Chapter 249 - 240: The Little Girl Picking Mushrooms
Whether it was out of guilt for his huge appetite or the belief that a gentleman shouldn’t argue with a woman, Shen Yue rubbed his nose and sat down quietly to the side. He discreetly patted his stomach.
’Great, my abs are back. Chicken legs are back on the menu...’
Shen Yue let out a blissful sigh of relief, but when he looked up, he saw Qi Xiang watching him with a smirk.
Shen Yue: "..." ’Never mind. A gentleman shouldn’t fight with a woman.’
Qi Xiang looked away, casually picked up a dead branch, and poked at the sweet potatoes buried in the fire. She asked Wei Heng, "Do we still have that big pot from last time?"
’Gu Xi’s stored supplies might not be enough for that pack of animals. She wondered if she should have Wei Heng add more water to the soup.’
Wei Heng instantly got her meaning and turned to Liu Hao. "In a bit, you and Chen grab a few more large pots."
The wind and rain pattered outside the camp, punctuated by the CRACKLE of the bonfire. Shen Yue gave a lazy yawn and couldn’t resist saying, "I saw some yellow clay on the nearby mountain. We could make a decent clay pot. I’ve heard chicken soup tastes even better when it’s stewed that way..."
Qi Xiang looked up, frowning slightly. "Are you sure?" ’Where on earth did he hear that?’
It wasn’t that she doubted Shen Yue’s claim. It was just that before meeting Gu Xi, their group had never even had chicken soup. The countless ways to prepare it had long been lost in the years since the apocalypse.
Even the chicken and mushroom stew they had last time was something Wei Heng had figured out on his own.
It was clear Wei Heng was exceptionally talented when it came to cooking.
Shen Yue didn’t say anything, just looked at Wei Heng.
’This kind of thing was up to the cook. Miss Qi could run her mouth all she wanted, but it wouldn’t make a difference.’
Wei Heng often browsed the food sections on online forums, but the information there was all over the place. Plus, recipes for the same dish varied from region to region...
He thought for a moment, then looked at Gu Xi. "What do you say, should we give it a try?" ’Even the best cook can’t make a meal without ingredients. It wasn’t just up to the chef; in the end, the person with the food had the final say.’
Gu Xi naturally had no objection. Aside from her particular fondness for fruit, she wasn’t a picky eater.
Qi Xiang’s hunch was spot-on.
Half an hour later, the rain outside the camp did indeed begin to let up, but the sky remained gloomy. The dark clouds hung low, threatening another downpour at any moment.
Time was tight, so Qi Xiang quickly organized a group to go up the mountain and gather mushrooms.
Chen Jia and the others from the research team were also quite interested when they heard and wanted to go into the mountains to help, but Qi Xiang politely turned them down.
There was no helping it. Although everyone had their specialty, and Chen Jia’s group would certainly be better at identifying mushrooms than others, it didn’t change the fact that they were all complete weaklings.
The danger in the mountain forests increased exponentially after a rain.
The pack of animals from the Special Service Team, on the other hand, were incredibly useful. They had extensive wilderness survival experience, so identifying edible mushrooms was no problem for them. More importantly... they were tough as nails, able to both dish out and take a beating.
They could serve as both manual labor and bodyguards, which gave one an extra sense of security.
Once the rain had completely stopped, the group, led by Qi Xiang, followed the stream outside the camp into the forest on the left.
A heavy rain had just fallen, and what was once a clear, babbling brook had transformed into a muddy, roaring river. The current was deep, swift, and murky, its bottom completely obscured.
Fortunately, the team wasn’t lacking in Water or Ice Ability Users. After fording the turbulent stream, the group climbed the slope on the opposite side.
The forest was filled with the muddy, damp smell of earth mixed with the unique scent of mutant plants and the stench of rotting leaves on the ground... It was a pungent assault on the senses, completely lacking the fresh, clean feeling of an ’empty mountain after new rain’ described in poetry.
But this did nothing to dampen the group’s spirits.
Qin Yi held onto Gu Xi’s arm, even humming a children’s song from before the apocalypse—"The little girl picking mushrooms, carrying a big bamboo basket..."
Gu Xi lowered her gaze slightly.
’She knew this song too, but her experience learning it was far from pleasant...’
’That year, was she seven or eight? She was on a mission with a team of ability users from the base. During a break, Ye Xin took her into the woods to pick mushrooms and taught her this song.’
’But just as she learned the first line, a man walked up to them, a disgusting smile on his face...’
’He even said some filthy things.’
’At that moment, the expressions on Li Ming’s and Ye Xin’s faces changed. They both stepped forward, shielding Gu Xi behind them.’
’Back then, Gu Xi was still young. She didn’t understand the malice hidden within the man’s seemingly joking words.’
’But it didn’t matter, because soon after, the man’s body was covered in mushrooms... She had granted his wish to have mushrooms sprout from his body for others to pick.’
’Ye Xin had even walked up to that group of ability users with a sweet smile and an innocent look on her face, saying, "My sister and I are honest people, and we love nothing more than helping others. Now, who was it just now who asked us sisters to help him pick the mushrooms off his body?"’
’After that, that team never appeared before her again.’
Gu Xi snapped a dead branch in her hand, burying the memories of the past.
Up ahead, Qi Xiang grabbed a nearby branch for support and scraped the mud from her rain boots on a patch of wild grass. ’This path up the mountain is a real pain to climb. It’s a good thing I didn’t let the research team come along.’
Not far away, the members of the Special Service Team had already climbed halfway up the mountain. The sharp-eyed Qian Shan was the first to spot a patch of white mushrooms in the grass, shaped like tiny umbrellas.
These mushrooms, known locally as ’grass fungi,’ were delicious.
Qi Xiang was very satisfied.
But not all mushrooms could be spotted at a glance. Some were hidden by decaying leaves on the ground, while others grew high up on tree trunks...
Luckily, Qi Xiang’s luck was as good as ever. She also had plenty of ’farmhands’ with her, each with their own set of unique skills, so gathering a few mushrooms was a piece of cake.
There was just one problem...
"These can’t be edible, right?" Qin Yi took a few steps forward, staring at the small handful of bright red mushrooms in Qi Xiang’s hand. "I’ve heard that the more colorful the mushroom, the more poisonous it is..."
’The ones in Qi Xiang’s hand, so brilliantly red and vibrant, probably had enough poison in a single cap to take down an ox.’
After all, it was said that after plants mutated, the toxicity of some poisons increased exponentially.
Qin Yi stared at the big, red mushrooms in Qi Xiang’s hand, feeling apprehensive.
"It’s fine, these are edible." Qi Xiang said confidently. "This is a Red Mushroom. Not only is it edible, but it was considered a rare delicacy before the apocalypse..."
As for now, well...
’This thing’s mutation level is a bit high, so the taste probably isn’t anything special.’
’Luckily, they had Gu Xi.’
Qi Xiang handed the red mushrooms to Gu Xi. Gu Xi took them, and Little Green Sprout instantly wrapped itself around them. Thanks to the rapid growth of mutant plants, this thing had only just sprouted. Although it was contaminated with X Energy, it was still fundamentally a good mushroom.
Gu Xi handed the Purified mushroom to Qin Yi. "This one should be delicious."
Qin Yi was still skeptical. She remembered a rhyme her instructor had taught them in her wilderness survival class at the military training camp—’Red cap, white stalk, eat it and you’ll lie on a plank.’
It just went to show how toxic the thing was.
After taking it, Qin Yi thought for a moment and still put it in a separate cloth bag.
’Just to be on the safe side.’
Just then, Liu Hao, who was climbing a tree up ahead to pick mushrooms, yelled, "HOLY SHIT!" and suddenly leaped down from a height of over ten meters. The jump startled everyone, and several members of the Special Service Team nearby immediately drew their guns.