Xia Ruanruan was delighted. The wolves, the wild boars, and the lions were all delighted, even though there were some friction along the way and things didn't seem particularly harmonious. Xia Ruanruan would sometimes see fluffy wolves or lions frowning over eating the mutant fish, but as soon as she approached them with a few words of comfort and praise, the previously listless lions and white wolves would immediately lift their heads high and perk up, their fur gleaming and shiny, as if they had been given a shot of chicken blood.
However, as the university campus got closer, the wolves and lions seemed to have gradually become accustomed to the taste of fish, just like the mutant dogs, and no longer became so averse to it. Instead, the egg yolks became jealous.
Either he would imitate a little lion and take two steps and fall to the ground with a "bang", stumbling and stretching out his cat paw with two hairs missing, meowing in grievance, to indicate that he had tripped over a small stone and fell, or he would bare his teeth at the wild boars behind his back and not allow them to get close to Ruanruan in the middle of the night.
Xia Runrun sighed. She had no way to deal with the dramatic cat. She could only hug Egg Yolk's neck and sleep on the big cat's belly when she rested at night.
Fortunately, such days did not last long, and the group soon returned to Xingyue City.
Sitting in the small carriage and looking at the familiar streets, Xia Runrun's eyes sparkled.
"Let's take a break. It's still about three hours from here on the highway to Xingyue University. Judging from the time, we should be able to get back to school before dinner." Old Man Yan stroked his beard and patted the big owl's head.
In just one month, the owl braved the wind and snow and flew long distances to the Longquan Survival Base twice in a row. Old Man Yan felt quite distressed.
Without family around, Gugu is Old Man Yan’s child and his lifeblood.
"Okay, let's take a break here and have lunch."
Xia Runrun looked around at the open space. There was a very clear black mark of a campfire under the roots of a tree in the corner of the space. It was obviously a trace of life left by other survivors. It was even possible that they left this morning or a few hours ago.
After the plants and animals mutated, the entire world's survival system changed, and gathering became the main source of food for the survivors. Only those survivors with slightly stronger strength could enjoy the higher-level farming harvest.
Otherwise, some survivors might have just planted sweet potatoes and potatoes in the previous second, and the next second the sweet potatoes and potatoes they had just planted were dug out and gnawed by other people or mutant beasts. Even in the former Star Sea Shelter, Yang Fan, Huang Haichao and others needed to frequently send people to guard around the farmland.
"It's freezing cold and it's not easy for everyone. There doesn't seem to be any shelter nearby. I don't know how long it took those people to get here." Yang Fan looked at the traces of the campfire and told everyone to quickly remove the weights from the mutant beasts so that they could rest. By the way, they also stewed the mutant fish caught in the river this morning into a pot and distributed it to the dog pack, lion pack, and wolf pack.
The wild boars searched the surrounding grasses and bushes for other food. They preferred the sweet fruits and roots to the fishy smell of fish. With their keen sense of smell, the wild boars not only fed themselves during their lunch break but also dug up a number of kudzu root tubers for Xia Ruanruan. Once as thick as an adult's arm, the roots had mutated to be thicker than buckets, tasting sweet but somewhat difficult to chew.
Xia Runrun chewed with her cheeks puffed out, and the fish soup in the pot bubbled up with steam.
Looking at the lions, white wolves, and mutant dogs lying nearby and tearing off the fish, Xia Runrun couldn't help but sigh that there is strength in numbers. The lions, white wolves, and wild boars were naturally large in size, and after mutation, they became even larger. Not only could they help the mutant dogs take turns carrying the supplies exchanged from the Longquan Survival Base, they also carried the food they hunted every morning on their backs to facilitate their journey.
Even along the way, as they passed through dangerous areas, other mutants and ferocious beasts either ran away or were quickly dispatched, allowing everyone to collect a lot of other useful supplies. For example, in a large supermarket warehouse occupied by a group of ferocious beasts, everyone found a lot of seasonings and dried goods. Some of the dried goods were moldy and inedible, and the fresh food had long since spoiled. However, some convenience foods, canned goods, and seasonings were happily collected by everyone. Everyone even took away a lot of pots and pans that were still intact and unopened. As the number of people in the shelter increased, these things became important supplies for the shelter.
The white fish soup was bubbling with steam. Seasonings such as chicken essence, which had not been eaten for a long time, were carefully added to the soup. A handful of wild onions were added for garnish, and the fish soup instantly gave off a refreshing and tempting aroma.
The greedy survivors stared with wide eyes and drooled.
The sizzling, alluring aroma of fish also blew far and wide with the gusts of east wind...
…
In an abandoned high-rise building about six or seven hundred meters away from Xia Runrun and his group, a dozen men and women were smelling the aroma of fish soup and swallowing their saliva.
Some people were squatting in the room, and some were standing by the window.
Among them, standing by the window was a young man about 30 years old, holding a telescope in his hand, and constantly looking in the direction of Xia Runrun and others.
It was a coincidence that within the straight line from their location to where Xia Runrun and the others were, there was not a single hundred-meter-high tree that could block their view.
"Fuck! This smells so damn good! How dare these guys cook such a strong-smelling food in the wild? Don't they know that all the mutated animals nowadays have dog noses?! Fuck! This smells so damn good... Gulp." The young man held the telescope, swallowed his saliva and cursed.
On weekdays, everyone would be out all day searching for food in the wild. Some would save food and eat only two meals a day, but many would just carry dry food with them, splurge a little on some hot water. Who would dare to cook such a fragrant delicacy in the wild in broad daylight?
"Fuck! Even without a telescope, I can tell that this is definitely fish soup! There's even a pot of spicy soup with hot pot base! It's such a luxury! There's actually hot pot base these days! I usually think it's a luxury to put two more grains of salt in my soup... It's really frustrating to compare yourself with others!" The young man cursed and swallowed the saliva in his mouth even more happily.
"Hey, Brother Zhou, let me see, let me see too! Let me see how awesome our city's team is."
The aroma of the fish soup made him so greedy that a young man came in front of Brother Zhou with an unknown starchy root in his mouth. The two good brothers took the telescope from the young man and kept looking in the direction where the food aroma came from.
"What a lucky life! Tsk tsk tsk, this group of people are so lucky!" The young man wiped the saliva from the corner of his mouth and sighed.
If this happened before the virus broke out, these people would just smell it at most, but after the outbreak, every time they ate boiled meat, they would hide it in the underground shelter, not to mention the luxury of adding so many seasonings and condiments.
"Hey, can you guys just stop looking? Those are other people's. We can see them but can't eat them. Might as well just close the window!" A young girl, drooling at the aroma of the fish soup, raised an eyebrow, glared at the two men, and swallowed silently. As a beautiful young woman, even if she hadn't tasted such delicious fish soup in two or three years, she couldn't lose face. Swallowing her saliva in public was not her style.
"Alas, Lingling, if we can't eat them, can't we just smell them? We can enjoy the aroma while eating..." Chewing on the dry, hard sweet potato rhizome that Zaizi took out of his pocket, the young man sighed silently: "If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes... I really don't believe that anyone can have so many mutant animals as pets... We have 700 to 800 people in the shelter, but there are only 8 mutant beasts in total. It's not even enough for those mutant animals to fill our stomachs."
"We finally made it through the winter, and spring is about to arrive, which seems to bring us hope. But I don't know how many people in our shelter will become food for these mutant and ferocious beasts this year." The young man sniffed the aroma of fish soup in the air and tried to close the window.
But when I turned around, I found that the atmosphere in the whole room was very depressed.
After the virus broke out, these people had poor food and clothing, and had to worry about mutant and ferocious beasts every day. Their days were really hopeless.
The cold rations were tightly gripped in everyone's palms, taking on a touch of warmth. Someone in the crowd sighed and said, "It would be great if we could live in the survival base... I heard that the survivors there have a hard time, but they also have a fulfilling life. The shelter is still a little too small..."
It is called a shelter, but in fact the shelter they live in is no different from a refugee camp.
It is even worse than a refugee camp. At least the refugees used to be provided with supplies by international organizations.
"Why don't we go ask the group down there if they need any other survivors to help with the work?"
Amidst the sighs, a small voice suddenly emerged from the crowd, saying, "Pets need help bathing and grooming, feeding and cleaning their cages... At the very least, someone needs to clean the shelter, tidy up the rooms, weave things, and do the carpentry work... Why don't we go ask if the shelter is hiring?"
"They have so many mutant animals. If you just stand here and take a look, there are at least hundreds of them. Such a powerful shelter should not be short of talents..." The young man called Brother Zhou frowned slightly and was a little moved, but expressed his worries in his heart.
"Not necessarily... I just took a look through a telescope. There was one person in the crowd whom I knew before. He was a survivor of the Xinghai Shelter. Before, there were only about 300 people in the Xinghai Shelter, young and old. There were only about 200 young and middle-aged people left who didn't have the energy to work. There are hundreds of mutant beasts here... I don't think they can handle it." The young man chewing sweet potatoes looked at the young man with eager eyes.
"Brother Zhou, why don't we just follow them and see if they're accepting anyone?"
"There's no harm in asking anyway. At worst, we'll just have to walk a little further."
As the young man finished speaking, the others also looked eagerly at the young man in the lead.
The young man gritted his teeth and said, "Alright! Let's go over and ask right now... But I'll go alone first, and you guys hide somewhere else. If those people release the mutant beasts to bite people, you'll run away quickly!"
In this world, there are kind people and naturally there are also evil people.
In recent years, they have seen many survivors who like to release their mutant beasts to chase and bite other survivors.
The mutant beasts raised by the group of people downstairs are fat and strong, and look majestic. They are obviously not good people, and it is very likely that they are such vicious people.
"Brother Zhou, why don't you let me go? I was the one who suggested this. I'll go!"
"No, you are a girl and you run slowly. I am tall and have long legs, so I can run fast. Why don't I go?" someone else said.
For a moment, several people in the room started arguing about this.
…
Xia Runrun and his group had no idea that on a high-rise building about six or seven hundred meters away, a dozen young people were quietly watching them, discussing in low voices how to join their team, and even almost quarreled over who should come over.
"Hurry up and pack up, clean the pots, everyone is ready to set off!!" With Huang Haichao's shout, a group of people in the team started to move.
Some survivors who were once afraid of the mutant lions and wolves have completely adapted to the size of the lions and white wolves after getting along with them for these days. They dragged heavy supplies up with ropes, making sure to tie up the supplies that were hard to come by. The mutant beasts transporting the supplies lay on the ground, while others stood up and shook their fur.
“Roar, roar, roar~!”
Suddenly there was a huge lion's roar, accompanied by waves of threatening groans from the throats of other mutant animals.
A young man wearing black mountaineering clothes, with his hands raised above his head and a pale face, was stared at by a lioness, urging him to step into the sight of Xia Ruanruan and others.
Being stared at by hundreds of mutant beasts and dozens of people, the young man felt so much pressure that he even began to stutter when speaking.
"Well, that... I have no ill intentions here. I just want to ask if you are from the shelter in Xingyue City? I wonder if your shelter needs other survivors to join?" He moved his dry throat as he spoke.
"We can help with the work, absolutely, absolutely, but we won't hold others back..."
The pressure was too great, and the young man's face became increasingly pale. However, for the future happiness of his companions, the young man tried hard to recommend himself. "Among our companions, some were former nurses, some were former police officers, and some were plumbers and carpenters. These are all very practical skills now. So... may I ask if the shelter is still accepting income?"
Under pressure, the young man gritted his teeth and said the last words, looking eagerly at Xia Runrun and others.
Xia Runrun blinked: This is the first time I’ve encountered a self-recommendation, and I feel a little overwhelmed.
But Xia Ruanruan thought about it and realized that someone volunteered to come to the shelter. The illustrated guide required Zootopia to be upgraded, and the number of residents was one of the most important indicators.
"Okay, we are still short of people in the shelter. How many of you want to join?" Xia Runrun immediately gave the young man a sweet smile.
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