Chapter 110: Ian’s private schemes.

But looking up at Logan’s cold, unwavering stare, Ian knew he didn’t have a choice. If he said no, he became useless. And in Logan’s house, useless people tended to disappear. He was using the man to survive, so he had to prove he was useful.

"I will do whatever it takes to find her, Uncle Logan. She is my sister; it is my duty to protect her." Ian said, forcing a look of righteous determination onto his face.

He seemed so honest and obedient, but he didn’t mention the part where he had also received a rather tempting marriage proposal earlier that day, from a wealthy matriarch looking for a third husband for her Soul maiden daughter. If things went completely south here, Ian was fully prepared to sell his handsome face to the highest bidder and escalate the ladder in the quickest way a man could do.

"Good boy," Logan said, turning back toward the door. "Get some sleep. We have a long day tomorrow."

Ian blinked. "Tomorrow? Aren’t we starting the search right now?"

"No," Logan sighed, adjusting his collar. "Tomorrow, we have to attend your foster sister’s wedding. Wear something that doesn’t make you look like a beggar. I refuse to be embarrassed by anyone."

With that, Logan stepped out, leaving Ian alone in the silent room, staring at a plate of half-eaten cookies and wondering how his life had turned into such a chaotic mess. He could only blame his sister.

He wanted to slap the plate away, but throwing a tantrum was not wise, and neither was wasting food.

*****

In the Frozen Wild lands.

Hunter frowned lightly as the morning sun pricked at his eyelids. His eyes flicked open slowly, a wave of profound confusion washing over him before he even realized it was fully day. He tilted his head in wonder.

For the first time in what felt like centuries, he hadn’t woken up gasping for air, choking on the residual horror of a nightmare.

Achilles had spent fortunes hiring the most prestigious doctors, buying exotic spiritual herbs and dream catching relics, yet the dreams had only ever grown more vivid. How was this possible that he had slept peacefully through a night?

He went to shift his weight and suddenly froze. There was a soft, warm weight pressing right against his chest. He looked down and saw Zyra.

Did she do one of her tricks? he asked himself, his chest tightening with a strange, unfamiliar warmth. What did she do to me that made me sleep peacefully?

As the shifting sunlight hit her face, Zyra’s features twisted. The bright glare broke her slumber, and she jolted upright, realization hitting her like a physical blow. Her head had been resting right over his heart. Worse, a very visible, damp patch of drool was glistening on Hunter’s shirt.

"Oh crap! I am so sorry!" Zyra stammered, immediately frantically wiping at his chest with her bare hands, which only succeeded in smearing it further. "I can’t believe I just slept off. I was supposed to be keeping watch!"

Hunter cleared his throat, his face slightly stiff as he gently caught her wrists to stop the rubbing. "In our defense... we were all dead tired."

They both paused, scanning the grotto. Their surroundings were too quiet. Tessi and Gilby were gone. Not just them_ their beast pockets and heavy survival bags had vanished from the cavern floor.

"What the hell happened here?" Hunter growled, his hand instantly dropping to the handle of his gun.

Zyra tapped her wrist, her brow furrowed. "Link band, call Tessi." Her heart was beating like a drum. "I knew this dry cave was too good to be true. Dammit, I should have been more alert. I can’t find Spice and Squirrel too."

Hunter was trying to be calm as he tapped his own bracelet. "Gilby, report."

Before the signals could even connect, faint, echoing laughter drifted in from outside the mouth of the ice cave. Exchanging a sharp, tense glance, Hunter and Zyra bolted toward the exit, weapons drawn, only to skid to a halt.

Coming up the snowy path were Gilby and Tessi. Their arms were piled high with big, heavy fruits_ except every single one of them was a stark, ghostly white. Spice and Squirrel were with them.

"Where on earth did you two wander off to?!" Zyra demanded, letting out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. Hunter stood right beside her, too angry to even speak, a dark aura practically radiating off his shoulders.

"Don’t you know how dangerous it is to separate in an unknown land? You scared us to death!" Zyra lectured, crossing her arms. "We don’t know this terrain!" Her half-life beasts rushed to her, looking very apologetic. But she glared at them in response. "What if you had all been killed out there?"

Gilby held up his hands defensively, nearly dropping a massive, pale melon. "Look, look, it was entirely my fault! I went out to answer nature’s call, alright? And while I was... busy, I noticed something absolutely wild. I came back to yell for backup, but only Tessi was awake, so I dragged her along to verify!"

He thrust a giant, white pawpaw toward Hunter’s face. "Look at this! We found a whole fruit forest!"

Hunter didn’t budge. His eyes narrowed with cold caution. "Those could be highly poisonous. In the wild, not everything that looks like food is meant to be digested."

Tessi’s bright smile instantly vanished, her shoulders slumping. "Oh. We brought them back so that we could figure it out together. This an unexplored territory. Everything is considered treasure until proven otherwise."

Zyra frowned, looking at the colorless fruit. "Beauty," she muttered to her internal system, "scan the papaya or melon. I don’t like how pale these things are."

A crisp, mechanical chime echoed inside Zyra’s mind, followed by a faint red grid projected from her eyes, scanning the fruit from top to bottom.

[Scanning complete.

Target is a mutated papaya. Result: Highly nutritious and perfectly safe for consumption by both humans and beasts. As for the color, they lack pigmentation because there is zero direct solar-chlorophyll synthesis in this place. Honestly, host, this is toddler-level botany. Do I need to download a human primary school curriculum for you?]

Zyra scoffed under her breath, ignoring the System’s sass. She pulled a hunting knife from her pocket, snatched the white pawpaw from Gilby, and cleanly sliced it down the middle.

"Don’t tell me you’re_ " Hunter started, reaching out to stop her.

"It’s perfectly safe," Zyra cut him off smoothly, popping a translucent cube of the fruit into her mouth.

She chewed once. Then, she paused. Her eyes widened to the size of soup saucers. "Holy mother of..." Without finishing her sentence, she shoved another piece into her mouth. "This might be the most incredible thing I have ever tasted in my life!"