Lu Mingfei, why are you slaying dragons if you're not involved!

Chapter 82 The True Meaning of Fire (25)

Lu Mingfei couldn't remember how many times he had "fallen asleep" over and over again.

All he knew was that as he continued to "awaken," the forest, with its incredibly diverse and numerous tree species, gradually became scarce in his eyes.

He has even independently summarized and categorized some key points—

The drill pipe and drill plate cannot be made of the same material;
The drill rod needs to be sufficiently hard, made of straight, dry hardwood. It should be approximately forearm length and finger thickness for optimal handling and to ensure concentrated pressure.

The drill plate should be relatively soft to make it easier to carve grooves, and dryness is a basic requirement;

Tinder is best made from tree bark, the dry kind rich in oil. Look for dead trees; the outer layer, which has a papery texture, is the easiest to tear and also the most flammable. There's a type of snow-white, thinly layered bark that perfectly meets these requirements…

This knowledge, piled up in books and easily accessible, was something Lu Mingfei had never paid attention to before. He had mostly skimmed through it, reading quickly and superficially, until now…

“You only regret not having enough knowledge when you need it.”

With a mournful face, he lay back, closed his eyes and "slept," then opened his eyes and jumped up again.

This cycle repeats itself...

finally--

[Cold Wave Countdown: 2]

"Buzzing"...

Lu Mingfei was overjoyed. He tried his best to maintain the same rhythm, rubbing the drill rod with both hands, and felt the original "scratching" scraping sound gradually change.

Wood chips flew from the groove, already carrying small sparks.

Immediately afterwards, a wisp of fine, grayish-white smoke suddenly emerged from the friction point between the drill rod and the drill plate.

The burnt wood smell filled Lu Mingfei's nostrils and, to him, it was even more comforting than the first honey-glazed char siu he had after being forced to eat vegetarian food for a week!
Lu Mingfei had experienced this firsthand. For a while, his uncle and aunt felt that his cousin Lu Mingze was overweight and were preparing to have him lose weight.

But how cruel would it be to make the chubby boy eat vegetarian food while everyone else eats meat? So the aunt waved her hand and said that the whole family would eat vegetarian food with him!
This ambitious weight loss campaign lasted for about a week, ultimately ending with Lu Mingze fainting from low blood sugar due to poor acting skills.

The smoke gradually thickened, accompanied by sparks.

Lu Mingfei snapped out of his daze, quickly stopped rubbing, and carefully tilted the "drill plate".

The drill board was actually a not-so-thick dead tree trunk. After he kicked it off, it just happened to form a barely flat surface, and then he dug a groove on it.

At this moment, the smoking, charred wood chips flickered in the groove. Guided by Lu Mingfei with leaves, they entered the specially made tinder nest.

Lu Mingfei was extremely careful with this step, almost lying down with his whole body to block the wind, while moving very quickly.

Because right here, he failed at least five times! Each time, either a gust of cold wind blew the flame off, or there wasn't enough time, forcing him to "fall asleep"...

This time, he succeeded.

The moment the tinder came into contact with the flame, an orange-red halo appeared at the edge of the flame, which then spread into a bright flame.

Lu Mingfei stared blankly as the first flame rose, the slight crackling sound sounding like thunder in his ears.

He had thought he would be moved to tears when he accomplished all of this, but when the moment actually arrived, he only felt calm and cherished.

Time seemed to stand still, as if the whole world had been concentrated on this tiny flame, making the delicate tinder nest feel as heavy as a thousand pounds.

The countdown to the cold wave stopped and disappeared. The chill that seemed capable of freezing everything in the world retreated in the face of this tiny flame.

Lu Mingfei suddenly realized that it was not a cold wave, but "nothingness," and that what he held in his hand was not fire, but "life."

With fire and heat, life was born and civilization developed.

"This is... the true meaning of fire."

he murmured.

Everything around him began to become illusory, and the flame in Lu Mingfei's hand dissipated along with it.

When Lu Mingfei came to his senses, he found himself in a pure white space, unable to see anything else except his feet on a solid and flat ground.

He blinked, snapping out of the solemn atmosphere, and his slang resurfaced.

"Did I pass the test? Where is the schedule? Why haven't you let me out yet? Hey, are you there? Is there some kind of bug?"

The hollow sound echoed all around. The schedule didn't answer, but gradually, semi-transparent words appeared before Lu Mingfei's eyes. It was a huge character for "fire," unlike any other fire character Lu Mingfei had seen on the schedule before. It was... hollowed out.

"What is this... artistic lettering? Do I need to copy it and fill it in, or what? At least give me a pen!"

Lu Mingfei scratched his head, somewhat puzzled.

As soon as he finished speaking, a change occurred—on the left "dot," the hollowed-out part appeared fiery red and actually filled in at an extremely fast speed.

It seems that once it's completely filled, Lu Mingfei will be able to gain the power of "fire".

"Oh dear, why bother with all this esoteric stuff? I don't care about formalities, I just want some real benefits!"

Lu Mingfei rubbed his hands together impatiently.

The fiery red color filled that "dot" at an incredibly fast speed, and then...

Not moving anymore.

Lu Mingfei blinked blankly, then pointed, "Hey, it's stuck! There's a real bug. Schedule, schedule, do you have it? Fix it!"

For some reason, Lu Mingfei had a bad feeling.

But he wasn't really willing to think about it in that direction. People can't, shouldn't, or at worst... it can't be that bad, right?
Semi-transparent characters appeared out of thin air before his eyes.

[The [Sleep] plan has been detected. Do you wish to continue the "Understanding the True Meaning of Words" process synchronously?]

Lu Mingfei stared blankly at the line of text. From the words "in progress" and "continue," he sensed the deep malice emanating from the schedule.

He knew!
Lu Mingfei gritted his teeth and squeezed out two words.

"continue!"

The characters, along with the huge character for "fire," vanished, and a pure white scene rapidly unfolded. In the blink of an eye, Lu Mingfei found himself in a different place.

The scorching air rolled in, and as far as the eye could see, there was an endless expanse of golden sand... a sea of ​​sand.

This is a vast, desolate desert!
The semi-transparent characters reappeared before my eyes.

Before the scorching sun arrives, cross the desert, reach the oasis, and understand the true meaning of fire.

After experiencing failure, all physical abnormalities will be healed, and you will start anew.

Lu Mingfei's face remained expressionless.

In this situation, he was speechless; all he could do was stare at the characters displayed on the schedule before him…

He forcefully pointed out the middle finger.

……

[Warning, it's time to get up...]

Lu Mingfei opened his eyes and, through the dim light from the streetlights outside, saw the somewhat familiar ceiling. Realizing he had already finished sleeping, he sighed softly.

Is this really considered sleeping?

It's pure torture!

He used to think that sleeping was the happiest thing in the day, but now it's different. Studying is much easier than sleeping.

At least studying allows him to enter a state of "flow," requiring only mental effort. But sleeping... in his "dreams," the ways he dies in that desert are all different!
[Warning, electric shock countdown...]

The lingering drowsiness was accompanied by an electric shock warning. Lu Mingfei skillfully used [Vitality Micro-Management] to put himself in a "wake-up" state, and with a burst of energy, he turned on the light, got out of bed, and went to wash up.

Realizing that there were other people in the house, he deliberately moved much more gently.

To exaggerate a bit, Lu Mingfei could even be sure that the noise he made wouldn't wake up even a mosquito!

But just as he tiptoed to finish washing up, packed his things, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and gently opened the door...

A figure, already fully dressed and silently waiting for him, startled Lu Mingfei so much that he almost screamed.

"zero?"

(End of this chapter)