Leveling Up By Surviving Alone - L.U.B.S.A Chapter 49

Ji Yeonwoo was speechless.

How could this insane superfood, packed with such high nutrition and quality, be labeled as mere “feed”?

“They’re calling this feed. Does that make any sense?”

—

– The Watcher remains silent.

“Ugh! Brother, you must be thinking some harsh curses too, right? Isn’t this just ridiculous?”

—

– The Watcher remains heavily silent.

Peep peep peep!

At that moment, the chicks began hopping around.

Their chirping was different from before.

And Ji Yeonwoo wasn’t unfamiliar with this kind of chirping.

Because it was the same kind of chirping he had often heard during his childhood.

“Hehehe. You’re hungry, aren’t you?”

Sure enough, the bulging sacs on their bellies, which had looked like belly buttons, were now gone.

Having absorbed all the nutrients in their bodies, the chicks were now demanding their next meal.

Just like Ji Yeonwoo’s chicks had done when he was young.

Ji Yeonwoo glanced subtly at Kim Kkokko.

The way they were chirping was eerily similar to how Kim Kkokko would tap her beak against a bowl.

“Well, well. Like mother, like children!”

Kkok…!

Kim Kkokko, for some reason, sharply turned her head away.

She seemed to deny anything related to the chicks.

It would be nice if they could get along….

Anyway, Ji Yeonwoo proudly presented the special baby food he had worked so hard to make using the millstone.

“Here, you can eat now!”

The bowl was piled high with the special baby food!

The chicks gathered around the bowl.

They sniffed it,

Peep…?

And tilted their heads in confusion.

Then, their five pairs of eyes turned toward Ji Yeonwoo,

Peep peep peep!

And they began chirping loudly, demanding food again.

“Huh? There’s food right here!”

Peep peep!

“I worked so hard to make this!”

Ji Yeonwoo pushed the plate of superfood toward the chicks.

But the chicks turned their heads away, refusing to even look at it.

Seeing his special superfood being outright rejected, Ji Yeonwoo slumped down in defeat.

“No way….”

All the effort he had put into making this flashed before his eyes like a panorama.

What could possibly be wrong that they would reject his masterpiece and demand other food?

“There’s no other food… I couldn’t make any because I was busy making this.”

Peep…!

No food?

Did they understand that?

The chicks, who had been chirping at Ji Yeonwoo for food, suddenly froze.

Then, they bypassed the pile of feed and began running forward.

Peep peep peep!

The direction they were running in was exactly where the vegetable army was.

“Ah, no!”

Why do sad premonitions always come true?

Whether Ji Yeonwoo liked it or not, the chicks, who had rejected the superfood (…), headed straight for the plant army.

All sorts of thoughts crossed his mind.

The thought of all the plants he had nurtured and spared as ingredients being devoured by the chicks’ beaks was heartbreaking.

But he couldn’t let them starve,

However,

However…!

“Please, just pass by them!”

And perhaps his words worked?

The chicks ran past the plant army.

As if the plant army wasn’t their destination.

Ji Yeonwoo’s face brightened.

‘Thank goodness!’

But was that really the case?

The chicks’ destination after passing the plant army was…

The beach.

Splash,

Splash splash splash!

“What…? Hey!”

Ji Yeonwoo was startled and ran after them.

Bad thoughts raced through his mind.

“Where do chicks who don’t like their food jump into the sea?!”

Are they already rebellious at less than three days old?

As he thought this, Ji Yeonwoo had no choice but to stop in his tracks.

Because the chicks were floating on the water like ducklings and began swimming skillfully.

“Wow… you guys can swim?”

They floated like baby ducks and swam in a line, looking adorable.

Just as Ji Yeonwoo was about to smile at the sight,

Splash!

The chicks suddenly dove underwater, and when they resurfaced,

Splash splash splash!

They had something wriggling in their beaks.

Something shiny and blue, flapping wildly.

That something was one of the fry Ji Yeonwoo had been raising so preciously…!

A rift sea bream fry from the vivarium.

Gulp…!

The fry’s final breath as it looked up at the sky.

Gulp.

Peep!

“Nooooooooooo!”

Munch munch munch.

“Ughhhhhh!”

Ji Yeonwoo’s scream echoed.

He could only watch helplessly as the fry he had raised so lovingly were mercilessly torn apart by the cute little beaks.

Suddenly, his father’s fish tank came to mind.

The tropical fish that had died en masse when Jeong Manduk poured hot water into his father’s 10-gallon tank.

His father’s screams and his mother’s laughter.

Now he understood.

Mom was truly a heartless person!

“This is how you felt, Dad… I finally understand now!”

How did you live through this?

But he couldn’t tell them to stop.

After all, the chicks were more precious to him than the vivarium’s fry.

Besides, the numbers were vastly different.

How could a few thousand fry compare to just five chicks?

In the end, Ji Yeonwoo had no choice but to resign himself to it.

All that was left was the pitifully cold, nutrient-packed superfood.

Ji Yeonwoo naturally handed the bowl of superfood to Kim Kkokko.

“Enjoy.”

But Kim Kkokko slowly turned her head away, as if to say, “You expect me to eat this?” Ji Yeonwoo moved the bowl in the direction of her gaze, but she kept avoiding it, leaving him no choice.

“It’s packed with nutrients, though….”

Ji Yeonwoo’s gaze shifted upward.

“Brother… um, never mind.”

—

– The Watcher says feed is a bit much, expressing disappointment.

“No, it’s just the name… and I haven’t even said anything yet!”

—

– Then why don’t you try eating it yourself?

“Ah, I can’t! If I eat my first dish….”

No matter what, there would be a huge difference in satisfaction.

The first dish made from the first ingredients must be delicious.

—

– The Watcher says you must know it doesn’t taste good.

“Th-that’s…!”

Of course, it wouldn’t taste as good as the usual spicy food he made.

But it’s good for you, right?

It’s just that he had to save the first dish made from the first ingredients to unlock more skill lists.

—

– The Watcher says you’re being transparent.

“…No, I’m not! I really can’t eat it even if I want to!”

—

– The Watcher remains silent.

“…Tch!”

And so, the superfood Ji Yeonwoo had worked so hard to make had no one to eat it.

Should he just throw it away?

“If I’m going to throw it away anyway….”

Before he knew it, Ji Yeonwoo had stepped into the sea.

The shimmering, colorful lights.

Ji Yeonwoo tossed a single piece of the superfood into the water.

Splash!

An intense reaction?

“Oh…?”

Ji Yeonwoo grabbed a handful of the superfood and scattered it into the sea like a farmer sowing seeds.

Splash splash splash splash!

“Ohhhhhhh!”

An unprecedented intense reaction!

He continued scattering the superfood.

The fry nearby, smelling it, began swarming.

The superfood that everyone had rejected was now being enthusiastically welcomed by his precious little fry!

“You guys are the best!”

Splash splash splash!

Rainbow-colored threads gathered around Ji Yeonwoo, creating a spectacular scene.

So many fry gathered that the sea around Ji Yeonwoo seemed to glow brightly.

“Hahahaha! Eat up. Eat as much as you want!”

—

– The Watcher laughs, saying that if it’s not feed, then what is it?

“Hahaha!”

At that moment, the chicks, who had struggled to catch the fast fry, had their eyes light up.

Peep peep.

Peep peep peep!

They ran to Ji Yeonwoo’s side and began hunting with ease.

“No!”

In the end, Ji Yeonwoo’s beautiful feeding session turned into him throwing bait, the fry gathering, and the chicks feasting on them.

The fry had a feed party.

The chicks had a fry party.

Ji Yeonwoo scattered the superfood, the fry ate it, and the chicks ate the fry. In the end, Ji Yeonwoo had successfully fed his superfood to the chicks.

A magnificent food chain.

This, too, is the way of nature.

.

.

.

The chicks’ bellies were bulging after their meal.

They waddled out of the sea, their downy feathers completely soaked.

The night was cold.

The warmest place was near the stove where Ji Yeonwoo was cooking.

Crackle crackle!

The chicks, waddling over, watched Ji Yeonwoo cook and began dozing off. Regardless, Ji Yeonwoo was making fish cakes, just like before.

A similar mix of ingredients as before. The main ingredients were rift sea bream and grouper belly. Most of it was similar to the superfood he had made, but there were a few differences.

One of them was this.

“Hup.”

Soon, Ji Yeonwoo’s empty hand grabbed at the air.

Like snapping his fingers, he pinched the air lightly with his thumb, index, and middle fingers.

He rubbed his fingers together gently….

And something began to scatter like powdered snow.

Sssssss~

The scattered substance hit Ji Yeonwoo’s forearm and spread out more evenly.

It sprinkled over the fish cake mixture.

It wasn’t a mistake, so he continued the action as much as he wanted, then tasted it.

“Hmm, well-seasoned.”

That’s right.

This was the salt stored in Ji Yeonwoo’s fin-like arm.

It didn’t come directly from his body, but when he thought about using the skill and focused on his hand or foot,

Whoosh.

Salt would spray out from thin air.

It wasn’t stored directly in his body but could be summoned like this, so he had no qualms about using it in cooking.

The taste was also the same as salt made by evaporating rift seawater.

Considering that salt made from rift seawater had a peculiar umami, this was far superior to the salt in his seasoning jar.