Chapter 8 The Power of Life

Dandelion is both a food and a herb. It tastes slightly bitter after being cooked into soup. The teacher said that dandelion is also called bed-wetting grass and has a diuretic effect. If you have kidney stones, you can eat more dandelions.

The young leaves of dandelions are mainly used to cook porridge and soup. Yesterday, Banxia picked a large bunch of dandelions from the community downstairs. The flowers of these dandelions had wilted after being left overnight, so Banxia picked all the leaves and put them in the pot to cook.

But you can’t just use dandelions, because like traditional Chinese medicine, they taste bad and lack calories, so you have to add peeled lotus seeds, salt and oil, and cook them into a paste.

The girl squatted on the floor, holding a palm-leaf fan in one hand and adding firewood to the stove with the other.

The fire was burning brightly and the kitchen was filled with smoke. Banxia felt that the wild vegetable soup was almost cooked, so she stood up, coughing, and took out the last two pieces of salted fish from the cupboard. She tore them into shreds with her hands and mixed them with chopped purslane to make a cold dish.

Cook over high heat for a few minutes and the aroma will start to rise.

"It's ready..." Banxia came out of the kitchen carrying a boiling pot, "The dandelion and lotus seed porridge is ready! And the side dish is shredded purslane and salted fish!"

She excitedly put the iron pot on the coffee table, "Dad, Mom, come and have breakfast!"

She portioned the wild vegetable paste into bowls.

"Mom and Dad, what the teacher said was right. I actually contacted a living person last night! A living person! Did you know? And it was a young man! God finally heard my prayers and gave me a handsome guy who can help me carry wild vegetables!"

Banxia didn’t know the identity of the person she contacted last night, but it still surprised her greatly. She had never contacted anyone before. Could what the teacher said be true?

Is she not the only one in this world?

If there really is a second person in this world, why hasn't he been found before?

But this city is so big, and the world is so big, and two people are so small, just like the only two fish in the ocean. Can these two fish meet each other in their lifetime?

Banxia slowly stirred the wild vegetable paste in the porcelain bowl with a spoon, thinking carefully about her experience last night.

But fortunately, she is not a fish, she has advanced communication tools, ICOM725 shortwave radio!

Banxia didn't know the origin of this shortwave radio. When she was very young, she was picked up and brought here by her teacher. The old radio was already in the room. Her teacher taught her how to use the radio, but she was not as good at shortwave communication as her teacher. According to the teacher's instructions, she insisted on making external calls every night, but she never thought that she could really contact other people.

The teacher’s doomsday survival rules, rule 2: insist on asking for help!

"I'll try to contact him again tonight. His channel is 14.255MHZ." Banxia scooped a spoonful of wild vegetable paste into her mouth, then frowned and stuck out her tongue. "Wow, it's bitter and salty."

Banxia licked her lips, then propped up her head and leaned over the coffee table, humming through her nose.

"But he turned off the radio right away. Why? Am I that scary? I didn't even have time to say a few words. Where is he? How many people are there with him? Is he short of food? I don't know. If I hadn't run out of fish, I would have wanted to stay at home and shout on the radio all day. But would he be on the channel? I don't know."

Banxia knows nothing.

"He said he still has a mother, how great... so enviable."

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After breakfast, Banxia got dressed, put on a light blue sweatshirt and a pair of thick jeans, and then took the bow and arrow from the wall.

The bow is homemade, with bow arms carved from wrist-thick oak, slightly bent after heat treatment, and bowstrings made from three fishing lines. When not in use, the bow arms and bowstrings are kept separately. When in use, Banxia needs to string the bow.

She pulled out a long arrow from her quiver, faced the wall, took a deep breath, and then stood with her feet apart! Turned around! Nocked the arrow! With a slight "squeak", the power was transferred from her waist to her shoulders and arms. Her left hand was in front and her right hand was behind, using the standard Mediterranean fingering technique, and the bowstring was pulled steadily.

Banxia's gaze suddenly became sharp at this moment, and his aura was as unapproachable as the tip of a spear. He took aim - the bow was empty, the target was real, and he shot!

The girl let out a short "Release!" in her heart, and her fingers loosened accordingly. The arrow passed by her cheek, lifting up a few strands of hair. With a sound of breaking through the air, the wooden arrow was firmly nailed to the thick cowhide on the opposite wall.

With a "clang" sound, the arrowhead penetrated nearly an inch into the cowhide.

With a series of smooth movements, Banxia put down the longbow expressionlessly, and the bowstring was still trembling.

The bow is still usable. The girl breathed a sigh of relief. Judging from its condition, the bow can last for a few more months.

Banxia is an expert in archery. She even surpasses her teacher in archery skills. However, her teacher is very accurate with a bow. Banxia often thinks that if she were to fight her teacher with a bow and arrow, the gun would be faster from ten steps away.

Within ten steps, the gun is still faster.

"Mom and Dad, I'm going to Xuanwu Bay today. We've run out of fish at home, so I have to go catch some more to pickle. I'll probably be back before the sun sets, so wait for me at home."

Banxia carries a bow and arrow and a quiver on her back. The bow and arrow can be used for hunting or for self-defense. If she encounters a red deer on the way, she can hunt it with the bow and arrow. If she encounters a wild boar, she can drive it away with the bow and arrow. If she encounters a brown bear, she can use the bow and arrow to make it perform a dying struggle.

"I don't think we'll run into a bear, right? I'm not that unlucky."

Next, put the dagger into the scabbard on your chest. The knife must be carried with you at all times.

Then he took out an imitation Type 54 pistol from the TV cabinet, removed the magazine, and confirmed the number of bullets in the magazine. There were seventeen rounds in total, all of which were complete. Finally, he stuffed the pistol into the holster on his thigh.

Banxia asked why this gun was called imitation Type 54?

The teacher said that all pistols are called imitation Type 54.

The knife, gun, bow and arrow were all ready. Finally, Banxia carried the shoulder bag on her body - the teacher's doomsday survival rules, the third rule was that no matter when, you must carry a bag when going out!

This is an iron rule.

Even if you are just going out to get gas... Banxia will go to the gas station regularly to get gas, and you must bring your bag with you.

The bag is a first aid kit, which always contains medicines, bandages, maps, fire starters, lighting, and spare knives. No matter where Banxia goes or how long she is away, she must carry this bag with her at all times. The teacher spent a lot of effort to help Banxia develop this habit. The teacher once told her that in this world, no place is absolutely safe. Leaving the shelter means facing life-threatening danger. Once you step out of this door, you must be prepared to be swallowed by this world.

Banxia didn’t understand at that time.

Now Banxia understands.

Everything was ready. Banxia hugged her parents tightly on the sofa, and then changed her shoes at the entrance.

"Dad! Mom! I'm going out! I must be back before dark! Please wait for me!"

The girl waved.

"If I can't come back... well, I will definitely come back. I have to go find that handsome guy tonight, and I can't keep him waiting for too long."

After saying that, she closed the door, then ran downstairs, went down eight floors in one breath, and ran out of the main door of the apartment building.

"I will be back before dark!"

The girl was shouting as she ran. She had this habit. She didn't know who she was shouting to. Maybe she was shouting to her parents upstairs, or maybe she was shouting to the community, or to the world. It was as if as long as someone could hear her, she would be able to return safely on time as promised.

But what she saw before her was a wild, green world. The gray-black concrete was gradually covered by plants, knee-high weeds grew on the broken road surface, and all the tall buildings turned into huge giants dressed in green. As long as you step out of the door of the apartment building, you will touch the sticky, suffocating vitality and wildness. In the years when humans disappeared, the vacant living space was madly flooded by nature.

Banxia's small light blue figure burrowed into the grass and was quickly swallowed up by this world.

Nanjing is a long-dead corpse with towering trees with lush branches and leaves growing out of it.

(End of this chapter)