"You... don't be like this. I don't have any experience, and besides, this place is too messy," Elena noticed the change in me, yet surprisingly, she didn't get angry; her voice held a hint of shyness. Were girls from Country M truly so casual about sex?

I awkwardly and reluctantly let go of Elena. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. This is a natural male reaction. I hope you don't mind."

Elena suddenly laughed again. She made no move to cover her body this time. "In Country M, I've long wanted to participate in 'Celestial Gatherings,' but I never had the time. I never thought that coming to ancient times would give me the thrill of a ** experience. It's fine; I threw myself into your arms. That strange fish just now scared me badly. Thank you for saving me again."

I looked at Elena awkwardly, unable to stare directly, and could only lower my head. "You're welcome. It’s what I should do. If you're scared, go wash up in the shallow water upstream. I'll find some dry kindling, and we can roast the locust meat."

Elena looked at me seriously. "Zhao Qian, since you are He Yuqing's friend, I trust you completely. I also didn't expect that upon time traveling, everything material would be left behind in the 'Real Number Chamber.' Now that we are like this, there’s no point in guarding against each other. Why don't we just treat this as participating in a Celestial Gathering? Members of those gatherings can face each other openly in front of the opposite sex. We can just pretend we are swimming naked on the beach, okay? It's awkward to keep being so tense around each other."

I agreed. "Fine, I have no objections. Then we'll be open with each other from now on, but my male reaction is quite intense. You can't dismiss or belittle that."

"OK, I promise I won't. If anything, I’m just surprised. How is the one below you so big? In your country, wouldn't that rank among the largest?"

Since the two of us had cleared the air, and there truly was nothing here to cover our bodies, I stared at Elena's R-mountains and swallowed hard a few times. Good heavens, she really had a giant pair. Lacking the necessary support of a bra, I truly feared the breast tissue might strain. Her nipples were also severely swollen, emitting an oily sheen, large and red—it created an urge to take a bite.

"I don't know the ranking, but I imagine it wouldn't be inferior to the men in your country, right?"

Elena replied, "About the same, I suppose. I haven't studied men much. I'll have to compare after I have the chance to see other men. What was that monster just now? Are you sure it was a fish? It looked more like a cow to me. Do you think it will climb out of the water again?"

As Elena spoke, she moved to the shallow water upstream to continue cleaning herself. Watching those two colossal objects constantly change shape under her hands made my heart pound wildly. I kept my distance, never approaching her. After gathering a pile of firewood, I realized I had no matches, and I hadn't asked the primitive man for any fire source when we left. Did I have to resort to bow drilling?

The labor and the swirling thoughts did not stop me from answering Elena's questions. "It should be a fish. Judging by its appearance, it's extremely similar to the Lu (lU) described in our Great Dragon Country's Shanhaijing (Classic of Mountains and Seas). This one just lacks the two wings, but I suppose the wings on a fish might be an exaggeration by later generations."

"? Shanhaijing? Although I greatly admire the culture of Great Dragon Country, I have never read this ancient text. Send me a copy when we get back."

"No problem. If we can return safely, I’ll give you a hundred copies."

Elena said, "You mean that ancient era six thousand years ago is very dangerous? Can we really not get back? I just managed to wake up from utter despair; don't frighten me."

Elena had been heartbroken and desperate for many days, which is why she became so talkative after I rescued her. Anyone given a second chance at life would cherish it and have endless things to say. Now, startled by me, her face changed color.

"Do you think it's not dangerous? You're a scientist, yet you haven't noticed the genetic anomalies in the species here?"

"Yes, I noticed. Such mutations are normal in evolutionary history."

"Just wait and see. I have a bad feeling. In that small village just now, the primitive person who kept you captive must have undergone a sex reassignment surgery. The expertise of the procedure proves the existence of a super-civilization. Seeing that strange fish just now, coupled with thoughts of super-civilized humans, makes me feel they might have done something inappropriate to this world. Of course, this is just a premonition. We will prove it as we move forward step by step."

"Right! I just told you about the existence of the prehistoric civilization. If we can find evidence to prove it now, that’s even better. Perhaps after leaving this grassland, we’ll find their cities. Do you think they wouldn't welcome visitors like us from six thousand years in the future?"

"Even if we do discover the prehistoric super-civilization humans, don't mention we are from six thousand years in the future, or it will put us in great danger. To tell you the truth, the reason we can't immediately return to modern times is that I still need to find a certain man in black. This man in black has appeared in our world six thousand years in the future and has begun causing chaos on Earth. I need to investigate his detailed information to figure out a way to deal with him."

Elena looked somewhat pleased. "That’s great! Your objective aligns perfectly with mine. In any case, since we are both researching prehistoric civilization, it's perfect for us to team up. Don't worry, I will follow your lead from now on. I’m not a stubborn person. As long as the final goal is finding the prehistoric super-civilized humans, we'll do whatever you say."

While speaking, Elena had finished washing. She put those two pieces of clothing back on. At this point, I had found enough dry grass and, with great effort, located a piece of rotted branch suitable for friction fire-starting. I then began rapidly rotating a thinner stick against it.

Elena sat on a flat slab of rock nearby, watching with interest. The foul odor was gone from her body; in fact, she smelled quite fragrant. The scent of foreign girls is certainly different from the scent of girls from Great Dragon Country. None of the wives I have at home smell like her. The fragrance emanating from her body stirred carnal desire. Moreover, because the cloth scraps were so narrow, and Elena wasn't paying attention to modesty, I caught fleeting glimpses—a sight that could be fatal.

So, I channeled all that restless energy into the work of friction drilling. My two palms spun rapidly, sending shavings of rotten wood flying everywhere. Finally, when the friction temperature was high enough, a wisp of blue smoke emerged. With Elena's careful tending, a flame finally leaped up.

After starting the fire, I sliced off several pieces of locust leg meat and skewered them on sticks over the fire pit. While roasting, I talked with Elena. "If the primitive people had to start a fire for every meal, I guarantee their breakfast would turn into lunch, and lunch into dinner. They could save an entire meal a day."