Hesitation leads defeat (v1c27)
Ye Sheng never expected to find a rat hole. But it made sense, when she thought about it. The porcupine rat she had killed yesterday must have had a nest, even if it was only temporary. It could dig one out with its claws in no time.
She stared at the dark opening that was half as tall as a man, feeling a surge of excitement. Her eyes gleamed with curiosity and anticipation.
If she had stumbled upon a hole anywhere else, she would have run away as fast as she could, afraid of what might lurk inside. But she had no fear here. She knew this was the lair of the porcupine rat that had met its end by her hands.
The rat's fur had been torn and matted, and its body had been covered in wounds. It was clearly in a poor condition after being attacked by something, and it had probably escaped to this place to hide from its enemies.
She could tell by the fresh soil at the entrance that the hole had been dug recently. It was not like the old, exposed dirt that marked the long-abandoned burrows.
That meant there was no need to worry about the rat's kin or friends coming out of the hole to avenge it. Instead, there might be something valuable hidden in the empty nest.
Rats were notorious for stealing things, and they would stash away any food they couldn't finish in their dens. Although the polluted creatures could eat anything, they would prefer something tasty over the high-radiation plants that contaminated the land.
Ye Sheng suspected that there were some edible plants in the hole, and she wanted to find out.
She remembered an incident from her school days, when they had organized a trip to the countryside to work. They said it was to help the seniors relax and exercise, but it was really to make them do some farming for the elderly who stayed behind.
She and her friends had been working hard in the fields, when they discovered a hidden mouse hole. A few of them, driven by curiosity, had dug it up with shovels, and they were amazed by what they found.
There was a huge pile of food inside. All kinds of grains were mixed together, and they filled up half a sack.
The students were stunned. How could such a small hole hold so much?
That memory had stayed with Ye Sheng, and it made her eager to explore this hole. She had been feeling depressed after wandering in the wilderness without finding anything useful, but now she had stumbled upon a potential treasure.
She felt like she had struck gold.
She didn't hesitate any longer. She put down her backpack that was weighing her down and hid it in the grass, so no one would take it. She took out a small hoe and held it in front of her as a weapon, just in case.
She guessed that the hole was empty, but she couldn't be sure. There might still be a rat inside.
The wasteland was full of dangers, especially for those who lived in the mitigation zone. They could be devoured by the polluted creatures at any moment, so Ye Sheng was not going to let go of a rare opportunity.
Besides, compared to the unknown threats out there, the hole in front of her seemed safe.
She knew that hesitation would lead to failure.
And that timidity would lead to starvation.
Ye Sheng was so thrilled that she took out a simple torch from her bag and lit it. She bent down and crawled into the mouse hole, feeling glad that she hadn't lost too much weight. It made it easier to squeeze through the narrow space.
The cave didn't feel too tight, though.
But Ye Sheng hadn't expected the porcupine rat to be such a good digger. She had thought this was just a temporary nest for the wounded creature, but she walked for five minutes and still didn't reach the end. She slowed down, being cautious.
￣^￣
She was lucky to have the torch with her.
Otherwise, the darkness and silence would have been terrifying.
She felt bored and restless as she made her way through the tunnel. She wished she could take out some barbecue from her bag and munch on it, but she knew the smell of meat would be too obvious in the cave.
What if it attracted some other polluted beasts?
No, she'd better hold off on eating until she got out.
She tried to distract herself by thinking about other things, anything to keep her mind off the fact that she was in a dark hole. But as she went deeper, a foul odor filled the air.
It was like the smell of a fridge that had been turned off for a month.
She gagged.
Ye Sheng wrinkled her nose. The stench got worse the further she went.
It made her head ache.
And it gave her a bad feeling.
(⊙_⊙)
No way! No way! No way!
Porcupine rats didn't bring corpses into their burrows, did they?
But then she remembered that the porcupine rat was just a big rat, an omnivore that would eat anything. Maybe it liked corpses better than grass.
Ye Sheng felt a chill run down her spine as she imagined a human body lying ahead of her.
There was no such thing as a free lunch. If she wanted to find something valuable in the mouse hole, she had to face the horror first.
And she was sure it was a human corpse.
It was obvious.
The porcupine rat had been injured and had fled here. It couldn't go to other areas to hunt down other polluted creatures and drag them back. And this place was very close to the city wall of the safe zone, and next to the mitigation zone...
It was like putting a wolf and a sheep in the same cage.
The porcupine rat would have an easier time targeting humans on the road.
And unlike most polluted creatures that were highly radioactive, humans didn't have high levels of radiation.
She remembered what Zhou Lin had told her, about the early days of the apocalypse when the poisonous fog and radiation came. Many humans had resorted to cannibalism because they couldn't find food. They had even formed a large-scale sect that grew rapidly.
Countless people had been brutally killed by the Cannibal Sect, and only the official base had managed to stop them with ruthless methods.
That was why many people had starved themselves, or had left the official base secretly.
They would eat anything to survive.
But soon, the consequences had shown.
Those who ate human flesh had contracted a strange disease. Their eyes had turned blood-red, and their bodies had oozed pus and sores. They had grown weaker and weaker, until their bodies had become so rigid that they couldn't move.
They could only wait for death in agony.
When the news of the cannibal disease spread, everyone was horrified. They would rather starve to death than die in such a gruesome way. But then the official base came up with a solution: a nutrient solution that could sustain them.
And thanks to their research and development of various high-tech weapons that could fight the polluted creatures, the safety of the base was assured.
Countless people flocked to the official base, and soon the other bases, big and small, vanished.
There was only one official base left.
Ye Sheng thought about this as she walked through the tunnel. To keep herself from fainting from the stench, she took out a clean piece of cloth from her bag and wrapped it around her nose several times. It didn't do much, but it gave her some psychological comfort.
Well!
If she had enough points, she could buy a gas mask.
o(╥﹏╥)o
She had mentally prepared herself for what she might find, so when she saw a rotting corpse, she felt calm, almost relieved.
But there was something wrong with the corpse.
It wasn't dressed like the people in the mitigation zone, who wore rags and scraps. It wore decent clothes, and had protective gear on its wrists, knees, and other parts. The most striking thing was the red cloak that lay under the corpse, crumpled and stained.
This... looked like someone from the mercenary group.
Ye Sheng suppressed her nausea and looked closer. She saw a bulging satchel on the corpse's waist.
Oh, this...
Was it time to loot? ? ?