"How come there is bacon?" I asked in disbelief.

"Oh, when I found the aluminum lunch box, I also found this box of canned bacon. I heard that canned food from abroad can be kept for more than ten years or even dozens of years. It should be fine. I'll open it and add some food to everyone." Bai Lu said.

"How many cans did you find in total?" I asked.

"It's just one can. When we found it, there were a lot of dead leaves and dust on it, just like a lunch box. It must have been here for a year or two." Bai Lu said.

It's a good thing that I can still encounter.

The baked naan is wrapped with wild vegetables, topped with bacon and dipped in sauce. It tastes more like some kind of street snack called hand-pulled pancake. It tastes quite delicious and chewy. The taste buds enjoy the aroma of noodles and sauce. I couldn't help but finish it.

After the meal, Bai Lu continued to give Yunwen hot acupuncture to prevent the outbreak of rabies virus in her body. I stood up and checked our remaining supplies as usual. This time, the insect plague caused us to lose the so-called king of vegetarian food, the wood ear. It will be difficult to eat what we grow ourselves in the future. The three bronze artifacts were also left in the cave, so they can be considered as returning to their original owners.

The only souvenir in my hand is the string of jade pendants.

Furthermore, many of the things we made ourselves, such as woven baskets and winnowing baskets, were burned in the cave. The only things left were the engineer shovel, saw, pickaxe, rope, silver needle, bayonet, hammer, wooden ox and horse, three animal skins and an Embroidered Uniform Guard cloak, enough wheat to last for more than two or three months, as well as the new aluminum lunch box and half a can of bacon that we had acquired these two days.

After selecting these, I held the half can of bacon and couldn't help but start a new round of thinking. Generally speaking, a professionally trained soldier would know the importance of food in the wild. Not only did he lose the lunch box, but he also threw away the canned food that he was going to eat. Could it be that he encountered something?

This reminded me of the embedded claw mark on the lunch box lid, as well as the deformed and twisted parts. The hooked and pierced parts seemed to be done by a bird of prey, but the deformed parts of the lunch box did not seem to be made by them. An ordinary eagle's claws are not enough to press down the entire lunch box as the width of the claws is not enough.

"Could it be that big bird?" I muttered.

As I was thinking about this, Bai Lu came towards me and said, "Zhou Bo, we may not be able to leave for a while. My sister has a lot of residual toxins in her body. She was not in good health to begin with. Now she has a gastrointestinal disease and her blood is too weak. She needs to be adjusted for a while. Otherwise, we can build a shed nearby and live there for the time being. What do you think?"

"How long will it take to adjust it?" I asked.

"Her body needs more nourishment recently, otherwise it will leave sequelae, so I think she has to stay for at least twenty-one days or even a month." Bai Lu said.

"I remember I told you that there might be something mysterious hidden nearby and it's not advisable to stay here for long. Do you remember that? Not long ago, it was because we were greedy for comfort and unwilling to run around and work hard that we waited until the plum rain season and an insect plague broke out. With such a disaster, do you want to repeat the same mistake again?" I asked.

"Of course not, I'm not that stupid. I'm just worried about my sister's health, so I came to beg you. I promise she will get better, and we must speed up and get away from here." Bai Lu pleaded.

I hesitated, thinking that this would put everyone in danger and give some lurking creatures an opportunity to take advantage.

Seeing that I looked uncomfortable, Bai Lu hurriedly said, "Don't think that Sister Yunwen is fine on weekdays. I see that her Qi and blood are not in good condition. If she doesn't regulate it, I'm afraid it will affect the virus's entry. What do you think?"

This clever girl uses Yunwen to pressure me in various ways just to achieve her goal, but I am helpless. Having said that, do I, a medical illiterate, still have to question her professional ability?

"Okay, in that case, let's stay. Tomorrow Yunwen and I will fill the hole together, and then we will come back together to choose a better residence nearby and settle here temporarily, but it can only be a transition and not a long-term residence." I said.

"Okay, I'll listen to you, Brother Zhou Bo. Brother Zhou Bo, you are really a good leader. You are capable, a good person, meticulous, brave and resourceful. No wonder our Yingchun talks about you every day. You are indeed very outstanding." Song Bailu said.

Of course I knew that this was flattery, because the decision I made was in line with her wishes, but I still felt secretly happy when I heard it.

"Okay, it's almost time for today. Call everyone over. I'll go to the pond you mentioned to wash up, and then those who want to keep watch will stay up all night, and those who want to sleep will go to sleep, and get ready for tomorrow's affairs." I said.

"Okay!" Song Bailu responded happily.

Not long after, the girls all arrived. I held the torch and Bai Lu led the way in front. We arrived near the pond. There was indeed a large pond here. I lit the torch and the girls washed their faces and rinsed their mouths here.

Recently, when we wash our faces during the White Dew Festival, we are always asked to soak willow branches in water and brush our teeth. Or, after soaking our teeth, we are asked to chew willow branches dry. It is said that this is a way for the ancients to clean their teeth. In the Buddhist scripture "Medicine Master Vaidurya Light Tathagata Sutra", it says: "Chew willow branches in the morning to wash your faces cleanly." The chewing of willow branches here refers to chewing willow branches.

This method can indeed make our teeth healthier and our breath less bad. In addition, Bailu attaches great importance to this aspect. Even after washing, she will make a cup of tea for us to rinse our mouths before going to bed to achieve a certain sterilization effect.

It was my turn. I also simply chewed some wood and splashed water on my face to wash it. But suddenly, I felt the water surging again. I remembered very well that I had seen this scene in the underground river in the worm hole. The surging water seemed like something was about to burst out.

I took the willow branch and rolled it in the water for a while, wanting to see what it was. As I was stirring the water, I felt my hand was empty. At this time, Yingchun smiled and said, "Hey, Brother Zhou Bo, how old are you? You are still like a child. What's the fun of spinning a branch in the air?"

Idling branches?

I glanced down and was immediately stunned. In the blink of an eye, the part of the willow branch that was in the water had completely disappeared, leaving only a small half hanging in the air!

I wanted to wash up just now, so I handed the torch to Bailu. I immediately asked her to come closer. I took out the tip of the willow branch and took a look at it. It would have been fine if I hadn't looked at it. It was really scary when I looked at it. I saw that the tip of the willow branch was covered with countless tooth marks, and the density was extremely small, as if countless teeth were crushed at the same time.

"Everybody get out of the water, quick!" I shouted.

Just after I finished shouting, I heard Yingchun screaming. We saw that she was very close to the edge of the pond and seemed to have been bitten by something. We immediately pulled her back. Fortunately, there was no bite, but her shoes had been bitten in half and even spread to the hem of her skirt and trousers and were untied.

"Look at the ground, it's struggling on the shore." Bai Lu said hurriedly.

Facing the light of the fire she shone, she saw a ferocious fish with a black body, blood-red eyes, and saw-like teeth, jumping wildly on the shore. This fish alone was at least thirty or forty centimeters long, not to mention how many more there were in the water.

After jumping a few times, the fish jumped back into the water with a splash. Not long after, the water surface gradually calmed down and the pond returned to calm with only slight ripples.

"What the hell is that? It's so scary!" Song Yingchun said in shock.

"It's a piranha, judging from its appearance, it should be correct," I said.

"I have heard of very large piranhas, but this was once thought to be untrue. They are usually about half this size," said Song Bailu.

I was also surprised, but what I am thinking more about now is that if the appearance of piranhas tonight was a reaction, then there is also an underground river with surging water under the worm hole. Could it be that it is also because of this?

But why didn't it attack me in the underground river before, or even before I washed my face just now, but suddenly broke out now?