The night, the Flame God, its hull shimmering with silver light, sailed through the sky.
Li Fan began to study the usage of the jet device.
He opened the fuel hatch and found it empty. He then located the relevant page in the manual for reference.
"Due to the scarcity of Felyne dung, the fuel tank has not been filled. Please collect it yourself or purchase it from the trade market... How stingy."
He thought about releasing the Great Ape, but seeing the enclosed space within the ship, Li Fan decided it would be better to find another way to inject fuel. Otherwise, how could he sleep tonight?
He went to the deck, where the Jin Yu Man Tang culinary team was washing dishes in the kitchen.
Due to fire hazards and smoke, the kitchen had been moved to the deck and made semi-open.
Li Fan entered the kitchen and crouched down to observe beside the cat slide.
The Flame God now housed five resident Felynes. Although it was a medium-sized airship, there was only one entrance to the lower cabin.
This became inconvenient when frequent comings and goings were required.
So, Chef Hua Ye, drawing on past kitchen renovation experience, led his team to build a cat slide that led directly into the cabin.
"Hua Ye, can you build another slide like the one you built?"
Li Fan asked.
"A human-sized one won't work, meow. That would require a very large hole."
Hua Ye replied.
"Not a human-sized one, just the same dimensions as this one. But the slide pipe must be sealed. This kitchen slide leads to the cabin corridor, right? This one should lead to the fuel tank."
Li Fan stated his requirements.
"Alright meow, we'll start tomorrow!"
Hua Ye didn't understand why there needed to be two cat slides on the deck.
However, with Dilu's help, the kitchen slide was completed in two hours. If they started early tomorrow, it shouldn't delay breakfast.
The next day, as dawn was just breaking.
Four Felynes, equipped with a full set of tools, arrived on the deck.
The Felynes were surprised to find Li Fan nailing planks on the deck.
"You're here so early. The opening for the slide can be here."
Li Fan stood up and walked to the deck adjacent to the right side of the hull.
"This is a bit far, meow?"
Hua Ye felt it was inconvenient, as the cat slide was meant to facilitate access to the cabin.
"A bit further is fine, this is where it will be."
Li Fan insisted.
The Felynes then cut the boards and began construction.
As expected, the cat slide was nearing completion in less than two hours.
"Shuye meow, go down to the cabin and ask Li Fan about the pipe length. If it's long enough, we'll need to secure it on the deck."
Hua Ye instructed.
"Okay... okay meow."
Shuye put down his small saw and turned to leave.
"Wait, Shuye meow! It's so convenient to slide down from here."
Dilu suggested.
"Uh... that won't work, meow. Li Fan said this slide can't be used casually."
Hua Ye explained.
"I see, meow."
"Thank you... Dilu meow! I'll just go to the kitchen one!"
Shuye said, then quickly ran towards the kitchen.
Opening the small hatch made from a discarded pot lid, Shuye, headfirst, slid into the pipe.
After sliding down several loops within the cylindrical pipe, Shuye flew out of the exit above the cabin corridor.
Splat! Shuye lost his footing and fell to the ground. He got up, rubbed his backside, and quickly ran towards the fuel tank.
Creak! The hatch was pushed open. Li Fan was at that moment connecting the exit of the slide pipe to the top of the fuel tank.
"Is that Shuye? Is there something happening upstairs?"
Li Fan turned and asked.
The fuel tank, the cat slide... they were connected.
Shuye's mouth hung slightly open, too terrified to speak.
"The sealing still doesn't feel right. What if there's a leak..."
Li Fan muttered, looking at the small gaps in the slide pipe.
Shuye forced himself to remain calm and said in a trembling voice, "Hua Ye said... if the pipe length is sufficient... we'll secure it upstairs!"
"The length is sufficient, but the load-bearing standard needs to be improved. Otherwise, if this slide pipe collapses..."
The sunlight slanting through the window cast Li Fan in a half-lit, half-shadowed area. Shuye, with all his fur standing on end, couldn't see his expression.
"I know meow!!!"
Whoosh! Shuye turned and ran, kicking up a cloud of dust in the cabin corridor.
"Huh? Why did he run off? It seems Shuye is even more timid than I expected. I'll have to be more careful in the future."
Li Fan was a bit surprised by this.
"Phew~ Phew~ Li Fan said... the length is sufficient meow, but the load-bearing standard needs to be improved..."
Shuye, panting heavily, arrived on the deck and reported.
"Then let's add a few more support frames meow... Shuye, what's wrong?"
After Hua Ye offered a solution, he noticed Shuye's unusual state and asked curiously.
"This... this seems like... a dark ship that uses Felynes as energy!"
Shuye reported.
"Uh... Shuye, did you hit your head when you ran too fast just now, meow?"
Hua Ye said speechlessly.
"It's true meow! The cat slide exit below is already connected to the fuel tank."
Shuye reported.
"So what, meow? How are Felynes used as energy?"
Hua Ye knew immediately that Shuye was overthinking things.
"This meow... sorry, I didn't consider it thoroughly."
Shuye slumped his shoulders, defeated.
Not long after, Li Fan came to the deck, fitted the planks he had nailed, and carried a wooden box to the entrance of the slide.
Clang! Clang! ...
After a brief adjustment and tightening, Li Fan began to hammer nails.
The four cats watched for a moment. Dilu exclaimed, "What a big toilet, meow."
"Yes, specially made for the Great Ape."
Li Fan replied.
Dilu's expression immediately changed.
"Great Ape? Who is the Great Ape, meow? I've only seen Little Dummy, Playful, and Xi Xi..."
Hua Ye stated he had never heard of it.
"The Great Ape... is a Bulldrome, meow."
Dilu whispered.
"Oh, so it's... a Bulldrome! Ah! A dark ship!"
Hua Ye cried out, and the culinary team meowed in unison, descending into chaos.
"The Great Ape has never harmed Felynes, so don't be so agitated. If you look deeper, you'll find that the Bulldrome can have a gentle side."
Li Fan explained.
Among the shivering culinary team huddled together, Hua Ye said with difficulty, "But... it's hard not to be concerned, meow."
"Focus can overcome fear. I'll help you... Fery! Hoist the Felyne meal ingredient box up!"
As Li Fan called out, a large box radiating cold and covered in frost was lifted from the cargo hatch.
Li Fan looked at the recipe and rummaged through the box.
Finally, he pulled out a large piece of meat.
"This is a sliced, bone-in leg of Lavasioth. The recipe doesn't require it, so you can be creative."
It had only been a day since the airship departed, so it might be a bit early for Felyne meals, but to appease the culinary team, Li Fan felt it was necessary.
"Leave it to us, meow!"
Led by Hua Ye, three Felynes lifted the sliced, bone-in leg of Lavasioth together and quickly ran into the kitchen to focus on preparing the Felyne meal.
"Li Fan, assign me some tasks too, meow."
Dilu said listlessly.
"Hmm... I need to conduct tests. You go into the cabin and check the slide pipe for any fuel leaks."
Li Fan assigned.
"Okay meow!"
Dilu happily ran off.
Seeing that the Felynes were appeased, Li Fan released the Great Ape onto the deck.
The Great Ape sat on the ground with its arms crossed, yawning.
"Great Ape, your era has arrived."
Roar? The Great Ape scratched its face, looking confused.
"Please look."
Li Fan stepped back, revealing the giant toilet positioned against the hull.
The Great Ape leaned in and sniffed, then naturally sat on the toilet seat.
At that moment, a hanging box approached and hovered in front of the Great Ape.
Click! Li Fan removed the box lid, revealing countless blue mushrooms sparkling with ice crystals.
The Great Ape's eyes lit up at the sight, feeling as if it had arrived in paradise.
Crunch! Crunch! ...
The crisp chewing sounds were incessant.
Li Fan walked a distance away to observe, feeling that this self-developed fuel injection system was simply perfect.
For the next three days, the Flame God would periodically activate the Walrus Jet Engine for high-speed flight tests.
Thanks to the presence of flying dragons like Little Dummy and Playful, Li Fan obtained a lot of valuable data by comparing maximum speeds.
However, as the Walrus Jet Engine was a test version, it still had quite a few minor issues.
The most significant and impactful was that the jet engine did not fully utilize the fuel.
This resulted in some fuel leaking out with the jet exhaust.
"Li Fan, is this really okay, meow?"
Fery asked tentatively, watching the jet engine continuously disperse yellow mist.
"It's fine. It even has the effect of repelling monsters."
Li Fan wasn't too concerned about it.
As long as the Flame God was constantly moving, the yellow mist trailing behind the ship wouldn't affect it.
Two days later, the Flame God, trailing yellow smoke from its stern, arrived over a volcanic region.
Dragonrazor armor, cold drinks, and Felyne meals resistant to high temperatures.
Although his whole body felt slightly warm, the high temperature of the volcano had little impact for now.
"Last time in the Forest, I almost suffered a great loss by not checking with the Guild. This time, I should go to the outpost first to at least update the map information."
Li Fan said, looking at the map by the pilot's console.
"Alright meow! I'll approach now!"
Fery said, preparing to turn.
"Let's go on foot. The investigators here are already having a hard time, let's not add to their troubles. You hover at high altitude for a while, Little Dummy and Playful will guard the airship."
After giving his orders, Li Fan surveyed the direction of the outpost from high above and then, along with Udoradora and Dilu, set off using gliders.
Upon landing, Li Fan felt the ground beneath his feet was a bit unstable. With a slight stomp, a large section of the ground sank, and lava erupted from the cracks.
When he released the pressure, the ground section rose again.
If he fell into the lava, how long would the Dragonrazor armor last?
Li Fan vaguely felt that fighting in such an environment might not be a wise choice.
He looked up at the giant, smoke-billowing volcano in the distance, and the team set off.
Perhaps because Dragonrazors often appeared in volcanoes, the Hardkrons and Jaggi here were quite discerning.
Basically, after a couple of roars, if they saw you genuinely approaching, they would immediately turn and flee. Only the Great Jaggi remained the same.
"Li Fan! The mineral veins here are really rich, meow!"
Dilu said excitedly as she walked and collected.
"If you find any ancient ornaments similar to pendants, be sure not to discard them."
Li Fan advised.
"What are those, meow?"
"They are Ancient Charms, a type of wearable ornament."
"Charms are dug up?"
Udoradora said with some surprise.
"Yes, before the Alchemy Charms appeared, hunters' charms were ancient charms dug from mineral veins. Sometimes, one wasn't enough to activate abilities, and they had to be paired with older equipment."
Li Fan explained.
"I see. It feels like you know a lot about the past."
Udoradora commented.
After about an hour of walking, the team saw several small airships hovering in the sky not far away, confirming they were in the right place.
Entering the mountain-ringed outpost through the gate, a bustling trade market appeared before them.
This prosperous scene exceeded the team's expectations.
Unfortunately, despite the focus on ore trade, after passing by several stalls, they still couldn't find any trace of Starfall Ore.
Upon entering the Guild outpost branch, a male attendant behind the counter greeted them.
"Welcome to the Volcano Outpost!"
"Hello, I'd like a map of the volcano and a regional status report."
Li Fan inquired.
"Please wait... Aren't you planning to accept any quests, meow?"
The male attendant asked tentatively.
"No."
Li Fan certainly wanted to earn money, but the current mission was of utmost importance.
After obtaining the latest map, Li Fan rejoined his team in the trade market.
A short distance from the outpost, a flare shot into the sky, and the Flame God, trailing yellow smoke, descended.
After calibrating the altitude with Fery, the journey to detect ores officially began.
"I didn't expect the volcanic region to have so many no-fly zones, and even quite a few no-land zones."
Li Fan exclaimed on the deck, looking at the map.
"Which monsters are currently most active?"
Udoradora asked.
"Great Baggi, Rathalos, Lavasioth, Rathian... Among them, Rathian needs special attention."
Li Fan felt that even at low altitudes, most land monsters couldn't be reached.
Rathian could fly to some extent, but the concern wasn't its flight capability, but its terrifying flame breath.
Li Fan continued to read, and a monster caught his attention.
"Huh? Why is it here too?"
"What monster?"
Udoradora leaned closer.
"It's a Zinogre, and it seems to be a severely injured individual."
"Where is it injured?"
"It seems to have a problem with its back's charging ability. The investigator's description is that it's the first time they've seen a Zinogre chasing Thunderbugs, and its right hind leg doesn't seem very flexible when it runs."
Li Fan said, looking at the information.
"Back charging carapace, right hind leg... doesn't that sound a bit familiar?"
Udoradora mused, tapping her chin.
"I remember the Zinogre from the joint hunt in Village Kalara..."
"I remember now, it's that one!"
Udoradora confirmed.
At that time, she had followed Li Fan's guidance and focused her attacks on its heels.
"So, after the battle in Village Kalara, this Zinogre was seriously injured. It's quite something that it managed to reach the volcano... Wait a minute, why did it come to the volcano?"
"Uh... for hot spring therapy?"
Udoradora speculated.
"Chasing Thunderbugs, and the Thunderbugs ignoring it... Could it be."
Li Fan quickly thought of a possibility.