To the stronghold residents like Liu Bu and Luo Xinyu, rats were synonymous with filth. In their traditional view, rats were creatures that lived in the sewers and represented plague, disease, stench, and so on.
Although Ren Xiaosu did not eat rats, that was only because he had seen rats eat rotting corpses before. As a result, it left a bad impression on him. But to the other refugees in town, they naturally believed that rats in the wilderness were food. These rats stole food from humans and even preyed on other creatures. They were no different from other wild animals.
There was a shortage of supplies in town. If they could even eat termites, what more rats? In their eyes, rats were just a piece of walking meat.
Compared to the important people in the stronghold, the refugees had a different understanding of food. They felt that anything that didn't kill them was food anyway.
Now that the pickup truck had been destroyed and the food supplies had been destroyed by the soldiers, even if there was still food left, no one would dare to go and retrieve it from the wolves. Therefore, it was inevitable that they would have to endure hunger for some time to come.
Ren Xiaosu was not afraid. No one could starve in the wilderness, but he would.
At this moment, Ren Xiaosu looked at Yang Xiaojin. When this girl pointed her gun at the driver, he thought she was trying to save him. But when she pointed at him as well, he realized she only needed a guide to understand the environment in the wilderness.
Perhaps Yang Xiaojin had also realized it would be more difficult to find food in the future, and Ren Xiaosu had shown his talent in this area. So she wanted to bring along someone who could find food.
As the saying went, there were specializations in every field. Being proficient in firearms did not necessarily mean one was proficient in wilderness survival. And it just so happened that Ren Xiaosu was proficient in wilderness survival.
Ren Xiaosu wondered what level his wilderness survival skills would be if they were categorized as a skill.
He asked in his mind, "What's my wilderness survival skill level?"
"It can be assessed. Master-level," the voice from the palace answered bluntly.
Ren Xiaosu was stunned for a moment. It could really be assessed. He did not expect that his Wilderness Survival Skill was actually at the Master level. It seemed so powerful …
For some reason, Ren Xiaosu was becoming more and more suspicious of Yang Xiaojin's identity. As someone from the stronghold, this girl's actions could be said to be decisive and unhesitant.
It was still night time, and everyone was very tired. The wolves did not dare to enter the canyon, so they simply walked a few kilometers and stopped to rest.
They stopped because they needed to discuss their future strategies, and also because they were afraid of what was behind the canyon. If they could drag it out a little longer, they would.
"We can only move forward now." Xu Xianchu stood in the canyon and said, "This canyon is called the Old Wind Gap. It looks calm now, but you've all seen the power of the wind. I wouldn't be surprised if someone was blown out of the canyon."
"But there doesn't seem to be any wind in this canyon at night." Liu Bu wondered, "There hasn't been any wind since last night. Besides, it shouldn't be too much of a problem if we park our vehicles side by side to block the wind. "
"That won't do either. We have to leave this place before dawn. We can rest for a while now." Xu Xianchu denied, "Besides, we're out of food. Our top priority is to get out of the canyon and look for food. It doesn't look like there's any in this canyon."
"Now that you mention it, I'm starting to get hungry," Liu Bu muttered.
At night, everyone gathered around the campfire. Due to their fear, they did not have much of an appetite. But it had already been five or six hours since dinnertime, and they had expended so much energy and stamina while running for their lives, everyone was starting to feel hungry.
"If I had known earlier, I would have gone to get some food first." Someone complained, "Although the pickup has been beaten beyond recognition, at least there's still something to eat."
"Then what do we do now? There's still nearly half a month to go. What are we going to eat and drink?" Liu Bu asked.
At this question, everyone turned their attention to Ren Xiaosu. That was because they had the impression that Ren Xiaosu was very good at surviving in the wilderness. Wasn't that big fish caught by Ren Xiaosu?
However, Ren Xiaosu pointed at the rat at his feet. "Do you guys eat this?"
The others remained silent. In fact, if they were really at the end of their rope, they would even eat a rat. That was the reality of the situation.
In fact, everyone in the convoy knew that Ren Xiaosu definitely did not want to help them look for food. After all, the convoy did not provide any food to Ren Xiaosu previously. Not only did they isolate Ren Xiaosu, but they also deliberately made fun of or embarrassed Ren Xiaosu. Now, they even wanted him to help them look for food?
Some of them suddenly started blaming Liu Bu in their minds. 'You had so much food in the truck, so what's wrong with giving some to Ren Xiaosu? Isn't it better now?'
They did not expect this either. Although they did not say anything at the time, they were all laughing when Liu Bu refused to provide food to Ren Xiaosu.
Ren Xiaosu sneered to himself. 'Let's just rely on our own abilities then.'
"Let's rest for a while. We'll head straight through the canyon at dawn." Xu Xianchu decided, "When we get out of the canyon, everyone has to be careful. Let's make sure there's no danger before we talk about food. We won't starve to death in a day or two."
When there was a shortage of food in town, Ren Xiaosu had actually seen people eat tree bark and roots. After eating the bark and roots, they ate the soil and eventually died.
Ren Xiaosu knew very well what people would become when they were hungry. If they did not eat rats now, they would start eating soil in two days' time.
At this moment, Yang Xiaojin came up to Ren Xiaosu and handed a dagger to Ren Xiaosu. Ren Xiaosu was taken aback. "For me?"
"I'll lend it to you," Yang Xiaojin said.
"What's the condition?" Ren Xiaosu asked. The two of them were very straightforward. There was no such thing as love or hate without reason in this world, so there must be a reason why Yang Xiaojin had lent her dagger to Ren Xiaosu.
"Food," Yang Xiaojin said.
"Then I can't just lend it to you." Ren Xiaosu shook his head. "You have to give it to me."
"Sure." Yang Xiaojin then turned around and left.
This stunned Ren Xiaosu. Actually, Yang Xiaojin had already intended to use the dagger as an exchange. When she said she would lend it to him at the beginning, she was only trying to leave some room for negotiation.
Ren Xiaosu did not know whether to laugh or cry. He would have to think twice before dealing with Yang Xiaojin in the future.
He observed the dagger. Even without knowing much about sabers, he could tell that this dagger was better than any of the ironware he had seen in Old Wang's grocery store.
Ren Xiaosu sheathed the dagger and hid it in his sleeve. But all of a sudden, Ren Xiaosu's expression changed drastically. He looked up at the sky above the cliff, and the others also looked up. "What's up there?"
As soon as he finished speaking, there was a dense sound of shells rubbing against each other in the canyon. Xu Xianchu took out a strong flashlight and shone it above his head. Suddenly, he saw countless Black Tides crawling down the cliff.
No one had seen these bugs before, but the patterns on their backs resembled human faces. The black bugs' mouthparts were opening and closing as though they had received some kind of order and were madly pouncing on the crowd down the cliff. Some of them even jumped straight at Ren Xiaosu and the others from a high altitude.
Ren Xiaosu drew his dagger and slashed at the huge bug that was pouncing at him. Then he shouted, "Run!"
"What the hell is that?!" Liu Bu was scared out of his wits!
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