When they initially dispersed, Tian Zui had distributed fireworks to everyone as beacons.
"Strange, with their strength and rich combat experience, even encountering level 65 fierce beasts should not be an issue."
"It seems this Hungry Road is not as simple as it appears..."
He leaped down.
Aside from Atlas and Mr. Luo, everyone else had already arrived.
"Mr. Luo is cooking, and Atlas is dealing with some annoying small animals over there."
So that's how it is.
Zhang Wei counted the numbers.
Bloodhound, Vampire, Blacksmith, Magician, himself, and Tian Zui.
"Where is the Woodcutter?"
The Magician next to him said, "We were gathering ingredients here just now. That blockhead Woodcutter insisted on chopping trees to collect firewood, and that tree was alive. It immediately grabbed him and pulled him into a tree hole."
Tian Zui mused.
A living tree...
Everyone stared at Tian Zui, who shrugged. "The Hungry Road has all sorts of bizarre things. You can't ask me about everything, can you?"
Boom!
Just then, the ground trembled.
A large hole instantly burst open in the earth, with black smoke billowing out and a large amount of dust.
A pitch-black figure emerged from it, like a shadow that had stood up.
"What manner of demon are you!"
"It's me, the Woodcutter!"
"Old Qiao?"
The person grinned, revealing a set of pearly white teeth. "Guess what good stuff I found. There's treasure down here!"
"What treasure?"
"Natural charcoal kiln!"
Charcoal?
Zhang Wei moved closer, and his Treasure Vault immediately issued a prompt.
[Discovered storable ingredient: Activated Charcoal]
[Capture Level: 4]
[Description: Naturally formed by chance. Can be used for starting fires, filtering, or ground into powder for detoxification and has a certain detoxifying effect.]
Zhang Wei was taken aback.
Since when could charcoal be considered an ingredient?
Reading carefully, he wondered if it was the detoxification effect?
Understanding it from a compositional standpoint, all grains are essentially composed of carbon. Sugars are also called carbohydrates. Some organisms in nature can indeed consume carbon as food.
Some fungi can also break down lignin.
It is said that petroleum is formed from ancient algae, accumulated over years.
Furthermore, on Blue Star, edible activated charcoal had already been developed, which is said to absorb harmful substances in the intestines.
"Then what are we waiting for... let's dig some up!"
"They say the charcoal fire here is very strong, a must-have for wilderness survival!"
The people around chattered, and Tian Zui immediately returned to relieve Atlas.
His bamboo basket could hold several thousand tons more, enough for a long time.
Several thousand tons might sound like a lot, but when dealing with large ingredients, it wasn't enough to sustain prolonged use.
During the Northern Chef Competition, Wolfgang had prepared a roasted turtle. The Ice Fortress Rock Turtle weighed thousands of tons, consuming thousands of tons of firewood in one go.
Several people jumped into the pit, and Zhang Wei followed closely!
So stuffy!
So hot!
The air was filled with a choking odor.
It was like a working charcoal kiln!
Zhang Wei immediately held his breath and took out some silk fabric from his Treasure Vault. Folding it and placing some crushed ice in the middle, the cool, moist air instantly made Zhang Wei much more comfortable.
[Storage complete: Activated Charcoal]
[Replication Time: 25 days]
The replication time was very short!
To increase the size of the replicated items, Zhang Wei tried his best to mine larger, more complete blocks of charcoal.
In just over ten minutes, the others could no longer stand it and went up for fresh air.
Zhang Wei dug deeper and deeper. The replication time was quickly compressed to its limit. He summoned fresh air from the Treasure Vault and continued his work.
Although he had the eternally burning fire in his Treasure Vault, charcoal was occasionally useful.
Repeatedly storing items would increase the number of charcoal pieces replicated daily.
"The charcoal from these high-grade woods burns with great intensity and temperature... Fortunately, there's no oxygen here, or all this charcoal would be consumed."
His foot slipped!
The Wind Control Technique was immediately activated.
Countless black smoke and ash swirled around Zhang Wei's feet, giving him the appearance of a villainous demon king making his entrance.
Below Zhang Wei was a pool of burning charcoal, with fresh wood above the flames. Hundreds of giant rats were gnawing on fresh leaves and fruits from above.
[Discovered capturable ingredient: Fire-Resistant Mole Rat]
[Capture Level: 35]
[Type: Gregarious Rodent]
[Description: Mole rats that are not afraid of flames, living in volcanic or other high-temperature areas. They can decompose water within their bodies to produce oxygen, allowing them to go for extended periods without breathing.]
[Their pelts are excellent materials for fire resistance. After skinning, the moisture within the fire-resistant rat will instantly exceed the boiling point, and the rat meat will heat and steam itself like a self-heating hot pot, making it very convenient.]
"Living trees..."
"It seems these tree holes are your doing!"
"Dragging large amounts of plant trunks underground, safely consuming them and piling them here. Coupled with your need for no oxygen, sealing the openings to prevent moisture and oxygen from entering the air."
"Over time, the caves become increasingly dry and hot, leading to spontaneous combustion and creating places like these coal mines."
"Not bad, not bad..."
The rats, after their initial panic, began to calm down.
They tentatively started to attack!
These fire-resistant rats were of a high level. In an ordinary city, they would undoubtedly be a disaster, but against Zhang Wei, they were no match.
"Wind Control Technique: Oppression!"
Boom!!!
All the fire-resistant mole rats fell from above, sinking into the glowing charcoal!
Due to Zhang Wei's entry, the ventilation opening was opened, and the incoming oxygen ignited the charcoal.
However, the fur of these rats remained shiny and lustrous, showing no signs of scorching from the flames. Their name, fire-resistant, was well-earned!
With one hand forming seals to maintain the Wind Control Technique,
He used his other hand to quickly knock out a few rats and throw them into his Treasure Vault. When only one remained, Zhang Wei deactivated the Oppression technique and drew his cleaver to begin preparing it.
"Hm?"
"This skin not only has fire-resistant properties but is also very tough! If processed, it could be used to make protective clothing!"
He cut along the neck, and the rat meat inside was deep red with a slight fishy odor.
Soon after being exposed to the air, a large amount of steaming hot gas rose from the wound, surrounded by mist!
The water vapor transformed from an initial fishy smell to oily, then from oily to fragrant!
Finally, oil began to shimmer on the rat meat, and the meat on its back was already self-cooked and glistening invitingly!
He cut off a piece!
"Hm!"
"Not bad!"
"The texture is quite firm, somewhat similar to dog meat, with a gamey aroma, a bit like wild chicken or sparrow!"
"This is simply a perfect self-heating meal, especially precious on the Hungry Road!"
Zhang Wei tasted different parts and found that the best meat on the mole rat was its fully cooked back; other parts were only average.
By the time Zhang Wei had finished dismembering it, the system's prompt finally sounded.
[Storage complete: Fire-Resistant Mole Rat]
[Replication Time: 68 days]