind.

She was a beloved figure in her community, with no one disliking her.

“Most likely. Step aside a bit, Dad will chop this dead wood open to check.”

Xu Yi raised his stone knife and began hacking at the decayed wood, which was already quite rotten and flaky. Even tearing it apart by hand wouldn’t be difficult.

“Yep, they’re beetle larvae,” Xu Yi said happily, holding one up. When he taught in rural areas, children had fed him these, and they were indeed delicious.

“That’s great! We can eat beetle larvae now,” Su Keke clapped her hands excitedly.

Xu Yi picked up a large leaf, fashioned it into a funnel shape, and placed the larvae inside, handing it to Su Keke.

He continued searching and found fourteen larvae in total—a decent haul.

After ensuring none were missed with his X-ray vision, Xu Yi took out his flint to start a fire.

That morning, he had gathered some finer, fluffier tinder, making it easier to ignite.

After just a dozen strikes, the fire was going strong.

Once the dead wood was burning, Xu Yi placed his stone knife near the flames to heat it.

After a while, he skewered the larvae on the knife and began roasting them one by one, preventing ash from sticking to them.

Though a little ash wouldn’t hurt, it would spoil the taste.

[So meticulous! Number One is roasting them on a stone knife. Isn’t it risky to damage the knife?]

[Who says you can’t be particular in the wild?]

[Flint knives have very stable structures; they’re not easily damaged by fire.]

[They look so delicious—Keke’s almost drooling.]

Xu Yi turned the larvae with chopsticks until they were thoroughly cooked, then placed them on a funnel made from several leaves stacked together and handed a portion to Keke.

They each had seven larvae. While it wasn’t enough to satisfy their hunger fully, the protein boost was welcome.

“So delicious!” Su Keke’s eyes curved into crescent moons after eating one.

Instantly, the live chat exploded.

Many people found it hard to resist cute kids like her. Su Keke’s large eyes, fair and tender skin, and delicate features had won her a legion of fans.

“Really tasty—crispy, sweet, and fragrant!”

“Tastes like chicken, crackling crisp!”

Unfortunately, there were too few. Seven larvae each were gone in no time, leaving them wanting more.

Xu Yi thought it would take at least seventy in one go to feel fully satisfied.

“System, don’t we get rewards for eating animals? Don’t tree larvae count?” Xu Yi asked silently, receiving no reward.

[No rewards for eating insects unless they’re exceptionally large.]

Damn, so the system prefers big ones?

Xu Yi muttered, then grabbed a handful of loquats.

“Here, have some fruit. We’ll keep searching in a bit.”

He realized how perfectly his X-ray vision could be used to find food. Seeing through obstacles was truly powerful.

“Mmm, Keke’s not had enough yet,” Su Keke said, enjoying the insects not only for their taste but also their filling nature.

After resting for over ten minutes, they resumed their journey.

After half an hour, they encountered several dead trees but found no larvae inside.

This was disappointing for Xu Yi, who had hoped to feast on larvae.

“Dad, that small tree ahead is so straight. Should we take it?” Su Keke remembered that Xu Yi had said whenever they saw a small, straight sapling about the size of her wrist, she should point it out.

Straight saplings could be used to make spears or longbows, but such trees were rare. Usually, the ones they found were either crooked or too thick to be useful.

(End of chapter)