Harem Legion: Queens of the Apocalypse-Chapter 47 Healing, Reloaded

No reaction?

Magnus stiffened. A sudden thought flashed - what if the one that controls the Life Crystal was his pinky? Without wasting time, he gently pressed his pinky against the tattoo on his left middle finger. In an instant, the thick, milky-white mist from the Life Crystal in his right hand retracted, rushing back into his pinky.

Relief flooded him. Good... That’s a damn relief.

Now that he could command the Life Crystal, its value to him wasn’t just about saving lives or bringing back the dead. He could use it to heal wounds - his own, or someone else’s.

To be honest, this was just Magnus being a bit ignorant. The truth was, Life Crystals always had healing power. Any Awakened knew that - used right, they could mend wounds, even regrow limbs.

But no one actually used them that way. Too damn pricey.

Then another thought hit him - what about Earth Crystals and Nature Crystals? Would this strange black ring react to those too?

So far, their team hadn’t stumbled on either. Earth Crystals weren’t rare, but Nature Crystals? Those were near mythical.

Still, Magnus had something others didn’t - "Prophet." Thanks to that, he was confident he’d track one down.

Let’s just hope those two won’t be a letdown when the time comes.

*****

Dusk settled in. The team had beefed up their watch through the afternoon while continuing to dig out meteorites. All 607 of them, digging up 57 meteorite chunks. According to Charlotte’s estimate, given this morning’s incident, they’d barely finished forty percent.

As twilight deepened, it was time to prep dinner. Magnus had reminded Liana time and again - make sure the meal was good. Ask what folks wanted. Liana checked around, and most still preferred something hot.

Hot food...

On the sleeper car, Magnus frowned, still thinking. Emily threw out a suggestion, "How about instant noodles tonight?"

"No way," Charlotte shook her head. "Noodles smell too strong."

Sophia chimed in, "Then what? Hot food, but no smell? What’re we eating, biscuits soaked in hot water?"

"Hot water and biscuits?" Emily instantly replied, "I’m down for that! Liana, let’s do it!"

"No," Magnus sighed. "That won’t do. Not enough to fill ’em up. They’re burning a ton of energy during the day. We need something packed - high calorie, high protein."

Sophia scoffed, "So this won’t do, that won’t do - seriously? You students talk too much. If it were just us squad regulars, we’d eat compressed rations for a month straight and not complain once!"

Magnus ignored her. He’d already pegged Sophia. One day she’d find a man tough enough to keep her in check, and maybe then she’d finally shut up.

After a pause, he turned to Liana. "Miss Jabbar, do we have any fresh eggs in the freezer truck?"

"We do, but not many. Around twenty boxes," she answered.

"Alright, we’ll boil eggs then. Get a pot of water going, cover it, no need for tents. Once it’s boiling, get the team to soak their noodles in their mess kits. Noodles - don’t limit ’em. Eggs - try to get one per person. Each also gets a sausage, share packs of peanuts two by two, two bananas each, and finish it off with a pack of dried beef."

"That much?" Liana’s face twitched.

Just the "noodle unlimited" part alone - feeding 607 people, she knew they’d need at least 1,500 packs.

A hungry girl could down two by herself. And these weren’t just hungry girls - they were exhausted Awakened. Their appetite? No joke. One box of instant noodles had 24 packs. Ten boxes made 240. That one meal devoured over fifty, maybe sixty boxes - gone, just like that.

And that’s not all. Over 600 sausages, 1,200 bananas, 600 packets of beef jerky, 600 eggs, 300 bags of peanuts, and a whole lot of water just for boiling noodles...

Forget whether it’s enough or not - even if it is, this kind of waste isn’t something to be proud of!

"Magnus..." Emily chimed in, "We’ve got over 600 people now. Food’s not as plentiful as it used to be..."

"No. No matter what, these few days, the team eats well and eats full," Magnus said firmly. "We’re low on supplies, I’ll figure something out. It’s not like we’re going to starve this mountain bare. Tonight we eat like this. During dinner, tell everyone - we aim to finish digging up the meteorite by tomorrow. By then, we’ll settle somewhere for the night and have roast lamb, meat stew, and rice."

Liana shot him a helpless look and shook her head. "Fine. We’ll do it your way." She pulled on her helmet, climbed out of the bus, and muttered as she left, "Why the hell didn’t I notice earlier what a reckless punk he is... Should’ve smacked this little bastard straight ages ago..."

Watching her go, Magnus could only smile bitterly. Sure, everyone understood the logic of saving food and preparing ahead. But it was early days, and this was the moment to bind the team’s hearts together. He couldn’t shortchange the ones risking their lives beside him.

Thankfully, dinner wasn’t that complicated. By about 6:40 in the evening, just over an hour later, over a hundred pots, ladles, basins - anything that could hold water - were boiling over the fire.

Team members gathered in small groups with their own bowls and utensils to prep noodles. Some didn’t even bother with a bowl - just carried the pot right back into the bus to eat straight from it. Someone sprayed bug repellent at the doorway, and laughter echoed everywhere...

In a world like this, crawling with death, if the women could have a hot meal, their own bed and blanket, wearing nothing but oversized T-shirts - sometimes less - and lie back eating instant noodles and fruit, snacking, giggling, and teasing each other...

What more could they really want?

"Hey! Lily, give me two pads, my period just hit out of nowhere - "

"Whoa, where’d you get that MP3? Does it really have music?!"

"Ah! Look! Miss Jabbar brought us books!"

"Yup! Miss Jabbar, please don’t tell us it’s C-language! If it is, girl, I’m done with you!"

"What books are those? Novels? Hand me one if it’s about some hot, domineering CEO!"

On the 11 sleeper buses, the female team members not on duty soaked up the rare peace. It was the same on Magnus’s bus - among the sixty-odd women, everyone relaxed completely. Dressed light, some walked back and forth like it was a runway, not even treating Magnus - the only guy there - as a man at all.

He didn’t mind. He’d built up serious discipline last time around - nine months sharing bathing space with women. This? This was nothing. As long as they didn’t throw themselves at him, it was fine.

Inside, Magnus’s bunk was in the front middle row, with aisles on both sides. For better coordination and quick decision-making, Emily, Liana, Sophia, Grace, and Charlotte had taken the two lower bunks nearest his - beside him and across, along with both bunk spaces above his head. Sarah slept in the bunk directly above him, while Taylor was in the one above Charlotte.

While the women got their peace, Magnus and the core crew didn’t get to rest yet. At least two major matters still loomed, and the whole Ice Regiment was still in the dark...