Chapter 2
The electronic sound was clearly audible.
The four of them fell silent for a moment, then looked at each other in bewilderment.
Jiang Shu's eyes widened: "What the hell?! You can eat these teeth?!"
Jiang Zhi chuckled.
It's definitely not something you can eat, but since it's low in toxins, it might be useful, so keeping it is never a bad idea.
She bent down and dug out the two palm-sized teeth, then washed them clean with water from the kettle and put them into her small handbag at her waist.
Jiang Shu leaned closer to take a look. "A-Zhi, we can't eat this stuff, why are you keeping it?"
Ginger branch: "It's rare to find something with low toxicity, so I'll keep it as a souvenir."
Jiang Shu: "Then give me one."
"No, I found this out."
Jiang Shu jumped up and down, "You, Jiang Zhi! Don't think you're so great just because you have a watch. I'll get one too when we get to the base. And if I come across a low-toxicity one, don't beg me to give it to you!!"
Jiang Zhi stuck out her tongue at him and said, "I don't need to ask you."
Seeing the brother and sister arguing again, Jiang Shan shook his head, filled the pit with soil, and said, "Stop it and let's go, or it will really get dark."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Shu couldn't help but let out a wail.
At this moment, Ye Qingyun suddenly spoke up: "Azhi, since the rabbit teeth are low in toxins, could the internal organs inside also be low in toxins?"
Jiang Zhi blinked, exchanged a glance with Jiang Shu, and then immediately disemboweled the fanged rabbit with lightning speed.
Beneath the bloody rabbit meat lay a bright red heart. Jiang Zhi brought the watch closer—
"Drip, low level of toxin, edible."
Jiang Shu's heart pounded: "It's low in toxicity too!!!"
This heart must weigh at least a pound; it's enough for a good meal.
He subconsciously swallowed, then quickly emptied the sharp-toothed rabbit's internal organs, urging, "Azhi, hurry, hurry, continue testing!"
Jiangzhi tested two more kidneys.
"Drip, moderate toxicity, appropriate consumption recommended."
As soon as the electronic sound ended, the whole family's eyes lit up.
—You can eat both kidneys!
Jiang Shu weighed them in his hand; the two kidneys together must have weighed at least three pounds.
This is all meat!
Although it is moderately toxic, plants and animals with low levels of toxicity are extremely rare at present.
To fill our stomachs, we have to rely on food with moderate toxins. Although the radio says that long-term consumption of food with moderate toxins may shorten lifespan, in this day and age, it's already good enough to survive. What does a short lifespan matter?
Ye Qingyun took out a takeout insulated bag from her backpack and carefully put the tested heart and kidneys inside.
The inside of the insulated bag is made of aluminum foil, which not only keeps the contents warm but also blocks most of the odors when properly sealed.
If there had been enough time, Jiang Shu would have loved to roast it right there and eat it immediately.
"Mom, let's have a big meal when we get to the base tonight, as a celebration of our move."
Ye Qingyun was initially quite pleased, but upon hearing his son's words, he immediately scolded:
"Eat, eat, eat! All you think about is food! Don't you know how rare this thing is? We've lost our car, and we don't have much of value on us. We might not even have enough points to rent a place at the base. Do you want to sleep at the base gate tonight?"
Jiang Shu said somewhat aggrievedly, "With so little meat, how much can it sell for..."
"Anyway, don't even think about these meats, I have a use for them."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Shu looked utterly dejected.
I completely lost the desire to continue testing, since the test showed he couldn't eat anything anyway.
Ye Qingyun ignored him and said to Jiang Zhi, "Azhi, finish the test in one go, hurry up."
Jiang Zhi didn't hesitate either, scooping up the intestines and continuing the testing.
Unfortunately, their good luck seemed to have run out, as almost all the next samples tested were highly toxic.
Jiang Zhi was somewhat disappointed. Thinking of the mutated animals she had killed before, she said regretfully, "If only we had found this detector earlier, we might have been able to eat meat sooner."
Jiang Shan laughed and said, "Alright, alright, we'll be able to eat this again in the future, it won't make a difference if we don't eat it this time."
"It's getting late, let's pack up and leave."
Jiangzhi reluctantly cleaned up the carcass of the fanged rabbit.
The family of four set off again.
With the wild grass no longer blocking their way, Jiang Zhi and her companions moved swiftly, hurrying along until they finally arrived at the city gate before darkness completely fell.
Even up close, the exterior walls of the base are still awe-inspiring.
A watchtower sits atop the city wall, from which the figures of patrolling soldiers can be faintly seen. The entire base, set against the backdrop of distant mountains, appears majestic and solemn.
On the city wall, every ten meters there is a giant, powerful spotlight more than one meter wide, illuminating the area within a 2-kilometer radius of the base very brightly.
The base gate, which is 8 meters high and 10 meters wide, is made of thick steel and looks very heavy.
The surface is covered with sturdy rivets and protective patterns. A searchlight is installed directly above the gate, its bright light standing out prominently in the night. Advanced electronic identification systems and surveillance cameras are also installed on both sides of the gate.
There were even more than a dozen armed soldiers guarding the huge gate.
Several people felt a surge of excitement.
Living in such a base means that at least we no longer have to arrange for someone to keep watch every night, and we no longer have to worry about security issues.
Most importantly, there's electricity in the base!!
They no longer have to live like cavemen!
Jiang Shu was so moved that tears almost welled up in his eyes: "My goodness! If we had known that Ancheng Base would look like this, we shouldn't have hesitated for so long. This place looks so safe!"
Ye Qingyun wanted nothing more than to grab his stupid son and beat him up, "You talk too much nonsense!"
Didn't you see everyone around them looking at them like they were monkeys?
Jiang Zhi rolled her eyes at him and said, "Brother, you'd better shut up!"
Jiang Shu noticed the stares of those around him and immediately touched his nose guiltily.
The family of four stood behind the base residents returning to the city from the wilderness.
After observing for a while, Jiang Zhi realized that these people weren't necessarily living any better than them.
Most people were dressed in tattered clothes, some even with patches on.
Jiang Shu peered around for a while, then whispered to Jiang Zhi and the others, "I don't think life at the base is as good as I imagined. These people are just like us, all skin and bones."
The only thing that relieved them was that although these base residents looked thin, their facial expressions were not numb.
This shows that the base managers are not people who exploit the people.
It's just that in this day and age, finding a meal isn't easy.
Jiang Shan: "Some are doing well."
The brother and sister followed his gaze and saw that the people in the front row next to them were clearly in better shape, and even the baskets on their backs were filled with more things than the others.
Those people were clearly a family.
The group looked around again and realized that the larger group was having an easier time.
It seems that we need to stick together and keep warm in the base.
Ye Qingyun sighed, "If only we could find your uncles."
There are three brothers in the Jiang family. Jiang Shan, as the youngest, has always been the one who is taken care of. The whole family gets along well and there are no conflicts. If Jiang Shan hadn't found a job in the city so that his children could go to school, the family would still be able to support each other and live a good life.
Jiang Shan comforted her, "It's alright. Didn't they say on the radio that there's a meeting hall at the base? We can post missing person notices there. If my older brothers are here, they'll definitely be able to find them."
"You can also look for your sister while you're at it."
A hint of awkwardness flashed across Ye Qingyun's face: "...We'll see when the time comes."
The line moved forward quickly, but there were too many people, so it was estimated that it would take another twenty minutes before it was their turn.
Jiang Shu grew impatient and slipped away to gather information.
Seeing this, Ye Qingyun hurriedly shouted, "Hey! Jiang Dashu! You stop right there!"
The current situation at the base is still unclear. How could a family be separated?
Jiang Shan reassured her, "Don't worry, I'll go with him to check out the situation. You and Azhi wait for us here."
Ye Qingyun could only agree, "Be careful, if... we can find another place to stay."
Jiang Shan understood what his wife meant, and he nodded, "Don't worry."
After the father and son left, Jiang Zhi focused her attention on the baskets carried by the residents.
Most people's baskets were filled with mutated plants, while many others carried back weeds and branches.
After scanning the area, Jiang Zhi couldn't help but frown—it seemed that obtaining food in the large base wasn't an easy task.
Seeing their unusual, fully armed appearance, the older woman behind them couldn't help but ask, "Young ladies, are you also from the Green Mountain Base?"
Ye Qingyun, who also wanted to get some information, asked, "Auntie, how did you know?"
The woman looked pale and thin, but she was dressed very smartly.
The auntie, feeling that she had guessed correctly, was very happy. "You guys don't look like you're from our base at all. Since you're not from our base, you can only be from Qingshan Base. In this world, you can't survive in the wild."
Ye Qingyun and the others felt somewhat embarrassed upon hearing this.
They really did come from the wild. Their ability to survive for several years in this mutated world is due to a combination of strength and luck.
But Ye Qingyun didn't intend to explain anything; even if he did, no one would believe him.
Jiang Zhi asked curiously, "How did Auntie know we were from the Qingshan base? Maybe we were from another base?"
The auntie had an air of "that goes without saying," saying, "Now that the Qingshan base is connected to our base by road, quite a few people have recently come from there to settle down."
At this point, she asked another question, "What? Did Auntie guess wrong? You didn't come from the Qingshan Base?"
Jiang Zhi knew about the Qingshan Base. She heard on the radio that it was no smaller than the Ancheng Base, but the Qingshan Base was located by the sea and was often threatened by mutated beasts from both the sea and land. Moreover, it was a long way away from their previous residence, so her family did not choose to go there.
I didn't expect the authorities to be so capable, managing to connect the two bases in such a short time.
Keep in mind that even a cockroach is now dozens of times larger than before the cataclysm, not to mention the mutated plants that have developed all sorts of strange attack methods.
It seems the authorities have done a lot of research to open up this transportation route.
Just as Jiang Zhi was about to speak, she saw Ye Qingyun give her a wink, so she had no choice but to shut her mouth.
Ye Qingyun said, "As expected, I couldn't hide it from my aunt. We were from Ancheng before the disaster. Now that the roads are open, we thought of coming back to find our relatives."
"I wonder what the situation is here?"
"Hey, young lady, you've come to the right person." The auntie had a smug look on her face. "My son works in the logistics department."
Ye Qingyun gave her a fruit candy in a rather suggestive way.
The aunt looked down and saw that it was something from before the great disaster. Her eyes widened, but she still repeatedly refused, saying, "No need, no need. You can keep this rare item yourselves. One piece can be sold for several points!"
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