Of course, that's not what everyone meant.

It's just that during the escape and hunting process, the others present had automatically defaulted to Shen Lan and Xia Chuan as the leaders, and it must be said that they indeed deserved credit for their hard work. So, with the intention of not shortchanging the leaders, everyone sat in a circle but didn't start eating, just waiting for Shen Lan and Xia Chuan to make the first move.

After all, they really couldn't guarantee that after reaching out for the food, they would be able to hit the brakes in time to leave enough for Shen Lan and Xia Chuan.

And in fact, they hadn't figured out exactly how to eat these few things...

After staring at each other for a moment, Shen Lan and Xia Chuan finally realized these "complex" emotions, so they no longer sat by the river "hurting each other". The two stood up and walked to the three piles of food beside the crowd. Xia Chuan's gaze directly skipped over the pile of "tubers" and fell on the fierce-looking fish.

Compared to the indescribable-looking "tubers" and the mud-covered "river snails", Xia Chuan still preferred these fish. Although they didn't look very good either, there was no choice but to replenish energy and strength. So, in order to make it palatable, he decided to start with these fish and make them look a bit better.

"Slice into fish fillets?" Xia Chuan raised his chin at the pile of bigmouth fish and asked Shen Lan. At the same time, his left hand had already pulled out the dagger from the sheath at his waist, deftly flipping it around his fingertips and gripping it in his palm.

Shen Lan gestured with his hand: "Remove the head, don't eat it, it's poisonous. The rest is up to you."

Everyone: "..."

They were stunned when they heard the word poisonous, opened their mouths and looked at the nonchalant Shen Lan, not knowing what to say for a long time. Even Xia Chuan, holding the dagger handle, glanced at him and didn't make a move on the group of bigmouth fish.

Shen Lan was startled by the stares, waved his hand and said, "Just don't touch the parts near the gills, and it doesn't matter if you accidentally eat some, it'll just make your mouth a little numb."

He also pointed to the "tubers" that had rolled all over the ground and said, "Land dinosaurs often come to eat some to alleviate the toxicity."

Meaning, eat the bigmouth fish with peace of mind. If you're really scared, you can nibble on a few "tubers" after eating the fish to calm your nerves, you won't die.

While everyone was picking up a few "tubers" in their hands, weighing and observing them, Xia Chuan glanced at Shen Lan and said in a low voice, "You also swallow poisonous things in the sea, so you occasionally come ashore to eat some of this stuff?"

Shen Lan also replied in a low voice, "Oh, no. I just simply think it tastes pretty good. I'm used to eating meat, so it's nice to come ashore and change it up occasionally."

Xia Chuan: "..."

He raised his chin at the pile of "river snails" again. Although he had no intention of eating them when he saw them covered in a layer of mud, he still asked Shen Lan on behalf of the others, "What about those, are they poisonous?"

He even omitted sentences like "have you eaten them before". He believed that as long as it was food that everyone could find, there was an eighty to ninety percent chance that Shen Lan had tasted it.

Shen Lan shook his head, "Not poisonous, eat as you like. But..." He scanned the pile of "river snails" with some disdain, paused for a moment and added, "As long as they're happy."

Xia Chuan could translate this without asking: tastes terrible.

But there was no need to tell everyone about this. After all, he only cared about whether this thing would kill people or not. As for how it tasted, that was the business of the people eating it and had nothing to do with him.

Knowing that these foods were all edible, Xia Chuan also stopped talking, walked straight to the pile of fish, squatted down, casually picked up a fish, and the dagger in his hand started moving deftly and quickly.

Although he wasn't good at cooking, he was very skilled in anything related to knife work. So he handled the fish with quick and neat movements, not slowing at all, and got it done in a matter of minutes—

The fish head with a mouthful of steel teeth was set aside by him. Although only half of the body was left, the fish was still as long as a forearm. Xia Chuan skillfully avoided the internal organs along the fish bones, peeled off the intact fish meat, split it in half and laid it flat on the ground, without getting a single drop of blood on it.

He then sliced the two halves of fish meat into pieces in a few moves, leaving only a line where it was connected to the fish skin, not breaking apart. Then he threw half to each of the two people closest to him.

In no time, he had processed six fish. Including himself, each person was allocated half a fish fillet, while Shen Lan... was first allocated a whole fillet.

Xia Chuan wasn't used to eating with others, so he took his fish fillet and went back to the riverbank to find a grassy spot to sit down. He had just cleaned his dagger and put it back in its sheath when Shen Lan sat down beside him with an armful of things.

After sitting down, he dumped the things he was holding in his arms in front of him and Xia Chuan, raising his chin at Xia Chuan: "Eat!"

Thus, the lumpy-skinned "tubers" rolled back into Xia Chuan's sight.

Xia Chuan: "..."

He silently moved his eyes away, staring straight at the river surface and other surrounding areas, picking up the fish slices and eating.

In this environment, no one suggested making a fire to roast the fish and "river snails". After going through rounds of life-and-death escapes, they temporarily didn't want to see anything related to fire. Besides, in the current situation, whether considering the level of hypoxia or the level of temperature, it was better to save the fire if possible...

This bigmouth fish was indeed caught by Shen Lan himself, food recognized by the overlord. The taste and texture were really good. Being able to eat this kind of thing on the escape route, everyone was so satisfied they almost cried.

At this point, it was just an exaggeration. Soon, they really did cry...

Because after eating the fish meat, they felt that there was still a lot of empty space in their stomachs, so they all picked one or two "river snails" to eat. As a result, after spending a long time picking out the "river snail" meat, as soon as they took a bite, they were stimulated by the juice that oozed out, instantly shedding tears. The effect was even greater than peeling onions...

Xia Chuan looked back at the people crying behind him: "..."

Shen Lan looked gleeful, obviously finding it amusing. He watched the commotion behind him, gnawing on raw fish slices, and didn't forget to keep an eye on Xia Chuan beside him, simply too busy...

He saw that Xia Chuan had finished half of the fish meat and showed no intention of reaching for the "tuber", so he lowered his head and rummaged through the pile he had brought over. Finally, he picked out one that was more transparently red and handed it to Xia Chuan, saying concisely, "Take a bite."

Xia Chuan's mouth twitched as he silently turned his face away.

Shen Lan: "..."

"You're full already?!" Shen Lan said in disbelief.

Xia Chuan coughed and nodded, then added, "Mm."

Shen Lan pushed the bright red "tuber" towards him again and said, "Dessert."

Xia Chuan: "..."

Seeing that he still had no intention of turning his face back, Shen Lan swallowed the raw fish in his hand in a few bites and scratched his cheek.

As he took back the "tuber" and examined it in front of himself, wondering, Dennis suddenly poked his head out from the side and said in a hollow voice, "Overlord, do you still remember what I told you? Xia Chuan has only one requirement when it comes to food, regardless of anything else - it has to look good..."

Xia Chuan: "..."

Shen Lan: "..."

The Overlord suddenly recalled that on the first day in the sea cave, when he handed meat to Xia Chuan, he also looked reluctant to try it. It was only after Dennis reminded him to remove the side with suction cups from the tentacles that Xia Chuan accepted the meat.

After speaking for Xia Chuan, Dennis conveniently took a few "tubers" and went to find a place to dispose of the stolen goods, hiding his contributions.

Shen Lan looked at Xia Chuan's profile, then at the "tuber" in his hand. Shen Lan, who had always prioritized taste and dared to eat food regardless of its appearance, suddenly also discerned a bit of the difference between beauty and ugliness. So without further ado, he reached for Xia Chuan's waist, intending to process this "tuber".

Although Xia Chuan was very alert, he was not on guard against Shen Lan. Seeing Shen Lan's movement from the corner of his eye, he understood that he wanted to take the dagger tucked at his waist, so he didn't dodge and let him take it.

His shirt was still wet from the water and the soaked fabric clung to his skin. Because he was sitting with his waist slightly arched, it outlined the tight lines of his waist and abdomen, making his figure look extremely well-proportioned.

Shen Lan blinked, not knowing whether it was out of appreciation, comparison or some other mentality. His fingers, which were about to touch the dagger's hilt, took a turn and landed on Xia Chuan's waist, casually pinching it a couple of times, as if to test how well Xia Chuan's muscles were developed.

Xia Chuan: "............................................."