The second person was holding a kitchen knife with blood on it. When he saw the person in front being attacked, he quickly raised the knife.
But as a cowardly person, his actions were too hesitant.
As soon as he raised the knife, Lin Man's iron pot hit his ear.
The force was so great that it sent him flying. Because of the angle, he flew towards Grandma Wu's house next door, smashed the wooden door, and then there was no movement.
However, the three generations of grandparents and grandchildren in the room screamed in fright.
All that was left of the iron pot in Lin Man's hand was a handle and a small piece of iron.
The other three saw this and ran away: "Damn it! Go call for help!"
Lin Man panted heavily, and instead of chasing after him, he turned and went into the house: "Mom, we have to leave now!"
"Where are you going?"
"Let's hide in the mountains first. What to do next? I'll figure it out after I collect the soil today."
Lin Man took out a sack from the box, put the tightly wrapped casserole in it and tied it up, then took out his backpack, stuffed a bottle of mineral water that had not been opened and a bottle that was only slightly finished into it, and then put the multi-grain cakes in there, as well as the stainless steel lunch box, the large tin kettle, the watch face, the lighter, the last bit of salt left, and a few wearable clothes.
"Forget the rest." He couldn't take too much with him, so he gave the backpack and sack to Mother Lin. Lin Man squatted down and carried Mother Lin on his back, then stepped over the person lying at the door, who was unknown whether dead or alive, and walked out.
Grandma Wu and her two grandchildren stood outside and said in a trembling voice, "Ayu, Xiaoman, what are you doing..."
Lin Man said, "Grandma Wu, someone is coming to kill us mother and daughter. We have to leave."
"What should I do..." Grandma Wu was at a loss. "It's pitch dark. Where are you going?"
Lin Man was about to speak when he suddenly saw a fire bursting out from the center of the base, and then the sounds of people running, shouting for help, fighting... mixed together and became louder and louder.
Grandma Wu looked at the place and said blankly, "It's all over, all over..." She hugged the two children and said, "My dearest children, what are you going to do?"
Although she had known that this day would come, she would die when her two grandchildren were still so young.
"Grandma..." the two children called anxiously.
The two children of the Wu family, the girl is called Wu Hui, she is fifteen years old, and the boy is called Wu Peng, he is thirteen years old. They can't be considered children, but Wu Hui had a fever when she was a child and her brain was damaged. She has the intelligence of a six or seven-year-old; Wu Peng has congenital defects and is very weak. In addition, the Wu family's parents are not tall, so the two children are very short.
Lin Man didn't interact with them much. Relying on his great strength, Lin Man could run around the mountain alone in search of food. When the two of them went in and out together, they could only dig for tree roots and insects around the base.
So no matter in terms of height or ability, Lin Man looked at them as if they were children.
But even so, it's the result of growing up together.
Lin Man couldn't bear to watch, and looked at Mother Lin on his back helplessly. Mother Lin said softly, "Mom will listen to you."
It's not that she wants to push all the pressure onto her daughter, but she herself is a burden to her daughter. She cannot make decisions for her about whether she should do something, whether she wants to do it, whether she has the heart to do it, or whether she has the ability to do it.
Lin Man looked at the fire in the center of the base, then at the door of the Wu family that was broken because of him, and thought about borrowing water before. Although Grandma Wu was reluctant, she finally gave her the little water she had. She also took good care of her and her daughter over the years.
Think again about the dream space where you can obtain food, and think about the supernatural powers you may gain.
She made up her mind: "Grandma Wu, why don't you come with us? We still have some food, enough to last a few days. Let's hide in the mountains first and make plans later."
"Oh, great!" Grandma Wu seemed to see hope and hurried to the house to pack up her things.
She was an old woman with two half-grown children, and she was at a loss for ideas. When Lin Man said he could take them with him, she felt like she had found her backbone. Although hiding in the mountains might only last a day or two, and she would eventually die, no one wanted to give up on being alive. Who knew if there would be a turning point until the last moment?
"Grandma Wu, just take the most important things. We'll leave in a minute." Lin Man reminded her. There were several families living in their area. They all heard the noise and came out to see the fire. They were all in a panic.
Lin Man didn't say anything to them and decided to take the three people from the Wu family with her. Lin Man took their food and drink needs into account, and providing for these three people was the limit of what she could do now.
She could do nothing to help others.
She put Mother Lin down, brought out a stool from the house for her to sit on, and turned over the two people on the ground. She found that they were still breathing. She had no intention of stabbing them again. She had not killed anyone in all these years. To be honest, she felt relieved to find that they were not dead.
She dragged both of them out to avoid blocking the doorway, and picked up the kitchen knife dropped by the second person. The blade was a little bent, but it was still a good thing. She wiped it on the person's body, went back to the house, found a piece of rags to wrap the knife, and put it in her backpack.
The three members of the Wu family also packed up.
They all carried cloth packages on their backs. Wu Hui carried a pot, Wu Peng held a kettle with only two liters of water, and Grandma Wu held a stove.
Lin Man said nothing and carried Mother Lin on his back again: "Let's go."
They walked towards the foot of the mountain in the dark.
It wasn't a very far distance, and they stumbled along the way. It took them an hour to climb up the hillside. Looking back at the base, the fire was getting bigger and bigger. Lin Man could see many people running around in the firelight, busy trying to escape, and some were fighting. She also heard people's shrill howls.
In the blink of an eye, the entire base was in chaos. Perhaps madness was contagious. After long periods of repression and despair, people could easily engage in a pre-death carnival once provoked.
Soon the house they lived in also caught fire.
The five people looked at the sea of fire on the hillside for a long time in silence.
"Grandma, is our house burned down?" Wu Hui asked dully.
Grandma Wu didn't know what to say.
"Let's go." Lin Man glanced in the direction of the plantation. It was still dark and quiet there.
The five continued walking towards the mountains.
Lin Man is very familiar with the mountains surrounding the base. For many years, she has relied on these mountains to get enough food for her and her daughter to survive.
Now that animals are almost extinct, there is no need to worry about danger. The ground is bare with only some weeds and tree roots, which pose no threat. They walked quite smoothly. After walking for more than an hour, they came to a cave that Lin Man knew.
This place is very secluded, the cave is dry and safe, and it is suitable as a temporary stay.
They all collapsed on the ground exhausted.
Grandma Wu was almost out of breath, but she was holding on so hard that she had to drop the stove she was holding on the way and pick up a branch to walk with. The two children of the Wu family were as skinny as gourds. They were so hungry that they had only a few pounds of strength. They were panting as they walked with their belongings on their backs, but they had good perseverance and did not fall behind.
Instead, Lin Man, who was carrying someone on his back, was in the best condition.
She was sweating and had a low fever, but she wasn't feeling as bad as she had at the beginning.
As soon as the five of them sat down, except for Mother Lin, the other four's stomachs started growling one after another. The three from the Wu family were already hungry, and it didn't matter to Lin Man that he ate, as he was so hungry that he wanted to die.
It was getting light at this time. Lin Man looked at the pot beside Wu Hui and said, "Let's cook something to eat."
She took out a multi-grain cake from her bag and said, "Cook this and eat it."
Grandma Wu thought she was hallucinating: "Bread, cake?"
The two little ones couldn't take their eyes off the cake.
Lin Man said to Wu Hui, "Huihui, come with me to collect some firewood." Among the three people in the Wu family, Wu Hui is the dumbest but has the best physical strength.
"Hey, Sister Xiaoman." Wu Hui swallowed and followed her out obediently.
There were few people coming here, and there were quite a lot of dead branches and other things on the ground. A lot of them were picked up near the cave entrance. Lin Man also picked up a few stones and prepared to go back and build a stove.
But as soon as she returned, Grandma Wu quickly took over all her work, quickly piling up the stones and setting up the pot, and then unscrewing their own kettle and pouring water in.
Very attentive.
Lin Man smiled and didn't stop him. Once the water finally boiled, he broke up a mixed flour pancake and threw it in. The pancake absorbed the water and expanded greatly, and when it was finally cooked, it looked particularly plentiful. The aroma of the grains was almost intoxicating.
Grandma Wu swallowed her saliva and asked, "Do you want some salt?"
"Okay," Lin Man said. Eating salt makes you stronger.
Grandma Wu took out a small cloth bag from the cloth package, which contained a pinch of white salt. She sprinkled a little carefully.
Lin Man poured about two-fifths of the food into the lunch box and said to Grandma Wu, "Share this among you."
"Oh, that's too much. These cakes originally belonged to you. Please add some more." Grandma Wu was surprised and at a loss, rubbing her hands.
When she heard Lin Man say that the mother and daughter still had some food, she thought it was just some wild vegetables, but she didn't expect it to be such delicious pancakes. She thought it would be good enough to share some, but she didn't expect Lin Man to leave so much for them.
She felt both grateful and in awe of Lin Man. Where could she get a cake like this now? She had a completely new understanding of Lin Man's abilities, and he looked at her differently. However, she also knew her limits and didn't ask questions that she shouldn't.
Lin Man noticed the change in Grandma Wu's attitude and was moved. "It's okay, what we have is enough. You are also starving. You can't bear it if you don't eat more."
Grandma Wu was overjoyed, but also felt a little embarrassed and wanted to please: "We still have some cricket powder here, let me give you some."
Cricket powder? Lin Man was stunned for a moment, and looked at Lin's mother awkwardly.
Neither of them liked to eat that. They hadn't touched it since they had the food in the space. Last time, Grandma Wu gave them half a bowl, and most of it was left at home. They had completely forgotten about it just now, and it should have been burned to ashes by now.
"No need, Aunt Wu, you guys can eat it yourselves and leave it for the two children." Mother Lin said.
Grandma Wu stopped persuading her, but she also didn't sprinkle her cricket powder into the pot anymore. This meal was good enough, so she would save the cricket powder for the next one.
"Mom, you eat first." Lin Man held the lunch box and let his mother eat first.
Mother Lin took two bites and said, "You should eat it all." She whispered, "Mom is not hungry, really not hungry."
Just two hours ago, she ate half a multi-grain pancake with a bowl of chicken soup. The chicken soup was rich in oil and the multi-grain pancake was filling. She was not Lin Man who could digest food so quickly, so the words "I'm not hungry" were her true feelings.
Lin Man stopped refusing. She was really hungry, so she ate the whole bowl of pancake soup.
A multi-grain pancake with water can basically fill an ordinary person. Now that so much water was added to cook a pot, not only did Lin Man feel full temporarily, but the three members of the Wu family also felt extremely satisfied and had tears in their eyes.
Lin Man was still thinking about her soil. While the three people from the Wu family were still savoring the taste of the multi-grain cakes, she walked out of the cave with her backpack, unscrewed the unopened bottle of mineral water, poured half of it into the large iron kettle, and then put the kettle back into the bag. There were two and a half multi-grain cakes left. She tore one of them into small pieces and put it in the lunch box, closed the lid, and put it back into the bag.
He took out another piece of clothing from the bag, spread it on the ground, put another cake on the clothing, and also put two mineral water bottles on the clothing. He also took out the kitchen knife and watch, wrapped the clothing, put it in a hidden place, and then carried the bag back to the cave.
She said to the three Wu family members, "I'm going back to the base to check the situation. Don't run around here."
He gave the backpack to Mother Lin, whispered where the water and bread were, and then took the sack containing the casserole and left.
Before leaving, she thought for a moment and said to Grandma Wu, "Grandma Wu, please take care of my mother. New wild vegetables should be growing where I got them last time. I'll take Huihui to dig them when I come back."
Grandma Wu was pleasantly surprised and said, "Xiao Man, go ahead and don't worry about your mother. Grandma Wu is here for you. But you better be careful."
Lin Man smiled, said hello to Mother Lin, and left the cave.
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