Chapter 162 : Chapter 162
Chapter 162: The Existence of Certain Things Is Necessary
“What should we do now?”
Leaving aside the unfortunate master who had collapsed from mana depletion and spell backlash, attention shifted to the two innocent civilians stranded on this alien planet thanks to that same master who now lay sprawled on the ground, one hand pointing to the sky, the other to the earth.
After ruling out a number of fanciful ideas like using a Anywhere Door, crawling into a pocket and coming out of a spare one, and other such wishful thinking ways of instantly returning home, Lu Zheng gave up thinking altogether.
Beneath the exterior of a hero, he was just an ordinary person with a touch of superpower. Tackling complex problems like returning to Blue Star? Better leave that to the professionals.
Of course, in order for the professionals to come up with a thorough plan, Lu Zheng did share part of his superpower's mechanism and limitations with Yi Ning.
“Hmm… So it's a gacha ability where you throw a die and get a random power targeting your goal, and you can’t switch abilities until the goal is achieved?”
Yi Ning thought for a moment and came to more or less the same conclusion as Lu Zheng.
Unless they were completely out of options, it was better not to use Lu Zheng’s superpower just yet.
After all, they were currently in a strange, alien forest without any outdoor survival tools.
And Lu Zheng’s ability was just too random—better to keep it in reserve until they were truly desperate.
Yi Ning was a full-blown homebody.
As a delicate evil scientist, when venturing outside, she preferred to have an excellent bodyguard-slash-laborer by her side.
“In any case, let’s set our top priority as collecting materials to build a spaceship.”
Lu Zheng: “?”
Collecting materials to build a spaceship?
Did he accidentally skip a few pages?
Why had they suddenly fast-forwarded to a point he couldn't understand?
He voiced his doubts to the person in charge of the "go-home plan"—Miss Yi Ning.
And as always, gentle and kind Miss Yi Ning graciously explained the situation to Lu Zheng.
“Are you stupid? If methods like teleportation are off the table, then the only option left for getting home is by spaceship, right?”
“Even a genius like me can’t craft a spaceship out of thin air, so obviously, collecting materials is a necessary step.”
Following his habit of asking when he didn’t understand, Lu Zheng said, “So what kind of materials do we need to collect?”
“That’s complicated to explain, so don’t worry about it. If I find anything usable, I’ll let you—the laborer—know.”
“And don’t worry about not finding the right materials. Most of them can be salvaged from inventions I’ve previously tossed here. As for the few things that aren’t…”
“We’ll just use temporary substitutes and swap them out at some interstellar market later.”
“…Alright then.”
Lu Zheng thought about it and realized the plan was unexpectedly feasible—and oddly enough, aligned with their original reason for coming here.
“So, what do we do next?”
Our dear laborer had decided to shut off his brain and follow the lead of their go-home plan commander.
“First, let’s get out of the forest.”
Yi Ning came to stand beside Lu Zheng, parallel to him. Then she lifted one foot, tilted her head, shrugged her shoulders, and said, “Let’s go!”
…
The forest path was not easy to traverse.
No.
One could say this forest didn’t even have anything that could be called a path.
Lu Zheng and Yi Ning were simply walking wherever there was footing available.
“Ow—”
Not even an hour had passed since they began trying to find a way out of the forest, and pampered Miss Yi Ning was already starting to lose patience.
“So annoying!”
She usually teleported to work and back—how could she possibly tolerate this kind of endless trekking through a forest?
Let’s not even talk about the potholes and uneven terrain—there were bugs everywhere.
And by now, it was usually her mealtime. Not only hadn’t she eaten, she hadn’t even had a sip of water.
More importantly, she still wasn’t wearing her undergarments.
That area was extremely sensitive!
After nearly an hour of hiking, her chest was already feeling unbearably raw.
It hurts!
“Lu Zheng! I can’t walk anymore! I order you to get me out of this forest right now!”
Miss Yi Ning started throwing a tantrum.
Lu Zheng turned to glance at her, secretly rolling his eyes.
With the way she was still hopping and flailing around, she sure didn’t look like someone who couldn’t walk anymore.
Still, he didn’t dare say that out loud.
He skillfully soothed her with his words.
She had already grumbled several times during their trek. The last time he talked back, his reward was getting kicked hard in the shin.
But this time, simple coaxing wouldn’t cut it.
Yi Ning was in real pain.
She looked around the forest floor. When she couldn’t find a clean enough spot to sit, she simply squatted down right there and refused to budge no matter how Lu Zheng tried to persuade her.
“I’m hungry! How am I supposed to walk on an empty stomach?”
Not even waiting for a reply, she pointed at Lu Zheng and demanded he use his superpower to teleport her to the nearest town.
“Are you sure about that? Just to be clear, I might not randomly get spatial teleportation—could end up with speed or endurance or something like that…”
“I’m sure, certain, and positive! Just use it already!”
Before Lu Zheng could even finish, Yi Ning cut him off and ordered him to use his ability immediately.
Her chest could not take any more torment!
She was on the verge of tears from the pain.
If she’d known it’d be like this, she would’ve endured the shame—and pleasure—of wearing a women’s tank top in public and made sure she had it on no matter what.
“…Alright.”
Lu Zheng shrugged, ultimately giving in to her demand.
He did have wilderness survival experience, so getting out of the forest was almost guaranteed. Even if he ended up with a useless superpower for now, it shouldn’t be a big deal.
His trained body wouldn’t lie to him.
He pulled a fresh die from his pocket, tossed it lightly into the air, and caught it smoothly.
The one he had thrown earlier was probably long gone by now.
“Did it roll anything good?”
Yi Ning looked at Lu Zheng with hopeful eyes.
Lu Zheng, sensing the power he had rolled, fell silent.
“…It sank.”
Yi Ning’s face immediately drooped.
She pouted, voice filled with grievance: “Wretched beast! What the hell did you roll?”
“Endurance. To put it plainly: strength boost and greatly enhanced stamina.”
Lu Zheng put the die back in his pocket, not looking nearly as disappointed as Yi Ning.
That’s just how gacha powers were.
If your mindset wasn’t calm, you’d die from stress.
On the other hand, upon hearing Lu Zheng’s result, Yi Ning’s eyes changed color.
Endurance…
Now that was a power built for endurance…
Her eyes gleamed, and she stood up, walked over to Lu Zheng, and gave his butt a light slap.
“You unlucky oaf, couldn’t you wash your face before pulling a card? Anyway, let’s get going. You lead—I have zero sense of direction in the wild.”
Yi Ning’s sudden change in attitude caught Lu Zheng a little off guard.
Since when was she this cooperative?
Still, he didn’t dwell on it.
With his last hope of a quick forest escape crushed, the only way out was forward.
Yi Ning was smart—she would’ve figured that out too.
He turned to resume leading the way.
But what he didn’t expect—
Just as he exposed his back to Yi Ning, she suddenly grabbed his shoulders, pushed down, and jumped onto his back.
“I decree you as my imperial sedan bearer. Carry me out of this wretched place at once!”
“Make sure the ride is smooth.”
Yi Ning clung to Lu Zheng’s back, exhaling softly by his ear.