93: Second Canteen, Bonfire Party (Continued)

Until the very end, Valentine didn't discover what exactly felt wrong, or perhaps he noticed a slight clue but didn't point it out.

Valentine first glanced at Fang Yun and Vavinia with a meaningful look, then put aside his guesses and led the way towards the location of the bonfire party.

Fang Yun and Vavinia, standing close to each other, exchanged a smile and then stepped forward together to follow.

...

The night sky was like a giant black curtain, falling from overhead, enveloping the entire world in a deep darkness.

Twinkling stars were like brilliant diamonds, embedded in the night sky, casting down faint light.

A gentle breeze blew, carrying a hint of coolness, mixed with the warm scent of distant bonfires and people's laughter, reaching the ears of Valentine and the other two.

Led by Valentine, the three of them followed the increasingly bright lights to the location of the bonfire party—the Buckle Family's Second Dining Hall.

The Buckle Family's Second Dining Hall is located not far northwest of the First Dining Hall and is specifically used for hosting bonfire parties.

The three of them continued forward, passing through the path between the last two tents, stepping over the deliberately set venue fence, and entering the Second Dining Hall.

Instantly, the crackling sound of burning wood, the loud voices of people discussing, the cheerful laughter of children playing, the low and stirring music, and so on, all flooded into the ears of Fang Yun and the other two.

Valentine and Vavinia's expressions were normal, as if they had long anticipated this situation.

Fang Yun's ears, however, were temporarily 'blocked' by the sudden surge of sounds.

After taking a few seconds to adapt to the lively atmosphere of the bonfire party, Fang Yun's ears regained their sensitivity.

Along with Fang Yun's ears, his nose also regained its sensitivity.

Fang Yun twitched his nose and sniffed gently a few times.

Although there was interference from the charred aroma of grilled meat, the smoky smell of burning wood, etc., Fang Yun still captured the unique fragrance on Vavinia at the first instant.

Fang Yun silently activated the 'Scent Tracking' function and set the target to Vavinia.

As Fang Yun set it up, he thought to himself:

「Tracking Vavinia's scent is just to make finding people more convenient.」

「After all, the lighting at the bonfire party venue isn't too bright, and it would be hard to find Vavinia if she went to a dark corner.」

「Yes, this is a reasonable decision I made after learning from the experience of not being able to find people when playing games.」

「It's absolutely not because I'm a huge pervert. And it's absolutely not because Vavinia smells good. Absolutely not.」

However, the Buckle Family's Second Dining Hall is neither too big nor too small.

Standing at the edge of the venue, one could see the entire dining hall in full view.

Fang Yun's action here can only be described as a classic example of 'you can fool your buddies, but don't fool yourself'.

Regardless of how much of Fang Yun's thoughts were true and how much were false,

just consider the cybernetic implant installed on Fang Yun; after he set up the 'Scent Tracking' function, it immediately began dutifully performing 'scent collection, scent processing, scent specialization, and targeted olfactory enhancement'.

As the implant operated, the smells of other scents in Fang Yun's nose gradually faded, leaving only a faint residual scent for 'identification' and 'differentiation'.

At the same time, the unique 'body fragrance' on Vavinia began to fill Fang Yun's nose.

「...」

「Truly fragrant.」

「Honestly, isn't this olfactory enhancement function a bit too powerful?」

「Such a strong 'body fragrance' makes me feel like I've really become a super pervert.」

〖Author: Become a super pervert? Weren't you already one? (confused.jpg)〗

To prevent himself from becoming a 'scent fetishist', or rather, to prevent the degree of his 'scent fetishism' from deepening further, Fang Yun decided to shift his attention.

While continuing to walk side-by-side with Vavinia, Fang Yun carefully observed the situation at the bonfire party venue.

On the hundreds of square meters of open wasteland, it was incredibly lively, and the bonfire party was in full swing here.

In the center of the wasteland, the bonfire pile stood tall, the blazing fire like a bound beast, constantly struggling, trying to break free from the restraints of the wood.

Tongues of flame greedily licked the surrounding air, making 'crackling' sounds, creating a unique atmosphere.

The firelight danced, dyeing everything around it in a warm orange-yellow, and at the same time illuminating people's faces, illuminating this small world of joy.

Members of the Buckle Family, wearing various kinds of clothing and styled in seemingly similar but actually different ways, sat around the bonfire.

The adults, some gathered in groups of three or five, their faces beaming with joyful smiles, chatted, boasted, drank, and grilled meat; others held hands and danced gracefully around the bonfire to the rhythm of the cheerful music.

Several children, like cheerful sprites, weaved back and forth through the crowd, the glow sticks they held drawing brilliant arcs.

The entire bonfire party was filled with a joyful atmosphere.

Seeing this, Fang Yun couldn't help but feel a bit dazed for a moment.

「Not long after finishing a revenge battle, the people of the Buckle Family can fully immerse themselves in a bonfire party?」

「Are these the Wanderers who live in the Badlands? They have such strong hearts.」

「Is it innate optimism, or thick nerves trained through experience? It's likely the latter.」

Thoughts flashed through Fang Yun's mind like lightning.

Suddenly, Fang Yun noticed that Vavinia beside him had stopped.

Fang Yun quickly gathered his thoughts and stopped alongside Vavinia.

Looking up, Fang Yun realized that Vavinia had stopped because Valentine had stopped moving forward.

Valentine raised his hand and patted the shoulder of the person in front of him.

Hearing the pat on the shoulder, the person turned around, revealing an unfamiliar face.

Valentine said to the person with a hint of teasing:

“Oliver, what are you secretly eating? Share half with me.”

Oliver saw Valentine, immediately looked delighted, and laughed heartily:

“Hahaha. Not eating anything good, just a regular burger.”

“But Valentine, you finally decided to come over. Toke and I were waiting for you.”

“Here, have something to eat first to fill your stomach.”

“The chef will bring the drinks soon, and then we won't go home until we're drunk!”

As he spoke, Oliver handed a burger to Valentine.

Valentine, who was already starving, didn't stand on ceremony and casually took the burger.

“Eating a burger is fine, but no drinking.”

Valentine gestured behind him as he spoke.

Seeing this, Oliver looked past Valentine behind him and saw Fang Yun and Vavinia.

Oliver slapped his head and said to Vavinia with some annoyance:

“Vavinia Sister, don't overthink it. I just said that offhand. Your Brother has never 'gone along with the crowd' with us; he always stops after a little taste and never drinks too much.”

Hearing this, Vavinia said with a smile:

“Uncle Oliver, don't worry, I understand my Brother very well. With me here, he wouldn't dare drink too much.”

Valentine, hearing this, his mouth twitched, and he thought helplessly:

「Sigh~」

「Having a Sister who cares about you is certainly a good thing. But, not being able to drink is really hard to bear.」