Embers Ad Infinitum

The sun gradually sets in the west, and the horizon is golden and red. In the gray and black wilderness, trees appear occasionally and stand upright.

Long Yuehong looked at the figures heading north in the distance and asked in confusion:

“Why do some ruin hunters only rely on walking?

"Wouldn't this be as good as the previous batch?"

Since they separated from Wu Shoushi and others, they had encountered several groups of ruin hunters heading north of Yuelu Station on their way to Black Rat Town.

Some of these hunters drive modified vehicles, some use roaring motorcycles, some rely on bicycles, and some ride tame horses. Although the means of transportation are all kinds of strange, at least they all have them.

Bai Chen, who was driving, took a glance and said simply:

"This is all about picking up bargains."

"How to say?" Long Yuehong asked.

Jiang Baimian, who was in the passenger seat, was maintaining his pistol and said without raising his head:

“They walked deliberately not to be the first to reach the ruins of the city.

“In this way, the ruin hunters in front can help them step on minefields and eliminate many dangers.

"Although this also makes them lose the right to obtain first-hand information and select precious materials, it is safer. As long as they don't drill into the center of the city, they may survive. Anyway, in such a big city, even if There is a team of powerful forces in front of us, and there is no way to clear out all the edge areas at once, and there is no way to guard all the roads."

Long Yuehong suddenly realized it first, and then had doubts:

"But they can't move much stuff like this. If they just carry it on their shoulders, there will definitely be very little they can afford. It's better not to go."

Jiang Baimian raised his head and sneered:

"It seems that you really have no idea about urban ruins.

"There are a lot of used vehicles and various parts there. As long as you can repair them, you can definitely 'prepare' transportation there. Haha, this in itself can be considered one of the gains.

"In fact, compared to those who drove there by themselves, they gained more, more in quantity."

Long Yuehong thought about it carefully and found that this was really the case:

Wu Shoushi's team of ruin hunters previously had a team of four people driving a gray off-road vehicle. After arriving at the ruins of the city, if they could avoid or resolve the danger, they could obtain up to three vehicles and four vehicles of supplies. No more would be available. It was taken.

If four ruins hunters walked there purely on foot, carrying only tents and weapons, they could get up to four vehicles and four vehicles of supplies.

Shang Jianyao thought for a while and said to himself:

“Isn’t the biggest role of driving in meeting time and maintaining physical strength?”

"Yes, so these people will definitely have to rest for more than a day when they arrive at Yuelu Station. They don't have to rush anyway." Jiang Baimian hung the "United 202" pistol back on his armed belt and pointed at the group of people in the distance.

She then looked around:

“It’s almost evening, it seems we won’t be able to make it to Black Rat Town today.

"Let's find a place to camp on a slope and wait until daybreak before leaving."

"Okay." "Okay." Shang Jianyao, Long Yuehong and others responded one after another.

Not long after, they found a small dirt bag in the gray-black wilderness and set up a tent in the leeward area.

Jiang Baimian looked at the rising bonfire, clapped his hands, and turned his eyes slightly:

"Shang Jianyao, Long Yuehong, your tasks for noon haven't been completed yet!"

"Ah?" Long Yuehong was a little confused.

It took him a few seconds to remember that he still had unfinished tasks in the ruins of the steel plant - one was to find some food by his own ability, and the other was to draw the layout of the ruins of the steel plant.

"But our exploration was interrupted by Jingfa, and now we can't go back to Black Rat Town." He quickly defended.

Shang Jianyao next to him didn't speak. He just smiled and looked at Jiang Baimian, as if he understood that the team leader was "deliberately looking for trouble."

Jiang Baimian looked around and said with a smile:

"So, I have to give you a task that can be completed now."

She then lowered her head and glanced at the black electronic watch on her wrist:

"Complete a hunt before dark, no matter the size of the prey."

After speaking, she raised her head and said to Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong:

"Show me part of the map you've already drawn."

Shang Jianyao immediately handed over the page with only the hospital and radio station areas drawn.

Jiang Baimian reached out to take it, unfolded it, and his expression suddenly became a little strange:

"Why mark a toilet? It won't be usable."

Team leader, what you said is also very strange... Long Yuehong didn't dare to say what was in her heart.

Shang Jianyao responded seriously:

"Details and authenticity are my requirements for drawing maps."

"Have you ever drawn a map before?" Jiang Baimian was a little curious.

"No." Shang Jianyao shook his head calmly.

"Then let's talk..." Jiang Baimian swallowed the last word hard, shook his hand and said, "Let's go hunting."

Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong didn't delay. They each carried assault rifles and walked to the top of the small dirt bag and looked around.

The weeds on the wilderness undulated gently in the evening wind, intermingling with the gray-black soil and various stones.

At first glance, there are only a few dozen or so trees, let alone active animals.

This means that Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong can't even find a target.

"Which way to go?" Long Yuehong asked habitually.

Shang Jianyao glanced at the creek surrounding the soil bag:

"Follow it and find the river, there should be fish there."

"Yes." Long Yuehong's expression relaxed.

He hesitated and then said:

"But does this count as hunting?"

"In terms of purpose, it definitely counts." Shang Jianyao replied nonchalantly, "The only question is how far you have to go to find the fish."

"...How about we hunt other animals by the way?" Long Yuehong suddenly had a strange idea, "Shang Jianyao, do you think you can use your 'reasoning clown' ability to trick the prey back directly? "

Shang Jianyao looked Long Yuehong up and down:

"First of all, you have to make them understand me, and secondly, you have to make them stop and listen to me."

"...Same." Long Yuehong opened his mouth, as if he wanted to ask something else, but in the end he didn't speak.

He thought for a while and said:

"We can't go hunting so blindly. Let's ask Bai Chen for advice first."

"Okay." Shang Jianyao didn't mind, turned around and walked towards the jeep near the bonfire.

Long Yuehong looked at his back, remained silent for two seconds, and sighed softly.

"Bai Chen, where might there be prey nearby?" Shang Jianyao asked bluntly after approaching the jeep.

Bai Chen pointed to a place with sparse trees:

“You can go over there and have a look, there should be rabbits.

"You should pay attention to distinguishing footprints and feces..."

She briefly talked about the techniques of hunting rabbits, and finally said:

"If you were an ordinary person, I would suggest setting up traps and using tools, but your marksmanship is enough, as long as you can stay calm and not rush around."

"Yeah." Long Yuehong and Shang Jianyao suddenly looked forward to it.

…………

An hour later, when the afterglow of the sun was still struggling to set, Shang Jianyao and Long Yue returned to the campfire in shame.

The former held a hare with gray fur in his hand, and blood was dripping down.

"It took you so long and you only caught one rabbit?" Jiang Baimian, who was comfortably warming himself by the fire, stood up.

"Rabbits are too sensitive, they run very fast, and they have many burrows..." Long Yuehong expressed her difficulties.

Jiang Baimian smiled and added for him:

"And there were so many people walking by today that those rabbits were frightened and harder to catch."

"Yes, yes!" Long Yuehong responded hurriedly.

Shang Jianyao thought for a while and said:

"We still underestimate rabbits too much and think we can catch them easily."

"Yes, with experience this time, it will be easier in the future." Jiang Baimian pointed to the bonfire, "Take off the hair, clean the blood, and bake it."

Soon, the rabbit was skewered on a thicker branch, rolling around on the top of the red flames.

Bai Chen sprinkled salt on the rabbit from time to time, making the surface gradually turn golden, letting in a fragrance that Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong had never smelled before.

"It seems to be delicious..." Long Yuehong and Shang Jianyao said at the same time.

Jiang Baimian smiled and shook his head:

“I can only say make do.

"There is no oil to brush, no spices to sprinkle, and the rabbit meat is relatively poor, so it can barely be eaten."

"What a luxury." Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong responded subconsciously.

When grilling, you have to brush it with oil while grilling. What a waste!

Jiang Baimian kept staring at the small rabbit without raising his head:

“Sometimes, there is no container to store the boiled oil, so we have to deal with it on site.

"In the wild, you have to know how to adapt to the environment."

As soon as Jiang Baimian finished speaking, he suddenly raised his head and looked at the side of the little soil bag:

"Two people are coming."

Long Yuehong, who was already on guard, immediately raised the muzzle of the Berserker's "assault rifle", and Shang Jianyao and Bai Chen also looked over.

A few minutes later, they saw the two men.

This is also a combination of a man and a woman. The former is less than 1.8 meters tall and in his forties. He has long black hair and a very elegant beard around his mouth. Even though he is nearly middle-aged, he can still make people look... It was easy to see that he had once been a handsome man.

The woman is over 1.7 meters tall, with blond hair and blue eyes, deep facial features, and is very beautiful.

What the two of them have in common is that they are both wearing loose, rare robes, one is dark black, the other is gray and blue, and the latter has various strange and abstract symbols on its surface.

Jiang Baimian moved his eyebrows and asked loudly:

"What are you two doing here?"

The blond woman wearing a gray-blue robe immediately stopped, wrapped her right hand with her left hand, raised it between her eyebrows, bent down and saluted:

"Blessings and blessings are immeasurable."

She spoke the correct and well-spoken Hui dialect, not the Honghe dialect she seemed to be able to speak.

The middle-aged man smiled and said:

"I'm not familiar with her. Not long after we met her, I smelled the fragrance here. I thought I'd come here to try my luck and see if anyone would show kindness."

"Maybe I can't be kind." Jiang Baimian calmly pointed to the small rabbit on the bonfire.

"Now that we have met, wouldn't it be nice to chat with each other?" The middle-aged man kept smiling, "I'm not bragging. Everyone I met praised me for being knowledgeable and well-informed."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Baimian made a hidden gesture to Shang Jianyao and others, telling them not to relax their guard.

She then smiled and said:

"OK."

PS: Two updates will be sent today, please vote for recommendation~