Ch 3: The Malevolent Monster Just Wants To Farm

Seeing the items that had suddenly appeared before her, the cat demon was a bit shocked. “My lord, what are these things?”

Jiang Lin, in a very good mood, smiled at the cat demon. “They are tools for making delicious food.”

The cat demon scratched her head, not quite understanding what “delicious food” meant.

Judging by the lord’s actions, it seemed like he was preparing something to eat.

But isn’t food supposed to be directly filled into the stomach? Why waste time doing anything else?

Cats are naturally curious creatures, and seeing that Jiang Lin seemed to be in a good mood, the cat demon thought for a moment. She figured that the White Bone King probably wouldn’t suddenly get angry and beat her today, so she found a spot not too far away and crouched down, obediently watching to see what Jiang Lin was up to.

Jiang Lin first checked the two pheasants. The cat demon had done a good job; both pheasants were cleaned thoroughly as requested.

He nodded in satisfaction.

Magic was particularly convenient at times like this.

He picked up one of the pheasants, and without needing a knife, used a spell to neatly cut it into pieces.

Jiang Lin didn’t have much talent for cooking, so he simply placed the chicken pieces in a clean pot, added some oil and salt, and then used magic to summon some mountain spring water to pour in.

With a snap of his fingers, a fire ignited under the stove.

The cat demon, who had been staring blankly at the scene, was startled by the sudden burst of flames, letting out a “meow” as she jumped onto a tree, her claws gripping the trunk tightly.

She nervously watched the flickering flames.

Fire was something that greatly frightened demons. These creatures of the wild only encountered fire when lightning struck the mountains, igniting the trees.

Lightning was known as the nemesis of demons, and they were naturally fearful of the fire associated with it.

Jiang Lin, however, was too busy to pay her any mind.

He covered the pot to let the chicken soup simmer slowly, then started another fire, skewered the other pheasant on a clean stick, and used magic to roast it over the flames.

After that, he rummaged through his space and found some mushrooms.

Speaking of these mushrooms, it’s worth mentioning another benefit of this jade space: although no living person could enter, it was extremely friendly to plants. Whether seeds or fully grown plants, once placed inside, they would remain in the freshest state indefinitely, even looking fresher and more vibrant after some time than when they were first put in.

When the system saw Jiang Lin pull mushrooms out of the space, it nearly blacked out.

But that wasn’t the end of it.

When it saw Jiang Lin skillfully use wood-based spiritual energy to cultivate a whole basket of mushrooms, the system felt like it was on the verge of developing a heart demon out of sheer frustration.

“Jiang Lin!” The system was so angry it didn’t even want to address him as the host anymore. “This jade space is an extremely rare treasure, a spiritual energy space, and the cultivation method you practice is one of the finest wood-based techniques. And you’re using it to… to grow vegetables?”

While using magic to clean the mushrooms, Jiang Lin calmly replied, “Is there a problem with that?”

That familiar, nonchalant tone!

The system was on the verge of losing its mind. “You, you, you…”

His ability to articulate was clearly underdeveloped, as he stammered for quite some time without managing to say anything coherent.

After washing the mushrooms and setting them aside to dry, Jiang Lin said, “I can probably guess, based on the settings in cultivation novels, that you, system, must come from a very powerful cultivation world. In that world, the strong are revered, and everyone strives to cultivate and become strong as their lifelong goal. Everything else, including the desire for food, is considered trivial, and most people disdain it. Am I right?”

The system huffed, “Since you know that, why do you still deliberately do this?”

“It’s not really deliberate,” Jiang Lin replied. “After all, your world is completely different from the one I live in.”

Jiang Lin looked up at the sky, his tone deep and tinged with nostalgia. “System, in my world, in my country, before the apocalypse, there was a very philosophical saying. Do you know what it is?”

The system, taken aback by his serious demeanor, couldn’t help but become serious as well and asked, “What is it?”

Jiang Lin enunciated each word: “People are like iron, food is like steel; if you don’t eat a meal, you’ll feel weak!”

“So,” he continued earnestly, “food is the most important thing to people. For me, nothing is more important than having a good meal… especially meat. This is my belief—do you understand?”

System: “…”

This was beyond its usual understanding.

But the host seemed genuinely serious.

It asked in confusion, “Is that really the case?”

“Of course it is!” Jiang Lin’s tone was firm. “I’m not the type to make things up.”

Belief is a very serious and noble thing, and the system, after reflecting, realized that it shouldn’t impose its standards on the host.

“Well then, I won’t concern myself with this anymore.” The system decided that from now on, whenever it saw the host taking food from the space, it would pretend to be blind.

It said, “But if you’re going to eat, make sure to uphold our contract and complete your tasks properly.”

Jiang Lin hadn’t expected the system to be so easily persuaded.

He was momentarily stunned, feeling a rare pang of conscience.

Of course, it was just a fleeting feeling, gone with the wind in a moment.

He replied with righteous conviction, “Of course, since I’ve made a contract with you, I’ll naturally complete the tasks properly.”

The system then fell silent.

At that moment, the soup in the pot began to boil, and when Jiang Lin lifted the lid, a faint fragrance wafted out.

He added the cleaned mushrooms to the pot, adjusted the seasoning, and covered it again.

Then, he happily sat down beside the simple grill he had set up, withdrew his spiritual power, and manually enjoyed the pleasure of roasting the food.

Layer by layer, he brushed on seasonings, and the aroma of the roasting chicken gradually began to spread.

At first, it was just a faint, tantalizing smell. The cat demon, perched on the tree, twitched her nose, curiously gazing at the roasting chicken below.

After a while, the chicken, now coated with chili powder, pepper, and other seasonings, began to release tiny droplets of oil as it roasted over the intense fire, and an overpowering aroma suddenly filled the air.

“Achoo!” The cat demon, with her keen sense of smell, had never encountered such an intriguing scent.

On one hand, her nose felt a bit uncomfortable from the spiciness, but on the other, she couldn’t stop her mouth from watering, her eyes almost glued to the roast chicken in Jiang Lin’s hands.

What is the king doing?

It smells so strange.

But… it also smells really good.

She rubbed her belly, remembering that she had already eaten while catching the pheasants. She shouldn’t be hungry at all today.

So why was she feeling uncomfortable now?

Jiang Lin wasn’t faring much better than the cat demon.

While the cat demon had never tasted such a flavor before and was merely curious and tempted, she could still resist.

But Jiang Lin couldn’t.

Before the apocalypse, roast chicken was a common delicacy—who hadn’t enjoyed a late-night barbecue feast while pulling an all-nighter?

But after the apocalypse began, that ordinary delicacy became an extreme longing that was nearly impossible to satisfy.

Having something and then losing it is far more painful than never having it at all.