Yu Chenjin carried the spent Yun Luohe out of the core of Ancient Tree Island and finally found a relatively open patch in the woods.It was leeward here, the radiation fog a shade thinner. The two had just started to pitch the tent when the system announcement rolled in.[Zone-Wide Announcement: Autumn Disaster has upgraded! Players must upgrade their reef within three days and prepare protective measures……]The system had warned for a while that the disaster would upgrade, but no one knew what shape it would take…Yun Luohe took off her mask. Her face was a little pale. Once they were clear of danger, the first thing she did was restore Stamina.Night had fallen. They had achieved today’s objective on the island, which meant they could think about what came next.With the sap in hand, the Starwish Tree’s crisis was resolved.But with the Autumn Disaster upgraded, who knew what would happen tonight.Yun Luohe had originally planned to, after finding the sap, collect some materials along the island’s edge.This place was dangerous, and rich in resources.There was a lot of good stuff hidden across the forest. (Unlimited good reads, all at Jinjiang Literature City.)Beyond the various plants and trees, there were many ore veins underground. Intel said some players had found a lot of Earth Crystals here.If they could find some too, the haul would be even bigger.And since Yu Chenjin had helped a lot in getting the sap, Yun Luohe didn’t want him going back empty-handed.However, it was late. Yun Luohe decided to cook something first, complete the daily task for the Mad Chef Tournament, and fill the two of them up.Her Stamina points were slowly ticking back under the effect of high-grade food. Yun Luohe pulled ingredients from her backpack and began prep.Yu Chenjin sat to the side tending to himself. His expression didn’t change as he quietly watched Yun Luohe take out a Portable Purifier Stove and a set of cookware from her backpack.The tent was tight, but Yun Luohe’s motions were practiced, and she’d already decided what to make.She took out banana hearts gathered on the island and a few fresh rockfish.Rockfish grow beneath reefs; because they stay close to reef rock they’re easily irradiated. Plenty of players got them but didn’t dare eat them. When Yun Luohe was collecting irradiated ingredients, she’d happened to acquire a lot and stored all of them in the Portable Preservation Ring. She’d brought some this time as well.The fish are highly nutritious and make an exceptionally sweet broth.For easy storage, they’d all been pre-cleaned—one less hassle now.She marinated them briefly with ginger and salt, then heated the pot and poured in some rapeseed oil.Yun Luohe planned to pan-sear first, then braise.When the broth turned milky white, she added the banana hearts cut into strips and let it simmer over low heat.Banana heart is naturally sweet, and braised with the sweet rockfish the broth grew richer by the minute. After forty minutes, the banana hearts had cooked down, and the nutrients in the fish had fully leached into the soup.With a simple finish of seasoning, Yun Luohe added a touch of pepper and herbs just before taking it off the heat.Done!The soup shone an inviting, creamy white, dense with body.The banana-heart strips had simmered until nearly translucent, soaked with the essence of the broth.The few rockfish lay at the bottom of the pot, the flesh snow-white and firm—cooked to falling apart yet still tender.Yun Luohe gave the soup a name—[Banana-Heart Fish Soup].She ladled out a brimming bowl, opened the tournament interface, and tapped submit.That bowl went straight in.There was still more than half a pot left—dinner for Yun Luohe and Yu Chenjin.The tent filled with a soothing, rich aroma.Yun Luohe took out two sets of bowls, chopsticks, and soup spoons and began serving.“All set. Let’s eat while it’s hot.”She handed a steaming bowl of [Banana-Heart Fish Soup] to Yu Chenjin and, unable to wait, lifted her own.The sweet savor that hit her nose set her mouth watering.She blew away the heat and took a sip.The broth was thick and silky, with just the right viscosity; the banana heart melted on the tongue; the fish was so tender it broke apart with the lightest press. The clean savor of sea fish fused perfectly with the banana heart’s sweetness.“Whew… that’s good.” Yun Luohe let out a satisfied breath.Her Stamina points refilled quickly, and her Sanity was climbing. She was in a very good mood.She took another deep drink, enjoying her own cooking.She glanced at Yu Chenjin; he was tasting with equal focus. (Unlimited good reads, all at Jinjiang Literature City.)A thought struck Yun Luohe. “Right, didn’t you say you don’t eat meat?”She’d nearly forgotten—this was fish soup, and there was meat in it.Yu Chenjin had said before he didn’t eat meat.“Trying a taste once in a while isn’t a big deal,” Yu Chenjin said. “Something you made, I should try.”“Well, you’re not a monk anyway. No vow to break.”Yu Chenjin neither affirmed nor denied—just nodded.“There’s a lot left. Let’s finish it.”As the two enjoyed their soup in peace, Yun Luohe’s Mad Chef Tournament interface popped up on its own and the system chime sounded:[System Evaluation: Broth is rich and mellow, layers of sweetness well-defined, minimal fishiness, and precise control of heat. Not only satisfies the palate, but also sustains—][System Score: A+ Rank][Points Awarded: 100][Special Note: The recipe will be listed among the advanced dishes in this Mad Chef Tournament.]Delighted.For something cooked outdoors to earn a rating this high was already excellent.Full and with much of their Stamina restored, the two decided to step out and scout a bit, and pick up supplies along the way.They’d feared the dark earlier mostly because the area around the Thousand-Year Ancient Tree was too dangerous.But now they were out of the core and into the outer ring. Even if there was danger, it should be manageable. As long as they geared up and brought lighting, they could collect at night.Besides, it wasn’t bedtime for them yet. They’d just eaten and were full of Stamina—no point wasting it.But the moment they stepped out of the tent, they both stopped.The sight outside made their skin crawl.The radiation fog seemed thicker, glinting with an ominous ghostly green.The ground was carpeted with countless gray-white eggs the size of rice grains.And more eggs were emerging at a speed visible to the naked eye from wet soil, from beneath rotting leaves, from damp cracks in tree bark.Everywhere—like anything could burst into eggs.A sound rose.Yun Luohe turned, lifted her flashlight, and shone it toward the noise.A bird flapped a few times on a branch and dropped, landing just ahead and to Yun Luohe’s right.She trained the flashlight on the bird.Her face went white.Dense black gnats swarmed the bird, stripping it fast. They didn’t spare the feathers. In moments they’d eaten the bird down—at this rate even the bones wouldn’t remain.Both Yun Luohe and Yu Chenjin looked worse by the second.When those eggs touched the dense fog, the shells instantly darkened and hardened, then began violently writhing—some even swelling.The hatching speed was beyond belief.In barely over ten minutes, the ground around the tent looked like it was laid with a black carpet of insects.They took a steadying breath, broke down the tent at speed, and prepared to leave.If they slept here tonight, they’d wake covered in bugs.Worse, the remains of mutant creatures killed during the day were now breeding similar eggs!As if those corpses had become nurseries for the spawn!“Disaster upgrade—did the radiation fog bring in radiation-borne insect eggs?” Yun Luohe said.“Do you remember the prophecy?” Yu Chenjin said.Yun Luohe’s brow knit.“The shadow that devours all things…”Were these explosively multiplying eggs what it meant?Seeing this, neither had the mind to look for supplies.At night, Ancient Tree Island felt like it belonged to the insects.Eggs were hatching everywhere. Once they emerged, they went to devour animals; without living prey, they started on the trees.The rasping and gnawing sounds were everywhere, enough to make skin crawl.Some bugs had wings.They surged like a black tide in the fog, winging back and forth, carrying radiation fog as they devoured living things.Yun Luohe and Yu Chenjin burned many egg clusters with torches, but this was a forest—one mistake and they could set the whole place ablaze.And the places with the most eggs happened to be the ore veins.They’d come to mine; one swing of the pick and it was all bugs.Yun Luohe’s scalp tingled.“We can’t wait till dawn!” Yun Luohe decided on the spot. “If we stay, there’ll only be more of them. Right now these things can’t do much to us, but in the tens of thousands we’ll be surrounded—and they’ll be much harder to deal with.”Yu Chenjin nodded without a shred of hesitation. “The reef is in danger too. We leave now.”“Mm.”They headed for the beach at once.Along the way, Yu Chenjin broke trail, his monk’s staff smashing the larvae and fresh-flying insects surging across their ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) path.Yun Luohe followed close, cranking her perception traits to the limit and calling out traps underfoot in time. Her Thunder Vortex Trident struck when needed, killing any eggs she saw along the way.The forest was swaddled in fog, the mist laced with countless eggs. In a handful of hours the entire forest turned into a colossal hive.Low branches sagged with slime and writhing larvae.The ground’s original color had vanished beneath a heaving black tide.The air thrummed with wingbeats and gnawing.Larger radiation bugs—the kind like a cross between cockroaches and beetles—were already trying to block them.Just seeing them, even behind anti-radiation masks, chipped away at their Sanity.She didn’t have trypophobia, but faced with that many eggs she still felt her skin crawl—no way her Sanity wouldn’t dip.The island’s situation was dire. The reef would likely end up the same before long.By deep night, the outer forest was under insect control. Only the Thousand-Year Ancient Tree’s range was relatively safe.The vines there had twisted into one mass, a plant-made wall of bronze, blocking everything outside.Only the very smallest insects squeezed through—or tunneled in from the soil.Yun Luohe thought if they’d come any later, Ancient Tree Island might have been impossible to enter at all.At 2:00 a.m., Yun Luohe and Yu Chenjin finally punched through the swarm and reached the beach.“Be careful after we’re back. Stay in touch,” Yu Chenjin said solemnly.“Mm. You too.” (Unlimited good reads, all at Jinjiang Literature City.)On the way back, Yun Luohe posted the photos she’d taken on Ancient Tree Island—of the eggs and the flying swarms—to the chat channel and forum.Players had been debating what changes the upgraded disaster would bring. Because most reefs had some form of radiation shielding nearby, the eggs weren’t as ubiquitous as on Ancient Tree Island; they were mainly appearing in distant forests away from people’s dwellings.But few were out checking at night, and even fewer were still on the islands at midnight, so players didn’t know about the swarms.Most players were asleep. Only a handful of night owls were still scrolling the chat.The photos Yun Luohe sent stunned everyone.The channel had been quiet; in a blink it exploded. Messages flooded past in a blur.“Holy—what is that? My trypophobia just died on the spot! Where is this? Are we getting a Zerg invasion?”“The system announcement said to upgrade reefs. It’s not just anti-radiation—we have to defend against these bugs! Normal reef stone won’t stop their gnawing. We’ll need special materials to reinforce.”“So the ‘shadow that devours all things’ was the bugs! The radiation fog is hatching the eggs. Now that the disaster upgraded, the fog is carrying eggs!”“The black sun covers the world—the shadow that devours all things has descended.”“This is terrifying. I’m wide awake now. What are we supposed to do next?”

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