Chapter 38 — ILK Chapter 38

Whole Roasted Lamb and Fish-Lamb Umami Soup

Immediately after successfully landing at the base, personnel went to check the surveillance and data recorders. However, the database had been severely corrupted; restoration would take at least a day or two. The rescue party didn't know exactly what had happened until they pieced together the truth from the survivors who had been hiding.

At some unknown point, the Snow Mountain tribes seemed to have evolved. Their spiritual forms had mutated, and their mental power had surged. This sudden change caught the base entirely off guard. One individual with a mushroom spiritual form had evolved a "hallucinogenic" ability. By releasing massive clouds of mental mist, they could induce hallucinations that gas masks couldn't block. Over half the Sentinels were compromised and fell into mental rages. The base's fall was an internal collapse.

There were only two ways to block such an attack: first, by having a higher mental rank, as most mental attacks are ineffective against targets of higher rank; and second, by having a counter-spiritual form. The former was hard to achieve, and the latter was equally rare. Where would one find a perfectly matching counter-form?

"There must be more to this," the silver-haired Guide frowned. "Whether it's evolution or mutation, mental power growth is usually geometric. Without a Guide's assistance, ordinary Sentinels wouldn't recover this quickly or return to the battlefield so fast."

However, no Guides were ever born among the Snow Mountain tribes; in fact, none existed among any Black Tower natives, except for the long-fled Royal Family. They must have obtained a Guide from somewhere.

"Even the Lodas Plain tribes, who are the most friendly with the Empire, haven't given up on the Black Crystal resources. They're determined to take this self-destructive path," Asu Ment lit a cigarette. "They signed the treaty themselves. Only a few centuries have passed—the people who signed it aren't even dead yet—and now they're reneging. The Empire offered them money and other planets to relocate, but they insisted on pushing things to this point."

This was something Sang Ye had always been curious about. Since the tribes had agreed to the treaty and weren't naturally a bellicose people, why did they keep rioting after the Royals fled?

Sang Ye listened intently while keeping her hands busy. She hadn't felt the extreme weather earlier because she was occupied. Now that the Sentinel squads had departed with the "energy packs," she had a moment of idle time, which allowed her to truly feel the danger of the Snow Mountain.

The tribes had even destroyed the base's heating system. Though Sentinels were performing emergency repairs, it would take two hours to restore warmth. The base, which had been a "ruin" since Lin Changli’s last visit, was now even more desolate. Only the main hall and control center remained functional, as their support pillars and foundations were impenetrable. This left a vast open space for the fleet to land.

Currently, the base felt like an icy purgatory. They relied on bonfires for warmth, but the flames couldn't overcome the sub-zero temperatures. Earlier, while making bread, Sang Ye hadn't dared to take her fingers out of her combat gloves, resulting in some misshapen loaves.

The combat suits were energy-driven, powered by a small Black Crystal tucked into a decorative shoulder pocket. Freshly mined Black Crystal is highly radioactive and unusable; it requires special processing to be used as a material. As her work slowed down, a chill began to seep into her suit. She wondered if the Sentinels out in the snow had enough energy for their suits. No wonder Asu Ment had struck with such overwhelming force.

If the search parties could return in time, this weather was perfect for Whole Roasted Lamb. She could also make lamb skewers, using the fatty-yet-lean rib meat. Skewered one piece lean and one piece fat, they would sizzle with oil upon the first bite.

The character for "Fresh" (Xian) is composed of "Fish" and "Lamb." You can't have roasted lamb without fish. She planned to make roasted fish and stew it with lamb to make a soup so rich it would make one's blood surge and warm them to the bone. She would also grill vegetables between the meat skewers; with just a sprinkle of seasoning, the natural flavors would be incredible.

With so many Sentinels present, ingredients weren't a problem—her storage ring held enough to feed a city for a century. She would just let them handle the actual grilling.

As Sang Ye was planning, a heat source moved close to her. Lin Changli, acting as if nothing were wrong, took a "loaf" of meat floss and red bean bread from the warm oven—one of the misshapen ones she’d struggled to make with gloves on. He was very warm; he wasn't even wearing a thermal combat suit, and his hands were bare. Truly, a Phoenix spiritual form was like a tiny sun.

"You made these with the ingredients from the storage vault?" Lin Changli asked casually, devouring a bun in a few bites.

"Yes, I enjoy researching these things," Sang Ye lied without blinking.

"Interesting," Lin Changli didn't press the matter. "When I lived in the palace, the head chef tried to make food many times, but he failed every time. He should learn from you."

Sang Ye remembered that head chef but pivoted: "I remember the chef in the outer kitchen quite well."

"Oh, Lin Tengyuan? That guy is so fat now," Lin Changli said with slight disdain. "He refuses to exercise and just lets himself go."

With this heat source beside her, Sang Ye no longer felt cold. She pulled four dressed and bled lambs from her storage ring. While she called the base meat "zombie meat," the lamb in her ring had also been there for a while, but it was far fresher. These were Beach Lambs from the desert flats, raised on salt-grass; they were delicious and entirely free of gamey odors. Even steamed, they were tender. Due to their constant walking in the desert, the meat was firm and springy. Each weighed about forty or fifty catties, yielding thirty catties of meat. Four wouldn't be enough for all the Sentinels. These had been intended for her restaurant back home, but she decided to give them to the soldiers now.

She set up nine metal rods and had Lin Changli use his fire to weld them into simple roasting racks. She then massaged the lamb to tenderize the fibers and made incisions in the thick meat to rub in salt, pepper, and honey. To prevent them from freezing, she tucked them back into her ring for a short marinate.

She also prepped several chickens, plucking and bleeding them in one motion. She saved the offal for stir-fried giblets. The chicken racks were simpler—just two thin metal tubes to skewer them. Unlike lamb, chicken could be made into many flavors: honey-glazed, five-spice, or spicy.

By the time the materials were ready, the heating system was fixed and the Black Crystal factory was back online. The rescue squads were reporting their return, though Major General Keliu and his group were still missing. The team sent to retake the mines was successful, even capturing several tribe members before they could send word out. Sang Ye wasn't surprised; the power gap was too wide.

Since Lin Changli was lingering, Sang Ye gave him a job: making the metal skewers for the lamb. He turned metal liquid in his hands, reshaping it into thin rods with ease. He had finished five hundred rods before she even finished glazing the chickens.

She didn't know if this was a misuse of a Prince's power, but she knew some tasks weren't for a Commander to do, and keeping the base safe was paramount. She began skewering the lamb with green peppers and carrots for a balanced meal.

As the heating kicked in, she found the heat source beside her too hot and subtly moved a few steps away. The fish was ready; after a preliminary roast in the oven, she simmered it with the lamb scraps. The soup was milky white and fragrant, seasoned with white pepper—pure umami.

Before dinner was served, Sang Ye took a photo and sent it to Wu Jianing via terminal. It was good to let the child know her parents were safe. She watched as the little girl gushed over the food through the screen.

Aside from those guarding the mines, most Sentinels had returned. The afternoon had been brutal; while no soldiers died, many were wounded. Their small warships were riddled with bullet marks but were visibly self-repairing thanks to the Black Crystal technology. The three Guides immediately began mental channeling to help the spiritual forms heal, which in turn accelerated physical recovery.

Sang Ye held a plate, looking for Rong Cheng. As the Sentinels entered the hall, they all perked up at the same time: What is that smell?! My mouth is watering!