Level 1 to Infinity: My Bloodline Is the Ultimate Cheat!-Chapter 358: Nightshade and Trust

Not long after, Nora Vance, who had been waiting anxiously, saw the tent zipper open. Ethan emerged, carrying a basin. The basin was pitch black, filled with the blood that had flowed from Dot’s fingertip. Once outside, Ethan took out a bottle, poured its contents into the basin, and ignited it. A foul stench immediately wafted through the air. He had poured in gasoline.

Next, Ethan gestured for Nora to enter the tent while Uncle Jed remained outside. Removing the worm eggs from Nora was, to say the least, awkward. His entire Soul Sense had to circulate within her body.

It was unavoidable that his senses would brush against intimate areas. Nora felt the strange current of his Soul Power moving through her, and her face flushed crimson. She bit her lip, trying to endure the sensation.

"Mmm..."

Just as Ethan managed to steady himself and focus, Nora let out a soft, involuntary moan. At that exact moment, his Soul Sense happened to be passing through a particularly sensitive part of her body. The sound nearly caused him to lose his concentration altogether.

Ethan looked up at her. Nora, mortified, immediately shut her eyes. That expression was even harder for him to bear. Her tightly closed eyes, that look of helplessness, made his Soul Power within her expand...contract...expand...contract...until Nora trembled under the strain.

"Hoo..." Ethan exhaled slowly, pressing his tongue against the roof of his mouth. He closed his eyes and steadied his mind. Bit by bit, he managed to regain control of his Soul Sense.

After a few minutes, he opened his eyes and picked up his small knife again.

"Nora, just a moment."

She opened her eyes and nodded, trying to compose herself. He made a quick incision, and a stream of black blood spurted from her now purplish-black fingertip. He burned it the same way as before, then cast a Rejuvenation spell to replenish her strength and help her produce more healthy blood.

Finally, he stumbled out of the tent, barely able to stay upright.

Uncle Jed, who had been waiting anxiously, reached out to steady him. Then he extended his hand toward Ethan.

"What do you want?" Ethan asked, his voice raw with exhaustion.

"Get rid of mine too!" Uncle Jed said, startled by Ethan’s tone.

"Get rid of what? You’re not infected!" Ethan swatted his hand away, too tired to argue. His nerves were frayed to the breaking point. Removing the worms from Nora had drained him more than treating himself and Dot combined. He had to empty his mind completely while holding his concentration steady, all while Nora kept making those nearly inaudible, yet unbelievably suggestive sounds.

Uncle Jed followed after him, still pressing, "Are you sure?"

Ethan didn’t answer. He just turned his back and walked a few paces away before dropping to the sand and lying flat. He felt as if every last bit of strength had seeped out of him.

For a moment, he let his thoughts drift. Nora, with her bronzed skin and taut, athletic physique—probably from years of desert life—had somehow made it all much harder. Even now, he couldn’t quite erase the memory of the tension in her body, the way her abdomen was sculpted with muscle yet retained its softness.

After resting a couple of minutes, Ethan forced himself to sit up. He took out a new tent and set it up nearby. Then he returned to the old tent, radiating Soul Power imbued with Dragon’s Might. The system hadn’t indicated any lethal microorganisms inside, but the air reeked of blood and decay. He didn’t want Dot lying in that any longer.

As he unzipped the flap, Nora, who had been crouching with her back to the entrance, suddenly stood. But Ethan still caught a glimpse of her hastily wiping something away.

"Nora...the new tent is ready. You can head over. I’ll carry Dot."

He’d barely recovered, and seeing that scene almost made him falter.

"Mmm..." Nora nodded quickly. Clutching something tightly in her hand, she brushed past Ethan without meeting his eyes.

She ran straight into Uncle Jed, who had been peeking inside. The collision nearly knocked the old man off his feet. She’d been moving so fast that, even though Uncle Jed’s body slowed her a little, she still darted away into the new tent.

Ethan let out a long breath and turned back to Dot. Her complexion had improved, and her fever had receded. He carefully lifted her and carried her into the fresh tent.

Then he took out the gasoline again, dousing the interior and the exterior of the old tent. He glanced around—there was only a bed and a few stools inside. The only thing he regretted losing was the air conditioner, but there was no help for it. He wasn’t about to risk taking contaminated objects into his Soul Vault. If some hidden parasite survived and ended up on Earth later, it could turn into an invasive nightmare. frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓

He pulled out a pack of Nightshade cigarettes, tore the wrapper open, and lit one. He took a slow drag. It had been a long time since he’d smoked, and the first puff sent a wave of euphoria washing over him.

With a flick of his fingers, he tossed the glowing butt into the gasoline-soaked tent.

Boom.

A tower of fire roared up into the night. Ethan watched the blaze and thought, Even the most formidable worms have to fear fire.

While he stood there, Uncle Jed came up beside him. Without a word, the old man reached for the pack of Nightshade in Ethan’s hand. He opened it, took a deep sniff, and his eyes lit up.

"Nightshade!"

Ethan was startled. He hadn’t realized this world had tobacco. Though he’d never been much of a student, he knew tobacco belonged to the Nightshade family, so technically, the old man wasn’t wrong.

"You...you had this? Why didn’t you bring it out last night?" Uncle Jed’s voice rose with disbelief.

"Last night?" Ethan frowned.

"Yes—sandworms hate the smell of Nightshade. They’ll avoid it. If you’d taken this out, half the Butcher Tribe wouldn’t have died!"

Uncle Jed’s hands suddenly clamped around Ethan’s collar. His face was stricken.

"Damn it..."

Ethan shoved him back, voice hoarse with fatigue and anger.

"How the hell was I supposed to know? Besides, I only had this much—what good would it have done?"

He pulled out dozens more packs of Nightshade and threw them at the old man’s feet.

"And even if it had worked—what does any of that have to do with me? They wanted me dead. Why would I save them? If those worms hadn’t shown up when they did, I might’ve killed the entire Butcher Tribe myself!"

"You... Forget it."

Uncle Jed’s shoulders slumped. He slowly sank into a squat and said nothing more. The two men stood there on the sand dune—one standing, one squatting—with piles of Nightshade scattered between them. A heavy silence settled over them both.

Ethan turned his back, still fuming.

Snap.

A soft sound broke the quiet behind him.

"Hiss...cough, cough... This is strong..."

Ethan froze.

Whoosh.

A gust of wind whipped past him. Without even looking, he instinctively reached out and caught the object flying toward his head. He turned around to see Uncle Jed with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, holding out a hand in invitation. Smoke curled around the old man’s face, his eyes watering as he tried to smile.

"Never smoked before? Trying to act tough?" Ethan muttered, curling his lip.

"Damn it... Who said I haven’t smoked before? I’m at least—" He trailed off, then mumbled, "Nightshade... It’s rare here, but it’s still found."

Ethan caught the odd tone in his voice. The old man was still hiding something. But Ethan didn’t care. He had his own plans. He’d been eyeing Uncle Jed’s spearmanship for a while now, waiting for a chance to learn from him.

Seeing the old man make the first move to break the tension suited him just fine.

"Tastes good, doesn’t it?" Ethan said. With a thought, he made the packs of Nightshade on the ground vanish into his Mindscape.

He strolled over and reached for the opened pack in Uncle Jed’s hand.

Uncle Jed’s fingers twitched. He dodged Ethan’s grab and tucked the pack neatly into his pocket. At the same time, he palmed the lighter and slipped it into the other pocket with practiced ease.

"Damn it..." Ethan cursed. No wonder the lighter he’d used at noon had disappeared—this old man had swiped it.

"Want a smoke?" Ethan asked.

Uncle Jed took a long drag, exhaled, and nodded. "Tastes good. Haven’t had one in a long time."

’Of course it tastes good’, Ethan thought. ’It’s Nightshade. Even if you’ve smoked something similar before, it wouldn’t have this flavor.’

"I can give you all of it if you want," Ethan said casually.

"Oh?"

Uncle Jed’s gaze sharpened. He knew exactly how valuable Nightshade was out here. In the Sea of Death, there was even an old saying:

Nightshade, nature’s cure-all.

It kept the chill of frost and rain from settling in your bones, chased off swamp fever and bad air, and was said to ward away spirits and other things best left unnamed. Children who chewed it were spared the wasting sickness. Women claimed it eased the worst pains and swellings. Whether it was sluggish blood, sour gut, or a chest full of phlegm, a breath of its smoke was enough to clear it out.

Most importantly, its scent drives away sandworms.

A tribe with just a few Nightshade trees could survive the nights without fear of an attack.

Now this kid, Ethan, was saying he’d give it all away.

Uncle Jed studied him carefully.

What exactly was he up to?

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