That evening, Shen Yue left the Miasma Forest again. When he returned in the middle of the night, he saw Gu Xi sitting by the fire. He changed direction and sauntered over lazily.

"Got anything to eat?" he asked, sitting down next to Gu Xi. The exhaustion was plain on his face. "I’ve been running around half the night, I’m starving."

Gu Xi didn’t ask what he had been doing. She just pulled a sweet potato out of the embers and pushed it in front of him.

As Shen Yue ate the sweet potato, he couldn’t help but sigh. "I wonder when Wei Heng will be back?" ’It’s been days since I’ve had food from Mr. Wei. I really miss it.’

Gu Xi poked at the fire, also wondering how Wei Heng was doing in City A.

After finishing the sweet potato, Shen Yue grabbed a passing Water Element team member, asked for some water, and gave his hands a quick rinse before flopping down on the ground.

The miasma in the forest was too thick. The night sky was a hazy white expanse, with not a star or moon in sight. It made one feel inexplicably agitated and depressed.

Moreover, the swampy area was very humid. Even within the safe zone Gu Xi had temporarily created, puddles of all sizes were everywhere. Aside from the spots next to the fire, there was nowhere to lie down.

Thus, aside from a large shelter made from a waterproof tarp, there wasn’t a single small tent in the entire temporary camp.

At night, besides the team members on patrol, everyone else sat in small groups around the fires to keep warm and rest.

Shen Yue didn’t lie down for long before he suddenly rolled over and sat up.

He tilted his head and looked at Gu Xi. "I feel like I haven’t seen you listen to the radio in a long time."

Shen Yue remembered that before they left South City, when Mr. Wei was packing, he had placed Gu Xi’s expensive antique radio in the luggage.

But on the entire journey from the Central Base, he had only seen Gu Xi listen to the radio once.

Gu Xi lowered her eyes. "The reception is bad out here."

Shen Yue stroked his chin and thought for a moment. "I see..." Then, his tone suddenly changed. "Gu Xi, the moon is nice tonight. Let’s have a barbecue."

Gu Xi looked up at the night sky. It was a hazy white expanse, without a star or moon in sight. ’So where exactly is this "nice moon"?’

Shen Yue said shamelessly, "Alright, I just really want some barbecue." The current Gu Xi gave off a strange sense of gloom. ’Maybe,’ he thought, ’the atmosphere of a group barbecue could help her relax a little?’

Of course, he was also genuinely craving barbecue. Pork belly, chicken wings, grilled sausages... SLURP. All that fragrant meat.

Gu Xi: "..." She raised her hand to check the time. It was two-thirty in the morning, and most people in the camp were already asleep. A barbecue at this hour?

’Then again... why not?’

As it happened, she had a complete set of barbecue tools stored by Wei Heng in her space. He had even pre-seasoned his special recipe chicken wings...

Putting everything on skewers was just a bit of a hassle.

Unexpectedly, just as she took out the barbecue ingredients, the two brothers from the Lin Family walked over with smiles on their faces.

"Miss Gu, leave the skewering to us brothers." Lin Yuan took the barbecue skewers from Gu Xi’s hands and said with a hint of modest pride, "According to my dad, our Lin Family ancestors used to sell street skewers..."

Gu Xi knew what street skewers were, but she didn’t understand what they had to do with barbecue.

But since someone wanted to help, she was happy to take it easy.

Soon, a large circle of people had formed around the fire. Except for those on duty, almost everyone had gathered.

Gu Xi thought for a moment, then pulled out a huge pile of ingredients from her space, dumping them all onto the tarp without worrying whether they were suitable for grilling or not.

No one else cared either. It was the apocalypse; who cared if something was suitable for barbecue? As long as it was edible, it was fine.

Besides, isn’t there a saying that the most delicious ingredients require only the simplest cooking methods? In the eyes of people like them, who spent years on missions in the field, what could be simpler than grilling something directly over a fire?

And the ingredients Miss Gu had taken out were all natural, high-quality foods, completely free of X Energy. What more was there to say?

In the middle of the night, the group cheerfully started preparing the barbecue. The Qin Family sisters and Qi Xiang, who already had a perfect barbecue experience back in South City, were particularly active...

Gu Xi sat to the side, watching the lively and relaxed atmosphere. The restlessness and irritability that had been churning inside her seemed to calm down a little.

Perhaps Shen Yue was right. There was no problem a barbecue couldn’t solve. And if there was, you just needed a few more barbecues.

In the distance, Ye Junhan leaned against a large tree at the edge of the camp. Half of his face was hidden in the darkness, his right hand resting perpetually on the scabbard at his waist, as if the liveliness by the fire had nothing to do with him.

Suddenly, his brow furrowed slightly, and he walked toward Gu Xi.

"The rate at which the miasma is weakening has slowed."

Gu Xi sat by the fire, her eyes lowered to the dancing flames. "Yes, it has."

She had originally thought that with the creature’s voracious, all-consuming appetite, it would only take a few days to devour all the miasma here. Even if it fell a little short, Sprout could help finish the job.

But she hadn’t expected the creature’s eyes to be bigger than its stomach. Right now, it was whining in her senses.

Gu Xi carefully perceived the meaning it was conveying and, after a long moment, understood that the creature had eaten too much.

But in Gu Xi’s understanding, it meant that Unknown No. 1’s capacity for energy was actually limited. If it continued to devour at its previous reckless pace, it would likely be contaminated by the special energy within the miasma, or even suffer a backlash...

Of course, it was also possible it could evolve again.

But right now, the creature barely listened to Gu Xi. If it were to be contaminated, suffer a backlash, or evolve, who knew what it would ultimately become?

Gu Xi wasn’t willing to take that risk at this critical juncture. She could only temporarily placate it, trying her best to convey through her senses that she cared for it as a kindred being. The miasma wasn’t important; what mattered was its health...

In short, after Gu Xi’s half-hearted reassurance, the creature whimpered and slowed its rate of consumption.

But she hadn’t expected Ye Junhan’s perception to be so sharp. The creature had just started slacking off, and he had already noticed.

Seeing that Gu Xi had no intention of explaining further, Ye Junhan gave her a deep look, then turned and strode away.

"Wait." Gu Xi suddenly called out to stop him.

Ye Junhan stopped in his tracks and looked back at her.

"Um, this might be a little rude of me to ask," Gu Xi said, looking up at him with a calm expression, "but lately..."

She hesitated for a moment, as if trying to find the right words, then asked, "...have you been feeling alright physically?" After all, he had been infested by that thing, and Gu Xi didn’t know if it would have any adverse effects on Ye Junhan.

Her gaze subtly swept over Ye Junhan, finally landing on the hand resting on the scabbard at his waist.

’Well-defined knuckles, long and strong... but were the fingertips a little pale? Is it a weakness of his ability or his body? Or some other problem...’

A hint of inquiry couldn’t help but enter Gu Xi’s gaze.

Ye Junhan followed her gaze down to his own waist. For some reason, he was inexplicably reminded of Qi Xiang’s thoughtless remark from before—"Mr. Ye, are you up to it?"

For a moment, he found himself in the rare position of not knowing how to react.

After a moment of silence, he gave Gu Xi a deep look, then turned and strode away.

Gu Xi: "...?"

’Why did he just leave?’

Gu Xi lowered her eyes and began to reflect. ’Could it be that my way of asking was wrong?’

When she was young, both Li Ming and Ye Xin had taught her that prying into someone’s privacy was impolite, so one had to be mindful of their approach and methods when doing so.

She had indeed just used the methods she remembered learning, employing a bit of tact, but she wasn’t sure if she had done it correctly.

After all, although she had learned it as a child, she had almost never put it into practice.

Because the Blood-colored Asura never needed to.

But now, she was no longer the Blood-colored Asura.

Just then, Qi Xiang turned around and waved at her with a smile. "Gu Xi, hurry up! I saved you a chicken wing, your favorite. If you don’t come now, they’ll all be gone!"

Distracted by her, Gu Xi simply tossed her messy thoughts into the fire along with the branch in her hand.

She got up, dusted off her hands, and slowly walked toward the lively, welcoming scene.