The entire safety area fell into an unprecedented silence. 

Unlike the other four contestants who were eliminated without ever meeting, Guagaka was different. He had spent some time with everyone, though it was brief, without forming any deep friendships, but he had become part of the group. 

His elimination hit everyone harder. 

As Su Ge and Rong Shi returned, Zigmadar spotted them. He hurried to Su Ge’s basecamp. The four lumps on his head emitted a continuous blue light, indicating his low spirits. Upon entering the campsite, he exclaimed loudly, “Su Ge, I feel so sad!” 

His voice was loud, and coupled with his sadness, it didn’t sound very pleasant. 

“In the back, come here!” Su Ge didn’t respond to Zigmadar; it was Rong Shi who responded to him. 

Zigmadar immediately stomped towards the back of Su Ge’s house, but before he reached the place where he stored the pork, he smelled an unbearable odor. 

It was an indescribable stench, accompanied by a hot gust of wind that hit Zigmadar’s face directly. 

Zigmadar was considered a rugged man who could endure just about anything. However, in this situation, he found himself taking several steps back after being hit directly by the stench. 

Covering his nose, Zigmadar looked again, finally spotting two people. But what followed made the blue light on Zigmadar’s head instantly turn into a green one, and it flickered at a very high frequency. 

He could only see on that makeshift wooden board, the black pig he had brought back now turned deathly pale. Su Ge and Rong Shi, one standing and the other crouching, were both standing beside the pig. 

Rong Shi held a sharp dagger in his hand, a dagger that had once sliced through meat, killed rabbits, and gutted fish. Now, it added another achievement to its list, as it sliced open the belly of the pale pig, the long incision running from beneath its head straight to its tail. 

The pig’s innards flowed out from the cut, while Su Ge held two bowls, directly scooping up those innards. 

The scene was too horrifying, too horrifying… 

“With a gulp, Zigmadar swallowed hard, feeling his body trembling. He pointed his finger at the two people and asked, “What are you doing?” 

“Butchering the pig,” the two replied in unison without even lifting their heads.

“Why are you butchering the pig…” Zigmadar’s voice began to tremble. He even felt his legs shaking. But obviously, the other two didn’t pay much attention to his question, still engrossed in discussing another horrifying topic at this moment.

“Are you going to throw these things away?” 

“We have no choice. If there’s not enough material, we can’t eat.” 

“Do you mean these things are edible?” Rong Shi felt extremely surprised. As a soldier, he had seen all sorts of extreme situations, and once he accepted the premise that they were going to eat what Earthlings could eat, his tolerance was very high. 

“Of course they’re edible. In fact, pig innards are quite tasty, but we can’t prepare them now, so we have to discard them.” 

“What materials do you need?”  

Su Ge immediately listed off a bunch: “We don’t even have the most basic salt and cooking wine. Without them, we can’t get rid of the gamey taste, and it’s inedible.” 

“What is salt?” 

“It’s a crystalline substance with a salty taste used for seasoning. It’s the most important ingredient in making almost everything,” Su Ge explained while packing up the pig’s offal. “Do you know what a salty taste is?” 

“Yes, that’s common knowledge,” Rong Shi chuckled. “Even though we only consume nutrient fluid, we still appreciate different flavors, such as sweetness, sourness, and saltiness.” 

Su Ge: It seems like more strange knowledge has been added. 

The two chatting casually as if no one else was around seemed like a strange magic that gradually calmed Zigmadar’s heart. Initially, the scene in front of him seemed quite horrifying, but the more he looked, the less significant it appeared. After all, he had witnessed Su Ge killing and eating various things. Once desensitized, he felt it wasn’t such a big deal. 

He reached out and pressed his chest, trying to calm his excited heartbeat. As his heart rate gradually slowed down, everything in front of him seemed much better. He even managed to exchange a few words with the two people. 

“Um… Glaki seemed to have mentioned that he found a salty-tasting stone.” When he heard Rong Shi and Su Ge discussing flavors, Zigmadar finally found an opportunity to interject. 

Su Ge paused for a moment, then quickly turned to Zigmadar, asking, “What kind of salty-tasting stone?” 

Perhaps Su Ge’s reaction was too sudden, even startling Zigmadar. He patted his chest while gesturing, “It’s about this big, and it’s white. You can even see it sparkling under the light.” 

If he wasn’t mistaken, that would be rock salt. 

A surge of excitement ran through Su Ge’s heart. If it was rock salt, then they were incredibly lucky. A smile couldn’t hide her excitement as her eyes gleamed. She hastily put down the bowl in her hand, washed her hands in the water, not caring about her current messy appearance, and dashed over to Zigmadar. 

“Take me to him!” 

Rong Shi called out to Su Ge from behind, pointing at the bowl of offal on the ground. “Do we still need these?” 

Su Ge nodded repeatedly. “Yes, yes, we definitely need them. If you find them stinky, just put them further away. I’ll come and deal with them later!” 

Before Rong Shi could respond, Su Ge urged Zigmadar to go, leaving Rongshi staring at their retreating figures. He couldn’t understand why Zigmadar, who usually seemed quite likable, was suddenly so annoying. 

He felt the urge to go up and punch him in the face or shove him directly into the smelly offal! 

Guagaka’s departure left Glaki feeling down. He sat in his camp, gazing at the pile of firewood, remembering his agreement with Guagaka to keep the fire burning. Looking at the scattered wood and twigs, he recalled their plan to build a house together. As he thought about it, tears began to trickle down his cheeks. 

However, before his emotions could reach their saddest peak, he heard Zigmadar’s hurried footsteps approaching, accompanied by shouts: ” Glaki, Glaki, are you at the base?” 

Glaki quickly wiped his face, wiping away the tears, and stood up, responding in the direction of the base gate: “I’m here, inside the base.” 

With his response, it didn’t take long for him to see Zigmadar’s muscular figure appearing before him, with another person following behind. 

“Su Ge! What brings you here?” As a Class IV planetary species still in the process of applying for an upgrade to Class III, but failing to do so, Glaki faced a lot of discrimination from higher-class planetary beings, so much so that he dared not resist. He simply grew numb to it all. 

But the previous night, Su Ge’s beating of Flynn had opened up new possibilities for him. 

Sometimes, oppression needs to be resisted, and being a Class IV species isn’t so bad after all, right? It turns out things can be done this way! 

Coupled with Su Ge’s fragrant grilled fish, her adept knife skills, and even her ability to leap through the air, everything left a profound impression on Glaki, almost filling him with admiration for this Earth woman. 

Su Ge’s sudden appearance both surprised and delighted Glaki. So, when Su Ge suggested examining the white ore, Glaki eagerly brought it out, explaining, “I found it in a cave and thought it looked nice, so I kept it as a souvenir. If you like it, it’s yours!” 

When Su Ge held the pristine white rock, she couldn’t wait to taste it. Salty and slightly bitter, it turned out to be unrefined salt, mineral salt! 

She immediately looked up at Glaki, her eyes shining brightly. “Thank you! Glaki, you’ve been a great help!” 

Glaki chuckled, feeling a bit bashful looking back on it. 

Rong Shi glanced expressionlessly at the group of people trailing behind Su Ge. 

Alright, so Zigmadar arrived, accompanied by Sera, and finally Glaki. What’s their purpose here? Don’t they have more important things to attend to? 

Has the house been built yet? Is the campfire still burning? Have they sorted out the food?! What have they been doing at Su Ge’s base all day long? 

Glaki’s home planet, Pudis, is a Class IV planet. The inhabitants are generally short, with adults averaging less than 1.2 meters in height. While their combat skills might be lacking, they have exceptionally nimble hands, which has led to highly developed manufacturing industries on their planet. 

Initially, Su Ge was pondering how to refine table salt from mineral salt. After Glaki cautiously inquired about it, she didn’t withhold any information and shared the principles and necessary materials with him. Glaki then proposed to try it himself. 

Su Ge didn’t have much hope for Glaki’s attempt, but when she saw Glaki effortlessly molding a perfect clay model by hand, exactly as she had described, or perhaps even more perfectly, she was astonished. 

She squatted down to examine the flat dish, noticing that the thickest part was only a few millimeters thick, just like embryos pulled out by machines on Earth, without any difference. She was dumbfounded. “Is this your first time?” 

Glaki nervously twisted his hands covered in clay. “Did I mess it up?” 

“Their greatest expertise lies in craftsmanship. Pudisians can create the most exquisite things in the universe, all done by hand. It’s their racial gift,” Rong Shi explained softly to Su Ge standing beside her. 

Ever since she had Rongshi as her true interstellar encyclopedia, Su Ge’s understanding of various planets had soared. She applauded Glaki admiringly. “This talent is incredible…” 

Her own skills compared to Glaki’s were probably just scraps in comparison… 

With Glaki, the master craftsman, everything seemed to become simpler. Su Ge simply told him what she needed, and Zigmadar and Sela enthusiastically helped transport clay and mud. Su Ge didn’t have to worry about anything else. 

By the time she and Rong Shi finished dividing the pig, Glaki had already organized various items of different sizes in the sunny spot at Su Ge’s camp. 

Naturally, there were pots, pans, and other essentials, and Glaki even made two or three small stoves as per Su Ge’s request. 

Once all these items were fired, they wouldn’t struggle with daily tasks like they do now. 

Glaki was obviously very skilled. After inspecting the items he made, Su Ge was full of admiration. Now, Glaki was tending to the clay pot Su Ge had made earlier, and she walked over to see what was brewing. 

To her surprise, she found only a small amount of slightly cloudy water in the pot, with a fine layer of white powder clinging to the rim and walls. 

Salt! 

Su Ge only had a rough idea of how to refine table salt, so she had just given a general description earlier. After all, the pig was more important, and with the hot weather, it would start to stink if left unattended. 

She never imagined that it would be as simple as slaughtering a pig. Not only did Glaki produce many pottery pieces, but she also refined salt for her. Suddenly, she felt that this person was the real game-changer… 

“What’s this?” Rong Shi effortlessly carried a tub of clean-cut pork over. He was about to place it in a well-ventilated and cool area when he noticed Su Ge looking admiringly at Glaki. Unconsciously, a slight discomfort arose in him. Without realizing why he felt this discomfort, he had already approached the two and asked. 

“Salt,” Su Ge turned to look at Rong Shi, her eyes shining. “It’s an important ingredient for providing a salty taste.” She added cautiously, “On our planet, Earth.” 

Salty taste? 

Rong Shi looked at the increasing white powder in the clay pot due to evaporation and couldn’t help but recall the taste of the saline nutrient solution… 

Indeed, it wasn’t very appealing! 

The Interstellar Alliance had conducted a survey on the popularity of various flavored nutrient solutions. He didn’t remember the process well because it was noisy, but he clearly remembered the results. Saltiness had the lowest support rate, probably only one percent, or maybe even less. 

In any case, saltiness was absolutely not popular in the Interstellar Alliance. However, looking at Su Ge’s excited expression, he couldn’t help but feel puzzled. Was this taste actually popular on Earth? 

He feels extremely confused. 

However, shortly after, Rong Shi realized another problem. He had just told Su Ge that they would have dinner together, but if Su Ge made something salty… 

Ah, some things really shouldn’t be dwelled upon. 

“Are you going to use this thing to make food?” Rong Shi remembered the taste of the salty nutrient solution, feeling a tingling sensation on his scalp. 

“Yeah, what’s wrong?” Su Ge was completely immersed in the excitement of obtaining salt. Her excitement made her quite generous. “Alright, tonight I’ll treat you to dinner!” 

Rong Shi:…

Suddenly, he didn’t feel like eating. What should he do? But if he didn’t eat, he would get hungry… 

Upon hearing Su Ge’s words, Glaki, who had been boiling salt, suddenly lifted her head, her eyes full of expectant starlight. He asked softly, “So, Su Ge, since I helped you make so many things today, could you also invite me to dinner?” 

“Sure.” Su Ge glanced at Glaki and suddenly remembered his eager expression when she had fish the night before. She nodded with a smile. 

“Then can you also invite us to dinner? We’ve also done a lot of work today.” Zigmadar and Sela popped out from somewhere, their smiling faces tinged with a bit of anxiousness. 

Everyone was raised on nutrient solutions, and no one had eaten Earth food before. Anything unfamiliar was bound to be accepted without much fuss. But seeing Rong Shi, who had known Su Ge the longest, and Glaki, who had known her the shortest, both volunteering to have dinner, was it a bit unethical for them to lag behind? 

Moreover, if they really couldn’t handle it and couldn’t eat it, there were so many people to share the blame. Su Ge wouldn’t hold a grudge against all of them, would she? 

So, in such matters, following the majority would generally not be wrong. 

Although that’s what they said, Rong Shi’s heart was growing more and more uncomfortable. If he was initially upset about the unappetizing salty food, what was bothering him even more now was these few uninvited guests. 

He had clearly arranged it beforehand. He had already agreed with Su Ge that the first time tasting Earth food, such an important matter, would definitely be done separately with her. So why was everyone crowding over now? 

… 

Seeing these three faces that appeared honest but were actually annoying, Rong Shi felt that his patience was being tested too much. He really wanted to stuff them all into the pot of pig offal! 

Such discomfort made Rong Shi’s expression as calm as water as he coldly spoke, “Don’t you still have nutrient solution?” 

They were quite familiar with each other, so everyone privately knew what supplies the organizer had provided. Rong Shi naturally knew they had nutrient solution as well. Originally, he didn’t think it was a big deal, but now he felt it was perfect to use this reason to drive away these two pests. 

Zigmadar and Sela exchanged a glance, unexpectedly synchronizing as if they have telepathy, “There’s none left.” 

Rong Shi: “…” 

Weren’t you two talking this morning about how you still had two bottles left? 

Before Rong Shi could retort, the two looked at him again, earnestly and solemnly reiterating, “We really don’t have any left!” 

Rong Shi: Aliens are really annoying! 

The number of aliens wasn’t large, but because these aliens had always been consuming nutrient solution, Su Ge didn’t know how much they ate. After considering what to serve them for a while, filtering through numerous ingredients, Su Ge ultimately chose hot pot. 

If there was still any food that was simple, hearty, and could quickly satisfy people, while also allowing them to deeply experience a corner of the vast and profound gourmet culture, then besides hot pot, Su Ge couldn’t think of anything else. 

— 

Hot pot, a food that is spicy, stimulating, and satisfying, can amplify the deliciousness of ingredients rapidly with the simplest cooking method. It is the most effective “golden finger” to capture diners’ hearts. Isn’t there a saying on the vast land of gourmet culture that goes like this? 

“There’s nothing a hot pot can’t solve; if there is, then have it twice.” 

Su Ge, with the idea of simplicity, convenience, deliciousness, and the ability to greatly impress these aliens, chose hot pot. 

Now that her utensils were complete and the basic seasonings were available, although she couldn’t make spicy hot pot due to the lack of complete sauce ingredients, making a clear broth was still simple. 

In a large ceramic pot, she simmered the soup base with big bones, adding scallions and wild ginger she found to enhance the flavor. Finally, she added the freshly extracted salt to perfect it. After a couple of hours, the fragrant white broth was ready. 

During the time it took to simmer the broth, Su Ge had already sliced a large piece of pork belly, a large piece of pork tenderloin, and four or five pork spine bones. Of course, besides these, there were also easy-to-handle offal like pork liver, kidneys, and heart, as well as wild vegetables like dandelions and shepherd’s purse. 

After blanching all the ingredients, Su Ge prepared a simple dipping sauce for each person. Under the current conditions, it couldn’t be comprehensive, but she had basic flavors such as Sichuan peppercorns, chili, and salt, along with wild onions and garlic. The unique aroma rushed directly to their faces. 

Rong Shi lightly flared his nostrils, sniffing the peculiar aroma carefully. It was a special scent he had never encountered before. He couldn’t quite discern whether it smelled good or bad but seeing Su Ge’s face eagerly anticipating the contents of the small bowl, he figured it must be good. 

… 

Sela and Zigmadar were amazed by Su Ge’s cooking today, especially after seeing him cook a few times before. Previously, Su Ge mostly grilled food, cooking it directly over the fire until it was oily and ready to eat. But today’s method seemed completely different from what they had seen before. 

Zigmadar held the small bowl, which looked like a toy, in his hand, examining the contents from top to bottom. He couldn’t quite understand what it was. 

“How do we eat this?” Rong Shi asked after Su Ge handed out the chopsticks she had just asked Glaki for. He was very curious about those long, thin sticks. 

“This isn’t food,” Su Ge clarified as she demonstrated how to use chopsticks and shared some knowledge with the aliens. “These are chopsticks. It’s a tool you can used for eating.” 

With that, she picked up a thinly sliced piece of pork tenderloin and swirled it a few times in the bubbling pot. The originally bright red meat turned into a pale pink color. Then she dipped the piece of pork into the sauce in the bowl before popping it into her mouth. 

The tender, juicy protein mixed with the sauce exploded in her mouth, instantly igniting her taste buds, which seemed dormant until that moment. 

Su Ge covered her mouth, suddenly feeling like crying. 

Ah, it wasn’t easy, it really wasn’t easy. How long had it been since she had this feeling of eating hot pot again? It seemed like only now did she truly confirm that her body was alive. 

Ah! Life is worth it.