Scavenging

Lu Heng woke up early the next morning.

The Shelter was quiet, with Bloodthirsty Vine guarding the entrance, so there was no need to worry about any sudden dangers for the time being. Without lingering, he got up, took the Bone Demon, and walked through the light barrier towards the Town.

The area had already been searched yesterday, so there was no need to go back. Lu Heng took a completely different route, slowly venturing deeper into the cracked concrete pavement.

After walking a hundred meters or so, several Zombie were wandering aimlessly along the side of the street.

Lu Heng tilted his head slightly and raised his chin.

The Bone Demon immediately rushed out.

It made no attempt to dodge, letting the Zombie pounce on it. It simply grabbed the Zombie's shoulder and tore at it with brute force. The muffled sound of flesh tearing echoed through the empty street, and the stench of blood wafted on the wind. Lu Heng instinctively covered his nose and took two steps back to the side, not wanting to stare at the scene of carnage on the ground.

A few minutes later, three Zombie lay on the ground. Scattered on the ground were a pile of broken bones and two Copper Coin.

Lu Heng bent down and picked up the Copper Coin, putting it into the Storage Space his Wristband.

My mind subconsciously recalled the last time I returned, when I passed through the light barrier of my homeland and was charged a Copper Coin as a toll. There was no notification; the deduction just happened.

I received two this time, which offset the one that was taken from me last time, leaving me with one.

Lu Heng paused for a few seconds, then continued forward along the street without lingering in the open space.

The further you go into the town, the more shops you'll find along the streets.

Along this short stretch of road, his gaze swept across three butcher shops standing side by side, and two fruit shops just two storefronts away. Lu Heng slowed his pace a little. He recalled the other side of the street yesterday, where the situation was similar, with four or five similar shops clustered together on one street.

His gaze swept over each of the tightly closed shop doors.

Before the catastrophe, with so many similar shops crammed together, the competition must have been fierce.

My gaze shifted and landed on an old-fashioned steamed bun shop not far away.

The iron roller shutter door was half-closed, while the main door remained firmly shut.

A thought suddenly popped into my head.

In the immediate aftermath of the disaster, everyone frantically rushed to grab things, mostly bread and cooked food that could be eaten directly. Flour and yeast, which require processing before consumption, were less likely to be something anyone would bother to carry.

If the inventory inside is still there, that would be a considerable gain.

Lu Heng walked to the front of the steamed bun shop.

His physical abilities far surpassed those of ordinary people, so picking the lock would be too time-consuming. He took a half step back and kicked the door hard in the middle.

"Clang."

The old wooden door dented inward with a sound, a crack appeared in the door frame, and a few pieces of wood fell to the ground.

The loud commotion was exceptionally clear on the quiet street.

There was movement inside the door.

Lu Heng didn't step directly inside. With Bone Demon by his side, there was no need for him to be the first to rush in and risk it. He turned to the side and raised his hand, signaling Bone Demon to go in first and scout ahead.

Without hesitation, the Bone Demon strode into the shadows of the shop.

The next second, three staggering figures rushed out from the depths of the shop.

It was a family of three, and three Zombie.

Lu Heng stood outside watching. The shop door was tightly sealed from the inside. It seemed that when the disaster struck, this family locked themselves in here, but ultimately couldn't escape. Perhaps one of them was the first to be infected, and the virus spread within the enclosed shop.

A fleeting thought crossed Lu Heng's mind.

"Get rid of them, cleanly, don't tear them apart," Lu Heng said.

Upon receiving the order, the Bone Demon ceased its frenzied tearing as it had done in the street. Instead, it raised its massive bone fist and slammed it down three times on the three heads. The dull thuds echoed one after another, and the three Zombie collapsed to the ground, motionless.

Two Copper Coin rolled out from beside the corpse. Lu Heng bent down and picked them up.

He stepped into the shop on the first floor.

The counters and shelves were all empty. The countertops were covered with a thick layer of dust, with a few faded price tags still stuck on them. The edges of the cutting boards bore deep and shallow scratches from years of use, and several overturned plastic baskets were piled in the corner. Everywhere on the first floor that could be searched was searched, but no grain was found.

Lu Heng stopped at the top of the stairs leading to the second floor.

White marks were left on the steps, traces of flour being crushed by heavy objects, extending upwards along the steps.

It seems the Shopkeeper owners moved all their valuable inventory upstairs for storage.

Lu Heng stepped onto the stairs and walked up step by step. The Bone Demon followed quietly behind him.

The second floor was a simple storage room, not very well lit. Eight bags of sealed flour were neatly stacked against the wall, and an opened bag was leaning against the wall next to it.

Lu Heng walked over and squatted down.

The edge of the bag of flour in Kaifeng had several blackened, dried bloodstains. If you brought it closer, a faint smell of blood mixed with the smell of dust would waft into your nostrils.

No need to overthink it, this bag of flour was here when the accident happened.

Lu Heng didn't touch it, and simply looked away. The remaining eight bags were all intact, with no broken seals. He reached out and touched them one by one, putting them into the Storage Space of his Wristband.

I continued searching through the cabinets and boxes in the storage room. At the very back of the cabinet, a perfectly sealed packet of yeast lay quietly in the corner, dry and without any moisture.

With yeast, you can ferment dough and make pasta yourself in the future.

Lu Heng carefully put the yeast away.

The search hadn't stopped. Inside several wooden crates in the storage room, there were piles of kitchen supplies. Rice, oil, and salt were neatly stacked in one corner, along with a small bag of dried chili peppers, a bag of pepper powder, and several packets of spices of various sizes.

He put all the seasonings into the storage compartment one by one.

After doing all this, Lu Heng leaned against the wall and stood for a moment.

My mind involuntarily drifted back to those days in the Frost Forest.

During that period, finding food was already a blessing. Most of the time, we could only roast the meat of strange beasts and swallow it directly, without any seasoning, tasting the same day after day. At the time, I was only thinking about surviving and filling my stomach, and I didn't think it was a big problem. But now, looking at this pile of rice, flour, and seasonings, I realize how unbearable bland food is.

We should have prioritized searching these shops along the street yesterday, instead of focusing solely on exotic beasts and forging materials.

Survival is more than just existing. Even if your body can tolerate eating meat without any seasoning for a long time, you will gradually feel unwell.

This batch of supplies isn't exactly combat-ready equipment, but it will definitely improve our quality of life significantly for the next few days.

Lu Heng surveyed the entire second-floor storage room once more, thoroughly checking every cabinet, corner, and under the bed to ensure that no supplies were left behind.

He turned and walked towards the stairwell, preparing to go downstairs and continue searching for the next shop along the street.