Crow Mouth (Chapter 78)
Ye Sheng had seen group registration before.
This time, as she joined the group for free, there was no need to register. She just had to follow Zhou Lin into the team, which was very convenient.
However, when Zhou Lin’s older brother was counting the number of people, Ye Sheng keenly sensed someone watching her.
This made Ye Sheng look back in confusion, only to see a skinny middle-aged woman glaring at her, as if Ye Sheng had done something unforgivable.
It was quite baffling.
“Sheng Sheng, don’t mind my third aunt. She’s just being petty!”
While Ye Sheng was still puzzled, Zhou Lin, who was standing beside her, followed her gaze and rolled her eyes upon seeing the skinny woman.
Without waiting for Ye Sheng to ask, Zhou Lin started spilling the beans, “My older brother dotes on me, but my third aunt always makes snide remarks about how a girl will eventually marry out, and it’s better to be good to the cousins so they can support each other.”
At this point, Zhou Lin spat in disdain, “Pah! She just wants to take advantage. Among the younger generation of the Zhou family, only my older brother is smart and brave. Every time he finds something good, my third aunt is always eyeing it.”
“Last time, when there were job openings at the cotton field, my third aunt suggested we hand them all over to the family. My older brother disagreed, and she threw a tantrum, making snide remarks for a long time... We were lucky to survive the bloodsucking aphid outbreak, and yet she...”
The more Zhou Lin talked, the angrier she got, not caring at all about keeping family matters private.
“She actually thinks that going to the cotton field is a picnic and that we left them home to fend off polluted creatures, and she shamelessly demanded my brother compensate her with credit points.”
“...”
Ye Sheng listened silently, suddenly feeling that being an orphan wasn’t so bad after all!
At least there were no troublesome relatives to make her blood pressure rise.
Especially those who lived together, which made them even harder to deal with.
However, the remark about enjoying themselves at the cotton field sounded familiar... She had heard someone say it when passing by the Zhou family last night.
Could it have been this third aunt?
“My older brother didn’t indulge her and told her to split the family if she was unhappy!”
Mentioning the word ‘split’, Zhou Lin’s eyes brightened, clearly eager.
Ye Sheng unceremoniously burst her bubble: “Zhou Lin, don’t be so impulsive. Your family is untouchable in the mitigation zone because of the large number of people and labor force. If you split up, you’ll be targeted by others.”
Hearing this, Zhou Lin sighed and nodded, “I know. That’s why my older brother has never mentioned it, no matter how aggrieved he feels at home. This time, he was really provoked by my third aunt’s words... But when my older brother truly got angry, the elders in the family immediately scolded her, and she’s been much quieter since.”
As the two chatted, the Zhou family had finished counting numbers, and Zhou Lin’s older brother took the lead at the front.
The two hundred people set off and beginning today’s wilderness scavenging!
While walking, Zhou Lin didn’t forget to continue whispering, “Sheng Sheng, my third aunt bullies the weak and fears the strong. Don’t be polite to her. She glared at you because she can’t deal with me and my brother, so she’s looking to take it out on you.”
“It’s fine, I’m not a pushover either.”
While Ye Sheng was inspecting the polluted plants nearby, the Zhou family’s team moved continuously, only stopping when they found a dense growth of wild vegetables, sending someone ahead to investigate whether others had already scouted the area.
Upon discovering footprints and broken polluted plants, the team moved on, not wasting their efforts there.
Starting out early today, aside from one spot that had already been picked clean, they soon found another dense growth of wild vegetables.
The Zhou family ordered a halt, and the two hundred people swarmed towards the patch.
Ye Sheng and Zhou Lin were among them. Having worked together picking cotton before, they had developed some teamwork and quickly selected an area, immediately splitting up to work.
‘Beep! High radiation shepherd’s purse detected, not edible.’
‘Beep! High radiation shepherd’s purse detected, not edible.’
(TL- Shepherd's Purse is plant check more on Google)
This area was mostly shepherd’s purse mixed with a few other wild vegetables. After several days of fruitless efforts, Ye Sheng had become more patient.
Even after ten minutes of scanning, all Ye Sheng got were high radiation alerts, but she didn’t feel discouraged.
Luck is elusive.
But hard work pays off!
The more she scanned, the higher the chances of finding edible food!
‘Beep! High radiation shepherd’s purse detected, not edible.’
‘Beep! Medium radiation garlic chive detected, can be consumed in moderation.’
The beep from the detector in Ye Sheng's hand made her look down in surprise. She pulled out the garlic chive she found—an entire root was edible!
“Wow, Sheng Sheng, you’re so lucky to find food so quickly!”
“Zhou Lin, keep working hard, you’ll find something too!”
Zhou Lin, who was scanning nearby, was envious but then redoubled her efforts. Ye Sheng broke the waist-high garlic chive in half and put it into her basket, continuing to scan the polluted plants.
Compared to spinach, which could be made into soup, garlic chives tasted better when stir-fried.
Unfortunately, Ye Sheng lived in a shack in the mitigation zone, where she couldn't let any cooking smells escape, or it would attract trouble...
She had bought a lot of food from the safe zone yesterday, so she decided to exchange all the wild vegetables she found today for points!
Even though edible polluted plants weren’t worth much, every little bit added up. The sooner she bought a house in the safe zone, the sooner she could cook as she liked!
Though the patch of shepherd’s purse was large, it didn’t take long for two hundred people to finish scanning it.
After finding the medium radiation garlic chive, Ye Sheng also found two leaves of medium radiation shepherd’s purse.
Zhou Lin also found a leaf of medium radiation shepherd’s purse.
She was overjoyed, happily putting it into her basket before rejoining Ye Sheng in the group. Then she elbowed Ye Sheng and nodded towards her third aunt.
Whispering gleefully: “Hehe, my third aunt didn’t find anything and is really mad!”
Zhou Lin’s sneaky laughter was so blatant that her third aunt immediately looked up, her beady eyes spying the shepherd’s purse poking out of Zhou Lin’s basket, her eyes darting shrewdly.
She didn’t start a fight with Zhou Lin, which made Zhou Lin mutter, “Weird.”
However, when they found the next patch of wild vegetables, Zhou Lin saw her third aunt’s odd behavior.
Wherever Ye Sheng and Zhou Lin went, her third aunt followed.
Worse, just as Ye Sheng was about to scan a plant, her third aunt would rush in and scan it first.
‘Beep! High radiation purslane detected, not edible.’
Zhou Lin rolled her eyes and, like a spicy little pepper, said: “Third Aunt, why are you always hanging around here? Are you planning to help me scan and then give me the edible food?”
Ye Sheng had come to the wilderness to keep her company, and she couldn’t let her shameless third aunt scare her away!
She needed to protect the super nice Ye Sheng.
“Zhou Lin, stop talking nonsense. I can go wherever I want. It’s none of your business!”
“Fine, then stay here. We’ll go somewhere else.”
Hearing her third aunt’s unreasonable words, Zhou Lin rolled her eyes, pulled Ye Sheng along to another area, but her third aunt clung to them like a leech.
Just as Zhou Lin was about to lose her temper, Ye Sheng stopped her. As an outsider, Ye Sheng had no such concerns about continuing to live together.
Think she’s a pushover?
Big mistake!
Without a word, Ye Sheng took the crossbow from her waist and fired an arrow at Zhou Lin’s third aunt!
The three-pronged arrow landed right in front of her, narrowly missing her toes and embedding deeply into the ground.
The sudden shot made Zhou Lin’s third aunt jump in fright and fall to the ground. When she looked at Ye Sheng again, there was a hint of fear in her eyes.
“Aunt Zhou, if you keep following us, and I mistake you for a polluted creature and shoot you, you’ll deserve it.”
Despite Ye Sheng’s cute face, her many brushes with danger had given her a fierce aura. Now, with a cold expression, her words carried a certain intimidation.
Zhou Lin's third aunt's face twitched as she reluctantly got up and left.
As soon as she was gone, Zhou Lin cheered and looked at Ye Sheng with admiration, "Sheng Sheng, you're amazing! My third aunt is usually so shameless, throwing tantrums all the time. I've never seen her so scared!"
"Alright, alright, she wasted quite a bit of our time. Let's get back to scanning the polluted plants!"
After all, it was just dealing with Zhou Lin's third aunt.
Not even as troublesome as a half-dead porcupine rat.
Ye Sheng felt calm and composed.
Agreeing to join Zhou Lin for this wilderness scavenging trip wasn’t just about repaying a favor and needing points, but also because her recent experiences had made Ye Sheng grow quickly.
With a weapon for self-defense, she could explore further into the wilderness!
Yesterday, during a casual chat while shopping with AH mu, she learned that residents of the safe zone could rent or buy an open-top four-wheeled vehicle, form a convoy, and hire mercenaries to explore the wilderness together, leading to greater gains!
Compared to the groups formed in the mitigation zone, the ones from the safe zone were more organized.
With mercenaries in the team, the safety level was much higher.
However, hiring mercenaries wasn’t cheap. Besides, you had to cover fuel costs, lunch, etc. If you came back empty-handed, you’d be losing money.
People without some savings couldn’t join such a "convoy."
Hearing about this kind of organized group made Ye Sheng long for it. One day, she hoped to have enough money to hire powerful mercenaries and explore the wilderness with them.
Then, she could take the Little one with her, and they could scavenge together in the wilderness.
Thinking of this made Ye Sheng feel happy and she wanted to hum a tune as she diligently continued scanning the polluted plants.
‘Beep! High radiation Suma detected, not edible.’
(TL - Brazilian ginseng)
‘Beep! High radiation Suma detected, not edible.’
This time, Ye Sheng wasn’t as lucky as before and found nothing.
But Zhou Lin found two leaves of medium radiation Suma, and she was so happy she almost jumped three feet high.
The Zhou family team had been moving for nearly three hours, finding only a few patches of wild vegetables. Most of the time, they continued moving forward. These edible wild vegetables were not the ultimate goal; the team aimed to find more precious fruit-type polluted plants.
"It's a peach grove!!!"
Just as Ye Sheng felt like her feet were on fire from all the walking, an excited shout immediately lifted her spirits.
Who could resist sweet, big peaches!
This time, she was determined to find an edible peach!!!
Since coming to this wasteland world, Ye Sheng hadn't eaten any fruit. When she was shopping in the safe zone, she saw some dried fruit for sale, but it was super expensive!
Twice the price of meat...
And she already had a dehydrator at home, just missing some edible fruit.
"Sheng Sheng, let's go!"
With the same thought, Zhou Lin pulled Ye Sheng along, sprinting towards the peach grove, her face full of excitement.
By now, other teams had already started scanning the peach grove, but fortunately, it was large, and there didn’t seem to be any polluted creatures attacking, allowing everyone to scan and pick with peace of mind.
Amidst the occasional cheers, Ye Sheng eagerly joined in.
‘Beep! High radiation white peach detected, not edible.’
‘Beep! High radiation white peach detected, not edible.’
Ye Sheng was good at climbing trees. She straddled a branch and started scanning. One by one, basketball-sized peaches hung heavily from the tree, exuding a sweet aroma that made you want to take a bite.
But unfortunately, high radiation peaches were not edible!
Looking at the numerous peaches, Ye Sheng's mouth watered, but the scans were disappointing.
Most polluted plants in the wilderness had high radiation, and fruit was no exception. However, the large quantity meant some edible items could still be found.
‘Beep! Low radiation white peach detected, edible.’
Hey hey
(?ω?)
Finally, she found one!
Ye Sheng happily picked a low-radiation white peach and, after carefully looking around to make sure no one was watching her, immediately took out the Ruyi Pouch from her prize space and stored the peach inside.
Such precious fruit shouldn’t be left out casually.
If it got bruised or damaged, it would be heartbreaking!
>_<
Finding a low-radiation peach made Ye Sheng very motivated. She swung around the tree like a monkey and was as happy as a little mouse that had fallen into a rice jar.
It seemed like her luck was truly exploding.
Ye Sheng then found four medium-radiation white peaches. She put three into the Ruyi Pouch and left one out for appearance's sake.
When the Zhou family’s whistle blew to call everyone to gather, Ye Sheng reluctantly climbed down the tree.
Meeting up with Zhou Lin, who was picking peaches nearby, Zhou Lin beamed and said, "Sheng Sheng, I found three medium-radiation white peaches. I’m so lucky! Last time, when I found the apricot grove, I couldn’t find a single edible fruit."
Talking about the last experience, Zhou Lin no longer felt the previous fear.
The successive harvests made her forget the bad memories.
"Hehe, Sheng Sheng, thank you for coming with me this time. Last time, I was scared to death by the Green Frog. I was so cowardly. Thinking about it now, not every trip will involve attacks from polluted creatures! Looking at these peaches, I was really foolish, almost missing out on the delicious food provided by the wilderness."
Now, Zhou Lin was content with her peaches.
Ye Sheng quickly raised her hand to cover Zhou Lin’s mouth, reminding her, “Don’t say such unlucky things. Be careful with your crow’s mouth; the bad things often come true!”
“Mmm mmm.”
Unable to speak, Zhou Lin quickly nodded, indicating she wouldn’t say such things anymore.
After Ye Sheng let go, the two hurried towards the gathering point and soon saw the Zhou family team. The expressions of the team members varied, clearly reflecting different harvests.
“Big Brother, Big Brother, look at this, I...”
Zhou Lin's eyes lit up when she saw her big brother, and she happily waved and ran towards him. But before she had taken a few steps, the ground suddenly shook violently.
It was hard to stay on one's feet.
“Zhou Lin, be careful!”
Zhou Lin’s big brother saw the ground shaking, and his face immediately turned serious. He quickly ran to Zhou Lin and skillfully lifted her by the back of her collar.
Just as they were about to run, Zhou Lin shouted, “Brother, Sheng Sheng is with me. We can’t let anything happen to her!”
Zhou Lin’s big brother remained silent but extended his other hand to grab Yesheng.
With the two of them in tow, he quickly moved to an area with less shaking.
Meanwhile, chaos erupted in all the teams. As people ran in panic, there were loud booming sounds, followed by giant worms emerging from the ground, towering like five-story buildings.
Ye Sheng looked on in shock, seeing at least a dozen giant worms!
She silently glanced at Zhou Lin, thinking, "Even spoken words aren’t this accurate!"
Zhou Lin was crying and slapped her own face, scolding herself for speaking nonsense and being such a crow’s mouth!
“Run, it’s Berserk earthworms!”
“Don’t touch the mucus they spit out; it’s venomous.”
“Ah, it hurts, don’t bite me.”
The people running around were like little sweets, joyfully chased by the Berserk earthworms. When the worms caught someone, they revealed their mouths filled with rows of dense teeth and took a bite.
The lucky ones were swallowed in one gulp.
The unlucky ones were bitten in half.
Zhou Lin’s big brother reacted quickly to the danger. Even though no berserk earthworms emerged in the area with less shaking, he still frowned, not daring to relax.
He felt that the ground beneath was unsafe.
He urgently moved again, but after a few steps, his foot sank.
Zhou Lin’s big brother’s expression darkened, and he looked down to see their third aunt clinging to his left leg with a terrified expression, having run over at some point.
Simultaneously, in a panic, she said, “Zhou Rui, save me, I don’t want to die!”
Zhou Lin’s third aunt clung tightly, and even though Zhou Rui tried to shake her off with all his might, she wouldn’t let go. Finally, with a fierce expression, he kicked her in the chest with his other foot, making her let go.
At that moment, there was a loud crash.
The ground beneath them shook, and a Berserk earthworm burst out from underground.
It charged straight at Zhou Rui.
With no time to dodge, Ye Sheng wriggled free from Zhou Rui's grasp, grabbed her hand crossbow, and, amidst the terrified screams of the third aunt she struggled to stay calm.
As the berserk earthworm got closer, giving her a better shot, she aimed at its heart and fired.
Thanks to her biology teacher's digressions during school, Ye Sheng knew the heart of a worm was located in the swollen band near the front.
At close range, her aim was perfect, successfully stopping the worm’s advance.
However, the small size of the trident arrow couldn't penetrate the worm’s skin, leaving it alive but more enraged due to the injury.
Polluted creatures, affected by the toxic fog radiation, had increased intelligence.
This meant even worms could hold grudges.
Instead of continuing its attack on Zhou Rui, the worm shook a few times in midair, then turned towards Ye Sheng. Seeing this, Ye Sheng quickly dodged to the side.
However, before she could fully evade, her leg was grabbed tightly.
That familiar grip...
Ye Sheng looked down quickly and saw that it was indeed Zhou Lin’s third aunt!
Still reeling from Zhou Rui’s kick and unable to escape, the third aunt, knowing she was doomed, clung to Ye Sheng with a sinister smile, shouting, “You wretched Zhou family brat, I'll be waiting for you in hell.”
Ye Sheng was beyond frustrated.
She wasn't even a Zhou!
(╬￣皿￣)
Seeing the berserk earthworm charging at them, Ye Sheng rolled on the ground. Despite the third aunt still clinging to her leg, she managed to roll away and narrowly avoid the worm's attack.
However, the third aunt, having committed too many misdeeds, faced her own demise as the worm bit off her shoulder, eliciting a scream.
Ye Sheng took the opportunity to kick her several times, finally breaking free, but the worm was persistent.
It immediately launched a second attack on Ye Sheng.
Ye Sheng had to keep rolling to evade, but just then, the ground shook violently again.
A second worm emerged from the ground in this area, crawling towards the group of people and leaving a huge pit behind. Ye Sheng was unable to dodge in time, she lifted off the ground by the persistent worm.
Seeing the worm's sharp teeth coming at her, Ye Sheng, left with no choice she cursed under her breath and jumped into the nearby pit.
Desperate times called for desperate measures.
However, the pit seemed bottomless, a proof to the worm's incredible tunneling skills.
To avoid falling to her death, Ye Sheng had no choice but to risk it...no, she had to spend double points on the lottery!
[Detecting Lucky Points: 2420, Deducting Double Points: 2000]
Responding to her wish, Ye Sheng was falling rapidly, felt something heavy in her hand and quickly opened the box.
She took out an item from it.
[Feather Belt (Temporary): All people must die, either heavy as a mountain or light as a feather. Wearing this belt allows the user to become as light as a feather, unaffected by gravity. Usage duration: 12 hours. After expiration, it becomes an ordinary belt.]
Ye Sheng quickly read the description and fastened the belt around her waist. She don't know if it was coincidence or something but everytime she used lottery she got something that was very much useful in that situation. And she was glad for that but she will think about later now she had to escape.
Looking up, she saw the worm was still vengeful and determined to devour her, it followed her down into the pit.
However, the worm was too large for the narrow pit.
The worm had to forcefully widen the tunnel, which fortunately slowed it down. As soon as Ye Sheng used the Feather Belt to negate gravity and her feet touched the ground, she prepared to flee.
She absolutely couldn’t let that vengeful worm catch her.
However...
Ye Sheng looked up and saw a labyrinth of tunnels ahead, all crowded together from the worm’s burrowing. She had no idea which way to go.
Gritting her teeth, with the loud noise of the worm burrowing above her, Ye Sheng chose a 'path' and started walking!
Even if it led to a dead end, she could always use the lucky space to find a way back to the surface.
With this thought in mind, Ye Sheng walked faster, lighting a simple torch she took from her bag. The 'path' was rugged, and the walls were covered with the worm’s slimy mucus, which was nauseating!
Carefully avoiding the venomous mucus, Ye Sheng moved forward in the eerie silence, only hearing her rapid breathing and pounding heartbeat.
In the dim light, she faintly heard the sound of water.
Furrowing her brows in confusion, Ye Sheng wondered if the worms had broken into an underground water source. If they had, the place would be flooded, not just dripping.
It sounded more like an underground cave!
This thought brightened her mood, and she quickened her pace.
She didn’t know how long she walked, but eventually, Ye Sheng felt a breeze that made her torch flicker. Ecstatic, she started to jog, finally emerging from the worm’s tunnel.
Then, illuminated by the torch, Ye Sheng looked up to see a large door.
The carved pattern on it resembled the crow on the Black Spring Freemasonry token...
{TL - Someone asked me when will Gu Luoyu will be healed well I can't give spoilers but this volume will end in next 10 to 15 chapters}