"......" Laura Smith opened her mouth, completely at a loss for how to describe the current situation. She remained silent for quite a while, only snapping back to reality when the hunger in her stomach reminded her: "This is really... hard to believe."

She asked some more questions about local customs, learned a bit about the culture and traditions of this world, and after finding out that mysterious powers and races like those in fantasy stories existed here, she gradually accepted the fact that she had truly arrived in another world.

At this point, Laura Smith suddenly thought of another question: "Don't you find the questions I'm asking strange?"

"No." After all this time, David Clark had already come up with a suitable explanation: "The way you appeared made me realize right away that your origins would be quite unusual."

After David Clark described the strange state Laura Smith was in when she appeared, Laura Smith finally understood why David Clark was so calm—because from the very beginning, he hadn't considered her a 'normal person.'

"So that's how it is."

With her various doubts resolved, Laura Smith felt a slight headache: Could she ever go back? Although this world was magical and filled her with a sense of adventure,

it was not a good time for adventure right now. She was very worried about her companions—they had just survived a shipwreck, and she had no idea what their situation was at the moment. Had they managed to escape safely?

Filled with worry, Laura Smith didn't notice that while she was lost in thought, David Clark had cooked some meat soup for her dinner. It wasn't until the steaming soup was handed to her that she snapped out of it.

"Thank you!" Looking at the fragrant bowl of meat soup in her hands, Laura Smith sincerely thanked David Clark: "I'm so lucky to have met you."

"You're welcome."

David Clark gave Laura Smith a bright smile. He was in a good mood now—after all, Laura Smith's arrival meant he had a golden opportunity, a new motivation to keep working hard in this place.

Besides, Laura Smith herself was a beautiful woman with both looks and figure—who wouldn't want to look at a beauty?

After quickly finishing a bowl of meat soup, Laura Smith noticed that David Clark was just sitting nearby watching her, and suddenly felt a bit embarrassed: "Aren't you going to eat?"

After asking, she remembered that David Clark had previously explained the situation at the camp: he was the only one left, and supplies were scarce. "Is there not enough food?"

"No, I just ate before you arrived," David Clark explained. "I was lucky today and managed to hunt a deer during the day."

"That's good." Confirming that she hadn't eaten up his limited food supply, Laura Smith's worries eased a bit, and she then asked about the environment around the village.

She wanted to confirm if there was anything special near the village—otherwise, how could she have suddenly ended up here? Maybe if she found the source of that mysterious power, she could return home.

David Clark guessed what Laura Smith was thinking, but he didn't tell her that the so-called mysterious power was most likely himself. Instead, he straightforwardly described the surrounding environment: to the west of the village was a vast river, whose source was probably the mountain faintly visible to the north.

The river flowed from north to south, then turned west at the western side of their village, and another, much narrower river flowed in from the south to the north, joining it.

The main reason for choosing this spot as a camp was because it was at the river's bend and confluence—there was plenty of fresh water, and the river was full of fish, shrimp, and other aquatic life.

The northern forest was another reason, as it provided plenty of high-quality timber. The terrain was flat, and the east and south were basically all plains, making it very suitable for farming.

No matter how you looked at it, this was a good choice, but the subsequent progress was far from what had been expected.

Listening to David Clark's description, Laura Smith couldn't hear anything magical or unusual: "Haven't you encountered anything special in the past two years?"

"The most special thing is your appearance."

Hearing David Clark's answer, Laura Smith felt quite helpless. It seemed she would have to think in another direction.

"Get a good night's rest! Even if you want to do something, wait until morning." As they chatted, the sky had already turned dusky, and David Clark needed to prepare for the coming night.

Aside from the wooden house used as a warehouse and kitchen, the other three wooden houses were all of the same structure and layout: a large room with a fire pit in the middle, surrounded by simple beds. David Clark had spent the past two winters in this simple environment.

According to the pioneers' plan, these simple wooden houses were only temporary shelters, but since they had never managed to clear land for farming, no one was in the mood to build their own houses. As a result, there were still only a few temporary wooden houses here.

These wooden houses were not very warm, so to get through the night safely, a fire was needed. David Clark was now moving the necessary firewood inside.

Laura Smith was helping too. While the two of them were carrying firewood, they almost simultaneously noticed a faint shadow appear on the open ground not far outside the village.

"Is that... another visitor?"

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Chapter 3: Another Passing Old Buddha