Chapter Thirty-Eight

Chapter Thirty-Eight

As Ouyang Dong explained, panic-stricken, he took a few steps forward; the little creature behind him hurried to keep up, but due to its short legs, it stumbled and fell, chirping pitifully. It quickly scrambled to its feet and ran a few steps to stay close behind Ouyang Dong's heels.

Seeing that the trouble wasn't his doing, Xu Fang gleefully stepped aside and teased, "What kind of animal is this little furball? Could it have mistaken you for its mother?"

The persistent furball clung tightly, leaving Ouyang Dong with a look of utter annoyance. When had this tiny thing started following him, anyway?

Shen Xiuzhe knew Ouyang Dong's constitution and had guessed upon entering the forest that he would surely attract various peculiar animals.

It occurred to Shen Xiuzhe that if he brought Ouyang Dong hunting and tied him in an area frequented by animals, perhaps they could easily capture a lot of game?

The image of Ouyang Dong tied to a tree with many animals falling into traps below flashed through Shen Xiuzhe's mind.

Hmm, it might be worth a try.

The little furball chirped a few times, looking up at Ouyang Dong with its tiny pale yellow mouth wide open.

Ouyang Dong asked, "What's it doing?"

Granny Wu, sitting on a rock, laughed heartily and slapped her thigh, "Can't you tell? It's hungry and begging for food from its mother."

"Hurry up and find something for the kid to eat, it's all skin and bones; you're quite the neglectful mother," Xu Fang said with feigned sincerity, even though the little grey creature was round and plump, its neck indistinguishable from its belly, showing no sign of thinness.

Only Udo spoke a word of conscience: "Shouldn't we find its mother? This must be a lost cub, right?"

Ouyang Dong immediately turned around, "I'll check the way we came, maybe we can find its den and send this little ancestor back."

Shen Xiuzhe did not stop him, only advising not to stray far.

Ouyang Dong hurried off, with the little furball stumbling along behind him.

Lin An watched Ouyang Dong walk away, hesitating to speak. Since entering the forest, his bangs had been tied up, making his facial expressions all the more discernible.

"What is it, want to say something?" Shen Xiuzhe inquired.

"A lot," Lin An struggled to convey, "furballs, there will be a lot."

He had read about this species in a book. The adults grew close to two meters in length, covered in white down, and only birthed one litter in their lifetime. That litter could be as few as a dozen or as many as several dozen, even over a hundred. If one cub was wandering here, it meant its siblings were likely nearby.

Before Shen Xiuzhe could grasp what Lin An was trying to say, a scream suddenly erupted from the direction Ouyang Dong had taken off in, followed by him running back in a frantic hurry.

He was followed by a large group of little grey furballs.

Not only had he failed to return the one ancestor, but he had also brought back dozens more.

Shen Xiuzhe finally understood what Lin An meant; indeed, there were many.

Since the furballs were not a threat—lacking even a full set of teeth—the group merely stood aside and watched the commotion, even as a throng arrived.

Xu Fang laughed so hard his stomach hurt, "Weren't you supposed to return the cub? Instead, you've uprooted the entire litter!"

"I was just retracing our path when suddenly a horde of furballs burst out. My luck couldn't be worse," Ouyang Dong lamented with a mournful expression.

Granny Wu had her fill of amusement and finally consoled, "Don't worry, there's no need for concern. The mother of these little ones is probably out hunting and will find her way back soon. As long as the cubs aren't harmed, they generally don't attack humans."

A mass of little furballs huddled around Ouyang Dong, gaping and chirping tenderly, earnestly awaiting to be fed.

Ouyang Dong wore a face of despair, "What on earth did I do in a past life to deserve this?"

The group of little creatures was quite adorable. Initially reluctant, Ouyang Dong couldn't resist for long and picked one up in his palm. A little furball fit perfectly in his gentle grasp, its fluffy warmth making it a delightful handful.

Xu Fang, envious, scooped up one to play with, but this furball was not as docile as the one with Ouyang Dong. It hissed fiercely at him, its soft fluff turning spiky and prickly to the touch.

Hastily setting the bristly furball down, Xu Fang grumbled about the double standards of these creatures, whether robots or fluffballs; others received warm embraces, while he was met with either indifference or outright hostility.

Ouyang Dong finally had a moment of triumph in front of Xu Fang, smugly cradling the grey fluffball and making faces at him.

His triumph was short-lived, as the mother of the little ones indeed made her appearance.

A nearly two-meter tall white furball approached from the depths of the forest, its mouth holding a fat and large green worm.

She had tracked down her cubs by scent. The large furball, seemingly legless, gave the impression of having rolled over from a distance. The white creature was not shy of humans, standing close to Ouyang Dong and observing her brood.

Some of the cubs soon noticed the large furball behind them and hurriedly stumbled back to their mother, while others looked between Ouyang Dong and the large furball, momentarily confused about which one was their real mother, hesitating on the spot.

If one were to compare, the large furball wasn't much taller than Ouyang Dong, who also had a pale complexion and a stocky build, bearing a strangely similar aura to the creature, no wonder the little ones were mistaken.

Even the mother furball kept staring blankly at Ouyang Dong, but eventually, she was drawn by the hungry cries of her cubs and quickly lowered her head to feed them.

The large furball tore the fat caterpillar into countless pieces, feeding each morsel to the cubs, who were lured by the food to cluster at their mother's feet.

After feeding her young, the furball carried a piece of caterpillar meat towards Ouyang Dong, moving a few steps in his direction.

Ouyang Dong watched the messy bit of caterpillar meat with horror in his eyes, "It's not trying to feed me, is it?"

Shen Xiuzhe teased, "It considers you a companion and wants to feed you. Catch it and eat up; don't waste the goodwill of a fellow creature."

Ouyang Dong leaned back, trying to avoid touching the caterpillar meat, but the persistent furball kept rolling closer.

Finally, with a stroke of ingenuity, Ouyang Dong pinched the piece of meat with two fingers and fed it to one of the cubs, narrowly escaping his fate of eating the caterpillar.

Afterwards, the large furball swayed back to its nest with the little ones, glancing back at Ouyang Dong several times, who hid anxiously behind a tree, dodging its enthusiastic gaze.

Several furballs, convinced that Ouyang Dong was their real mother, huddled at his feet and refused to leave. In the end, Ouyang Dong gently tossed each one back into the pile from a distance.

After a few bounces, the furballs were enveloped by their siblings and finally followed their mother away.

Having had their fill of entertainment, the group began preparing their afternoon meal. Shen Xiuzhe instructed the others to rest while he and Ouyang Dong went hunting.

"There are many edible wild plants nearby. I'll describe them to you so everyone can gather some," said Granny Wu, seasoned in wilderness survival, as she described the plants. Xu Fang and Udo began searching nearby, ensuring everyone stayed within sight to avoid any accidents.

Lin An stood up, taking Xiao Fu with him to pick wild plants, moving slowly whether walking or bending, resulting in a smaller harvest than the others.

The local vegetation was abundant, and since April was the peak season for fresh greens, finding one usually meant discovering a whole patch nearby.

Granny Wu had Xu Fang use his ability to turn over a small patch of earth, preparing to cook as they couldn't use the RV and needed to conserve their ready-to-eat food for emergencies, thus they had to forage and cook in the forest for the time being.

The freshly turned black soil, damp with moisture, prompted Granny Wu to have Udo retrieve stones and bricks from the storage space to construct a makeshift stove.

Granny Wu expertly ignited a fire using dry branches she had collected.

By this time, the group had gathered enough wild greens.

Udo brought out a large basin from the storage space, filling it with the collected plants. Lin An was meant to help wash the vegetables, but Granny Wu simultaneously needed pots and other spices.

So Udo placed the basin on the ground and went to assist her grandmother first.

Having finished picking the plants, Xu Fang dashed off to play with Xiao Fu, petting its head and rubbing its cheeks with great affection, a daily ritual that the dog was well accustomed to.

Lin An had been standing behind the vegetable basin the whole time, hovering while Udo was busy. When Granny Wu called her away, he quickly stepped forward and crouched beside the basin to wash the greens.

By the time Wudo returned, she found that water had already been added, but more than half of the wild vegetables in the basin were gone.

Wudo: Where are the vegetables?

She looked up to see Grandma Wu trying to figure out how to steady the large iron pot, Xu Fang still cozied up with Xiao Fu, leaving only Lin An standing not too far away, his back to her.

A feeling of guilt emanated from him.

It wasn’t until Wudo stood beside Lin An that she noticed a neat row of vegetables on the ground: "Little An, what are you doing?"

Lin An turned his face slightly, pointing to the vegetables on the ground with some panic: "Poisonous."

"Poisonous?" Wudo looked at the wild vegetables on the ground, the very kind Granny had mentioned, which grow close to the ground with serrated, slender leaves.

She thought for a moment and continued, "Do you mean these wild vegetables are poisonous and not edible?"

Lin An pointed to the pile of wild vegetables on the ground: "Poisonous."

And to the vegetables in the basin not far away: "Not poisonous."

Wudo picked up a vegetable from the ground and scooped another from the basin. The two vegetables looked almost identical, indistinguishable at a glance.

But since Lin An said so, there must be a problem.

She continued her observation, even breaking them to look more closely, and finally noticed the difference.

The discarded wild vegetables had a faint red at the base and oozed white sap when pinched, whereas those in the basin were pale at the base and released no sap when squeezed.

Wudo hurried to the washing basin, inspecting each vegetable carefully, and ultimately found that all in the basin were non-poisonous.

She looked at Lin An in shock. It took her only a few minutes to fetch something for Granny, and in such a short time, he had sorted all the poisonous from the non-poisonous vegetables.

"Little An, do you know a lot about these plants?"

Lin An immediately shook his head. He only knew a little, and there were many types of plants in the wilderness. Humans were aware of less than fifty percent of them. Many places in the wilderness had never been explored by people, so the plants one had never seen before were as numerous as hairs on a bull.

Along the way, he had already found three kinds of plants he did not recognize.

"These two vegetables are so similar, I only looked at the leaves when I was picking them and completely missed the differences. If it weren't for you, we would have definitely been poisoned," Wudo was very grateful, thanking Lin An profusely before telling him to rest while she washed the vegetables.

Lin An’s smile was shy, with a slight upturn at the corners of his mouth. He was delighted to be of help to everyone.

Wudo, standing before him, was transfixed. Lin An, with his unobstructed handsome features and a faint smile, was so striking that she couldn’t look away.

“I—I’ll go wash the vegetables!” The young girl hurried away with the basin.

Lin An was unaware of Wudo's internal struggle. He remembered how petulantly he insisted on going to Mowus City that day, and everyone had spoken on his behalf. He wanted to do what he could to show his gratitude.

So Lin An alternated between following Wudo to change the water and moving behind Granny Wu to add water to the pot.

He was always that diligent little zombie.

Xu Fang, who had been playing with a dog, felt out of place. Everyone was busy; it seemed he was the only one loafing around. Thus, Xu Fang also started to help, sometimes gathering sticks, other times moving stones.

By the time Shen Xiuzhe and Ouyang Dong returned, the fire was blazing, and the water had boiled.

They brought back two wild chickens. As for how they were caught, Shen Xiuzhe directed questions to Ouyang Dong, who wore a look of weary resignation: “Just eat, please don’t ask about the process, I beg you.”

Xu Fang was curious but didn’t dare to ask the boss; Ouyang Dong refused to tell, so he could only take the chickens to bleed and pluck. He resolved to join the hunt next time to learn their secrets.

When the chickens were put into the pot, a delicious aroma soon wafted through the air. The iron pot was very large, just the right size for the two chickens. Granny Wu was skilled at cooking, or perhaps it was her habit of foraging in the wilderness, as these were the foods she was accustomed to.

“Let me tell you, this is my special secret recipe. I guarantee you’ll want more after one taste,” Granny Wu boasted proudly.

Wudo stirred the pot with a spoon, scooped some soup into a small dish to taste, then added a few spoonfuls of salt from a stone. She retrieved a matching wooden lid from her space and covered the pot, waiting for the chicken to cook through.

The evening sky was painted red by the setting sun. They sat around the pot, listening to the sounds of insects and birds, a peaceful evening without the threat of zombie plants. The scent of chicken overpowered the natural aroma of the surrounding grass.

Xu Fang was too impatient, repeatedly lifting the lid to peek inside.

Only when Wudo tested the tenderness of the meat with chopsticks did she serve everyone half a bowl of soup.

Holding his bowl, Xu Fang puzzled, “Why only half a bowl?”

Wudo added vegetables to the pot: “The soup tastes different with vegetables. Have half a bowl now, and the rest later.”

Lin An didn’t need to eat, and the chicken soup’s aroma didn’t appeal to him. Instead, it was the scent of the people around the soup that was more enticing to him.

Because he had consumed the energy-infused meteorite, he hadn’t felt hungry since. Yet, watching everyone else, he couldn't help feeling a bit envious.

No! Although he was a zombie, he absolutely would not consume humans, no matter how tempting or envious he felt.

Little Fu looked on with pitiful eyes. Wudo took out his stainless steel food bowl but didn’t fill it with dog food. He could only salivate at the smell of chicken, holding his empty bowl and gazing at the others with his shiny, innocent black eyes, hoping to melt their hearts with love and earn himself a little soup.

Xu Fang was weak against such pleading looks and tried to sneak some soup into Little Fu’s bowl, but Wudo stopped him.

"The amount of salt in the chicken soup is perfect for us but too much for Little Fu. I’ve set aside some raw chicken breast for him. We’ll give it to him when we eat. Please don’t feed him secretly.”

Hearing this, Xu Fang could only turn away from Little Fu and silently sip his soup.

Little Fu couldn’t understand their words, but he read Xu Fang’s refusal in his actions, so he continued on to the next person with his bowl.

Shen Xiuzhe gave him a glance but made no move, and Little Fu moved on to the next person.

After making a full round, no one had offered him any food.

With his ears drooping, Little Fu returned to his owner, who also had no food, set down his bowl, and lay on his owner’s feet, his tail drooping, whimpering softly.

It seemed to him that he and his owner were the only ones being excluded, the only ones without food.

Wudo initially thought that giving Little Fu his food too early would make him envious of the others eating later, but seeing his pitiable look, she decided to give it to him ahead of time.

As soon as she placed the chicken breast, which had been cut before cooking, into his bowl, Little Fu’s spirits lifted, and his tail began to wag again.

Then, nudging his bowl with his nose, Little Fu pushed it to his owner’s feet, sat down, and looked up at Lin An with his bright, gleaming eyes.

“Is he asking Lin An to feed him?” Ouyang Dong wondered aloud.

Shen Xiuzhe remarked indifferently, “Perhaps he thinks we didn’t give Lin An any food, so he’s offering the meat from his own bowl.”

Those sipping soup paused, feeling an inexplicable emotion at the thought.

Xu Fang set down his bowl, “Give all my meat to him. I just can’t stand this.”

Ouyang Dong seemed to make a resolution, “I can catch a few more!”

Granny Wu looked towards her granddaughter, and Wudo immediately reassured her that there was plenty of dog food left. Lin An had already stockpiled a lot, and Professor Lin had given them more in the Mechanical City, so now Little Fu’s ration was more abundant than anyone’s.

She had only thought of giving Little Fu a fresh meal as a change of flavor, not anticipating such a misunderstanding.

Quickly, she took another dog bowl, filled it with dog food, and placed it in front of Little Fu.

Little Fu, however, did not touch the chicken meat and turned to his own dog food instead.

Lin An was moved to disarray, aware of Little Fu's intelligence but not expecting the dog to consider his needs during mealtime, giving up his food when just moments before he had drooled over the others enjoying their soup.

Lin An stared at the raw chicken meat in the dog bowl, uncertain of what to do, as Little Fu kept glancing at him while eating his kibble, seemingly puzzled why he wasn’t eating.

He truly couldn’t eat it. Although zombies could consume raw meat from animals besides humans, he didn’t want to. Even a slight taste of blood might trigger his zombie instincts, a risk he couldn’t afford to take.

Yet, he didn’t want to let down Little Fu’s kindness.

In the end, it was Shen Xiuzhe who fetched a new bowl for Lin An, filled it with the already cooked chicken and vegetable soup, and pretended to have him eat to deceive Little Fu.

Believing his owner had eaten his fill, Little Fu then ate the two pieces of raw chicken.

Over the next few days, Little Fu seemed particularly attentive to his owner's diet, always ready to offer up his own food or kibble whenever Lin An didn’t have anything to eat, thinking his owner was being wronged.

Therefore, Lin An had to pretend to eat with a bowl in hand each time.

This became a sort of sweet burden.

Xu Fang was incredibly envious, purposely avoiding eating to gain Little Fu’s favor, but the dog had double standards and didn’t care whether he ate or not.

A disheartened Xu Fang, with his unsuccessful imitation, could only pretend the attempt never happened.

After half a month trekking through the forest, the soles of their feet, unaccustomed to long journeys, were blistered and eventually toughened into calluses. Despite the discomfort, no one complained or showed signs of fatigue, they had all grown accustomed to the hardship.

It was at this point that Shen Xiuzhe informed everyone that the next city was not far off.

Spirits, previously weary, were immediately uplifted, with Xu Fang eagerly asking, "Is the next city that Mous City?"

"Mowus City? Certainly not, it's still a long way from here. The next city is Muleng City."

Xu Fang, who had never heard of this city, looked puzzledly at Shen Xiuzhe.

"It's a city that reveres nature, maintaining absolute respect for the forest and flora. Their customs are quite unique, though I suspect they’ve been severely damaged in the post-apocalyptic world."

Although not far from the Mechanical City, Muleng City rarely used its goods, relying mainly on the forest for sustenance. Their most common weapons were bows and knives, so their initial means to effectively confront zombies were limited.

Before the growth of supernatural abilities, the casualties must have been severe.

Of course, this was just his speculation; the actual situation would only be clear upon seeing it firsthand.