Venturing in Wilderness (v1c9)
"Shengsheng, are you crazy?" Zhou Lin exclaimed, her face filled with shock. She couldn't believe that her little friend had the courage to venture into the wilderness alone.
The wilderness was a place where death lurked at every corner.
Zhou Lin knew that she had only survived her last trip there because her family members were strong and they had been lucky enough to avoid any powerful polluted creatures. They had only encountered some weak ones that they could fend off with sticks.
But even then, they had relied on their teamwork and numbers to overcome the danger.
If someone went into the wilderness by themselves, even the weakest polluted creature could kill them.
And this was Ye Sheng's first time going there. She had no idea what to expect or how to deal with the perils.
The more Zhou Lin thought about it, the more scared she became. She shook her head vigorously and disagreed with Ye Sheng's plan.
She said urgently, "Shengsheng, you have no idea how horrible the wilderness is. When I followed my brother and the others there a few days ago, one of the people in our team got scratched by a Porcupine Rat. It tore his throat open."
As she spoke, she remembered the bloody scene and shuddered.
She continued with fear in her eyes, "The porcupine rat's claws are very sharp, and its fur is very hard. It likes to find human weaknesses and attack them. And it's very fast. It's hard to catch, even with many people. We couldn't do anything to stop it, and we had to watch it run away."
"When I looked at the guy who was attacked, I saw his throat ripped and blood gushing out. Even after applying hemostatic powder, there was no way to save him."
Zhou Lin didn't know the guy who died, but she felt a pang of sadness for him. He was a fellow scavenger, just like her.
She had her family to protect her, but her brother and the others were not the mighty mercenaries of the mercenary group. They were just a bit stronger than ordinary people.
If they met a slightly more powerful polluted creature, they would still face certain death.
But as wilderness scavengers, they had learned to accept death.
So Zhou Lin only felt sad for a moment, then regained her composure. She tried to persuade her sister, "Shengsheng, don't be mad at me for saying these terrible things. The wilderness is really dangerous, and that's not even counting the poisonous fog radiation that could appear at any time. You can't go alone!"
In the mitigation zone, most people who went to the wilderness to scavenge did so in teams.
They fought danger together.
Those who went alone were either very strong and brave, or very dishonest and despicable, or very old, weak, sick, and desperate.
Although Ye Sheng always thought that she was a skinny little girl, she was actually normal-sized in the mitigation zone, where everyone suffered from hunger.
That was thanks to her parents' love. Even when they were starving, they wanted their daughter to eat.
"Zhou Lin, I appreciate your concern, but you know my situation. If we join a team, even if we're lucky enough to find food, we have to give up half. Of course, that's fair, but I don't want to give up half of my food every day. Not everyone will be lucky to find food, so I need to save more."
"As for the poisonous fog radiation and the polluted creatures, I will always pay attention to what other people are doing and avoid them."
Ye Sheng knew that Zhou Lin was worried about her.
She smiled slightly and comforted her patiently, mixing truth and lies.
It was true that she wanted to store a lot of food, but it was false that she would go to places where many people gathered.
She knew it was safer to join a group.
But then, she wouldn't get much food.
Besides having to hand over half of the food, the biggest problem was the crowd.
Even though the plants in the wilderness were growing rapidly due to the poisonous fog radiation, the land was almost cleared by waves of people looking for them...
In that case, she might as well look for a needle in a haystack!
After all, the weak were always preyed upon by the strong, and even if she had a good relationship with Zhou Lin, it wouldn't stop others from bullying her.
If she found something good, it would be snatched away before she could enjoy it.
She, Ye Sheng, had no reliable family to rely on.
Besides, she had just got a super smart network watch, which could avoid the poisonous fog radiation. She just had to be careful...
She wouldn't go to a remote place too far away, but she would take a walk nearby.
She would look for the nooks and crannies that people didn't like to go to, and there might be some hidden treasures.
Anyway, it was better than going to a place where a group of people had sifted through everything like a fine sieve.
When Zhou Lin heard Ye Sheng's explanation, her lips moved, but she didn't say anything about waiving half of the food. She could only nod silently and didn't try to persuade her further.
Ye Sheng was right.
For the sake of the future, they had to obtain more food, otherwise how would they survive the blizzard period in a few months...
Ye Sheng's parents were dead and there was no one to protect her from the wind and rain.
At that moment, Zhou Lin finally realized the cruelty of reality and wouldn't change it because of her personal feelings.
So Zhou Lin calmed down her emotions, then her eyes turned red, and her smile was uglier than crying: "Shengsheng, you must come back safely, I also want to show you the good things I picked up in the garbage dump!"
"Of course, I'll be back with a full load!"
Ye Sheng smiled and nodded, then raised her hand and patted Zhou Lin's shoulder. Without saying anything else, she turned around and took the first step.
Zhou Lin was left looking at her receding back and sighing silently.
...
Ye Sheng was fully prepared for this time of scavenging in the wilderness.
In addition to wearing a patched cloak on her head to prevent sun exposure, she also carried a large old basket behind her back. The satchel around her waist contained a bottle of nutrient solution as a satiating food, and in her arms was a super smart network watch.
The small hoe she had got in the lucky draw could be taken out at any time, so she didn't have to leave it outside to waste her energy.
But Ye Sheng didn't have empty hands. Instead, she held a small detector in one hand and began to curiously inspect the lush plants around her.
"Beep~ High-radiation green leaf grass detected. It contains paralyzing toxins and cannot be eaten."
"Beep~ High radiation detected in dandelion plant leaves. They cannot be eaten."
"Beep~ High radiation bracken detected. It cannot be eaten."
Zhou Lin had told her before that plants in the wilderness were divided into three types: high radiation, medium radiation, and low radiation. Among them, high radiation plants were inedible, but medium and low radiation plants could be eaten.
Especially the low-radiation plants, they tasted very good, and she could exchange them for a lot of credit points when she took them to the redemption hall.
Most of the plants in the wilderness were inedible, tainted by high radiation. Low-radiation plants were a rare delicacy, and even medium-radiation ones were hard to come by.
Otherwise, the people in the relaxation area who scavenged every day wouldn't starve.
Ye Sheng didn't delude herself into thinking that she was a chosen one who could find edible food easily. She was just a survivor, and she had to work hard to defy fate.
The more plants she tested, the higher her chances of finding something edible.
The vegetation in the wilderness was thick and lush, but the teams that formed groups ignored it, preferring to venture further away from the mitigation zone. Ye Sheng had this area all to herself.
After testing plants for less than an hour, her eyes felt sore and everything looked green.
(｡•́︿•̀｡)
She shook her head slightly and continued to scan mechanically.
'Beep~ A piece of spinach with medium radiation detected. You can eat it in moderation.'