A Second Life, A New Power novel Chapter 286

Charles' phone buzzed with excitement. In a flurry of messages, he read aloud to himself on the group chat.

"She offered to teach me some Shaolin moves. It looks like she really knows her stuff!

"No wonder she managed to pin two guys to the dumpster all by herself that day. She's got martial arts skills!

"She probably even saved my brother once… I guess I need to work hard if I'm going to learn some 'Brotherhood of the Iron Palm' moves soon!"

At those words, Charles couldn't help but rub his hands together in anticipation.

...

"Alright, everyone! Here's the plan," Herne declared, his face lighting up with determination. "We're splitting up to search for flags. Once we get our hands on the ignition tool, we can finally cook up some rabbit stew!"

At his rallying cry, the team's energy shot through the roof.

An hour later, Caitlin quickly held up a flag triumphantly. Not too far off, George had managed to snag a chicken as well.

The team exchanged glances in silence, their stomachs grumbling in unison—a chorus of grumbling noises that soon spread contagiously among them. Their already empty bellies had been completely emptied out by the frantic search earlier.

"Do you think we're going to be hungry all day?" Thomas mumbled, patting his rumbling stomach.

"Without fire, no matter how much food we find, it's useless," sighed Sam.

The mood sank, and everyone looked crestfallen.

"Let's keep searching. I bet we'll find that ignition tool any minute now," Caitlin encouraged, clenching his fist with a hopeful grin.

"Yeah, Caitlin's right! Let's not lose hope. If we gather enough flags, the tool's bound to show up," Herne echoed, his voice upbeat as he rallied the group.

Then, out of the blue, Chad's eyes lit up. "I overheard something last night," he said. "They say that when Demi searches for flags, she listens for the sound. The noise of a flag flapping in the wind is different from that of leaves rustling. Why don't we try that too?"

"Why didn't you mention that earlier?" George snapped, clearly frustrated.

...

"Okay, team, let's split up again. We'll cover more ground that way," George suggested. Pairing off into groups, they pressed on.

By nearly noon, Herne's crew had managed to collect nine flags. Using these, they stumbled upon a small box of supplies—a modest package of instant noodles.

"I'm starving! How about we just wolf these down?" Sam proposed eagerly.

"Alright. Let's do it!" Everyone agreed in unison.

After a brief pause, Herne nodded. "Alright, everyone, let's have a quick bite."

Just then, Ana's eyes suddenly lit up. "Hold on," she said, turning to the crew with a spark of excitement. "Remember last time when we didn't have an ignition tool? We managed to trade some supplies with the producers, right?"

Her hopeful gaze swept over the production staff. The others quickly followed her look, their expressions shifting from hunger to anticipation as they waited for the producers' response.