"What abilities can be used on handling fresh skins?" Ye Nai was quite curious.
"A type of microscopic control ability, but the specific manifestations of this ability are quite varied and not much detailed. It’s said that at first, it was even considered useless until a big shot found the right way to use one of them."
"Oh, finding the right application is pretty impressive, setting a direction for those who follow."
"Right, that’s why he is a big shot."
Ye Nai felt a connection, her spores and Fungus were probably also a form of microscopic control ability.
She hadn’t expected to find her kin in this world. Indeed, there were countless Awakeners, each one unique.
While Ye Nai was lost in her thoughts, the group had finished their discussion.
The four skins were still taken by the team leaders, the cold storage kept the beef and bones, and the procurement department’s clerk insisted that Ye Nai must promise to call them next time they had such prime resources.
After settling the bill and transferring the money to Ye Nai, the four pieces of Wild Bull Skin were still handed over to her to keep, and then she was led to the military camp’s own Tanner.
The military camp’s logistics had their own artisans, but they were responsible for the standard equipment of the entire military camp in Danger Zone No. 5 and did not accept private orders. This was an exception made through personal connections and those few pieces of Wild Bull Skin.
The Tanner happily took the skins, promised to do a good job, and asked to keep one piece for himself next time to make a new pair of shoes.
That, of course, was no problem.
After making the payment, Ye Nai even gave an extra large piece of beef as a gift to foster their relationship, considering that there would be many more new skins in the future.
The artisan accepted the beef and promptly agreed to prioritize Ye Nai’s skins, causing other captains to provoke a round of protests.
Tanning skins takes time, perfectly enough to wait for the shoe lasts.
After New Year’s Day came the anticipation of the New Year, with everyone uninterested in deploying on missions, and the entire Danger Zone was imbued with a carefree atmosphere.
Even the typically absent private squads were back in the neighborhood, stirring up the quiet and calm area.
Ye Nai, who frequented the training hall, naturally saw more of the private squads there. Holiday or not, their daily training continued unmissed. Those who had survived to this point all possessed such self-discipline.
The captains and members also watched her train, pointing out her shortcomings. Hardly a few words would pass before she was invited to join them for a drink, each time Ye Nai would say next time, next time, and never went.
Until the captains of few capable private squads in the neighborhood organized a gathering of eight people and invited Ye Nai, she finally attended.
Drinking was inevitable at the feast, and boxes of beer and spirits were stacked at the entrance of the private room, suggesting the party wouldn’t end until everything was finished.
Ye Nai, keeping a low profile, took a bottle of beer, sat down, and mentioned she was "Leaky drunken" and would just casually drink so as not to waste the captains’ money on booze.
However, as soon as her glass was filled, the captains’ glasses came over, one after another with quick phrases. Cheers on meeting, two drinks on sitting, three on the left, three on the right, another after finishing this one.
Clearly, nobody believed she was really "Leaky drunken."
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Ye Nai complained inwardly, from summer to now in just half a year, had she really done any good deeds?
In the end, all the boxes of alcohol were emptied, and Ye Nai alone floored everyone, piling half of them under the table while the others, gone crazy from the drink, were captured on her phone’s video. After making each drink a bottle of spirits and joining the others under the table, the revelry finally ceased without wrecking the restaurant’s private room.
Since she was the only sober person left, she ended up paying the bill.
She couldn’t carry eight drunks home by herself, so she left them in the private room without bothering too much – at most she threw each a spore to keep an eye on their health and prevent any alcohol-induced sudden deaths. She then walked home herself.
Walking home in the cold wind, she cursed along the way, considering she was among nine people at the table including eight men, and they merely invited her to use her as dish – well, now one dish had knocked them all to the ground, even capturing their drunken antics on video, wondering if they would ever dare to invite her to drink again.
Gone to bed when she got home, the next morning, she was still in her sleep when her phone started buzzing incessantly with message alerts.
[Great news! Great news!]
[Yezi, we need your stomach!]
[Yezi, Yezi, are you up yet? Still hungover?]
[What’s up?]
[Oh, Yezi is up now? How was the drinking yesterday?]
[Drinking with me, a notorious booze-loser, even a so-called wine fairy would end up under the table.]
[That’s right, knock them out in one go, teach them a lesson, every single day, and make them stop giving that side-eye.]
[You could tell they wanted you as a permanent team member, couldn’t you?]
[Sure, after so many random encounters, who wouldn’t realize what they’re up to? But last night, I didn’t get a chance to say anything. I didn’t even eat a bite of food; just started drinking, and while doing that, I knocked them all out, and in the end, the bill was on me.]
[Yezi, in my opinion, don’t bother with those private teams. Becoming a permanent member just means a regular salary plus a bonus, which is nothing compared to your current income. Don’t fall for whatever benefits they promise. Don’t listen.]
[What kind of stuff? A famous team captain invites you to drink, and in the end, you, a young girl, pay the bill? Aren’t those captains shameless?]
[They were all knocked out, unconscious, couldn’t even wake them up to pay the bill.]
[Bullshit, how old are they, and how old is Yezi? They’re old foxes and still don’t understand this? They purposely took advantage of a young girl.]
[Pfft, and they still think about snagging you as a permanent member, dream on.]
[Take the New Year’s chance to publicize it well for them.]
[Pfft...]
[Hey, hey, hey, wait a second, did you wake me up because there’s some good news? What good news needs my stomach?]Ye Nai, unable to bear it, pulled back the wildly straying conversation.
[Oh yes, oh yes, we got sidetracked.]
[The good news is that we will have a Level 1 chef in charge of the kitchen for New Year’s dinner.]
[Eh? Really? A master chef?]
[Definitely a master chef with new ingredients; who in the upper echelons wouldn’t want to try?]
[Makes sense, but why would I need to drink?]
[Toward the end, there will be a toast; it’ll be intimidating for anyone, and we’ll rely on you then.]
[Got it, leave it to me.]Ye Nai sat up with a twirl,[While there’s still time, I’ll head into the Secret Realm to get some ingredients, curry favor with the chef, and have him show off his skills for our meal.]
[Going alone? Are you sure?]
[Yes, I’m not hunting, just running along the highways and visiting various small towns.]
[Alright then, be careful.]
[This is good too; we’ll fill you in on the gossip. When they wake up and can’t find anyone, heh heh, let them be miserable.]
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No one advised Ye Nai to stay safe at home, as New Year’s was approaching and she shouldn’t adventure alone. Being a solo Awakener without any organization backing her, if she wanted to progress, gain experience, enhance her skills, or increase her battle power, she had to venture into the Secret Realm by herself repeatedly. Though joining others on missions was safe, she also needed to have the courage to embark on adventures alone.