Chapter 15: Reflections

Shortly after, Ji Chang and Huang Mang found Xiao Feng together. Their faces were heavy with sorrow as they gazed upon the gruesome scene before them. Ji Chang had anticipated such circumstances in the future, but he hadn't expected them to arrive so soon. Looking at classmates who had been lively earlier in the day, now lying in this state, Huang Mang trembled involuntarily. They had never experienced anything like this before, but being thrust into this reality due to the shrinking phenomenon left them with no choice but to accept it.

"Mangzi, we mustn't waste time. It's not safe yet," Ji Chang said after a few deep breaths, his expression distant.

Huang Mang regained his focus and nodded earnestly.

Before long, having buried Xiao Feng, the two of them found Chen Lingxue and Wang Lingling. Together, they proceeded to meet up with Zhou Junhui and his group.

"Squad Leader? Are you guys okay?"

"Haha, Squad Leader, I've awakened extraordinary powers! Has Xiao Feng awakened too? If he hasn't, he can try my method... Huh? What's wrong with you all? Why do you look so downcast... What just happened? Oh? Why didn't Xiao Feng come back with you guys?"

Upon seeing Zhou Junhui, Ji Chang's group was greeted with his enthusiastic words. However, Zhou Junhui's excitement quickly turned into confusion when he saw the expressions on their faces.

Before he could inquire further, he noticed the wasp swarm descending from the sky and exclaimed in panic, "Holy crap! Are those... wasps?"

"Don't worry, Zhou Junhui, Ji-ge has already taken control of those wasps," Huang Mang explained.

"Good heavens, Ji-ge, you're incredible!"

Seeing this, Zhou Junhui couldn't help but give Ji Chang a thumbs-up, his face filled with admiration.

"Zhou Junhui, about Xiao Feng..."

Chen Lingxue stepped forward hesitantly and recounted the recent events to Zhou Junhui, including their efforts to scavenge usable supplies in the house, their encounter with the pursuing wasps after splitting up, and how they were saved from the threat by Xiao Feng's distraction.

It turned out that when they were searching for usable items in another room, they came across a large object with many oval depressions in a corner. Before they could react, a wasp emerged from it. Chen Lingxue used her strength to lead everyone in a desperate evasion of the wasp's attacks. However, they couldn't shake off the wasps until they were utterly drained of energy. In a critical moment, Xiao Feng had drawn the wasps' attention, allowing them to escape unscathed.

Concerned for Xiao Feng's safety, Chen Lingxue had instructed Zheng Haiyu and Dong Xuan to transport the supplies to the base and had personally gone after him. Eventually, they had encountered Ji Chang's group.

Learning of Xiao Feng's situation, Zhou Junhui's eyes welled with tears, rendering him unable to utter a word.

A somber silence fell over the group once again.

After a while, Ji Chang spoke up, "Let's start moving the rice back first. None of us wanted something like this to happen, but from now on... we need to stay alive."

Hearing Ji Chang's words, everyone nodded in succession.

And so, carrying the sacks of rice, they resumed their journey towards the base.

With the wasps under control, they reached the base quickly.

Seeing the presence of the wasps, Zheng Haiyu and Dong Xuan, who had returned to the base, displayed their extraordinary powers in response.

However, when they saw the group that had returned, their attention shifted from the wasps, and realization dawned upon them.

However, soon they noticed that Xiao Feng was nowhere to be seen, and the hint of sorrow in everyone's eyes made them understand what had happened.

"Alright, now that we have the rice Ji Chang brought back, we can finally have a satisfying meal," Chen Lingxue said, taking a deep breath and clapping her hands to alleviate the tension in the base. She gestured to everyone as she spoke.

"Squad Leader, how are we going to eat this rice? We can't possibly eat it raw, can we?"

At the mention of finally being able to eat, Huang Mang, who had been hungry for a long time, felt a stir in his heart. However, considering they lacked cooking utensils, he hesitated and asked.

"Raw eating is not an option, but Dong Xuan can manipulate flames. We can use that to heat the food. However..."

Ji Chang pondered for a moment and continued with a hint of concern in his voice, "Heating the rice directly might... cause it to explode into rice flowers?"

Seeing this, Chen Lingxue smiled and said, "Don't worry, this time we found a pull tab from a tin can. If Huang Mang can smooth out the tab, I think we can use it for cooking. As for the rice, we can grind it into flour and mix it with water to make rice cakes."

"Ah? A pull tab from a tin can? Grinding rice into flour? Small matters, leave them to me!"

Seeing this, Huang Mang eagerly volunteered.

Afterward, under everyone's gaze, Huang Mang's arms transformed into a metallic state, and he carefully smoothed the pull tab brought by Chen Lingxue. He also hammered the rice into a fine powder.

With Dong Xuan's flames heating the pull tab and Chen Lingxue kneading the water-mixed rice flour, they began making rice cakes.

After a few minutes, the aroma of rice filled the air, and everyone's stomachs began to growl incessantly.

Not much longer after, delicious-smelling rice cakes were prepared one by one.

Since they had only been drinking water since shrinking yesterday, they were all famished by now.

Having food in front of them at last, everyone enthusiastically devoured the rice cakes.

Ji Chang even fed a rice cake to an ant.

As for the wasps, they didn't seem very hungry. Ji Chang allowed them to drink water instead.

After satisfying their hunger and thirst, everyone gathered together.

They had noticed that after eating, their expended mental energy had been replenished.

Not only that, except for Ji Chang, everyone felt their mental energy had been strengthened.

The most noticeable change was in Dong Xuan. Previously, she could only manifest flames on her fingertips, but now, after eating their fill, she discovered her entire palm was ablaze when she tried.

As Dong Xuan's palm flared with flames, everyone felt a comforting warmth enveloping them.

Furthermore, Zhou Junhui, who had just awakened his extraordinary powers, found his arms had recovered significantly. He could now hold and eat the rice cakes on his own, whereas before, it had been Huang Mang and Zheng Haiyu feeding him.

Huang Mang's transformation into a metallic state had quickened, and his transition into a concrete-like form had become near instantaneous.

Wang Lingling's wing flapping had grown more forceful.

Though they hadn't tested it, it was clear that they could fly even higher now.

The ice shards formed by Zheng Haiyu had also become thicker.

"It seems replenishing food can restore and even enhance our mental energy," Chen Lingxue summarized.

This time, they had come to understand that the key to the power of extraordinary abilities lay in the strength of one's mental energy.

Currently, they had grasped two ways to enhance mental energy. One was frequent use of extraordinary abilities, which would deplete mental energy and, upon touching the limit, result in an increase.

The other was through consuming food.

This time, Ji Chang didn't feel any increase in his mental energy after eating. He surmised it might be due to his recent advancement in mental energy.

As for the sudden increase in mental energy when controlling the wasps, it could also be attributed to the category of mental energy consumption touching its limit.