Hearing this, Lin Qin, who was stirring the pot, gave a start and almost dropped her utensil on the ground. She had only ever seen the word "Internet" in history books. Tian Tian's eyes also trembled slightly.
She looked at Qiao Jiajin and asked with a serious face, "Qiao Jiajin, last time you said... what year were you born in?"
"Didn't I tell you? 79." Qiao Jiajin extended a finger and scratched his nose, saying with an uncaring look, "1979, what's the matter?"
Tian Tian slowly stood up and stared cautiously into Qiao Jiajin's eyes.
"Are you joking with me? If you were really born in 79, you should be in your forties this year."
Lin Qin was slightly taken aback when she heard this. She turned to look at Tian Tian.
"That doesn't seem right..."
Qi Xia ignored the arguing group and instead scooped himself a bowl of meat. Qiao Jiajin furrowed his brows, finding Tian Tian's words very hard to understand.
"Tian Tian, what's wrong with you? Did you go stupid from hunger? How does a hot-blooded handsome guy like me look like I'm in my forties?"
It was true, he did not look forty. Based on his appearance and physical fitness, it was absolutely impossible for him to be in his forties. Off to the side, Xiaoxiao heard their conversation but, much like Qi Xia, remained completely still.
Lin Qin's mouth moved slightly as she asked, "Qiao Jiajin, what year is it right now?" Qiao Jiajin stared at her with a suspicious expression.
"2006."
He turned his head and noticed Tian Tian and Lin Qin staring at him in disbelief, which made him feel even more confused.
"Why are you all staring at me?"
Lin Qin felt an indescribable sense of bizarre weirdness radiating from the whole situation. She turned to look at Tian Tian and asked, "Tian Tian, what year are you from?"
"I'm from 2019..."
Tian Tian said with a frown.
"What is going on?"
Lin Qin felt her strength leave her body and slowly sat down.
"Everyone... I am from 2068..."
"Huh?!"
Qiao Jiajin lost his color in shock.
"2068?!"
After hearing this, Qi Xia silently nodded. Yes, she did indeed seem like someone from the future. Now everything made sense.
In her era, people had to wear face masks from a young age, and face masks would be as common as ordinary clothes right from birth. That was why she showed such a strange expression when she wasn't wearing a face mask, feeling as if she had no clothes on.
With the rapid development of the Internet, she also had no need to know what a flyer was, as internet advertisements were more than enough to dazzle people. Qi Xia silently shook his head. He had not expected the group to actually notice this issue.
"Doesn't this make things even more bizarre..."
Tian Tian's lips trembled slightly as she spoke to the group.
"We aren't from the same year, yet we have been gathered here on the same exact day. Could this really be the work of God..."
Hearing this, Lin Qin also spoke up in disbelief, "If we aren't from the same day, then the earthquake we all experienced before coming here wasn't the same event either..." After saying that, she looked at Qiao Jiajin again.
"But in my memories, I've never heard of any large-scale earthquakes happening in the regions you guys are from..."
"What about you?"
Tian Tian suddenly asked Qi Xia.
"What year are you from?"
"I'm from 2022," Qi Xia said.
"What the hell is going on?!"
Qiao Jiajin felt a bit dizzy.
"Con man, why is it like this? You're so smart, have you guessed something?"
Qi Xia shook his head. None of the theoretical knowledge he possessed could explain the situation in front of them. Why did everyone come from different time periods?
Was God selecting these people completely at random, or was it intentional? And just how vast was the time span between all the participants?
"Regardless, we will only be gathered here for ten days."
Qi Xia looked at the dark red sky outside the window, his gaze extremely firm.
"I don't care whether God did all of this or not. Right now, I just want to fill my stomach and go find the Dao as soon as possible. Even if you guys really care about this issue, I still advise against seeking the truth."
Hearing Qi Xia's words, the group slowly sat back down. Yes, Qi Xia was right. They needed to get out.
No matter what year everyone came from, they shared a common goal, and that was to escape this cursed place and return to their original lives. If they were to spend several days investigating the issue of time periods, it would completely go against their goal.
The five people brought over small bowls from the dining room and scooped themselves a bowl of meat broth each, though their expressions were still a bit unnatural. The mysteries of this place seemed to be wrapped in endless layers, and there were far too many things the group wanted to figure out.
But just as Qi Xia said, trying to uncover the truth would definitely waste a massive amount of time. Which was more important, the truth or escaping?
"Yeah... let's stop thinking about it."
Tian Tian let out a sigh.
"Haven't we already experienced enough unbelievable things?"
Lin Qin and Qiao Jiajin exchanged a glance and both shook their heads helplessly. Tian Tian picked up an old cooking ladle, slowly tore the meat off the bear arm, and served some into everyone's bowl. The bear arm had already been stewed until it was tender and falling apart.
With just a light touch, the meat separated right off the bone. A savory meaty aroma wafted out along with it, carrying the scent of boiling, rich juices that hit everyone's noses.
"It smells... pretty good."
Qiao Jiajin gulped and took his bowl. Qi Xia simply held the bowl in his hands without moving. He caught a glimpse of Xiaoxiao out of the corner of his eye, and after seeing her begin to eat, Qi Xia silently waited for a little while longer.
Only when he was absolutely certain that there was nothing wrong with the food in front of him did he tear a strip of white meat from the bone. He brought the bear meat to his nose and took a sniff. It smelled wonderfully savory.
He then tossed the meat into his mouth and gave it a gentle bite, letting the scalding hot meat juices burst open on his tongue.
"Hoo..."
Qi Xia burned his mouth and hurriedly exhaled a few breaths of hot air. He chewed indiscriminately for a moment and swallowed the white meat down. It tasted awful.
He had never imagined that bear meat could taste this incredibly awful. The texture in his mouth was fatty and extremely greasy, and after a few chews, it left behind a mouth completely full of a rank, gamey taste. Perhaps it was because they didn't have any seasonings whatsoever, or perhaps this was simply what bear meat naturally tasted like.
Regardless, Qi Xia only ate one single bite before he lost all desire to ever touch this bowl of food again. He looked over at Lin Qin. She was also frowning in the exact same way, her facial features entirely scrunched up as if she had just eaten an extremely sour lemon.
Qiao Jiajin and Tian Tian, however, didn't seem bothered at all. They chewed the meat in large mouthfuls while looking back at the two of them.
"What's wrong? Does it not taste good?"
Qiao Jiajin asked.
"What do you think?"
Qi Xia retorted.
"We're from different eras, but surely our taste buds aren't completely different too, right?"
"It really is awful."
Qiao Jiajin mumbled with a mouth full of food.
"But we have to stay alive. Con man, you probably never had to eat leftover scraps out of the garbage when you were a kid, huh?"
Hearing Qiao Jiajin's words, Qi Xia found it somewhat amusing. He set down the bowl in his hand and said with a hint of teasing, "Qiao Jiajin, your usual diet is certainly diverse. Not only have you eaten bear paw, but you've even eaten garbage?"
"Con man, you're getting a little out of line..."
Qiao Jiajin stuffed another large chunk of meat into his mouth and said, "Do you have any idea how much older I am than you? From now on, call me 'Master Qiao', and I'll watch your back. Master Qiao has eaten more garbage in this lifetime than you've ever eaten bear paws."
"I'll say it again. I have never eaten bear paw, and I have never eaten garbage."
Tian Tian and Lin Qin were once again amused by these two, making it feel as if the food in their hands had somehow become a little more appetizing. It was true. No matter what era they all came from, at this exact moment, they were all comrades-in-arms.
Qi Xia stopped bickering with Qiao Jiajin and picked out a few more pieces of meat from his bowl to eat. Regardless, eating something was vastly better than starving. They had no idea what kind of games they would have to play next, so they needed to maintain an abundant supply of physical strength at all times.
The actual palm portion of the bear just so happened to be in Qi Xia's bowl. He had originally assumed that the so-called "bear paw" would be somewhat different from the rest of the meat. But after taking just a single bite, Qi Xia began to dry heave repeatedly.
This specific part was even fatter and greasier than the rest of the meat. The moment it entered his mouth, it felt like a chunk of mucus that tasted like pure fat, exceptionally rank and gamey.
"Did the ancients really treat this thing like a delicacy?"