To prevent further skirmishes, the traverser training team, after a brief vote, decided to retreat several hundred meters and set up camp, further away from the dangerous forest edge.
With this buffer zone offering a wide field of vision, any disturbance could be detected in advance, minimizing the risk of surprise attacks.
Post-battle casualties were essential.
Although no one knew the two deceased traversers, they all came from the same world, and a sense of brotherhood remained. Someone suggested holding a burial for them on the spot.
This proposal was quickly and unanimously passed.
After the rather simple funeral ceremony, the sky had already darkened, and the traversers began setting up their tents, preparing to camp for the night.
Due to the previous battle, despite the forest being just a few hundred meters ahead, few dared to go and cut wood. The vast camp was deserted, with not even a campfire in sight.
"Asuna, Kotonoha, don't rush to set up the tent yet, you two. Grab your horses and follow me."
Seeing Luo Jie heading toward the distant woods, sword in hand, Asuna immediately understood he was going to gather firewood. She worriedly said, "Nightmare-kun, it's better not to go. It's too dangerous."
Kura Kotonoha weakly echoed, "Yes, it's almost dark now. We'll eat some dry food here and it'll last us the night..."
"It's precisely because night is approaching that we need a fire."
In his previous life, Luo Jie had led a team before and knew when to exercise democracy and when to exercise dictatorship. Therefore, his tone this time held a hint of undeniable sternness.
Thankfully, neither of the two women were the pampered, spoiled daughters. Having received modern education, they more or less knew the basics of wilderness survival, so they didn't act sullenly. They unloaded their horses' luggage, led their horses, and followed Luo Jie.
Luo Jie's movements quickly attracted the attention of the other time travelers. However, while many were interested, few dared to follow.
What Luo Jie didn't expect was that among the time travelers who had followed them to gather firewood, he actually saw Ito Makoto.
"Hi! Katsura Kotonoha, we meet again!"
Undeterred, Ito Makoto ran up to Katsura Kotonoha and greeted her. Frightened, Katsura Kotonoha immediately hid behind Asuna like a frightened little rabbit.
"What are you doing here again?" Luo Jie asked grumpily.
"Ah, big brother, don't misunderstand me. I just saw Katsura Kotonoha here and came over to say hello."
Ito Makoto instinctively raised his hand and took two steps back with a smile.
A very sensible young man.
"Makoto, is this someone you know?"
As they spoke, a red-haired young man with a mature, uncle-like face approached, accompanied by a blue-haired girl. They greeted Luo Jie and the others with a familiar air: "Hello, I'm Klein, the captain of the Fuu-rin-Zanzan Squad... um, this is Yuki. Makoto is one of my teammates. I hope I haven't caused you any trouble?"
"Klein."
The first player to speak to the protagonist, Kirito, in the original story. He possesses the cynical yet forthright personality of a down-and-out samurai. Although his role isn't significant, compared to the other characters, he's undoubtedly the most deserving of the title of supporting actor.
"Yuki."
A timid girl who appears in the protagonist's memories in the original story's spin-off. She was Kirito's first love in the game, but later, due to a strategy error, she died in a trap room in a maze.
Well, if Luo Jie remembers correctly, this delicate girl with a teardrop mole at the corner of her eye seems to have been one of those legendary "Lance Soldiers" with the best luck in the history of the original novel.
Is this the author's malice, or just a coincidence...
"No, although there was a minor misunderstanding between your team member and my friend, it's nothing serious."
Luo Jie could be rude to Ito Makoto, but he still had to give some respect to the original novel's leading male supporting character.
After all, according to the original novel, this red-haired "Klein" is a very powerful swordsman in his later years. He might even be useful in his later attempts to capture higher-ups. In any case, it's always a good idea to build a good relationship first.
"Haha, I'm glad you're okay..." Klein laughed heartily, changing the subject and striking up a conversation with Luo Jie. "Are you guys going to gather firewood for the fire? How about we two teams join together? We can look out for each other."
Luo Jie paused for a moment and nodded. He hadn't considered adding more members, but simply cooperating wasn't a problem.
Perhaps because the wild boar girls from earlier were busy breeding, the group encountered little harassment while gathering firewood.
Occasionally, a couple of long-eared bunny girls would curiously poke their heads out from the bushes, but a nervous glance from Ito Makoto, who was on guard, would cause them to flee.
While Asuna and Katsura Kotonoha were busy gathering firewood, Luo Jie, carrying his Quetzalcoatl Crossbow, slipped into the woods and soon returned with a few plump pheasants.
Yes, pheasants, not hen girls.
In this magically modified version of the SAO world, wild beasts and demonic beasts are two completely different species.
If it weren't for the existence of these beasts at the bottom of the food chain, Luo Jie simply couldn't imagine how the people of this world would ever solve the problem of eating meat.
Soon, two bright bonfires lit up in the traverser camp. The dancing flames brought light and also slightly dispelled the gloom shrouding everyone's hearts due to the death of their companions.
Slowly, groups of people began to head to the woods to collect dry firewood, and bonfires were lit one after another throughout the camp.
With fire, the prerequisites for cooking were naturally available.
It's been mentioned before that Luo Jie was a very particular person about food.
This particularity refers to his attitude towards eating itself.
In his view, simply munching on dry food to make a meal was merely eating, not truly dining.
Under the somewhat surprised and surprised gazes of Asuna and Katsura Kotonoha, Luo Jie expertly plucked and gutted the pheasant. After repeatedly cleaning it with his [Water Gathering Technique], he cut it into small pieces and poured it all into the Little Chef's Wok along with a few mushrooms and wild vegetables he had gathered earlier.
The 100,000-point special item was incredibly effective. Even though Luo Jie had only added salt and a few spices, the resulting stew was still fresh, tender, and full of the unique, natural flavor of wild ingredients. The mere aroma was enough to make one salivate.