[edited]

Rong Shi didn’t want to admit it at all, but in the end, he, along with Zigmadar and the other two, retreated in sheer embarrassment. 

Directly consuming the corpses of living organisms was something truly hard to accept. It was so hard to accept that on the way back, no one dared to speak. The image lingering in everyone’s mind was Su Ge coldly sneering as she tore into the juicy, grilled meat skewer. 

It was really, really, too visually shocking. 

Even when they were almost back at their base, Li Ya, who hadn’t spoken all the way, suddenly stopped. He reached out to scratch his head and then, in a daze, remembered: “It seems we were supposed to ask for a bonfire, so why are we heading back?” 

Sela sighed deeply: “You can go back and ask now.” 

Li Ya immediately seemed to have amnesia and asked Rong Shi: “Rong Shi, how do we get a bonfire again?” 

Rong Shi was silent for a few seconds, sighed softly, and rubbed his temples. Ever since he began dealing with the Earthling Su Ge, he felt like his worldview had been turned upside down countless times. Earth is truly an extraordinary planet. 

With technology developed to this point, acquiring fire elements was simply not an issue for people from a Class I planet like Rong Shi. However, on this desolate planet, all their proud technologies had vanished. Everything had reverted to the most primitive state, and they weren’t even familiar with this state, which caught them completely off guard. 

Since during the journey from the landing point to the safe point, Rong Shi had already learned from Su Ge that this desolate planet was extremely similar to Earth, and considering the current test questions, the best method would be to solve all their problems using Earth methods. This seemed to be the most correct decision. 

Turning around, Rong Shi’s gaze fell on the faces of the other four people, who were looking at him with eager, starry eyes. Especially noticeable were the four constantly flickering pink bumps on Zigmadar’s head. Remembering the test score of a thousand miles of green mountains and rivers, he felt extremely disheartened. 

At this moment, aside from Su Ge, he couldn’t find anyone to consult with. 

This time, Rong Shi’s sigh was not subtle at all. He sighed heavily, closed his eyes, and thought for a few seconds. Recalling the books about Earth he had read, he answered with a headache: “A fire source should require external force.” 

“Is a fire source the same thing as a bonfire?” Sela, holding onto the principle of asking when unsure, inquired since all these concepts were blind spots of knowledge for them. 

“Sort of.” Rong Shi had never seen a fire source in reality, but theoretically, it should be similar to the bonfire Su Ge had just ignited. 

“What kind of external force is needed to obtain it?” The remaining four asked in unison. Rong Shi looked at their eager faces and felt even more frustrated. 

If he knew, why did he just go to find Su Ge? 

Usually confident and feeling almost invincible, Rong Shi had never felt so powerless. He said, “Let’s try every possible method.” 

Su Ge didn’t know the mentality behind the aliens, “try every possible method,” but early in the morning, when she went to the small tent to submit her task and was on her way back, she saw a group of aliens gathered together. In a good mood from her recent reward, she approached them to see what was going on. 

Just like people from a very backward village visiting a super modern city, feeling lost and overwhelmed by the modernity. People from a highly advanced civilization would also feel equally bewildered in a primitive, backward place and they would feel powerless everywhere. 

The five aliens before her gave Su Ge this exact impression. She saw many wooden sticks and branches in front of them, along with a lot of stones, some of which bore marks of being struck. As an Earthling with considerable knowledge of wilderness survival, she immediately understood what was happening. 

Recalling last night’s events, her guess was confirmed. Standing behind the five, Su Ge asked, “Are you trying to make a fire?” 

Perhaps they were too focused, or for some other reason, none of them noticed Su Ge approaching, not even Rong Shi or Sela, the Alrak alien with reconnaissance talent. 

Su Ge’s sudden question startled everyone. They all turned to look at her, especially Li Ya, who was so close to her that his heart almost jumped out of his chest. He quickly patted his chest, instinctively wanting to retort angrily, but last night’s events had significantly boosted his survival instinct, so he immediately shut his mouth tightly. 

Rong Shi wasn’t surprised that Su Ge had figured it out right away. After a day of having his worldview reshaped, he started to let go of his pride and acknowledge that this Earthling was quite capable—at least a bit more capable than himself on this desolate planet. 

However, while he was still thinking about how to respond to Su Ge in a way that was both appropriate and not too embarrassing, Su Ge had already skipped over the question, not really expecting an answer. 

Standing behind Sela, she bent over slightly, looking with interest at the assortment of items laid out on the ground. Her eyes formed small crescents, and her lips curved into a joyful arc. She held a thin twig in her hand, which fidgeted restlessly with her fingers behind her back. 

“You’ve got quite a lot of tools here,” Su Ge commented cheerfully, then asked, though she already knew the answer, “Have you managed to light a fire?” 

The sudden silence was noticeable. 

A slight morning breeze blew past everyone. The four aliens exchanged glances subtly before all eyes landed on Rong Shi. Even Su Ge, standing outside their circle, could feel their intense anticipation. 

In an instant, Rong Shi recalled the scene from the previous night when Su Ge had shoved that meat into her mouth, forcing his embarrassed retreat. Putting himself in Su Ge’s shoes, he figured she wouldn’t want to deal with him now. But faced with the impossible task… 

Rong Shi sighed and asked Su Ge, “Do you have any suggestions?” 

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the twig in Su Ge’s hand joyfully twitching as the sunlight filtered through its tender green leaves, casting a bright light that enveloped her. Her face lit up with an exceptionally radiant smile, and for some reason, Rong Shi felt a strange, unsettling emotion. 

Her smile was dazzling. She said, “Yes, I do.” 

Rong Shi found himself captivated by her smile. He squinted slightly and followed up, “Well, can you tell us?” 

Su Ge mimicked Rong Shi’s tone, drawing out her words as she asked, “What will you give in exchange?”

All the aliens: “…” 

Though she smiled like a flower, they had every reason to suspect she was extorting them.