Her experiences in the apocalypse had left her with few psychological barriers when it came to handling corpses. At Shelter A-7, in order to study the Gray Decay Virus, she had dissected more mutated creatures than meals she had eaten.
The problem was, she lacked tools.
Lin Shengsheng scanned her surroundings, her gaze finally settling on the flint fragments she had discarded earlier after failing to start a fire.
She picked up the sharpest piece, its edge gleaming coldly in the firelight.
It would have to do.
Better than using her fingernails.
Taking a deep breath, she walked over to the antelope carcass and crouched down.
Yuan’s golden vertical pupils narrowed slightly as he watched this little creature pick up a broken stone and begin to make gestures over his prey.
He was curious about what she intended to do.
The next moment, he witnessed a scene that left him utterly bewildered.
Lin Shengsheng used the sharp stone shard to make an incredibly precise incision along the antelope’s abdomen. Her movements showed no hesitation; the location and depth of the cut (or rather, the stone’s stroke) were just right, perfectly avoiding the internal organs and only slicing through the thick hide.
Then came the skinning.
For a female who appeared too weak to even harm a chicken, this should have been an impossible task.
Yet Lin Shengsheng performed it with the familiarity of a master butcher. She knew where to start for the least effort, how to use skillful leverage to separate skin from flesh, rather than relying solely on brute force.
Her actions were professional, calm, and efficient.
Those small, pale hands that had just been wiping away tears were now stained with warm blood, yet they were as steady as those of a surgeon who had undergone thousands of training sessions.
Yuan’s coiled posture unconsciously shifted from a lazy sprawl to a slightly forward-leaning scrutiny.
This female… was strange.
She was full of contradictions.
Fragile enough to be blown over by a gust of wind, yet possessing a tenacious resilience he had never seen before.
She would shed tears over trivial matters, yet could handle a bloody corpse without batting an eye.
In all his long life, Yuan had never encountered such a creature.
Lin Shengsheng had no time to dwell on the giant tiger’s complex inner thoughts.
Her mind was now occupied by a single thought—meat! Cooked meat!
Soon, a complete antelope hide was peeled off. She tossed it aside casually and began to butcher the meat.
She selected the most tender hind leg, laboriously cutting it off with the stone shard. Then she sliced several strips of loin with beautiful marbling.
By the time she finished, she was covered in a thin layer of sweat.
This body was truly too weak.
Dragging the antelope leg, which was thicker than her own arm, she made her way to the cave’s only water source—a small pool seeping from a crevice in the rock wall.
The water was icy cold and carried an earthy smell, but at least it appeared relatively clean.
She carefully washed the leg and loin meat, shook off the excess water, then used a relatively sturdy dead branch to skewer the pieces of meat one by one, placing them over the fire.
Only after completing all this did she remember a crucial problem.
Seasoning!
Roasted meat without salt had no soul!
She hurried back to the corner where she had previously searched for Firestarter Grass. Relying on her professional botanist’s sense of smell, she carefully sifted through a messy pile of dried grass.
Found it!
To her delight, she discovered a small cluster of grayish-white, crystalline powder.
That was scraped from the root of a plant called “salt crystal grass.” This grass grows in saline-alkali soil, and its roots accumulate large amounts of mineral salts, making it the most primitive source of salt in the Beast World.
Although its purity was low and mixed with quite a bit of plant ash, it was better than nothing!
Lin Shengsheng carefully collected this precious “salt” onto a clean leaf and evenly sprinkled it over the meat roasting over the flames.
“Sizzle—”
The salt made contact with the searing meat, instantly emitting a delightful, crisp sound.
Immediately afterward, an indescribable, overwhelmingly intense aroma, mingled with the charred fragrance of fat and the rich scent of meat, suddenly exploded throughout the entire cave!
This smell was completely different from the simple, bloody odor from before.
It was strong, scalding, and full of aggression, like an invisible hand roughly seizing the olfactory nerves of every creature present, madly stirring their most primal appetites.
“Gulp…”
A faint, almost imperceptible sound of swallowing came from nearby.
Lin Shengsheng instinctively looked up.
She saw that snow-white giant tiger, who had always acted aloof and indifferent, showing disdain for everything she did, now staring intently at the roasted meat over the fire. Its golden vertical pupils were frighteningly bright.
Its nose twitched incessantly in the air, capturing the enticing aroma.
From its throat came a “gurgle, gurgle” sound, similar to what a starving cat might make.
Lin Shengsheng’s slight nervousness instantly vanished into thin air.
She knew it!
No creature could resist the temptation of delicious food!
Carbohydrates and proteins are the ultimate pursuits etched into the genes of all animals!
She smugly curled the corner of her mouth, focusing intently on turning the meat to ensure each side was evenly heated.
The surface of the meat gradually turned from bright red to golden brown. Fat continuously dripped onto the flames below, splashing into bursts of brighter fire and releasing waves of even richer aroma.
Yuan could no longer sit still.
He stood up from the ground, his massive body pacing back and forth in the small cave. His powerful tiger tail, agitated and filled with desire, slapped the ground repeatedly, making a “thwack, thwack” sound.
He wanted to go over, to snatch that “sizzling” thing emitting such a strange fragrance.
But the leaping, orange-yellow flames instinctively filled him with fear.
He could only pace anxiously at a safe distance, his golden eyes filled with urgency, silently urging, “Hurry up,” “Give it to me,” “Now.”
“Alright, alright, stop rushing me.”
Lin Shengsheng felt dizzy from his pacing and couldn’t help but mutter under her breath, amused and exasperated.
She used a stone shard to cut off a small piece of the roasted meat, crispy on the outside and tender inside, blew on it to cool it slightly, then carefully stood up, holding it on the largest, cleanest leaf she had prepared.
She walked up to Yuan.
Human and tiger stood facing each other under the flickering firelight.
Yuan stopped pacing. He lowered his enormous head, his golden vertical pupils fixed intently on the leaf in Lin Shengsheng’s hand.
His nostrils flared, his hot breath like a small storm blowing onto Lin Shengsheng’s face and hands.
That aroma was closer now, clearer.
It aggressively seeped into every pore of his being, clamoring, tempting.
Lin Shengsheng’s heart rose to her throat once more.
Her hands trembled slightly.
She did not know whether what awaited her next would be the giant beast’s acceptance, or… being devoured along with the leaves and flesh.