Grilled Fish

She didn't find the first half of her life hard—in fact, she'd even enjoyed it. There was a certain freedom in having no one to control her or push her forward.

She missed the first world.

Now that she was stuck in a second world where she had no control over her own fate, she missed it even more.

Tu Ran woke up hungry. When she opened her eyes again, she saw the familiar cave before her.

She took a moment to steady herself, and her memories gradually cleared. She had collapsed from overexertion after using the Wheel of Time, and before passing out, she'd asked Fatty to find a safe cave.

This was the same cave they had left this morning. Propping herself up on her arms, she sat up and saw the cracked earth beneath her. Fatty had carried her on its back for an hour to bring her here.

At the moment, Fatty was curled up beside her, snoring softly, with half of its fluffy feathers draped over her, warm to the touch—probably because it was afraid she'd get cold.

A smile tugged at Tu Ran's lips. This fat thing looked silly, but it turned out to be reliable and surprisingly considerate.

She stirred very quietly, and Fatty didn't wake up. She stood up, feeling noticeably less weak than before. To avoid disturbing Fatty's sleep, she grabbed her backpack and slipped out through the grass at the cave entrance.

She ate two protein-compressed biscuits, which eased her hunger a bit, then chugged two mouthfuls of nutrient solution and downed a dose of glucose. Her hunger finally subsided, and her body felt stronger.

Tu Ran kicked her legs and threw a few punches at the grass, feeling pretty good.

She glanced down at the time.

Huh? Federal time, seven in the morning?

She'd slept from nine the previous morning until seven today?

Almost a full day?

That long?

The cost of activating the Wheel of Time was too high.

But she still had two holographic recording rings to deal with.

Tu Ran pulled the other two rings out of her backpack.

She'd been unconscious for so long, probably because she'd pushed the time too far. This time, she could try a shorter span.

Push it back into the past.

The natural lifespan of a holographic recording ring was long, but the time since its manufacture wasn't.

Tu Ran silently invoked the Wheel of Time.

In her mind, the time wheel she'd seen yesterday appeared.

The year, month, and day were set to today.

Tu Ran turned the wheel back twenty years.

A faint flash of light passed.

The two rings in her palm instantly turned into a pile of brand-new parts.

It worked.

Even though it was only twenty years, Tu Ran clearly felt her stomach, which she'd just filled, growl with hunger again.

And this was just twenty years.

This ability was way too draining.

But at least she'd finally gotten rid of those two ticking time bombs weighing on her mind.

Even though this ability was good, she'd never use it again unless absolutely necessary.

She took out a compressed biscuit and nibbled on it, then, as usual, made a sweep of the surroundings.

She needed to find some food for Fatty.

Yesterday, Fatty had worked so hard to pick those fruits, and she'd given them all to that pioneer. Fatty hadn't shown any dissatisfaction, but she still needed to make it up to him.

Otherwise, following her around would be no different from following the Danghu leader—both meant three days hungry out of nine.

She widened her search, but still found no edible fruits. However, she did find a river with plenty of fish swimming in it.

Their scales were slightly golden, but not as bright as the Henggong fish. They looked a bit like carp, with big bellies, and they all seemed fat.

Tu Ran didn't know the exact species, but she'd seen this kind of fish in Fatty's memories. The Danghu leader would reward his more capable subordinates with this fish from time to time.

Fatty had never gotten to eat one.

It couldn't catch them itself, so its memory of these fish was especially vivid.

Tu Ran used her knife to spear three of them in a row.

Each fish weighed about twenty pounds, as long as her arm.

Three such big fish would be more than enough for Fatty.

Tu Ran cleaned the innards and scales off the fish, strung them together, and carried them back toward the cave, picking up some dry branches on the way.

Fatty still hadn't woken up.

That thing really could sleep.

She didn't wake it. She set up the branches outside the cave, lit a fire, and tied the cleaned fish over it to roast.

The aroma quickly wafted out, and Fatty in the cave "rolled" out following the smell.

Yes, literally rolled out. Its eyes weren't even open, but its nose had taken control and rolled its body out.

The thick grass was flattened like it had been run over by a steamroller.

Only when it actually saw the grilled fish over the fire did it dare believe it wasn't dreaming. It shot up with a "whoosh."

"Ya ya ya, it's vermillion fish! Vermillion fish! Fatty has never eaten vermillion fish!"

It eagerly pressed against Tu Ran.

She was jostled so much she could barely hold the fish rack steady. "Calm down! It's not cooked yet!"

"Can Fatty eat it raw? Raw is fine too!" Fatty's eyes were glued to the grilled fish, and as it asked, Tu Ran caught a glint of a silver thread at the corner of its mouth.

What a disgrace—drooling over food like that.

"No, it tastes better when it's cooked."

"Fine," Fatty sat down to the side, tormented, "How much longer until it's cooked? Fatty is hungry."

"About ten minutes." Tu Ran calmly flipped the fish.

"How long is ten minutes?"

Fatty had no concept of human time.

Tu Ran thought for a moment. "Ten minutes is about how long it takes you to gnaw through a red-skinned melon."

"Oh~" Fatty happily flapped its wings. "Then Fatty can eat soon!"

"Don't get too excited. Your wings are fanning the fire too hard, and the fish will burn. Burnt fish turns bitter."

"Oh oh, okay." Fatty immediately tucked in its wings, looking like an oversized triangular rice ball.

When ten minutes were up, Tu Ran finally handed the grilled fish to Fatty, whose mouth was practically flooding.

"Eat slowly, be careful, it's hot."

Fatty was in no mood to listen; it took a bite right away and, as expected, burned its mouth and hissed with every bite.

Even so, it refused to let the fish cool down. It tossed it around in its mouth a few times, then swallowed, and went straight for another bite.

"Slow down, there's plenty. These fish are big enough to fill you up." Tu Ran couldn't help but laugh.

Fatty looked at the three fish—they were indeed big—and slowed down.

The second fish was done too.

Tu Ran cut off a piece of meat with her knife.

She couldn't finish a whole fish alone; the remaining one and a half were all for Fatty.

Fatty quickly polished off the first fish, patted its half-full belly, and went for the second.

Tu Ran finished her portion, and by then the last fish was done. She put out the fire.

"Roasted vermillion fish is so good," Fatty said between bites, unable to help complimenting. "If only Fatty could have endless fish."

"You could settle down here," Tu Ran offered a practical suggestion.

Fatty's glass heart shattered again. The fish didn't taste as good anymore. It looked at Tu Ran with grievance. "Is the boss abandoning Fatty?"