Surviving in the Beast World with a System

Da Shi stared in disbelief. "This thing can make food?"

Seeing their dumbfounded expressions, Wu Yue brought out a basket of taro. "See this? You put the food in here, place a wooden bucket under the outlet to catch what comes out, and then you push the stone mill in a circle."

The two nodded skeptically. Uncle Dashi, using his superior strength, outmuscled his own son to claim the job.

A Beastman’s strength was a given. Da Shi watched as he fed the taro in one by one and a liquid slurry streamed out. The leftover pulp, meanwhile, was collected by Wuyue.

By the time the entire basket of taro was processed, they had collected half a bucket of taro liquid.

"How are we supposed to eat this?"

Shi Lin bent over, curiously eyeing the pulp Wuyue had collected in a separate bucket.

"This pulp can be mixed with some flour to make flatbreads, or we can use it to feed the animals we’ve captured. That will help them grow bigger and stronger."

"Hahaha!" Uncle Dashi boomed with laughter. "Looks like we’re getting to try a new kind of food today!"

Wu Yue shook her head. "The new food I’m talking about isn’t taro pulp flatbreads, but this taro liquid."

"Ta... taro liquid?"

The two tall Beastman Warriors stared, completely bewildered, at the murky liquid in the wooden bucket.

’How are you supposed to eat this? You just pick up the bucket and chug it down?’

Shi Lin bent over, sniffed it, and recoiled. "Oh, my Amu! This must taste awful."

"Don’t underestimate this taro liquid," Wu Yue said. "Once I’m done processing it, we’ll have a food that can be stored for a very, very long time."

Everything else was unimportant. The phrase "can be stored for a very, very long time" was instantly seared into the two Beastmen’s minds.

All their disgust vanished in an instant. Their eyes shone as they stared at the taro liquid in the bucket. "Wuyue, how do you make this long-lasting food? Just tell us! We’ve got plenty of strength to help."

Wuyue laughed. "I can handle the rest myself. I’ll get some of the women to help later and teach them how to make it. You two are strong, so you should go work on the city wall. That’s our top priority."

Hearing that, the two were reminded of the barrier that would protect the tribe. They scratched their heads, looking a bit sheepish. "Heh, you’re right. We’ll get going, then."

The father and son were two peas in a pod. They immediately bolted in the direction of the back mountain.

"System, get me a piece of filter gauze."

"The user you have dialed is not in service. Please try again later."

"Ah, I was going to give the System a one-point tip for running the errand, but it’s not available? What a shame."

She shook her head with exaggerated regret as she spoke.

"Dear Host, the System you have called is now online. How may I help you?"

Wu Yue let out a dry laugh. ’This materialistic System is really something else.’

"One piece of filter gauze."

"Okie dokie! Dear Host, one piece of filter gauze is 10 points. After deducting the one-point errand fee, the total is eleven points. Thank you for your business, and please come again!"

Wu Yue rolled her eyes. ’What can I even say? This is hopeless.’

With the filter gauze in hand, Wu Yue spent the afternoon calling over Grandma Hua Shu and a few others who hadn’t gone out foraging.

"This is taro liquid that I ground with the stone mill. We can use it to make a food that lasts for a very long time. We’ll all make it together today, and I’d like to ask Grandma Hua Shu to please teach the method to the rest of the tribe."

"Wuyue, you’re so amazing! You’ve come up with yet another food that can be stored for a long time. Now our tribe won’t have to fear running out of food during the harsh winter."

Wu Yue simply smiled and shook her head at their praise. ’I’m just standing on the shoulders of giants. If I were just an ordinary young woman from the Beastman World, I’d probably still be disheveled and dirty, trailing after the Grandmas to forage.’

They filtered the liquid with the gauze and set it out to dry. While waiting, Wu Yue wove a few simple strainers from bamboo strips.

When strands of starch noodles were finally pulled from the pot and hung on racks that had been set up earlier, the women stared in confusion at the things that looked just like regular noodles.

"Aren’t these just noodles? They’re just a darker color."

Wu Yue flashed a grin, showing off her pearly whites. "These aren’t regular noodles. They’re starch noodles, which can be stored for a very long time once they’re dry."

She didn’t hang all of the noodles up to dry. Instead, she kept some and went to the kitchen to make a simple dish of stir-fried meat and starch noodles.

The women swarmed around her. At Wu Yue’s signal, each picked up a strand of the so-called starch noodle and put it in her mouth.