Upon seeing all of this, Luo’er’s first reaction was to wonder if his belongings had been exposed. He was, after all, a special forces soldier from Earth, and essentially everything he carried was produced on Earth. If they recognized any of it, it would be disastrous.
Luo’er was in a mess. He tried to move his body, only to find that the wound on his chest was still not fully healed. After searching around, he finally found his dagger in the luggage piled beside him, gripping it tightly in his hand just in case. If this mother-daughter duo had recognized his identity, then no matter how innocent they were, he would have to eliminate them.
Without doubt, both his current situation and the fire that had been lit were due to the efforts of the mother and daughter, Yila. After he had landed, he had been busy stopping his wound from bleeding, with no concern for the two women’s wellbeing. However, it seemed like they had brought him here and taken meticulous care of him. If not for them, he would have lain in the wild grasslands, covered in blood, and likely would have been consumed by wild beasts by now.
Little Sara was watching him with an innocent look on her face, her eyes filled with a degree of joy. Seeing her , Luo’er felt a twinge of sympathy and asked, "Where is your mother?"
"Mum went to look for food, she told me to stay here and watch over you." Sara answered candidly.
"I see." Luo’er sighed in relief and surveyed his surroundings. His backpack and equipment were neatly arranged not far from him, close enough to reach with just a stretch of his hand. It seems that during his unconsciousness, the mother and daughter hadn’t tampered with his belongings at all.
Having realized this, Luo’er quietly slid his dagger under his sleeping bag. As night had now fallen, Sara kept squatting on the ground, staring at him, occasionally adding some branches to the fire.
Facing her enthusiastic gaze, Luo’er felt a bit awkward. He lowered his head to inspect the wound on his chest, and found that at some point his clothes had been washed. Though there were faint bloodstains, it was much better than being covered in blood.
"Did your mum wash this?" Luo’er asked, looking at his clothes.
"Yes!" Sara nodded in response, showing no signs of unfamiliarity.
"How long have I been asleep?" Luo’er continued to inquire.
"Well," Sara looked up at the ceiling of the cave, counting on her chubby fingers, and after a long while hesitantly replied, "About, about, about three days..."
All of a sudden, as if she had recalled something, she got up and rushed out of the cave, only to return scampering after a while, tightly holding a fruit of unknown origin in her hand.
"Here you go. You must be hungry, eat this!" When Sara handed over the fruit to him, she continually swallowed saliva.
"Thank you." Luo’er didn’t stand on ceremony and began eating the fruit immediately. Having slept for three days, his energy had already been exhausted. Even though the energy provided by this fruit was limited, it was better than nothing.
As he ate, Luo’er glanced at Sara. In Tangmo’s descriptions, she was a half-blood of the Human and Dwarf Races. Her outward appearance was almost identical to Tangmo’s; she bore virtually no Dwarf characteristics, presumably the reason why Tangmo was willing to risk his life to save her.
"Where’s your mother?" Noticing Sara salivating, Luo’er tore off a piece of the fruit and passed it to her before asking.
As she wolfed down the fruit, Sara answered while still chewing, "Mum went to find food."
Luo’er nodded, not asking any further. The mother and daughter could have chosen to abandon him and go their separate ways after landing. But they chose to stay and help him, showing that they were good-hearted people who knew the importance of reciprocity.
"Sara!" Suddenly, a woman’s voice came from not too far away, followed by a figure appearing near the fire.
"Mum!" Hearing Yila’s voice, Sara immediately turned around and rushed towards her.
"Mum, the big brother woke up!" Standing by Yila’s side, Sara pointed at Luo’er and said loudly.
"Is that so?" Yila was stunned for a moment, then raised her head to look at Luo’er. Seeing him now sitting up, she walked towards him.
Luo’er saw that she was holding a container made of tree leaves containing some food she had presumably gathered.
"You woke up, that’s wonderful." Yila let out a sigh of relief seeing Luo’er was unharmed.
"Did you save me?" Luo’er asked.
"Yes. When we woke up, we found you unconscious and injured, so we brought you here."
"And you removed my belongings and washed my clothes?" Luo’er continued to inquire.
Yila was startled and hurriedly began to explain, "Yes, I apologize. You were badly injured, so I... "
Before she could finish, Luo’er interrupted, "There’s no need for an apology, I’m not blaming you."
"Oh," Yila watched him nervously and then placed the leaf-made container beside him, saying, "This is for you. Eat something if you’re hungry."
Luo’er looked down; it’s full of wild fruits and roots gathered from the forest. Masya is just starting to show signs of spring, so there isn’t much available to fill the stomach.
Luo’er reached out and took a couple of berries, then told her, "These are enough for me. You can have the rest."
"Thank you, thank you!" Yila gratefully replied, and then gave the rest to Sara.
Luo’er looked at the parachute fabric that was covering him and asked, "Did you cut this material and use it as a warming blanket?"
"I’m...I’m sorry, because it’s still very cold, and we couldn’t find any clothes nearby, so we..." Yila hurriedly apologized.
"It’s fine", Luo’er waved his hand and spoke indifferently," this material is basically junk once it hits the ground. It can be used however you like".
He was no longer suspicious of whether Yila knew about his secret. Given her current behaviour, he concluded she was timid and was unlikely to harbour any ulterior motives of prying into his secrets.
After eating two berries, Luo’er felt a lot more energized. Although these fruits, saved from winter to early spring, were shrivelled up, they were still better than nothing.
It was obvious that the mother and daughter weren’t skilled at surviving in the wild. They could only gather simple plants to eat. He couldn’t even begin to imagine how they managed to make a fire, let alone hunt for food.
After ensuring the wound was not a major concern, Luo’er picked up the AK rifle next to him and began to check it by the fire. When the gun landed, the muzzle had hit the ground forcefully. He wasn’t sure if the barrel was bent.
The mother and daughter sat together on the opposite side, both watching the weapon in Luo’er’s hand with apprehension. They had not forgotten that on the airboat, Luo’er had used this weapon to kill the Dwarves who had hijacked the boat.
The condition of the rifle was good, and the barrel wasn’t bent. After all, it was made from special metal, though it was an old artifact from the last century, it wasn’t easily damaged. Luo’er inspected the magazine. A bullet remained inside, and there were more unused bullets in it. If he hadn’t switched off the safety before jumping off the airboat, it could have accidentally fired countless times by now.
Luo’er skillfully removed the cartridge, pulled out the bullet, and then reloaded it into the cartridge. Watching his every move, Sara was stunned, she even left her mother’s side to squat next to him.
Yila did not dare to call Sara back in front of Luo’er. Even though she knew Luo’er was not a bad person, she couldn’t help but worry for her daughter.
After inspecting his weapon, Luo’er turned his head and looked at Sara. Seeing her cute astonished face, he brought his backpack closer, took out an emergency energy bar from inside, tore open the package and handed it to her.
Sara carefully took the energy bar and put it in her mouth. After tasting the sweet flavour, her spirits instantly lifted. She ran back to her mother, showing off the energy bar, and said loudly, "Mom, mom, this thing is sweet, you try it!"
Yila hugged her daughter, took a bite, and then looked gratefully at Luo’er. Luo’er ignored her gaze, continuing to take out emergency food from his bag to replenish his energy.
"Are...are you a Southerner?" After a long while, Yila finally gathered the courage to ask cautiously.
"What do you think?" Luo’er looked at her, his expression nonchalantly.
"You’re a half-elf, a black-haired half-elf." Yila stared at him carefully; stuttering, "Before, I also met black-haired people, but they are not Southerners ..."
"What, you’ve met black-haired people?" Luo’er was momentarily taken aback, and quickly asked.
"Yes, yes," Seeing Luo’er’s reaction, Yila became even more nervous, stutteringly answering, "There were black-haired people in Helros, but, they were..."
"They were what?" Luo’er continued to press.
"They were from Otherworld... that’s what the guards told us." Yila continued cautiously.
"You’ve seen black-haired people from Otherworld?" Luo’er coldly stared at her, his hand unconsciously reaching back and gripping the handle of his dagger.
He knew very well that the Otherworld people she was referring to were from Earth and the black-haired people who were able to reach Otherworld were none other than his own kind.
"It was the guards who told us they were people from Otherworld, most of us thought they were Southerners!" Yila, apparently unaware of the impending danger, went on.
"Of course, many Southerners have black hair!" Hearing her words, Luo’er heaved a sigh of relief and responded.
"So you are indeed a Southerner," Hearing Luo’er’s confirmation, Yila clapped her hands and said relievedly, "I knew it, how could there be any black-haired people from Otherworld."
"You’ve met people from Otherworld?" Luo’er asked again, taken aback.
"Mm-hmm," Yila nodded, a touch of sadness appeared on her face, "During the Prophetic War!"