Chapter Eleven: In Search of Food

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“My grand undertaking may well depend on her. Wahahaha...” Lei Bin watched the beautiful woman eating with such relish, and excitement surged through him.

Ever since that time when she had spoken up for him, Lei Bin had constantly looked for opportunities to talk to her, showering her with attention in an effort to win her favor.

The woman’s name was Daisy. She never rejected Lei Bin’s attentions. Instead, she often cast him suggestive glances, appearing coy yet receptive. It was obvious that she was quite interested in him.

In circumstances where one’s life could be lost at any moment, any woman would find it difficult to reject a man who had saved her life and could offer her safety, food, and warmth.

Besides, Daisy was not the kind of proud young girl in her twenties who relied on her beauty and looked down on everyone else, content to admire herself in solitude. She was a woman who had experienced the hardships of life and understood worldly affairs and human relationships. Naturally, she would not reject anything that increased her chances of survival, and she also knew how to make use of her own advantages.

“Can these things really be eaten? Wild plants haven’t been fully studied or developed. If you eat them recklessly, you could easily be poisoned.” By then, some people were already starving. Seeing Lei Bin feeding the beautiful woman these foods while she ate them with such gusto, they could not help swallowing nervously and voicing their doubts.

Lei Bin chuckled and answered with complete confidence, “I was trained as an infantryman. One of our lessons was learning to identify edible plants in the wild. The things I found are absolutely safe.”

In truth, this had never been one of Lei Bin’s lessons. It was all Star Dream’s doing. There were countless plant species on an alien planet—who could possibly memorize them all?

Only a supercomputer like Star Dream could record them in their entirety and distinguish between them.

Over the past few days, Lei Bin had never gone hungry while traveling through the wilderness. He was always able to find something to eat.

Hearing this, and seeing how deliciously the beautiful woman was eating, many people began to salivate and found it difficult to endure their hunger.

“Really? Then I’ll try some too.” One man could no longer bear his hunger. He plucked a handful of similar leaves from beside him and prepared to eat them.

But Lei Bin suddenly stepped forward and slapped the leaves out of his hand.

“What are you doing? Just because you discovered this food, does that mean you won’t let us eat it?” The man immediately flew into a rage.

Lei Bin curled his lip and pointed at the leaves scattered on the ground. “That isn’t a garland leaf. It’s a gaffi leaf. It looks extremely similar to a garland leaf, but it’s actually highly poisonous. Just one drop of the sap from a gaffi leaf is enough to kill a hundred people.”

“What?” Hearing this, the man immediately grew terrified. He hurriedly backed away from the gaffi leaves.

“Then... how do we tell garland leaves apart from gaffi leaves?” The others paled when they heard this, and worry crept into their voices.

Lei Bin picked up the gaffi leaf from the ground and pointed to its tip. “See this part? If it has a faint purple tinge and tiny granules on its surface, then it’s a gaffi leaf.”

He searched around nearby, plucked a handful of garland leaves, and continued, “These leaves are very smooth, and their surface is pale blue. These are garland leaves.”

After hearing his explanation, the others carefully examined the two kinds of leaves in Lei Bin’s hands. They widened their eyes, but still could not tell which was poisonous and which was safe.

“All right. Pick a few people to come with me and look for food. The rest of you stay here and tend to the wounded.” Seeing that the others could not distinguish the leaves, Lei Bin had no choice but to lead them himself.

In reality, even he found it difficult to distinguish these plants. He could identify them only because of Star Dream.

The others immediately cheered at his suggestion, and several of them followed Lei Bin to search for food. Although Lei Bin was merely an ordinary private, he had already established his authority by killing the insects earlier. They had also just witnessed him finding edible food, so they obeyed his instructions without question. Without even seeking Loulan’s permission, they followed him away.

Loulan felt a sudden wave of discomfort at the sight.

As the commander, she was now being completely ignored while everyone treated Lei Bin with such respect. No one would feel good in her position.

What made it worse was that Lei Bin was someone she detested intensely. He had stolen the spotlight from her, and she felt that his decision to show off at such a moment was deliberate contempt and mockery directed at her.

Yet Loulan truly had no way to respond. She could only stand there with a livid expression, unable to say a word.

“What kind of scoundrel is he? He can kill seventeen insects by himself, and he can even identify edible plants in the wild.” Loulan clenched her fists and ground her teeth. She hated Lei Bin’s abilities with all her heart, yet there was nothing she could do about them.

Since the food crisis had temporarily been resolved, everyone’s emotions stabilized. No one pressured Loulan anymore, but the way they looked at her was no longer as respectful as it had been at the beginning.

Loulan looked at the sticky fluid covering her body and at her tattered uniform. She was as disheveled as some primitive tribeswoman, yet these people still treated her this way. A deep sense of grievance welled up inside her.

She had been born into privilege and had never suffered such hardships. Now she had to shoulder such a heavy responsibility and lead these people to safety, yet instead of receiving understanding and respect, she was met with doubt and contempt.

In truth, every outstanding commander had to endure such setbacks. They had to overcome them psychologically and resolve them through action.

If there were no difficulties and no one ever questioned them, then anyone could become a great general. A true commander not only had to lead soldiers to victory, but also had to bear responsibility. Even in adversity and under suspicion, they had to find ways to raise their soldiers’ morale, unite everyone’s hearts, and ultimately lead them to victory.

About twenty minutes later, Lei Bin returned with the others. Each of them was carrying a large bundle of plants and fruit.

Once they arrived, Lei Bin instructed them to put everything down and then, according to his directions, skin the plants or strip off their leaves and prepare the food for consumption.

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“The outer skin of this one can’t be eaten. If you eat it, your entire body will become paralyzed. The fruit inside, however, is sweet and delicious—an excellent food.”

“This one can be roasted over a fire. It’s similar to a sweet potato, but much more delicious. You three, start a fire. Bury these in the ground, cover them with soil, and then burn the fire on top.”

Lei Bin directed everyone in an orderly fashion. Having witnessed his bravery in killing the insects and his extensive knowledge of the food, they all obeyed without hesitation and carried out his instructions.

An hour later, most of the food was ready. It was brought out and distributed among the group according to Lei Bin’s instructions. Everyone began devouring it.

“Wow, this is delicious! I never imagined wild plants could taste this good.”

“Exactly. I’ve never eaten anything this delicious back in the Federation.”

“Ah... this is wonderful! I’m taking some back with me.”

“If these foods were developed and sold in the Federation in the future, they could make a fortune.”

Everyone was extremely satisfied with the feast and lavished Lei Bin with praise.

Loulan was angry with Lei Bin and stubbornly refused to take the food he had found. But her stomach was unbearably empty, and the fragrance of the cooking food kept drifting into her nose. Even a refined lady as concerned with her image as she was could not help swallowing repeatedly.

“Captain Loulan, have something to eat. This food is delicious. As the commander, you must preserve your strength.” A soldier brought over some food and offered it to her.

A beauty like Loulan would naturally never lack people eager to show her attention.

Loulan was about to refuse, but her stomach chose that moment to rumble loudly. Hunger was an addiction more powerful than even drug dependence. When people were starving, there was almost nothing they would not do.

Few people truly believed that dying of hunger was a minor matter while losing their dignity was the greater one.

Loulan wanted to maintain her principles and refuse Lei Bin’s food, but as the daughter of a wealthy family, she had never experienced such hunger. She could no longer endure it.

“Hmph. He didn’t find all of this by himself anyway. Everyone worked together to prepare it. In the army, each person has a different role. Some are commanders, while others are cooks. I’m the commander, so of course it’s only natural for me to eat the cooks’ food. Why should I feel indebted to anyone?”

Loulan consoled herself with these thoughts before accepting the food and eating it. After just one bite, she discovered that it was indeed unbelievably delicious and began chewing greedily, completely abandoning the demeanor of a refined lady.

What kind of lady could preserve a perfect appearance in the face of hunger and death? Once the granaries were full, people could think about propriety. When one had not eaten or been kept warm, what image was there to maintain?

After the meal, everyone was satisfied. One of them asked Lei Bin, “Lei Bin, where do you think we should go now? What if we run into more insects?”

Now that Lei Bin had solved their food problem, they regarded him as their pillar of support and paid even less attention to Loulan, who was technically the highest-ranking officer.

Lei Bin glanced at Loulan and deliberately coughed twice before answering, “We should continue toward the jungle. It will take at least ten days for the Federation’s warships to arrive with reinforcements. Traveling along the main roads will definitely be unsafe during that time.

“As for the insects, if we make adequate preparations, we won’t suffer losses as severe as we did today. The reason we were in such a miserable state was that we had no formation at all while traveling. Civilians and soldiers were mixed together, so when actual combat began, we couldn’t organize effective defense or counterattacks. We have plenty of firearms. They’re more than sufficient against ordinary insects.”

Everyone nodded in agreement. The last time they had encountered the insects, the group had been thrown into complete chaos, which was why so many people had died.

“Then what should we do?” someone else asked.

Lei Bin answered almost without thinking. “We have 107 soldiers left. Everyone else is a civilian. The soldiers can be divided into five squads. The first squad will serve as scouts, patrolling four to five hundred meters ahead of us. That way, if the insects attack, we can prepare in advance.

“The other four squads will cover the four sides and keep the civilians in the middle. If we encounter a large-scale insect assault, they will use firearms to hold the enemy back from the perimeter. If the insects get close, we’ll engage them in close combat. The civilians in the center can also use rifles to provide fire support. This way, we can minimize our casualties.”

Hearing how clearly and logically Lei Bin had laid everything out, everyone praised the plan. It was clearly the right approach—far better than the chaos that had prevailed when Loulan led them before.

Loulan heard Lei Bin’s words from nearby and could not help paling slightly. Shame filled her heart. She had previously led everyone forward without making any arrangements at all, resulting in the deaths of so many people.

The military knowledge she had learned at school had been completely useless. She had proven inferior even to a street thug.

In reality, none of these ideas had come from Lei Bin himself. Star Dream had taught him everything. He was merely the tool that carried them out.

“Captain Loulan, what do you think of my suggestions?” Lei Bin asked with a grin when he finished speaking.

Loulan felt a nameless fury rise inside her. Wasn’t he clearly humiliating her for her poor command earlier?

But at that moment, the people’s support was entirely on Lei Bin’s side, and she could not punish him. She could only reply bitterly, “Your plan is very good. We’ll do it your way.”

As a result, she hated this scoundrel Lei Bin even more. Not only had he taken advantage of her repeatedly, but he was now humiliating her in front of everyone.

In truth, Lei Bin had not deliberately intended to mock her. Loulan was still the highest-ranking officer present, so he had to seek her approval.

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Because Lei Bin’s tone was always playful and somewhat flirtatious, and because Loulan had always detested him, she naturally interpreted his words that way.

The group immediately followed Lei Bin’s instructions and continued onward.

Thanks to Lei Bin’s arrangements, they encountered several more ambushes by small groups of insects, but suffered no major casualties and killed many of the attackers.

Lei Bin also found numerous medicinal herbs and applied them to the wounded or gave them to the injured to swallow, easing their conditions considerably.

Water was another major problem in the wilderness. By collecting dew and gathering the juice from various fruits, Lei Bin obtained enough water to keep everyone from becoming thirsty.

Some people had been in the wild for so long that their bodies were filthy and smelled unbearable. Lei Bin found the leaves of a certain plant and showed them how to rub them over their bodies. Their cleansing effect was extraordinarily powerful, quickly removing all the grime.

Loulan was the most immediate beneficiary of this method. Her body had previously been covered in the sticky fluid of the insects, but she had brought no spare clothing and could only continue wearing the unbearably filthy uniform. Several times, she had been so disgusted that she nearly vomited.

After using Lei Bin’s method to clean herself, the foul insect stench disappeared completely, replaced by a faint fragrance of fresh grass. She felt incomparably refreshed.

As a result, Lei Bin’s standing among the group rose even higher. Although Loulan still disliked him, she now had no choice but to admit that she was far inferior to him when it came to surviving in the wilderness.

“Hmph. He’s an infantryman, so of course he knows more about these things. I’m a commander. How could I possibly be expected to understand them?”

Loulan could only comfort herself with that thought.

After traveling for another two days, the scouts ahead suddenly came running back and reported to Loulan, “Reporting, Captain. We’ve found Federation soldiers ahead. They also have two old mechs.”

The group erupted in cheers. At a time like this, encountering more Federation soldiers was unquestionably good news.

When they reached the location, they found around a dozen Federation soldiers lying there in a listless state.

“Which military camp are you from? Why are you here?” As the highest-ranking officer present, Loulan walked over first and questioned them.

“We’re from the 346th Camp. Greetings, Captain.” When the soldiers saw the insignia on Loulan’s shoulders, they immediately stood and saluted.

“So you’re from the 346th Camp. You should have been stationed at the southern encampment. How is the situation there?” Loulan immediately questioned them.

Loulan’s group had come from the north, while the 346th Camp was located in the south, closer to the route leading to the second base. By questioning them, she could determine whether that route was safe.

“Reporting, Commander. All routes south toward the second base have been sealed off by the Empire’s forces. We made a long detour and tried to get around them, but the Imperial army still cut us off. We lost many men before finally escaping here,” one of the soldiers answered loudly.

“So they really did seal off the roads in that direction.” Loulan could not help feeling relieved that she had listened to Lei Bin and chosen to detour through the jungle instead. Otherwise, they would certainly have encountered the Imperial forces as well.

“Are you injured?” Loulan asked, seeing that the soldiers all appeared to be in poor condition.

“No. We simply haven’t had any food for a long time, so we’re weak. Commander, do you have anything to eat?” Seeing that Loulan’s people all looked energetic, the soldiers assumed they had food and could not help licking their lips.

“So that’s the problem. Bring them some food,” Loulan ordered the people behind her.

Someone immediately brought over water and food and handed it to the soldiers. They began devouring it at once.

Only after eating did their spirits gradually recover.

Loulan then walked around the two mechs and asked expectantly, “Can these two mechs still operate?”

The jungle was fraught with danger. Insects could emerge at any moment, and having two additional mechs would greatly increase their strength.

One of the soldiers shook his head. “Both mechs are completely broken. They can’t be operated.”

“What a pity.” Loulan sighed regretfully.

At that moment, however, she suddenly noticed that Lei Bin had already climbed onto one of the mechs and begun tinkering with something.

“Lei Bin, what are you doing?” Loulan frowned.

“Nothing much. I’m repairing these two mechs. If I can get them working, we’ll have a much better chance against the insects.” Lei Bin answered without turning his head.