Is this telling a story, or is it brainwashing education? Richard Thompson just felt that the vibe had changed, and the only information he got from this story was about the six-legged beast. But who knows if this was just something Taba made up to scare the kids? Of course, it could also be some primitive animal he simply didn’t know about. He saw the women soothing their children to sleep, but the mischievous little brats wouldn’t listen at all, jumping up and down in the cave, making a mess, giving him a bit of a headache.

So Richard Thompson quietly slipped away from the crowd and went outside the cave.

Outside, four young men were gathered around the campfire. They were probably in charge of keeping watch. When they saw Richard Thompson come out, there was still a hint of wariness in their eyes. After all, the darkness made them feel much less safe, and Richard Thompson, as a stranger, naturally made them even more cautious.

Richard Thompson had originally wanted to get friendly, but seeing their expressions, he could only give an awkward smile and say, “I’m just going to pee.”

“Don’t go too far,” one of them said.

Richard Thompson was startled, thinking, so they call it ‘peeing’ too! Interesting! Very interesting!

Don’t go too far—well, it goes without saying, nature is the bathroom here, and you can relieve yourself anywhere you like.

Actually, even if they hadn’t told him, Richard Thompson wouldn’t have dared to go far. He just went to the big tree in front of the cave. As he was about to unzip, he suddenly heard someone whispering behind the tree, “Delicious! Really delicious! Hmm... tomorrow, Richard Thompson should do the roasting too.”

Richard Thompson twitched his nose. What was that smell? It seemed familiar. Suddenly, his eyes widened, and he peeked over. By the faint firelight from the cave entrance, he could just make out a young boy sitting with his back against the tree, eating something.

It was none other than Po Yi’s grandson—George Baker.

Richard Thompson saw that he seemed to be holding a lot of food in his hands. No wonder this kid was so diligent during the day—turns out he was just taking advantage of the situation! He called out, “Hey! Isn’t this against the rules?”

“Ah!”

George Baker was happily eating, but Richard Thompson startled him so much that he cried out.

“What’s going on?”

One of the watchmen by the fire asked nervously.

George Baker’s pure, bright black eyes were filled with nervousness.

Richard Thompson smiled and replied, “It’s nothing, I just accidentally peed on George Baker’s head.”

George Baker immediately shouted, “Didn’t you see me sitting here?”

Hey! This kid reacts pretty fast! Richard Thompson shot him a couple of approving glances, but said, “It’s so dark, how could I see?”

There were a couple of laughs from the campfire.

George Baker let out a long sigh of relief, then glared at Richard Thompson before turning to leave.

Richard Thompson’s eyes flickered. He thought, Rong is too stiff—good for gathering information, but not easy to fool. The others are wary of me. But this boy is greedy and clever, a bit of an oddball in Blackstone Valley. Just what I need—someone to help me. I’ll start with him. Richard Thompson suddenly muttered to himself, “Those fruits earlier really tasted awful. Luckily, I still have something tasty with me.”

George Baker immediately came to a screeching halt.

Chapter 7: Accelerating Civilization

“You think they taste bad too?”

George Baker suddenly turned around and looked at Richard Thompson.

“They’re really awful.”

Richard Thompson raised his dinner. “See, I didn’t even eat it.”

George Baker glanced at it, his eyes flickering, then asked, “So what tasty thing do you have?”

Richard Thompson took a small box from his chest pocket, poured out a small white chew, and said, “This is a delicacy from the East called chewing gum. Not only is it tasty, but it’s also fun—you can blow bubbles with it, and you can even swallow it. Uh... I suppose you’d think it’s edible too.”

George Baker stared at the chewing gum in Richard Thompson’s hand, not even sure if he was listening.

Richard Thompson handed the gum over.

George Baker took it, sniffed it hard, smiled at Richard Thompson, “Smells great.” Then he popped it in his mouth and started chewing, making louder and louder smacking sounds, his eyes growing wider and wider with surprise and delight.

Richard Thompson laughed, “Well? Not bad, right?”

George Baker nodded excitedly, “Delicious, delicious, this... this...”

“Chewing gum.”

“Yeah. Chewing gum. It’s really sweet, gets sweeter the more you chew. Way better than fruit, haha...”

Richard Thompson smiled slightly, “But this is our little secret.”

George Baker nodded knowingly.

Looks like he really is a foodie. Good, good. A fine horse fears not finding a good judge; a chef fears not finding a foodie. As long as you’re a foodie, hmph, I can win over anyone. Richard Thompson looked at George Baker with a smile and said, “Oh, thanks for saving my life today.”

George Baker shook his head, “It wasn’t me who saved you, it was Charles Reed.”

“Charles Reed?”

Richard Thompson asked, “Who is Charles Reed?”

George Baker curled his lip, “The one who’s really annoying, but you can’t beat him.”

Richard Thompson blurted out, “Isn’t that you?”

George Baker looked at Richard Thompson in surprise.