Monster Dismantling Company

Chapter 57 Tasting

Just as Li Lin went to collect cooking samples, the reconnaissance team sent back information—when they returned, Chen Feiran, who was in charge of operating the drone, was sitting on the steps by the car door.

Upon seeing Li Lin arrive, he finally made way for him, his face clouded with worry.

"What happened? Did you fail?"

Chen Feiran shook his head, but Lin Zhiqing got out of the car: "The reconnaissance team's progress is very slow. After the drone flew two kilometers, it seemed to see some light ahead—and then in an instant, the drone malfunctioned. Now the reconnaissance team is discussing whether to start the first physical reconnaissance."

"Sigh." Li Lin sighed. "Don't look so gloomy. Come on, all of you, there's something delicious here."

Lin Zhiqing sidestepped Chen Feiran, who was blocking the road, and got out of the car: "Speaking of food, there's some new information here. Let's talk about it as we walk."

In the corner on the other side of the carriage, the stove was already lit.

All eyes were on Li Lin, because an urgent problem was looming ahead—the inventory of supplies had just been completed, and the intelligence had just been gathered and sent to Lin Zhiqing.

The inventory revealed that the food supplies would not last more than three days; the army's food rations were exhausted, and there would be no food for tomorrow if they ate today.

The only solution to this problem is the meat that Li Lin has collected.

At this time, the news was not yet publicly announced, because Luo Yinchang decided to wait until preliminary results were available before sharing it with everyone. After all, this transparency was not for its own sake, but to facilitate decision-making.

He planned to inform everyone of the army's food shortage once the information was more complete.

In other words, the army's food supplies were exhausted, and everyone was wondering if they would have anything left to eat.

If the soup in front of Li Lin can cook the meat, it at least shows that the food problem can be solved.

Three bricks were propped up in front of Li Lin, with an electric heater attached underneath. This was similar to the last time the colonel had fried meat for him; now it was his turn to fry it for himself.

Besides Li Lin, there were only three other people present. One of them was Lin Zhiqing, who would be responsible for recording this matter later.

Luo Yinchang was the decision-maker.

And Chen Feiran was sitting next to Li Lin, fiddling with his drone remote control. The drone had a remote screen display, but now only the signal loss indicator remained. But he hadn't given up hope, still hoping to see some results on the screen.

Li Lin called him over because if the meat was cooked in a while, Li Lin also planned to let Chen Feiran taste it.

After all, this stuff might end up being a staple food. Whether it's edible and tastes good directly impacts morale. If it's only for a day or two, taste isn't crucial. But if it's over a longer period, logistical support directly determines how far the team can go.

If you want to try the food, it's best to bring a few more people.

While Li Lin was frying the meat, Luo Yinchang was also observing the person in front of him—

"Why are you looking at me?" Li Lin noticed his gaze.

"I was thinking... monster dismantling work must be really hard work. I noticed a scar on your forehead?"

To be precise, it was between his eyebrows. Li Lin looked very healthy all over, which made the thin vertical line between his eyebrows seem somewhat out of place.

"A scar?" Li Lin touched his brow. "This isn't... Ah, yes, this is a scar."

He instinctively wanted to say something, but he swallowed his words back.

"I don't know if it's appropriate to ask this. But, is that scar a very unpleasant part of your past?"

After all, you can see it from the location. A scar between the eyebrows, close to the brain, and behind it is the pineal gland. Only a fatal wound could leave such a scar.

"Hmm..." Li Lin flipped the grilled meat over. "Life before wasn't necessarily bad. It's just that I like it better now than before. Consider this scar a mark of my past life."

"How old are you?" Luo Yinchang tilted his head to look at him.

Li Lin's words sounded completely out of character for someone his age; it was as if he had lived for a very long time.

"Eight years old, I've already told you."

"Fine, if you don't want to talk about it, I won't ask."

"Why doesn't anyone believe me when I tell the truth?" Li Lin shook his head and flipped the grilled meat over again.

Slowly, the aroma wafted up, but it was just the smell of oil—the oil was cooking oil scavenged from the car, and so was the cookware set. It seemed that someone had prepared it for a barbecue party after arriving in Raize, but now it was being used.

However, apart from the cooking oil, the meat itself did not seem to have any particular flavor.

There was only one flavor, just like the "oyster soup" that Li Lin had mentioned earlier. The texture of the meat was indeed somewhat similar to that of shellfish, somewhere between fat, muscle, and cartilage, with a rather crisp texture.

"Huh? Is this edible?"

"Wait a minute." Li Lin glanced at him. "Barbecue must be eaten well-done."

"Do you prefer it well-done?"

"When eating food of unknown origin, I recommend that everyone eat it well-done—just don't overcook it. Cooking is one of humanity's greatest inventions, and we must make good use of it. The nutritional foundation that has enabled humanity to evolve to its current state is obtained through cooking."

Li Lin values ​​the significance of cooking as much as he would protect intangible cultural heritage.

Humans are great because of cooking, which is why they like to eat highly processed foods.

Potato chips, in particular, are a highly processed form of junk food that brings him immense happiness, as cooking is one of the few things he is genuinely interested in.

"Alright, you can eat now." Li Lin cooked the meat on the tip of the knife until it was fully cooked before handing it to Luo Yinchang with the tip of the knife—however, he still paid attention to table manners. There were no other suitable cooking utensils at the moment, so he used a knife to grill the meat. Even so, when he handed the grilled meat, he held the tip of the knife to the side, not directly towards Luo Yinchang.

"Oh, thank you." Luo Yinchang didn't care anymore and simply extended his hand—

However, Li Lin withdrew an inch before he touched the flesh.

"Before you actually eat it, I have something to tell you. You can take this as a disclaimer, but we're not discussing liability, we're discussing safety," Li Lin said seriously. "Unless absolutely necessary, I don't want any of you to eat meat of unknown origin. It could have unforeseen consequences."

This is Li Lin's advice.

This meat might mean nothing to him, just an ordinary roasted meal. But for humans, not all dragon meat is edible. Some dragon meat can have very unpleasant consequences—such as scaling, or even dragonification.