The sunlight was scorching, and it prickled against his skin. The temperature had already climbed to at least thirty degrees.
After gearing up from head to toe, Yu Hong had only walked a short while before he was drenched in sweat, but he didn't dare take off his equipment.
In an environment like this, he had to guard against more than just Ghost Shadow and Evil Shadow. He also had to guard against people.
So even if it was hot, he had to endure it.
After walking for more than ten minutes, he soon reached the Post Office gathering place.
He waited for a while outside the Stone House. As he waited for the others to arrive, he also carefully observed the surroundings.
The gray-white stone house stood quietly amid the dark green woods.
Its exterior was covered in mottled, unidentified marks, while the edges and corners bore numerous worn and battered scars.
Several vines, a mix of emerald green and grayish brown, had climbed across the roof.
A gentle breeze stirred the branches and leaves, making them sway slightly.
Yu Hong looked down at the ground, and suddenly his brows furrowed.
There seemed to be some footprints on the ground outside the Stone House. "Yu Hong, you're here early today?" Jenny's voice came from behind him.
"Yeah. The High Tide Period is almost here, and trouble is about to come again. We have to prepare our supplies in advance. The problem now is, how do we solve the food issue?" Yu Hong turned around and looked at her.
Jenny had changed into a close-fitting camouflage uniform. Her expression was exhausted, and her eyes were filled with blood vessels. Clearly, she hadn't rested well.
As soon as she approached, a foul sour stench drifted from her body. It seemed she hadn't even had time to wipe herself down.
"I tried growing mushrooms, but the ones I grew were completely inedible. They were all contaminated fungi—poisonous contaminated fungi." She sighed.
"We usually eat Cattle Leg Mushrooms, right?" These past few days, Yu Hong had been looking through Lao Yu's record notebook. Although it didn't contain detailed cultivation procedures, it did record the various problems encountered during cultivation. It was practically Lao Yu's book of mistakes, and it was highly useful for reference.
Cattle Leg Mushrooms were a type of lightless mushroom similar to shaggy mane mushrooms. They were nonpoisonous, and the mature mushrooms grew very large. A single cultivation cycle could yield a considerable amount, making them highly suitable as supplementary food.
Most importantly, these mushrooms didn't need light, making them extremely suitable for cultivation in a damp, enclosed environment like theirs.
"Did you fail to prevent other mushroom spores from getting in during cultivation? Contaminated fungi couldn't have appeared out of thin air." Yu Hong pondered.
"I was very careful too, but there was no way to eliminate them completely." Jenny shook her head. "I heard Lao Yu used to have his own cultivation box, specifically for growing Cattle Leg Mushrooms. If we could get our hands on it, we should be able to succeed easily."
"Where is the cultivation box?"
"The Post Office Basement."
The two fell silent for a moment.
No one dared enter the Post Office Basement anymore. Once they became infected with the Black Handprint, they would have to face the Evil Shadow Withered Woman, who was far more powerful than Ghost Shadow. Even the town's United Army couldn't withstand her and could only retreat and migrate. Needless to say, a few ordinary people like them stood no chance.
"I tried cultivating them too. I remember Lao Yu secretly digging up soil in corners of the woods several times before. I suspect mushrooms have to be grown in a specific type of soil, otherwise there's no way to succeed." Doctor Xu's tired voice came from beside them.
She had changed into a black long-sleeved T-shirt and jeans. Her lips were cracked, and her face was deathly pale.
"And I have to remind you both that when attempting to cultivate mushrooms, you must watch out for Mushroom Lung."
"Mushroom Lung?" Yu Hong seemed to recall something, and his expression changed slightly. He remembered reading some information online before, which had also mentioned this disease.
"Yes. During the mushroom-growing process, once they near maturity, they will silently release mushroom spores. Once these fungal spores are inhaled into the lungs, they can very likely cause Mushroom Lung. The symptoms include coughing, white phlegm, chest tightness and pain, and shortness of breath. Sometimes there may also be fever, palpitations, nausea, and so on." Doctor Xu paused. "Of course, this disease only occurs after long-term inhalation of mushroom spores. As long as you're careful, ventilate the area, and wear masks, it shouldn't be a major problem."
"No wonder. Lao Yu always looked like he couldn't stop coughing. Maybe he already had a problem." Jenny looked thoughtful.
"That's possible, but there's no point discussing it now. All right, the High Tide Period is almost here. The key issue is, how do we get food?" Doctor Xu changed the subject.
The three exchanged looks and fell silent.
For a moment, the breeze stirred around them, and the scorching sunlight poured over their bodies, yet they couldn't feel the slightest warmth.
Without food, they wouldn't survive a week.
Yu Hong was in better shape. Thanks to the incredible staying power of his protein bars, a single one could sustain him for a day. On top of that, he had exchanged for some food from Lao Yu earlier, so his current supplies could last another two weeks.
But Jenny and Doctor Xu were different. Judging by their appearances, they would probably run out of food in a few days.
"If we can't figure out a cultivation method, we'll have to find other food to tide us over first." Jenny's voice was solemn. Clearly, she had thought about this for a long time before coming. "As for what other food there might be, I don't need to spell it out, do I?"
"You mean searching through other people's residences?" Doctor Xu was the first to understand. "Will that work? They must have taken everything with them, right?"
"There's definitely still something beneath the Post Office. Also, I know the underground shelters of several people who died during the High Tide Period. There should be food inside too, but the doors won't be easy to open." Jenny replied.
"Should we go?" Doctor Xu looked at Yu Hong. Ever since she had visited Yu Hong's Safe House, she had developed a faint admiration for him. She understood that he wasn't someone who merely talked big—he truly had ability.
It was just a pity that Yi Yi had left too early. Otherwise, if she had stayed with Yu Hong, she might really have been able to live a good life.
"Let's go take a look." Yu Hong nodded. If they could obtain some valuable odds and ends from the others, it would be worth it even if they found no food.
He was especially interested in the Red Value Detector. If he could get one and enhance it, it might prove extremely useful. At the very least, it would certainly work for environmental warnings.
"All right. I'll lead the way in a moment. Stay close." Jenny nodded, as if she had expected them to agree.
"By the way, what about Eve? Isn't she coming out?" Doctor Xu suddenly asked.
"She said she wasn't feeling well and is hiding alone in the bedroom. I don't know what she's doing. But less movement means less consumption, so I left her alone." Jenny answered.
"Come to think of it, wasn't Eve in town before? Why did she suddenly come back? Why didn't she migrate with the town?" Doctor Xu asked curiously.
"I'm not sure either." A trace of unnaturalness crossed Jenny's face. "It seems she offended someone in town. I don't know the details. But you both know how beautiful Eve is. She always attracts plenty of men who like her."
"That's true. Sometimes being too beautiful isn't a good thing in this era." Doctor Xu sighed in agreement.
Yu Hong walked at the very back, wiping away his sweat as he listened to the two women talking ahead of him. When he heard that Eve had offended someone, a thoughtful look also appeared on his face.
In the quiet woods, the three picked up their tools and left the Post Office Stone House. They followed a channel carved out by rainwater and soon arrived before a raised hillock.
There was a crude iron door at the base of the hill.
The door was black and painted, with yellow rust showing through where the paint had flaked off along the edges.
Jenny stopped in front of the iron door, picked up a thick branch, and knocked on the panel.
Clang, clang, clang.
The iron door gave off a dull, heavy sound.
"This is Elsie's residence. He lived here with his father. One day, they went far away together to dig up Glowstone ore, and then they never came back."
"Elsie. He was such a shy young man. He and his father were both good people. They even helped me chop firewood." Doctor Xu remembered him as well, and sorrow appeared in her eyes. "Good people never seem to live long in this world."
"Whether someone is good has nothing to do with it. How long they live depends only on whether they're careful enough." Yu Hong added.
"That's true." Doctor Xu nodded.
The three stopped talking. Yu Hong stepped forward, took out the chisel he had brought earlier, and began smashing the door.
Bang, bang, bang! The iron door was already badly rusted. After a few blows, the lock plate was smashed away.
Yu Hong yanked the door open, and a cloud of dust visibly billowed out from inside.
The smell of mold mixed with an overpowering stench and rushed into their nostrils.
"What smells so awful!?" Jenny quickly moved aside, covering her nose as her face twisted.
"It's a corpse." Doctor Xu covered her nose and narrowed her eyes as she looked into the underground shelter.
In the cramped shelter, a grayish-yellow corpse that had rotted down to skin stretched over bones lay quietly on the ground, surrounded by tiny insects.
The corpse wore worn long sleeves and trousers, both gray-white in color. A bandage was wrapped around its arm, and black-rimmed glasses rested on its head.
Its face was turned to the side. Its eye sockets had been gnawed down to two empty holes, staring blankly at the doorway as if it had still been yearning to escape at the moment of death.
"It's Elsie. I was the one who bandaged that wound for him. I never thought he had come back." Doctor Xu recognized the corpse, and sorrow immediately filled her eyes.
"What a shame. He was such a good—"
"Don't mourn him. We don't have much time." Yu Hong stepped around the side, crossed over the corpse, held his breath, and entered the shelter.
After rummaging around, he quickly found two bags of dried meat, one bag of dried mushrooms, and a bag of dried wild greens that was half eaten.
"The food is still here. He didn't starve to death."
He walked over to the fire in the corner and picked up the aluminum kettle lying crookedly atop it. After shaking it, he found half a kettle of water still inside.
"The water is here too. He didn't die of thirst."
"It was Ghost Shadow."
Doctor Xu bent down and picked up a bag of Glowstone that had been reduced to powder. From the powder, fragments bearing faint traces of red runes could still be seen.
Yu Hong shook his head, carried the food out, and after confirming it was safe, divided it among the three of them.
The three then went to the next residence.
One underground shelter after another was smashed open. As time passed, the three visited the abandoned Safe Houses of other survivors.
Some were completely empty, with nothing inside. Others yielded some food.
After visiting five Safe Houses in succession, each of them received two bags of dried meat, plus a bag of dried mushrooms and dried wild greens. It was enough to solve their immediate crisis.
After they finished searching the last residence, Jenny glanced at the sky.
"We still have enough time. We can also make a trip to the nearby Glowstone Mine and smash out some Glowstone for backup. Are you going?" She looked at the other two.
"How far is it from here?" Yu Hong asked.
"About two kilometers from here, but the roads through the mountains and woods are much harder to travel than flat ground. So if we're going, we have to hurry." Jenny replied.
"Let's go tomorrow. We're too pressed for time. If something unexpected happens on the way and we get stuck spending the night in the wilderness, that would be dangerous." Yu Hong frowned.
Before you continue