Chapter 18 | The Otherworld Journey That Starts From a Slime

After taking a moment to adjust to his newfound strength, Zhang Ye stepped out of the cave and immediately his eyes widened.

He saw Leona sitting cross-legged by a massive bonfire. Skewers of enormous roasted meat were propped over the flames—each skewer probably weighed hundreds of jin!

“If you’re awake, come over and eat,” Leona said without turning her head. She held a giant skewer in her hand and took a massive bite out of a chunk of meat.

“Delicious!” she exclaimed heartily.

Zhang Ye approached her, staring at the colossal meat skewers. For a moment, he didn’t even know where to start.

This was simply too big...

By the way, where did this meat come from?

It couldn’t be that Berserk Bear, could it?

Zhang Ye turned his head and saw the Berserk Bear’s hide hanging nearby. There were even two bear paws on the skewers...

It was definitely the Berserk Bear.

Zhang Ye suddenly felt a bit bad for the beast. Its cub had been killed by him, and then the parent had come for revenge only to be killed by him as well. Now, it had even been turned into kebabs by Leona. This was... so fragrant!

Zhang Ye sat down beside Leona, picked up a skewer, blew on it, and took a bite. Instantly, a look of pure bliss appeared on his face.

The Berserk Bear’s meat was very firm and chewy, and Leona’s cooking skills were excellent. With one bite, juices splattered everywhere. The sheer satisfaction made Zhang Ye want to cry.

Since coming to this world, he had either been drinking soup or eating crabs. Especially during those few days when he was trapped in the cave by the Berserk Bear, opportunities to eat meat like this were far too rare.

“It’s good, right?” Leona asked.

Zhang Ye nodded vigorously. “It’s delicious!”

Leona let out a laugh. “Of course it is! Yours truly has the best cooking skills around!”

Then, the two of them began to feast on the roasted meat.

A moment later, Zhang Ye was shocked to find that he had actually eaten three or four jin of meat!

The key point was that after eating so much, his stomach didn’t feel bloated at all; he just felt slightly full.

Ella explained, “You possess the physique of a Warrior, and Warriors rely on their bodies to fight. Therefore, their energy requirements are terrifyingly high, which means your intake will be large. No matter how much you eat, as long as it doesn’t exceed your body’s energy storage limit, you basically won’t feel full.”

“The meat of a Tier Five Berserk Bear contains a considerable amount of energy, so four or five jin should be enough for you.”

“It’s normal for a Tier Four Warrior to eat a dozen jin of ordinary beef in one meal. If it were someone at Leona’s level, she would probably need to eat several tons of ordinary beef in one sitting.”

“Several tons?!” Zhang Ye was startled.

However, Ella then added, “Of course, that’s because ordinary meat doesn’t contain much energy. If she eats high-end ingredients with massive amounts of energy, such as the meat of high-level magical beasts or various heavenly treasures, she won’t need to eat as much.”

Zhang Ye finally showed an expression of realization.

Eating several tons in one meal would be way too scary.

But thinking about it, if Leona’s body weight wasn’t maintained by mana, her actual weight could reach several tons. To support such a body, she would certainly need a massive amount of energy.

“Gujiu~” Thinking this, Zhang Ye fed a piece of meat to Gujiu, who immediately began to absorb it with a blissful expression.

Watching this, Leona asked, “Where did this slime come from?”

Zhang Ye wasn’t afraid that Leona would harm Gujiu; after all, if she really wanted to, he wouldn't be able to stop her anyway.

He said, “I found it in the forest.”

“In the forest...” Leona nodded, her gaze darkening. “As I thought, some of those things still managed to escape from the crack...”

“What things?” Zhang Ye asked curiously.

Leona glanced at him and smiled. “You should just worry about how to get stronger. You can’t handle those things yet.”

Zhang Ye curled his lip. “Just tell me. If you tell me, I’ll at least know what to expect, right?”

Upon hearing this, Leona nodded. “It’s not some forbidden secret, so there’s no harm in telling you.”

“I was originally training in the Myriad Beasts Forest, but the space here suddenly began to fluctuate, and then a World Crack appeared...”

“What’s a World Crack?” Zhang Ye asked.

“A World Crack occurs when the laws between two worlds become entangled due to some external force. Eventually, the power of laws will entwine and cancel each other out, forming a 'Three-No Zone'—no laws, no mana, and no matter—between the two worlds. At the same time, the laws of both worlds will automatically begin repairs, and the repaired laws will merge together to form a law corridor...” Leona immediately rattled off a bunch of technical jargon, leaving Zhang Ye completely bewildered.

Zhang Ye: (｡˘•ε•˘｡)?

“You don’t understand, do you?” Leona asked.

Zhang Ye nodded. “Not a word.”

Suddenly, the corners of Leona’s mouth curled up, and she gave Zhang Ye a rough pat on the back. “I didn’t understand it back then either!”

Zhang Ye: “...”

“Anyway, that’s how the old man put it...” Leona scratched her fiery red, mane-like curly hair. “To put it simply, a door opened between two worlds, and creatures from both sides can pass through that door into the other world.”

Zhang Ye slapped his palm. “Now I get it!”

Leona laughed heartily.

Her laugh gave off a bold and unrestrained feeling, revealing her sharp canine teeth. Her beautiful eyes narrowed, and her natural red eye shadow traced a beautiful curve, adding a touch of wild beauty to her.

She was a woman who exuded dominance and wildness.

A woman like a lion!

Then, her expression became serious. “However, the other side of this crack was the Demon Realm.”

“Creatures of this world find it difficult to survive in the Demon Realm, but creatures from the Demon Realm are like fish in water here. Therefore, as soon as the crack opened, Demon Realm creatures immediately tried to pass through it to enter this world.”

“Once I discovered it, I naturally couldn’t let those guys invade. I planned to seal the crack, but I was one step too late. Three guys crawled out, and they were very powerful—so strong they made me shudder with fear!”

Seeing her solemn face, Zhang Ye also listened very seriously.

Leona: “And then I crushed them.”

Zhang Ye: “...”

Wait, what?

What happened to the shuddering with fear?

And then you just crushed them?

Then why the hell were you shuddering? Who was the one who should have been shuddering?!

Leona scratched her hair and laughed. “But because I was so focused on the fight, I didn’t notice if anything else escaped from the crack. After the battle, I tried to seal the crack, but I didn’t have enough mana. I had no choice but to burn my life energy to force the seal.”

“But because I burned my life energy, the Demon Realm power that had seeped out from the crack took advantage of the opening. To resist the Demon Realm power, I entered a state of hibernation and fell into the river, which is how you picked me up.”

“What do you mean 'picked me up'? I saved you!” Zhang Ye corrected her. At that time, Leona had almost choked to death on the water.

Even for a Saint-tier, they would still die if they went without oxygen for too long.

Leona waved her hand dismissively. “Same difference.”

Then she looked at Gujiu and said, “Looking at it now, quite a few Demon Realm creatures must have escaped from the crack.”

“Will that cause any problems?” Zhang Ye asked.

Leona shook her head with an indifferent look. “It’s not a big deal. Supreme experts can’t pass through small cracks. So, any Demon Realm creatures that managed to evade my perception must be extremely weak and won’t cause much of an impact.”

“Is that so?” Zhang Ye stared at her.

Leona nodded. “Yes.”

“Is that so?” Zhang Ye picked up Gujiu and stared at her.

Leona suddenly felt a bit guilty, but she still insisted, “Yes.”

“Is that so?” Zhang Ye held Gujiu up and stared at her.

Leona felt a bit creeped out and couldn't help but say, “Slimes are an exception, and you’ve already tamed this one. Other Demon Realm creatures definitely won’t have the same potential for development as a slime, so it’ll definitely be fine.”

“Talk about raising a flag...” Zhang Ye covered his forehead.

“Raising a what?” Leona looked at him in confusion.

Zhang Ye said helplessly, “Basically, since you said it’s not a problem, then there’s definitely a problem!”

“While there might not be many creatures like slimes, there might be even more in the Demon Realm. Although the Demon Realm creatures that evaded your perception and escaped into this world are weak, if they are given time to develop, they can still cause terrifying harm.”

“Take Gujiu for example. Given enough time to devour, it could even eat the entire Myriad Beasts Forest!”

Upon hearing this, Leona couldn’t help but nod.

“So, there must be creatures similar to slimes that have come to this world!” Zhang Ye said. “Maybe there are even other slimes besides Gujiu!”

Leona looked at him and asked, “How can you be so sure?”

Zhang Ye looked serious. “Novels always follow this trope!”

That’s right, this was exactly the routine. A small thing that seemed harmless and could have been easily destroyed is left alone, only to eventually become a massive boss that the protagonist can hardly fight!

In the end, the protagonist has to give it their all and even lose everything to destroy it!

Zhang Ye didn't want such a plot to happen to him.

“What’s a... novel?” Leona was completely bewildered.

Zhang Ye didn’t explain further but said, “Anyway, you just need to know that we must find those Demon Realm creatures and deal with them!”

“Why should we deal with them?” Leona countered. “This seems like a lot of effort for no reward for us, right?”

Zhang Ye shook his head. “It might be a lot of effort for no reward now, but in the future, we might not even have the strength to put in the effort.”

“If we don’t deal with them as soon as possible, what if they grow up and threaten us?”

“Are we going to wait until they cause irreparable damage and then regret not dealing with them sooner?”

“So, since we’ve discovered them, we can’t just sit idly by—not just for ourselves, but for this world.” At this point, Zhang Ye gave a sly grin. “The key point is, there must be a big reward for killing invading Demon Realm creatures, right?”

“Yes, killing any creature that invades this world brings great merit and rewards,” Leona said.

“Isn’t that it? So, killing them early cuts off future trouble and gets us reward money. How is that effort for no reward?”

“But I’m not short on money,” Leona said matter-of-factly.

Zhang Ye looked her up and down.

Indeed, if she were short on money, how could she afford to support her Magic-Martial Dual Cultivation and all that high-level magic equipment? This was a wealthy woman for sure!

Zhang Ye shook his head. “You aren’t short, but I am!”

“Think about it. I just arrived in this world and I’m a stranger here. Even if I want to start a career, I need initial capital, right?”

“I need money to level up and buy equipment, too!”

“And when we get married in the future, I’ll have to prepare a betrothal gift, right?”

“I’ll need a car and a house!”

“I also have to prepare savings for our future children!”

“In the future, our children will need early education, they’ll go to school, they’ll need to learn magic, and buying equipment for them will also cost money!”

“And then there are the daily expenses and all that other stuff...”

“So, you might not be short on money, but you can never have too much!”

“Hey, what do you think would be a good name for our future child?”

“How about Zhang Deshuai? Or maybe Zhang Dezhenshuai?”

Leona listened in a daze. By the end, she couldn't help but give Zhang Ye a punch. “What are you even talking about? I haven’t even agreed to anything yet, and you’ve already thought of the children’s names?”

Zhang Ye rubbed his aching shoulder and gave a sheepish smile.

Leona was also done with Zhang Ye’s train of thought. Finally, she nodded. “Fine, you have a point. I’ll go look for them tomorrow. As long as those Demon Realm creatures haven't left this forest, I can hunt them down!”

“Yeah!” Zhang Ye nodded, then added, “Then how about Zhang Deku? And if it's a daughter, Zhang Demei? Hey, do you think it’s better to have a son or a daughter?”

Leona: “How about a pair of fraternal twins?”

Zhang Ye’s eyes lit up. “That’s good, that’s great!”

Leona laughed in exasperation and gave him a flick on the forehead. “You sure have a vivid imagination. It’s far too early for me to be having twins for you!”