Among the various shacks in the Fifth Camp, tents were considered luxurious residences.
Tang Ling had once gotten his hands on a strange stone that Quark needed and traded it for it from him.
Back then, Tang Ling had been entangled by the spider silk of a black-spotted human-spider and almost lost his life.
However, Tang Ling did not regret it. He would do whatever it took to get the best life for his grandmother and sister.
Looking at the familiar tent, Tang Ling's heart surged with excitement and warmth.
They had been relying on each other for too long, so even leaving for three days made him miss them.
Just as Tang Ling was about to reach his tent, a small figure dashed out and jumped into his arms.
The familiar scent of dried potamogete made Tang Ling tighten his arms without a second thought.
"Brother." The soft voice sounded a little wronged.
Tang Ling gently caressed his sister's hair in his arms. His heart was filled with tenderness as he carried her into the tent.
The tent was dark and cold. When Tang Ling lit the oil lamp, he realized that the fire pit in the middle was not lit. A half-eaten nutrition block was placed beside the bed that was covered with dried potamogete.
Nutrition block was the cheapest food provided by Safety Sector No. 17. It only cost a small amount of iron coins to exchange for it.
Although it was called nutrition block, it was only enough to keep a person from dying. It was tasteless and tasted like wax.
It seemed like the food he left at home was a little less. It would not last for three days.
With that in mind, Tang Ling turned around and caressed San San's little face.
San San's big, cute eyes stared at Tang Ling without blinking. When Tang Ling touched her, she smiled.
As long as her brother was back, everything would be fine.
A warm fire was lit in the fire pit. Tang Ling hung up the pot, broke the nutrition block, added some Level 4 drinking water, and cooked it.
No matter how hard life was, Tang Ling had to ensure that his grandmother and sister drank and ate less polluted food.
Some of the resources hidden in his house were enough to make many people in the settlement jealous, but they were all earned by Tang Ling through hard work.
San San stared at the air-dried black-toothed rat meat and quietly gulped.
Black-toothed rat meat was not tasty, but it was not easy to eat meat in the settlement, so it was still delicious.
San San was not disappointed that her brother only brought back black-toothed rat meat this time.
She was just anxious. Why didn't her brother tear up the meat and add it into the nutritious paste?
Amused, Tang Ling pinched his little sister's cheeks. Without a second thought, he took out the uncontaminated red-striped black-skinned snake meat from the tree trunk and tore it into pieces.
San San cheered. She liked to drink the paste with meat. The meat looked much more delicious than the black-toothed rat.
"Where's Grandma?" Tang Ling wiped San San's face with his sleeve while San San stared at the pot of meat paste. She told him that her grandmother had gone scavenging and was not back yet.
Tang Ling sighed in his heart. While he was deep in thought, the curtain of the tent moved, and a hunchbacked figure with white hair appeared in front of the tent.
It was Granny.
Tang Ling quickly stood up and walked to his grandmother. With the dim light from the oil lamp in the tent, when his grandmother saw that it was Tang Ling, her eyes were filled with excitement. She looked relieved and relieved at the same time.
It had been three days and Tang Ling had finally returned safely.
Ever since the accident happened to her son and daughter-in-law, she was always on tenterhooks whenever Tang Ling went out.
"Granny, how's the harvest today?" Tang Ling did not want his grandmother to scavenge anymore, but he still smiled and pretended to be looking forward to it.
No one wanted to live a poor life without any value, and his grandmother was no exception.
Unless one was strong enough.
His grandmother answered Tang Ling's question, "It's normal today, but I still managed to scavenge 1.5 kgs of scrap metal."
As she spoke, his grandmother put down the rattan basket on her back. It was empty except for a few rusty iron bars.
It was not worth much and could only be exchanged for two nutrition bars.
As a matter of fact, according to the settlement's rules, scavengers had to submit a certain percentage of their harvest to the scavenger leader. Otherwise, they would not even be able to keep their meager harvest.
Tang Ling kept quiet while his grandmother held his hand tightly as if she was afraid that he would disappear. All the warmth and care she showed him was unspoken.
**
Tang Ling's harvest was a rare feast for the poor family.
Had it been in the past, it would have been a great harvest to trade for a kg of uncontaminated meat since there were other needs in life.
After tidying up everything, Tang Ling carried San San, who was sleepy from the meal, and sat beside the fireplace with his grandmother.
His grandmother nagged about scavenging and her speculations and yearning for the old civilization.
The old civilization did exist, but as for what kind of era it was, the people of the settlement did not have the right to learn, so they had no way of knowing.
However, judging from the various ruins and resources that the old civilization left behind, it must have been a beautiful era. How did it end up like this? It was also puzzling.
At least, the people of the settlement were puzzled.
His grandmother had told him about the old civilization many times, and every time, Tang Ling would listen patiently with a smile.
However, this time, Tang Ling had something on his mind. As he listened, he caressed San San's black hair anxiously.
Finally, he made up his mind. "Grandmother, tomorrow …"
His grandmother was stunned. Tang Ling's tone and expression made her feel a little uneasy.
Tang Ling heaved a long breath and tried his best to speak to his grandmother in a relaxed tone, "The Safety Sector will start recruiting reserved warriors tomorrow."
His grandmother's expression changed. Her hands, which were sewing Tang Ling's torn shirt, fell into the fireplace because of her absent-mindedness.
She quickly picked it up but was burned by the sparks on his shirt, but she could not care less.
Grandma did not care anymore. She grabbed his hand and asked nervously, "Are you going?"
Tang Ling lowered his head and patted the sparks off his shirt. When he looked up, his expression was determined. "I'm going."
His grandmother's lips were trembling, and her grip on Tang Ling's hand tightened.
Recruiting reserved warriors sounded like a good thing, but as a matter of fact, other than the warriors who could enter the First and Second Reserved Camp, the rest were nothing but cannon fodder.
After a few months of training, they would be hastily assigned to the warrior camp. Their next task would be to follow the Purple Moon Warriors out to explore the wilderness or to collect resources.
Within a year, less than 10% of them would survive.
As a price, their families could live in the Safety Sector. It was also the reason why the people of the settlement were eager to become reserved warriors.
However, his grandmother was not willing to trade Tang Ling's life for the right to live in the Safety Sector.
She knew very well that the young warriors of the settlement would never have the chance to enter the First and Second Reserved Camps.
Not being chosen was actually something that she rejoiced in her heart.
But would Tang Ling not be selected? The others might not know, but his grandmother did. Throughout the years, Tang Ling's support of life had proven his capabilities.
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