Yang Yi paused to think for a few seconds before ultimately agreeing to the plan.

The risk was manageable; as long as the meat lump was killed before it got out of control, everything would be fine.

To avoid accidents, Yang Yi had to be the one handling it. Suna could only observe from the side. If he let her raise the meat lump, Yang Yi feared she would nurture a monster beyond anyone’s control.

The two reached an agreement instantly.

Suna immediately began designing a containment cage for the meat lump.

The cage would be placed in the atrium, the most open area of the deck, with barrels of salt positioned nearby for quick access to kill the meat lump if necessary.

It would be made of wood, lined with a layer of sheet metal on the inside to effectively resist erosion from the meat lump. Steel reinforcements would be used, especially at the corners where iron plates would provide added stability...

Suna drew a schematic, planning to use minimal materials to build a large-capacity, sturdy wooden box lined with metal, specifically for meat lump cultivation.

It would measure 7m long, 7m wide, and 5m tall, providing around 245 cubic metres of internal space.

She had initially wanted to make a 10m cube, but Yang Yi vetoed the idea. They compromised on this smaller rectangular version.

The two got to work immediately.

Materials like wood planks and iron sheets could be taken straight from the warehouse, and resources could be transformed into these regular shapes.

Using the Charred Worm Ring, they could move large planks easily. With the help of skeletal arms, assembly was simple.

After using over 300 units of wood and a dozen units of steel, they completed a massive, durable riveted box lined with metal.

It took them until midnight to finish building the cultivation chamber.

While they were at it, they also built a raised platform in the atrium to make observation and lump insertion easier.

“You go ahead and sleep. I’ll just rig a trap over the box, then call it a night,” Yang Yi told Suna.

Her constitution wasn’t as strong as his, her stamina was nearing 30 points, so she needed rest.

She didn’t argue and nodded before heading back to her room to sleep.

Yang Yi kept working. He dangled several ropes from the top of the mast’s lookout post, each tied to a cloth bag filled with sea salt.

With just one slice, the bags would rupture, and salt would rain down like a waterfall, flooding the box and instantly killing the meat lump.

After finishing, he climbed down from the 25-metre-high lookout and moved a few salt barrels up onto the raised platform.

He had driven several wooden stakes beneath the platform beforehand, just for this moment.

Everything was as secure as could be.

He checked his stamina, still had 54 points left, and decided to rest once Suna woke up.

He ate a bland black bread can for a late-night snack, drank a growth potion, and used a long-legged sardine he’d deliberately saved to activate the Life Fireplace’s glow, beginning his nightly pre-sleep workout.

He wasn’t really fat anymore. The "Overweight" debuff had disappeared. At worst, he was slightly chubby now.

If he kept up his diet and training for another three to five days, he’d finally be rid of “fat” altogether and attain a strong, healthy physique!

Four hours later, at the break of dawn, Suna woke up right on time.

Yang Yi handed over control of the Nightmare Star to her, then downed a bottle of Vitality Coconut Juice and went to lie down in the captain’s quarters. Content originally comes from novel·fıre·net

“Don’t start the meat lump cultivation until I’m awake,” he left a message for her, just in case.

“I know!” she replied, sounding a little impatient.

Yang Yi ended up sleeping less than five hours, recovering just over 80 stamina, barely enough to function.

If not for that damn nightmare, he would’ve slept better!

He stepped out of the captain’s quarters and didn’t see Suna, likely in the lab.

“I’m up. Let’s try cultivating the meat lump,” he messaged her, stopped the ship, and took out his fishing rod.

He chose a spot on the platform next to the cultivation box, about half a meter higher than the box, perfect for both inserting the meat lump and observing it. It also gave him easy access to throw in salt barrels to kill it.

Just as Yang Yi stepped onto the platform, he was surprised to find Suna inside the metal box.

“What are you doing in there?” he asked, baffled.

The box was for cultivating meat lumps. What was she doing inside?

Looking closely, he noticed a shallow layer of white liquid at the bottom, probably seawater, about ten centimeters deep. Suna was pulling black, shrivelled meatballs out of her magic pouch and placing them inside one by one.

They were the small meat lumps Yang Yi had previously fished up and killed.

“Put some food inside; that way, the meat lump will be more stable and won’t be so restless!”

Suna looked up at Yang Yi, her pant legs rolled up, revealing her lower calves, like someone working in the fields.

Because she had spent so much time in the lab, the skin beneath her clothes was a bit paler.

“Give me a hand, I’m too lazy to climb the ladder,” Suna urged.

“You didn’t forget to bring the ladder and then get stuck inside, did you?” Yang Yi asked skeptically.

“Hurry up!”

Yang Yi shifted into his wolf form, growing taller, then bent down and pulled Suna out. If he asked the skeletal arms for help, they could accidentally scratch her skin.

After pulling Suna up, Yang Yi started fishing, casting out a baited hook with tiny pale worms on it.

In less than five minutes, the first small, delicious meat lump was caught, a long, eggplant-shaped piece.

Yang Yi reeled it in, holding the lump suspended midair like a crane arm, moved it over the metal box, and then cut the line.

The eggplant-shaped lump fell into the box. At first, it was a bit restless, but after touching the withered meatballs inside, it gradually calmed down and began to devour them.

Suna squatted beside Yang Yi, observing the eating process closely, especially paying attention to the lump’s changing shape.

Yang Yi continued fishing, pretty much like before, just from a raised platform this time.

Soon, a second lump was caught, very small, about the size of a goose egg, and was also tossed into the metal box.

“Throw it closer, try hitting it right on the head!” Suna requested.

She seemed eager to see two living meat lumps devouring each other.

Yang Yi could only keep fishing, hoping to satisfy her curiosity…

An hour passed. Yang Yi had caught three lumps of varying sizes and shapes, all thrown into the metal box.

Additionally, at Suna’s request, he also tossed in a long-legged sardine.

“These things devour each other, both simultaneously. The faster eater wins it all; the slower one gets eaten,” Suna concluded after observing, holding her Salt Bow.

She shot a wooden arrow at the larger lump using the Salt Bow. Due to the bow’s withering effect, the lump was nearly killed, and its eating speed visibly slowed down.

Gradually, it was consumed by the smaller lump, which eventually surpassed the original large lump in size.

If you were to describe the scene, it was like two tumors absorbing each other, with the faster one growing larger and stronger.

Yang Yi kept fishing. Except for unexpectedly catching a sticky black iron treasure box, everything else was tossed into the metal box.

Inside the box now was a giant meat patty over three meters in diameter, its surface constantly writhing, with tentacles reaching out in all directions, seemingly searching for food.

The black iron treasure box was opened, revealing a protein bar. Yang Yi sent the info to Suna, who immediately grabbed it.

【Name: High-Energy Protein Bar】

【Type: Consumable】【Quality: Premium】【Description: A sugar-free protein energy bar synthesised with advanced technology. Tasteless, a single bite provides an average person’s energy needs for one week. Some people believe eating meals wastes time and severely delays research progress, so they developed this protein bar.】

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