Dividing the Equipment

Supplies were scarce, but Hao Ren still waved a hand and told Tang Chen to collect everything, saying it would all be distributed later.

Many people looked displeased, but none dared say anything.

"Shengge, we traded our jewelry for those supplies, and now they're taking them too," Jiang Ying muttered.

Xiao Shengge didn't care about the supplies in front of her. What concerned her was that even the Awakened had run out of supplies. The truck carrying them hadn't made it out, so what use was the gold in her bag now?

Food and water had become a problem again.

She wasn't laughing anymore, nor did she think she was the protagonist.

She only felt that the hardships would never stop coming.

Afterward, people trickled back on four motorcycles, five Three-Wheelers, and an all-terrain vehicle.

There were over a dozen people in total, including one "familiar face."

Li Sheng!

Liu Yan had previously tricked him and transferred the Substitute Death Specter's curse onto him. Later, Su Nian had helped remove it with the Sin-Cleaving Butcher's Knife. Surprisingly, he was still alive.

"Brother Su, thank goodness you're all right." Li Sheng wore a fawning expression.

"If you're all right, why wouldn't I be?" Su Nian replied irritably. The man couldn't even flatter someone properly.

"Fair point. I'm a rough sort and not much of a talker. Don't take it personally." Li Sheng smiled sheepishly, then took a bottle of salt soda from the cargo bed and handed it to Su Nian.

"Brother Su, have a drink."

He had been in a good mood the whole way back. Not only had he survived, but he had also picked up some supplies from the ground. If he rationed them, they would easily last half a month.

Su Nian accepted it, unscrewed the cap, and took a sip.

Tang Chen stepped forward with a small notebook.

"Name!"

"Li Sheng!"

Tang Chen glanced at the Three-Wheeler's cargo bed. There were plenty of supplies, more than all the previous vehicles had carried combined. "The deputy leader said all supplies must be handed over for distribution later."

"What!" Li Sheng blurted out, instinctively sounding unwilling, but he immediately changed his tune.

"I agree. I'll follow the convoy's arrangements."

What else could he do? Whatever the convoy said went. He had no right to object.

Su Nian left, and Li Sheng could only watch silently as Tang Chen took the supplies from his cargo bed.

Then he suddenly remembered. Where was Zhang Ping?

"We're back to square one in one fell swoop, but things will gradually get better. Let's divide up what we got this time first."

The five of them gathered around three large bags. Two contained Curios taken from the Refrigerated Truck, while the third held the reserve food they had taken from Gong Qing's vehicle earlier.

"Let me see what there is to eat." Wen Kele unzipped the bag.

Inside were neatly stacked compressed biscuits, canned food, Snickers bars, a few pieces of ham, and four jars of peanut butter.

They began dividing the supplies.

People around them kept glancing over.

"They've got so many supplies, yet they still took ours. Are they trying to starve us all?" someone whispered.

"Who knows? Whatever. What they took was only enough for one meal anyway."

Several small groups whispered among themselves, grumbling about their dissatisfaction.

"There are only four jars of peanut butter, so you four can take one each. I'll take the Snickers," Wen Kele said.

She secretly congratulated herself on her cleverness. There were cockroaches in peanut butter, and she wasn't eating that. Just thinking about it gave her the creeps.

"Peanut butter won't keep long once it's opened, so we won't split it up. We'll open one jar at a time and share it," Hao Ren said.

Wen Kele: "￣へ￣"

Hao Ren divided the compressed biscuits, canned meat, Snickers bars, and ham equally.

He knew Su Nian still had supplies in his vehicle, but he didn't mention them. Instead, he selflessly shared his own.

When they started going hungry, could Su Nian really sit there eating and watch? Wouldn't he be ashamed?

Next came the two bags of Curios.

A burial shroud, Red Candles, white candles...

Hao Ren took them out one by one, explaining their effects as he went. Both the white candles and the Red Candles were single-use Curios, but their abilities were completely different. Red Candles warded off supernatural entities, while white candles attracted them. In plain terms, they drew aggro.

Next was a large bundle wrapped in oilpaper. He opened it to reveal Evil-Breaking Sea Salt.

A large glass jar held cow's blood.

"It's a shame about this cow's blood. Its effects will gradually fade."

"Then don't waste it. Make blood curd and stir-fry it with some scallions and ginger," Wen Kele suggested.

Hao Ren thought for a moment, then handed her the jar.

"Then you make it. Remember not to add salt. They might have added salt water to delay clotting, or some chemical additives."

Things like sodium citrate could prevent blood from clotting.

Wen Kele blinked. "I only know how to eat it, not cook it."

The convoy's cook hadn't made it out either and had died on the road.

"I can make it, though it might not taste very good," Su Yue said.

"That's fine. We just need something to eat," Su Nian said.

Hao Ren took out several bone-white fruits and looked at Wen Kele.

"Can you save the seeds and grow these?"

Su Nian appraised them with the system.

[Palewood Fruit]

[Type: Extraordinary plant]

[Details: Rapidly restores mental energy after consumption and provides some resistance to hallucinations.]

"Let me bring Little Crybaby out. I'll come back when it's time to eat." As Wen Kele finished speaking, the look in her eyes changed to Wen Keyi's clear, slightly foolish gaze.

"I can give it a try," Wen Keyi said.

"Also, you'll need to grow another batch of Purple-Gold Rice. Those survivors don't have any supplies left."

Although the Purple-Gold Rice had a flaw, eating it for no longer than a month wouldn't cause any problems.

"There's still a little of the flawed Purple-Gold Rice left. During the last round of seedling cultivation, I fixed its flaw. The current Purple-Gold Rice has no side effects, and eating it strengthens the body."

Wen Keyi took a dozen or so grains of rice wrapped in golden husks from her pocket.

"I'll grow some in a bit for you to try."

Hao Ren continued taking inventory of the bag's contents and brought out a stone with a greenish tint.

"This is a Stone Guardian Fragment. They're usually placed at the front and rear of a convoy to block curses transferred to passersby. I have one in my vehicle too."

"Curses transferred to passersby?" Su Yue asked, puzzled.

"Things like scattering medicinal dregs or burying substitutes-certain kinds of dark magic. There happens to be a jar here." Hao Ren took out a palm-sized jar sealed with candle wax.

"These jars are filled with medicinal dregs from the tips of peach-tree branches. They can draw curses out of a person's body and seal them inside. The larger the jar, the more curses it can absorb."

"For example, if Gong Qing fell victim to a supernatural entity's killing rule..."

"Why do I have to be the victim? Can't it be you?" Gong Qing snapped.

"Fine! Me, then. Happy?" Hao Ren rolled his eyes at Gong Qing. "At that point, I could use one of these jars to draw it out. That doesn't mean everything's fine once it's out. It's only sealed temporarily. The curse will remain in the jar for seven days."

"If you leave the jar on a road and someone passes by within those seven days, the curse will transfer to them. Only then is the curse truly lifted. These things are usually hidden behind road signs or buried underground, making them hard to spot while the convoy is moving. That's when you need ways to avoid them."

"That's how this world works. You have to guard against supernatural entities, but also against people. Most would rather someone else die than themselves. Every person they kill is one more they can sacrifice."

Su Yue nodded. She couldn't relate to it, but she could understand the logic. If being ruthless would keep her alive and let her child grow up safely, then ruthless she would be.

Next came a green incense stick, an Ink-Line Reel, a jade pendant dotted with cinnabar, a talisman carved from lightning-struck jujube wood and inscribed with runes, copper coins...