Chapter 69 New Training Almost Killed Her!

With a wave of her hand, a meter-tall plastic bucket appeared out of thin air on the conference table, filled with golden sand.

"I was worried that the mycorrhizal seedlings wouldn't grow well in a different environment, so I specially brought back a bucket of sand from the desert."

"This is all sand I dug up from next to the sea buckthorn berries."

Old He pushed up his glasses and leaned over to the bucket, grabbing a handful of sand and letting the grains slowly slip through his fingers, clicking his tongue in amazement.

"Okay, okay."

Look at this, how is it any different from the sand in our desertification control area?

Professor Li squeezed in as well, grabbed a handful and put them in his palm.

"It seems even finer, without any impurities. Yuanyuan, you're so clever! You even thought of including sand. You're more thoughtful than us old folks!"

Another professor put down his notebook, picked up some sand, and rubbed it between his fingertips.

"The sand here is even and breathable, no wonder such a special Cistanche deserticola can grow here."

"Yuanyuan, is this sand different from the sand in the living area?"

Yuanyuan shook her head, tiptoed, and reached out to scoop up some sand from the edge of the bucket, revealing a few small pebbles covered in salt frost underneath.

"I didn't notice anything different. This kind of fine sand is everywhere, but in some places where no plants grow, the sand clumps together."

If you dig deeper, you can find these small stones; they say they're edible.

Her words piqued the interest of the others.

Edible stones?

Lu Yuan, quick as a flash, had already broken off a piece and put it in his mouth to taste.

“…”

"Huh?" He looked somewhat surprised.

"How's it going, Xiao Lu? Does the sand taste good?"

"It's salty, and I can't quite describe the taste." He smacked his lips twice more as he spoke.

"That's right, it's salty. Orcs in the desert use it as salt."

"I thought it was amazing, so I took it back." Yuanyuan played with a hard lump that had solidified into stone in her hand.

"But it tastes different from the salt we eat; it has a strange flavor."

"This is natural sand salt. Once it is purified, it will lose its flavor."

Soon the conference room was filled with the sounds of discussion, and Yuanyuan sat in the corner holding the little wolf, waiting.

After they had finished their discussion, they stood up and took out the dried meat and dried fruit from their storage space.

The things dried in the desert still have some sand on them, but it's okay, she likes them.

The professors looked at the dried meat and fruit covered in sand on the table, and then at Yuanyuan who was eating with relish. They all put aside their concerns and reached out to take some.

"This jerky looks really substantial."

Lu Yuan reached out and picked up a piece, his fingertips brushing against the sand. He casually dusted it off. "It's still covered in sand and dirt, so natural!"

"You're such a glutton, you want to eat everything."

Lu Yuan scratched his head. "Besides experiments, this is the only hobby I have in life."

The others wanted to eat it too, but alas, they were too old to chew it.

You can only look at it, not eat it.

Yuanyuan was amused and began to explain:

"When drying things in the desert, it's inevitable that some sand will get on them, but you can just pat them off and it won't affect eating them."

I usually eat it like this; the more you chew, the more fragrant it becomes, and it doesn't hurt my teeth at all.

As she spoke, she picked up a piece of dried fruit, blew off the sand on the surface, put it in her mouth, and chewed it with her eyes half-closed, enjoying its sweetness.

"Uncles, grandpas, and grandmas, you should try it too. It doesn't affect the taste at all, and it even has a bit of a desert flavor."

Professor Li picked up a piece of dark red dried fruit, took a bite, and the sweet and sour taste spread on his tongue. The grainy texture added a unique granular feel as he chewed.

"I have to say, it's actually quite delicious."

He nodded. "The dried fruit has a particularly strong sweet and sour flavor."

Old He picked up a piece of dried meat and carefully examined the patterns on it, trying to identify what animal it was, but after a long time he still couldn't figure it out.

"Old He, if you can't chew it, why don't you give it to me? I'll try it for you." Lu Yuan wanted more after finishing his piece.

"Don't even try, this is mine."

"You can't chew it anyway, so don't waste it," Lu Yuan muttered under his breath.

After spending so much time together, they had become quite familiar with each other and were used to Lu Yuan's occasional erratic outbursts.

"So what if I can't chew it? I'll take it home and make soup with it."

"..."

Gu Zheng also picked up a piece and examined it carefully. "This jerky is more fragrant than artificially dried jerky, which is enough to show that the temperature in the Beast World desert is much higher than in our world."

He broke off a small piece and put it in his mouth, chewing slowly. "The meat is really firm! It has a slightly sandy texture, and the more you chew, the saltier and more fragrant it becomes. It's not dry at all!"

"That's right. Higher temperatures help lock in the meat's flavor and prevent it from spoiling."

...

Having gotten what they wanted, the bigwigs rushed into their labs as soon as they left the meeting room.

Yuanyuan went to the cafeteria for lunch with Uncle Lu Yuan. She took a nap in her room and went to the training ground for training at 2 p.m. sharp.

This training room is strange; it's not for shooting or running, but rather in a closed space.

"Go inside, Instructor Li is waiting for you."

As soon as Yuanyuan stepped inside, she shivered instantly. A bone-chilling cold hit her, almost sending her flying.

Looking inside, she saw a thin layer of white frost covering the walls and floor, and her breath immediately turned into a cloud of white mist.

No wonder Uncle Lu Yuan specifically told her to wear more clothes; she thought it was because the air conditioning in the training room was on full blast.

Even wrapped tightly in her clothes, she couldn't help shivering, and her exposed hands quickly turned red from the cold.

"Yuanyuan, come here quickly!"

Beside the shelf inside the room stood a tall man dressed in heavy training clothes, waving at her while holding a heavy set of clothes in his hand.

"Put this on; it's specially designed for low-temperature environments."

Yuanyuan walked over quickly, took the clothes, and hurriedly put them on.

She was so cold that her teeth were chattering.

The jacket is made of windproof material with a thick fleece lining, the pants are also fleece-lined, and there's a pair of non-slip, warm boots.

After putting it on, the chill finally subsided a bit. She rubbed her numb ears and asked curiously, "Instructor, what are we training for today?"

Why is it so cold?

Instructor Li pointed to the thermometer next to him, which showed -25℃ on the screen.

"..."

"Based on recent discoveries, you have encountered no fewer than five Pleistocene creatures. We speculate that the beast world you have arrived in is similar to the Ice Age..."

Calling it an ice age isn't entirely accurate; it's more like a fusion of several periods, given how hot the current beast world is, with an unimaginably blazing sun.

This season is called the hot season by the beastmen.

After the hot season comes the rainy season, which lasts for several months.

After the rainy season comes the cold season, which the orcs fear most, as they worry that the cold season will lead to an ice age.

Yuanyuan goes to the Beast World almost every seven days. They are worried that she might not be able to handle it if she happens to be there during the Ice Age, so they need to prepare in advance and let her get used to it first.

Yuanyuan was completely confused. What Pleistocene? What Ice Age?

Seeing her furrowed brows and confused look in her eyes, Instructor Li softened his tone and tapped the thermometer.

"To put it simply, the Pleistocene is a very, very long time ago, when the Earth was covered with glaciers and the weather was extremely cold."

"Is it as cold as the Arctic right now?"

She likes small animals, watches animal documentaries frequently, and knows a little about them.

“…”