CH 63

“Space-Time Battlefield.”

Ye Meng had just returned from the battlefield, removed his armor, and his undershirt was soaked with sweat. He quickly headed to the bathroom for a shower. After changing into fresh clothes, Ye Xin and Ye Tong came to find him, suggesting they go to the cafeteria together for a meal.

Walking side by side, the atmosphere within the base was tense and solemn. Ye Tong expressed his concerns, “What’s been happening with the Stone Clan lately? Both their combat strength and attack frequency have increased significantly. I almost got injured during today’s battle.”

Among the three, Ye Tong was the strongest due to his exceptional flying ability, and even he almost got hurt. This indicated the intensity of the Stone Clan’s aggression.

Ye Meng and Ye Xin offered some words of caution to Ye Tong, but they themselves felt powerless. On the battlefield, they were not in control. If Ye Tong was at risk, so were they. Previously, the Space-Time Battlefield had been a place of hardships, challenges, and some danger for the three young Eagle Tribe members, but mostly a training ground without significant threats. However, recently, they had begun to sense a crisis, and a feeling of life-and-death struggle loomed.

Ye Meng tried to lighten the mood, “It’s okay. The casualties aren’t too high right now. Besides, Lady Ji has brought several members of the Divine Clan to the battlefield. They join us in each battle, and if the Stone Clan wants our lives, they’ll have to ask the Divine Clan first.”

“Hahaha, right, we have the Divine Clan!”

Thinking of the presence of several Divine Clan members on the battlefield, the three of them felt relieved. Ye Meng chuckled, “We better hurry. There’s barbecue in the cafeteria today, and if we’re late, it might run out!”

The other two suddenly got serious. They picked up their pace and headed towards the cafeteria. As they were about to reach the cafeteria, they were stopped by someone.

“Ye Meng, Ye Tong, Ye Xin, there’s something for you. Come and take it.”

Ye Meng waved his hand, “Later, we’re going to eat first. We’ll come get it after.”

However, the soldier who called them said, “No, the storage room is getting crowded. You need to take your things now.”

The three of them reluctantly glanced at the cafeteria, and a few soldiers who knew them walked by, laughing, “Hey, Ye Meng, you guys better hurry up. The barbecue is almost gone. Hahaha, we’re heading in first!”

The soldier at the storage room continued to shout, but the three of them walked toward the storage room with a dejected look, seeing the figures of the others who had gone ahead into the cafeteria.

Three people, three boxes of items. They were sent by their beloved younger brother, Ye Man. The boxes were tightly wrapped, and they intended to open them later. The urgent task now was to bring the boxes to the cafeteria. When they rushed into the cafeteria, the barbecue was indeed gone. The soldier in charge of serving food apologized and informed them that the barbecue was still being cooked and might take another half an hour. The three sighed. They didn’t want to wait for half an hour when they could just finish eating and rest.

They ordered some food and sat down to eat. At the next table were the few people who had entered the cafeteria just before them. They laughed upon seeing the little amount of barbecue in the three’s bowls. The leader among them, a friend of Ye Meng’s, laughed, “When we came in, there wasn’t much barbecue left. It just happened that there were a lot of us, and we finished it all.”

Ye Meng glared at him, “If we hadn’t gone to get our things, would there still have been barbecue for you?”

The man laughed heartily, “What if or what not, we only acknowledge the facts. Hahaha, alright, seeing how pitiful you guys look, let’s eat together.”

Seeing the small amount of barbecue they were sharing, Ye Meng playfully scolded, “Keep it for yourselves. There’s barely enough for you. At least we’ve eaten other meats.”

In light of this, those people didn’t insist. They started eating with gusto. Their shared camaraderie was genuine, but who would refuse an opportunity to have all the barbecue to themselves?

Meanwhile, Ye Meng and the others began to eat their unappetizing meal. The food in the Space-Time Battlefield was actually quite good—meat, vegetables, eggs—all were fresh, clean, and nutritious. Unfortunately, the cooking skills of the soldiers were lacking, and even with good ingredients, the food they made wasn’t very tasty. However, after practicing for a long time, they had managed to make their meals passable. The problem was that eating something that wasn’t particularly delicious every day was starting to take its toll.

Not long ago, a new recruit had grilled some meat that smelled heavenly, and he was immediately reassigned to the kitchen to take charge of the barbecue. That gave the soldiers something to look forward to. However, there was only one person in the kitchen, and the amount of barbecue he produced at a time was limited. Whether they could grab a piece or not depended on luck.

As they ate their bland meal, Ye Meng suddenly remembered something. He put down his chopsticks and looked at a nearby box, hesitating.

Ye Xin found this strange and asked directly, “What are you doing? Just open it.”

Ye Tong chimed in, “Whatever Ye Man sent, it can’t be anything valuable. It’s fine to open it here.”

In his heart, Ye Meng had a vague idea of what Ye Man had sent—it was likely homemade food. What if he opened it here and it got taken by others? After all, from what he had seen in the videos, the food Ye Man made looked really delicious.

He voiced his concerns quietly. Ye Tong and Ye Xin burst into laughter, thinking he was overthinking it. After all, they had only returned to the Space-Time Battlefield not too long ago after their break. It was unlikely that Ye Man had managed to make something very delicious in such a short time. It was probably just encouragement from their family.

This explanation seemed more reasonable. Nevertheless, Ye Meng still hesitated. Ye Tong waved his hand and declared, “Alright, let’s open mine first.”

Ye Meng quickly withdrew his hand from the box he was holding and watched as Ye Tong opened his box. Ye Tong laughed at him, “You’re being stingy.”

It was just playful banter between brothers, so Ye Meng didn’t take it to heart. He watched closely as Ye Tong opened the box.

First, he opened the cardboard box, which was filled with foam. He removed the foam to reveal the opaque packages inside, each tightly wrapped.

Ye Tong took out one of the boxes and placed it on the table, saying with a smile, “Little Man put some thought into the packaging.” He then proceeded to open the box without hesitation. Looking at the contents inside, he smiled, “It’s indeed food. It looks pretty good. Take a look, you guys.”

Ye Meng and Ye Xin looked over. Dark sauce enveloped the meat and vegetables. Although it seemed somewhat congealed and didn’t immediately stimulate their appetites, being a gift from their younger brother, the three of them scooped a spoonful and put it into the steaming hot cabbage soup. They stirred, and the dark sauce gradually dissolved, releasing a rich aroma. The three exchanged glances, and immediately picked up pieces of meat and brought them to their mouths…

Despite the slight chill, there was a strong and rich flavor. A taste they had never experienced before spread in their mouths. Ye Meng couldn’t wait to savor it properly, and after a quick bite, he swallowed the meat. Looking up, he saw Ye Tong and Ye Xin had similar reactions. Having tasted it, all three of them stared at the small box of dark food, their eyes shining. They swallowed saliva and couldn’t wait to reach for their chopsticks again.

Just as the three of them were eagerly devouring the food, the aroma of the braised meat started to spread in the cabbage soup, catching the attention of the neighboring table. Someone sniffed the air and turned to look at them, saying, “Ye Meng, what are you guys eating? It smells amazing!”

The three of them paused in unison, with Ye Meng stuffing a mouthful of meat and vegetables into his mouth. He mumbled, “N-nothing.”

The person at the neighboring table wasn’t convinced and instead picked up their bowl and walked over to the three’s table. Following the scent, they found the braised meat on the table and stared at it, saying, “Ye Meng, what’s this? It smells so good!”

Hearing the praise and noticing others also catching a whiff of the aroma, a few more people joined in, looking at the tantalizing braised meat. The first person who had come over couldn’t resist anymore. He realized that the box of food was Ye Tong’s, not Ye Meng’s. He turned to Ye Tong and said, “Ye Tong, did you guys eat our barbecue just now?”

Ye Tong widened his eyes, “We didn’t eat anything!”

The person laughed, “We asked you, didn’t we? You have something delicious now. Shouldn’t you also ask us? What does everyone say?”

Others quickly chimed in, “Yeah!”

Ye Tong sighed, “…”

He had no choice but to open the box, his heart aching as he said, “My younger brother made this. Should you… try it?”

“Sure!”

Hearing this, several people crowded around, and in the blink of an eye, only a thin layer of soup remained in the box. Ye Tong covered his chest in pain. He had only taken a few bites!

Everyone tasted the food and praised, “Delicious!”

“Your younger brother is so talented! It’s so delicious!”

“It’s delicious, but there’s not enough.”

“Go to hell, having something to eat is already good enough!”

“Ye Tong, why don’t you have your brother come to our place? If we could eat something this delicious every day, I’d be willing to spend a few more hours on the battlefield!”

“Yeah, me too! Ye Tong, I remember Ye Meng saying your brother hasn’t found a job, right? Let him work here. Even though it’s on the battlefield, we’ll definitely protect him. We won’t even let him see a pebble from the stone tribe. As long as he makes us food!”

Ye Tong shook his head sadly, “My brother already has a job, and he definitely won’t come here.” As he said this, he tried to silently put the box away, but several people noticed. Someone immediately said, “Ye Tong, is there still food in that box?!”

Several of them exclaimed in admiration, “Such good fortune!”

“Ye Tong, bring out another box and open it. We’ll just take a look, we won’t eat yours.”

Ye Tong was skeptical. While these folks had a good relationship with him and his siblings, they had a “pirate-like” attitude when it came to food outside of battles. He was about to refuse when Ye Meng across the table spoke up, “Yeah, big brother, there are so many boxes of food. Opening one more won’t hurt, right?”

Hearing Ye Meng’s words, the others chimed in, “Yeah, open one more!”

Ye Tong thought, “!!!”

Ye Xin beside him hugged her box tightly, looking at her two brothers trembling. Were they about to have a sibling showdown? So scary, sob sob~

In the end, Ye Tong reluctantly presented three boxes of food, Ye Meng was coerced into contributing three boxes, and even Ye Xin had to bring out one box. The group of soldiers wolfed down the food together, satisfied and content.

“Burp, delicious, so delicious. It’s just that knowing this is a one-time thing makes my heart ache.”

“Yeah, after eating something so delicious, having to go back to the cafeteria is like going from heaven to hell!”

“Seriously, Ye Tong, tell your brother to come work with us. We’ll make sure he gets the best treatment!”

“Yeah! He only needs to cook every day, and he doesn’t have to do anything else. We’ll pay him ten thousand as a salary. How about that?”

Ten thousand as a salary was quite a lot. They were risking their lives on the battlefield for a salary of just fifteen thousand. Ye Tong was tempted. Plus, he also wanted to eat something this delicious every day. Moreover, since all three siblings were on the battlefield, it was better to keep an eye on Ye Man than have him outside. Seeing Ye Tong’s interest, they encouraged him to call and ask right away. Ye Tong glanced at Ye Meng and Ye Xin, both of whom nodded, so he pulled out the communication device and dialed Ye Man’s number.

Ye Man was having a meal. They rotated their meal times in the mess hall due to the large number of people. Midway through his meal, his communication device suddenly rang. Taking a look, he saw it was his big brother Ye Tong calling. Had they received the things he sent over? Thinking this, he answered the call.

“Hello, big brother.”

“Cough, cough. Ye Man, what are you up to?”

Ye Man replied, “I’m having a meal. Big brother, did you guys receive the things I sent over?”

“We did. We’ve started eating, and it tastes really good. You’re amazing, Ye Man!”

“Hehehe,” Ye Man scratched his head in embarrassment, “If it’s delicious, I can send you more often.”

Ye Tong’s eyes lit up, “That’s great!”

Several people stared at him, gesturing for him to get to the point. Clearing his throat, Ye Tong asked, “Um, Ye Man, are you enjoying your job? How’s the salary and benefits? Have you ever thought about changing to a higher-paying job?”

Ye Man chuckled, “Big brother, you don’t need to worry about me. I’m very happy. The boss and my colleagues are all great. We get three meals a day provided, and there are lots of snacks too! The boss makes them himself, and they’re especially delicious!”

Hearing about food, Ye Tong’s mind immediately went to the dishes Ye Man sent over, and his mouth started to water. He hurriedly asked, “And the salary? Are you satisfied?”

This time, Ye Man was genuinely embarrassed, “Well, actually, it’s a bit… uh…”

Ye Tong’s heart leaped with joy. He exchanged a glance with the others and asked, “Is it too low?” Would his brother consider a high-paying job here?

Before he could finish his sentence, he heard Ye Man say, “No, it’s too high. I’m getting twenty thousand a month, and I feel really guilty about it!”

Ye Tong, who worked tirelessly for only fifteen thousand a month, thought, “…Excuse me, I need to take my leave.”

Of course, he couldn’t really leave. Ye Tong chatted with his younger brother for a couple more minutes, then hung up the call. The others quickly asked, “How is it? How is it?”

Ye Tong had an expressionless face as he replied, “Free meals, snacks, and a monthly salary of twenty thousand, plus I can learn cooking skills.”

The people present were left in a state of shock.

Ye Tong felt satisfied. He realized that he wasn’t the only one who found it unfair. Knowing this, he felt balanced.

——

The author has something to say: Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or irrigated with nutrient solution between 20:18:18 and 14:47:53 on August 19, 2020~

Special thanks to the little angels who left landmines: White Peach Oolong Duck (1).

Thank you all for your support. I will continue to work hard!

1TL: YSIAD “You can support me if you like my translations by leaving a comment below, or by sending me a Ko-fi. Thank you ”