126: Fragrant soil blocks

Lu Chuan was inspecting a large stack of lotus leaves when he suddenly touched something sticky.

His expression froze instantly.

With a hesitant heart, he flipped the lotus leaf over, and only after seeing that it was a clump of mud did he relax.

Just as he was about to wash it clean in the water, He Jingrui leaned over, looking down.

Unable to resist a playful impulse, he directly smeared the mud from his hand onto He Jingrui's face.

"What are you doing?"

He Jingrui wiped and rubbed, finally managing to clean off the mud with great difficulty.

Seeing this, Lu Chuan burst into laughter, his mouth wide open.

Unexpectedly, He Jingrui picked up a pinch of mud and, with a mischievous grin, flicked it over.

Lu Chuan's face changed, and he tried to dodge, but there was no way he could avoid it.

As luck would have it, most of the mud splattered on his face, and a small portion even went into his mouth.

"Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey!"

The boomerang he threw came back and hit him.

Lu Chuan's face turned dark.

He unhappily spat out the bits of mud from his mouth, then went to wipe the mud off his face.

Suddenly, his hand movements paused, and he pinched the mud, bringing it to his nose for a light sniff.

"This smell?!"

Lu Chuan's expression changed.

He Jingrui looked at Lu Chuan in confusion, but having learned his lesson once, he dared not get too close.

He stood far away and asked curiously,

"What's wrong?"

Lu Chuan ignored him, only pinching a bit of mud and putting it into his mouth.

He Jingrui was shocked.

Lu Chuan gently savored the mud in his mouth, the joy on his face gradually intensifying.

He spat out the mud from his mouth, then suddenly stood up and looked at He Jingrui.

"This mud, where did you get it from?"

He Jingrui didn't understand why, but seeing Lu Chuan's genuine urgency, he could only point to the tattered shirt lying on the ground.

Lu Chuan looked over in confusion, finding that the shirt was completely soaked with muddy water.

He thought back carefully, and a look of realization appeared on his face.

Wasn't this the hero who had just shot down all the Mud Monster's "shells"?

"Could it be?"

Lu Chuan turned around and searched the inflatable boat until he saw some mud stains on the outside of the boat.

His eyes immediately lit up.

The Mud Monster's first attack had almost hit the inflatable boat.

Lu Chuan remembered that at that time, specks of mud had splashed onto the inflatable boat.

He immediately stepped forward, picked up a bit, and brought it to his nose to smell it.

Only when he smelled that fragrant earthy aroma could he no longer stop the smile on his face.

"Hahaha, now I even have the material for the yellow earth!"

Lu Chuan's sudden laughter made He Jingrui momentarily confused.

But once food was involved, his intelligence became terrifyingly high, and he immediately understood Lu Chuan's meaning.

"That mud from those strange things, can it be used to make beggar's chicken?"

Lu Chuan nodded, his face beaming.

He Jingrui immediately patted his chest, indicating that he would take care of it.

Then, he looked left and right, saw a pile of broken stones in the distance, and immediately ran over excitedly to embrace them.

"Watch me!"

He Jingrui said, then clenched a handful of broken stones in his palm and threw them towards the spot where the Mud Monster had previously submerged.

Under the exaggerated force of his throw, the pile of broken stones, like bullets fired from a pistol, whizzed towards the swamp water, splashing up water flowers over a meter high.

Lu Chuan's eyes lit up, and he couldn't help but ask the system in his mind.

"What is He Jingrui's Gourmet Cells awakening rate?"

"Estimated 14%."

"How is it increasing so fast?!"

Hearing this number, Lu Chuan was stunned; he was only at 8% himself.

"The increase in Gourmet Cells awakening rate is related to the degree of Gourmet Cells evolution. And Gourmet Cells evolution depends on the degree of gourmet food fed within a certain period and the mental threshold during that period."

"So, that means the more he eats, and the higher his satisfaction, the faster his Gourmet Cellss evolve?"

Lu Chuan understood.

He then recalled how He Jingrui had always eaten ravenously during this period, and he immediately understood.

It seems the potential of a foodie truly cannot be underestimated.

Just as Lu Chuan was lost in thought, the swamp, which had been hit by the broken stones, began to bubble.

"They're coming out!"

He Jingrui shouted.

Lu Chuan quickly looked over and saw waves rising in that swampy area, and then a dozen Mud Monsters emerged from it.

They seemed to have had their peaceful slumber disturbed, and they roared furiously at Lu Chuan and He Jingrui.

The next moment, sharp whistling sounds of broken stones were heard again, flying towards the Mud Monsters.

Puff, puff, puff—

The sound of bullets piercing through canvas was incessant.

He Jingrui's provocative behavior made the Mud Monsters even angrier.

They moved towards the shore, and once they got close, they successively pulled out lumps of mud from their bodies and hurled them at Lu Chuan and He Jingrui.

However, Lu Chuan wasn't flustered at all.

This was because He Jingrui was already wielding his "hero" (the shirt), accurately intercepting the incoming "shells."

He even had enough energy to skillfully dissipate the momentum of the "shells" and individually toss them into the basket on his back.

The Mud Monsters didn't have much intelligence.

Seeing that the mud lumps couldn't kill the two, they thought it was a matter of quantity, and immediately increased the force and speed of their throws.

In an instant, the sky above the swamp was filled with dense mud lumps.

He Jingrui immediately became energized; the "stick" (shirt) in his hand, whose original appearance was no longer discernible, spun like a helicopter rotor, whirring non-stop.

Time quietly slipped away.

The Mud Monsters threw desperately.

He Jingrui, on the other hand, caught with all his might, and once he saw the Mud Monsters' frequency of throwing mud lumps decrease, he even kindly threw broken stones to encourage them.

This infuriated the Mud Monsters, who, ignoring their gradually shrinking bodies, wailed and threw mud lumps with all their might.

The two sides went back and forth, the scene quite lively.

Lu Chuan hid behind, watching with great satisfaction.

After a moment, both baskets were filled with mud lumps.

Lu Chuan quickly called for a stop.

"Enough, enough! If we keep plucking them, they'll all die! We can't deplete the resources!"

He Jingrui heard this, and the hand that was about to throw broken stones suddenly stopped.

Then, looking at the Mud Monsters, whose bodies had shrunk several times, now the size of small dogs, he smiled apologetically.

And the Mud Monsters, seeing that He Jingrui had finally stopped his attacks, now knew not to provoke him, and immediately one by one plunged into the muddy water, disappearing in an instant.

Lu Chuan looked at the Mud Monsters fleeing in disarray, then at the two large baskets of fragrant mud, and smiled contentedly.

"Let's go, back to make beggar's chicken!"

"Alright!"

He Jingrui immediately bent down, slinging the two baskets filled with mud lumps, one in front and one behind, onto his back, then eagerly grabbed the already bundled lotus leaves, which were like a small mountain, and held them in front of him.

Lu Chuan looked at He Jingrui's energetic appearance and couldn't help but shake his head with a smile.

He Jingrui's obsession with gourmet food was indeed why his Gourmet Cells awakening rate was increasing so quickly.

He Jingrui walked ahead, and when he looked back and saw Lu Chuan still standing in place, he couldn't help but urge him.

"Let's go, let's go! I can almost hear the beggar's chicken calling!"