"Since they were kind enough to deliver it, of course we should eat it."
Hyacine's tone was relaxed as she picked up a meal box, opened it, and began to eat.
"Eh?" Hong Guoguo was stunned, her feline ears twitching in confusion. "Just... eat it directly? Sister Hyacine, aren't you afraid it's drugged?"
"Don't worry," Hyacine swallowed a mouthful of food, her expression composed. "There are no potent knock-out drugs or poisons in here; it's all normal food. At most... they added some tranquilizing and sleep-inducing medication."
As she spoke, she casually picked up another unopened box and handed it to Hong Guoguo. "You eat some too. We've walked for so long; it's time to replenish your strength."
"Oh... okay." Although Hong Guoguo was full of doubts, her trust in Hyacine won out.
She took the meal box and opened it; inside was steaming curry potato beef.
Out of caution, she used her nose to sniff it first. After detecting no unusual scents, she finally picked up a spoon and started eating.
"Mm, the taste... is okay." While chewing the soft, tender beef, she couldn't help but voice the question in her heart. "Sister Hyacine, don't they have bad intentions? Normally, shouldn't they put drugs in the food to knock us out? Why only add tranquilizing stuff? What use does that have?"
"They did indeed add drugs." Hyacine elegantly wiped the corner of her mouth with a napkin. "These tranquilizing and sleep-inducing things are the drugs they added."
Hong Guoguo stopped chewing, her azure eyes filled with deeper confusion.
"But... with this level of sleep-inducing components, as long as we don't want to sleep or stay slightly alert, won't it be completely ineffective?"
"The effect is secondary; the key lies in testing us," Hyacine explained patiently. "Adding something to the food, even if it's just tranquilizing components, is a signal in itself. An experienced and extremely vigilant person, even if they can't distinguish exactly what it is, would sense an abnormality and refuse to eat. But if we eat it..."
At this point, Hyacine stopped and looked significantly at Hong Guoguo.
Hearing this, Hong Guoguo understood instantly.
"If we eat it without hesitation, it shows we didn't notice anything abnormal, or that we trust them very much? That way, they'll think we're easy to deal with and lower their guard?"
"Correct," Hyacine nodded approvingly. "Conversely, if we refuse, they'll know we are cautious and might even be suspicious. So, this is a touchstone to test our vigilance and our level of trust in them."
"Hiss—" Hong Guoguo sucked in a breath of cold air, the tip of her tail curling uneasily. "Such deep schemes... is there a need to be so indirect?"
"It's likely because your strength caused them a great loss, costing them many expensive Beast Taming creatures. Now they have to be exceptionally careful and cautious," Hyacine speculated.
By now, she had finished her portion.
"Alright, we've eaten and drunk our fill," Hyacine clapped her hands, a gentle smile appearing on her face. "It's time for us to cooperate with the performance."
"Performance? Acting as what?" Hong Guoguo hurriedly shoveled in the last few bites and asked indistinctly.
"We are going to give them a third answer." Hyacine lay down comfortably and slowly closed her eyes. "That is, to tell them unmistakably: 'We know you drugged us,' and then pretend to fall for it to see how they respond to this unexpected situation."
"Ah? This..." Hong Guoguo felt her brain was a bit overwhelmed. "Pretend to be knocked out by tranquilizers? And then?"
"And then?" Hyacine's voice carried a hint of anticipation. "Then we wait for the opponent to make their move. I want to see how they play their next card in the face of this countermeasure."
Listening to Hyacine's words, Hong Guoguo's mind felt a bit looped.
But at least she understood one thing: she had to pretend to be drugged now, and then... wait and see?
Seeing this, Hong Guoguo also immediately lay down, adjusted her breathing, and tried her best to look like she was affected by the drugs and had fallen into a deep sleep.
Before long, a set of deliberately lightened footsteps approached the tent.
"Miss Hyacinthia? Miss Hong Guoguo?" A male voice sounded outside the tent, carrying a hint of testing. "The fog in the woods is heavy, and the chilly air is rising tonight. The captain asked me to check if you need an extra blanket? We have spares here."
The inside of the tent was silent; the two remained motionless.
After the person outside waited for a few seconds, his voice rose slightly.
"Miss Hyacinthia? Are you all resting? Then I'll... put the blanket inside?"
His tone carried a trace of undetectable tension.
However, the only response was the steady, calm sound of breathing from inside the tent.
Immediately after, the sound of a zipper being pulled rang out.
A crack was opened in the tent's door flap.
Hong Guoguo kept her eyes closed, feeling somewhat nervous.
Although she was confident she could react the moment they struck, it still felt a bit creepy to be observed while pretending to be defenseless.
However, the expected attack did not occur. She only heard the rustling of fabric rubbing together, and then the sound of the two empty meal boxes being taken away.
Following that, the zipper was slowly pulled back up.
As the footsteps gradually faded away, silence returned to the inside and outside of the tent.
"Get up, Guoguo."
At this moment, Hyacine's calm voice sounded.
Hearing Hyacine's voice, Hong Guoguo immediately opened her eyes, let out a long sigh of relief, sat up, and looked at her, saying:
"Sister Hyacine, is this... enough?"
"Yes, this is enough." Hyacine also sat up, casually summoning Little Ica and stroking it in her arms. "The signal we've sent now is very clear: we know there's a problem with the food, and we've taken a defensive posture—pretending to be knocked out to confuse them. This is an explicit show of distrust and a reverse test. Next, they should find a way to appease us, attempting to regain our trust, or... reveal one's true intentions."
"Then we now...?" Hong Guoguo was still a bit dazed.
"Of course we're playing the full set." As she spoke, Hyacine naturally pulled the blanket that had just been delivered over her legs and adjusted herself into a comfortable position. "Sleep, and wait for the mist to disperse."
"Eh?" This time Hong Guoguo completely lost the rhythm. "But... but aren't they coming to test or deal with us? Isn't it more dangerous if we fall asleep?"
"In their current perspective, we two alert prey are tensely faking sleep and staying on guard because we discovered the drugging. Unless some sudden event occurs, they have no reason to proactively poke through this window paper in the middle of the night."
"Besides, they also need time now to reassess and formulate a plan. So, rest easy."
"This..." After listening to this long string of analysis, Hong Guoguo only felt her head spin.
She gave up thinking and muttered in a small voice, "Alright... although I feel it would be simpler to just beat up these bad people... but Sister Hyacine must have her reasons for doing this... listening to Sister is never wrong..."
While muttering, Hong Guoguo also wrapped the blanket tightly, lay on her side, closed her eyes, and tried her best to relax.
Despite being very quiet, Hong Guoguo's muttering still fell clearly into Hyacine's ears.
Seeing this, her hand stroking Little Ica paused slightly, and a hint of undetectable embarrassment flashed across her face.
'Uh... actually, there isn't any complex profound meaning,' she silently roasted herself in her heart, 'it's purely a bad habit left over from when I was Cipher and teased my opponents... whenever I see this kind of person playing at conspiracies, I just want to mess with them...'
But since she had already done it, she couldn't give up halfway, could she?
Thinking of this, she also began to drift into a shallow sleep.