Why can't humans do it too?

Unfortunately, it didn't take him long to completely abandon this idea.

Forest elves still have a lifespan limit.

To be honest, Suer didn't even think he was qualified to be friends with Xinke, even though their relationship had become much closer after such a difficult journey, and they could talk like ordinary friends... But would you really be friends with a bug that you just went to work for and then disappeared?

Compared to the long lifespan of the forest elves, these ten days or so are not even enough to cover a single step.

It was easy to come to this conclusion. Rather than following Xin Ke around and eventually turning into an ugly old skeleton, Su Er would rather simply and decisively deny the whole thing.

In this way, even if it's just out of consideration for the life-saving favor he owed her, Xin Ke would still continue the agreement between the two of them out of pride after she disappeared.

This could barely be considered one of Suer's despicable and insidious little schemes.

A chilling killing intent emanated from the woman soaking in the pool. The eyes of Liu Ling, which housed Liu Ling, were just as cruel and ruthless as when the two first met.

"...Do you dare refuse this invitation?"

Speaks slowly and deliberately, Xin Ke's voice freezes the space like a cold wind, yet Su Er is not as afraid as before; the man even chuckles inexplicably.

"What? This isn't the kind of thing I remember Nirbalian saying!" His body moved naturally, unfrozen by the killing intent. Suer struggled to lift the white log and placed it in the cave he had dug earlier. "...His tone and expression were quite fitting, though."

It was as if Xin Ke, who was glaring at him from behind, didn't exist.

"It's a little embarrassing to say, but to be honest, the first thing I thought when I woke up here was that it would be great if I could settle down here," Suer said slowly as he tamped down the soil. "The warm and bright light, the fragrance of the grass... I thought that it would be nice to die here and be buried on the spot."

"The so-called sun is roughly this ball of light, floating high in the sky. However, from a cosmic perspective, the sun is a star that is constantly exploding. The light and heat emitted from these explosions are transmitted to our planet, illuminating the entire world..."

Suer used the vines to tie the wooden posts together, while still talking non-stop.

"The atmosphere on the surface of a planet becomes translucent blue and crystal clear because of the sun's rays. As the position of the sun and the planet changes, it also gives rise to the corresponding seasons and the distinction between day and night, which in turn creates different species... Ah, at least that's how it is where we are."

"Sorry, isn't that a weak and escapist thought?" Su'er gave Xin Ke an awkward smile, somewhat ashamed. "I don't know if it's because I once had it and then lost it, but every time I see this little sun, I can't help but feel sentimental. I'm really too useless... If Riku were here and had the same conditions as me, that guy could probably do even better..."

Suer's smile turned self-deprecating.

"Is that so?" Finally suppressing her murderous gaze, Xin Ke closed her eyes and let her body slowly slide into the pool.

“Of course!” Sur perked up immediately. “Compared to ordinary people like me, Riku is the real hero! I still have decades of life experience to draw upon, but that man undoubtedly shouldered the lives of everyone with his young body!”

"Not necessarily."

Following closely behind Suer's voice without any pause, Xinke interrupted nonchalantly, but Suer couldn't pretend not to hear her words!

"Although I don't know exactly what this Riku you mentioned did, I think Mr. Monkey is already pretty great, okay?"

Just as Suer was about to recount all of Riku's great deeds one by one, he heard Xinke's next words.

With one arm resting on the edge of the pool, supporting her cheek, Xin Ke lowered her head and watched the blades of grass floating on the surface of the pool, while her other hand idly fiddled with them.

"..."

Silence fell, and for a moment only the sound of Xin Ke splashing water filled the space.

Suer felt his face and neck skin burning slightly. It was just a simple compliment, but coming from this proud forest elf, it gave him the illusion that the praise was more than ten times stronger.

Ah~ Ah! This must be it! The difference between a good person occasionally doing a bad thing and a bad person occasionally doing a good thing—is it a contrast? It is a contrast, isn't it?

Standing on the verge of losing control of his facial expressions, Suer instinctively searched for reasons in his mind.

Chapter 135 Stealing Food

"Isn't that right?" As if she could see through Su'er's thoughts, Xin Ke suddenly turned her head and smiled at him. "She broke through the limits of her weak body and mind with her own will to carry me across such a long distance to get here, and even made such a promise with me, a genius... If such deeds cannot be called outstanding, then it doesn't matter if the so-called humanity is destroyed, right?"

“…Don’t say such cruel things,” Suer muttered, turning around to continue scraping the bark off the next log.

Let's get busy.

--------------

It turned out that the forest elves didn't value this long-abandoned city much; at least, they still hadn't arrived even after Sue had finished building his dream cabin.

After repeatedly confirming with Xin Ke that what she had previously triggered was indeed a connection with the major forest elf city of Merwall, Suer had ample evidence to suggest that the unusual trigger might have turned into a seemingly insignificant document placed on the administrator's desk—it might not have been a written document, but that was the gist of it.

The forest elves may still be in chaos after losing Xin Ke, the Flower Crown Lord, or they may still be obsessed with vying for power... Who knows?

According to Xin Ke's description of her people, those useless scoundrels actually have an amazing talent for vying for power and profit.

They might come to investigate after things settle down, but as for the timing... well, you know what I mean!

"Ah~, Mr. Monkey's toys didn't collapse today either?" Xin Ke said with a smile, sitting on the wooden bed that Su Er had built.

After that day, neither of them mentioned their partnership again, nor did they talk about researching the Divine Essence Weapon. Xin Ke also didn't show any eagerness. Come to think of it, research that takes decades to complete isn't something that can be rushed in just a few days.

The only thing that annoyed Suer was this woman repeating the same sentence every day: "Could the quality of the wooden house he made be that bad?!"

Even if it were going to collapse, it wouldn't happen in the first day or two after it was built!

Who are you looking down on?

With a snort, Suer ignored the boring woman and went to the side of the clay stove to pick out two cooked tubers that looked somewhat like potatoes... Suer just called them potatoes.

Yes, not only the wooden house, but also a mud stove made of mud mixed with hay and pebbles was built inside the house to make food.

This abandoned city was amazing. In addition to the abundance of edible plants, on a whim, Sue set up some makeshift traps further away and then, on a lucky morning, found a few unfortunate rabbits. These adorable little creatures have now been cleaned and hung above the chimney of the clay oven, waiting to become smoked meat.

The availability of reserve food made Suer even happier. He even tirelessly renovated his wooden house, while Xinke watched him busy all day with a smile, occasionally lending a helping hand.

"Hey!" With a soft shout, the potato whose charred skin he had just peeled disappeared from Su's sight.

This temperature was not hot enough to scald the great Lord Nirbaran. He didn't even need to blow on it to warm it up before Xinke put the small piece of fruit into his mouth.

Surprisingly calm, even when his food was abruptly taken away, Suer didn't even blink. He simply picked up another potato that hadn't been peeled yet.

"Speaking of which, did Lord Nirbaren steal some potatoes?" Sur casually remarked as he peeled off the charred outer skin of the potatoes.

"Me? Steal food?" Without even looking, one could tell the disdain on Xin Ke's face. "How could that be?"

"Still not admitting it?" Finally raising her head to look at Xin Ke, Su Er squinted and blew on the still-steaming potato before stuffing it into her mouth. Her words became muffled as she chewed. "Did some of the potatoes I put in the cellar just disappear out of thin air? And a lot of the sweet chili sauce I used to mix with it is also gone."

Although it's called a modern-sounding sweet chili sauce, it's actually just a simple mixture of sour grass leaves and very sweet berries that you chew together, only breaking them up and squeezing them together when you eat it.

“I’m telling you, although it does taste good, plants take time to grow. If we eat it quickly, we’ll just be able to look at it for a long time.” Xin Ke’s self-righteous appearance gave Su Er a headache. He could only sigh and try to reason with her.

However, he was met with an even more bewildered expression from Xin Ke.

"What are you talking about? I didn't steal any food, that's true. But by beauty standards, would I need to do something as tasteless as stealing food?"

"I will eat it openly and honestly!"

Looking at Xin Ke's increasingly straight back and proud expression, Su Er wondered... Could it really not be her?

Indeed, Xin Ke had absolutely no reason to lie about such a thing.

"What happened? Was the food stolen?" Xin Ke noticed the complicated expression on Su Er's face and realized something as well.

This is not a good sign.

"Ah, about one-fifth of the potatoes are gone, and there's barely any sweet chili sauce left. As for the rest..." At this point, Suer suddenly remembered something, quickly ran out of the cabin, climbed onto the roof, and jumped down a few seconds later with a grim expression.

"Gone?"

"Well, there are only three pieces of rabbit meat left out of the four," Suer said, giving Xin Ke a very bad piece of news under her serious gaze.

No, the problem isn't that their food supplies have dwindled, but rather that this indirectly confirms that there are other people in this abandoned city besides the two of them...

"...Is it possible that it was carried away by some wild beast or bird?" Suer forced a smile, trying to offer an explanation, but was glared at by Xin Ke.

"Has this period of life made Mr. Monkey so lax?" Xin Ke rebuked mercilessly, picking up her short sword from beside the bed. "What kind of beast or bird could open your sealed cellar door?"

Suer even used a stone to weigh it down.

Without even needing to speak, the two of them simultaneously recalled the small handprint they had found on the wooden door during their previous search.

I thought he had left, but I didn't expect him to still be here.

Suer's mood gradually became heavy.

Chapter 136 Skywing Seed

This is bad. There's an unidentified guy hiding in this city... Should we evacuate here immediately?

The first option that popped into Suer's mind was this, but what overwhelmed it was a deep sense of reluctance... and fear.

I don't want to leave this sunny and warm place.

I don't want to leave this little wooden house that I've built myself.

I don't want to leave this dreamlike place that seems like it will never be shattered.

Just thinking about the desolate and murderous land outside, and the endless cold and hunger, made Suer feel the tangible pain in his body, lingering around his now-healed wounds.

The stiffness and coldness of near death seemed to transcend time and space and descend upon him again. When Su Er couldn't help but pinch his arm with his other hand, he found that it was just an illusion.

He was terrified.

If he could, Su'er would just stay here and not take a single step out... He doesn't care about ideals or responsibilities at all.

With food, drink, and even clothing, the forest elves who were brutally slaughtered by the Skywing race twenty years ago left behind too many usable things. If you were to explore them carefully, this abandoned city would be like an inexhaustible treasure trove.

"Well, looking at it from another angle, maybe it's not the worst-case scenario?" Forcing a smile, Su'er said to Xin Ke, "Maybe that hidden... friend didn't have any ill intentions?"

After some deliberation, he even changed to a more friendly-sounding description.

“Look, at least he moved the stone back properly after taking some food. Isn’t that a kind of politeness?” Before Xin Ke could speak, Su Er quickly added, “Or maybe it was a clever beast? For example, it saw me moving the stone and imitated it…”