Chapter 44 - 43: Flashlight

Chapter 44: Chapter 43: Flashlight

Huai Yu picked up her chopsticks and eagerly grabbed a small piece of pork crackling. She blew on it vigorously for a while before carefully putting it into her mouth.

MMM!

After working so hard for so many days, she was finally eating something meant for human consumption! But having lived off nutrient solutions for so long, she wasn’t entirely sure if her stomach could handle something this greasy. So, after just one bite, she forced herself to stop.

But her stomach was ravenous and craving more, growling so loudly it sounded like a rooster crowing! She agonized over the decision for a long time, torn between the nutrient solution and actual grain, between satisfying her cravings and keeping her stomach safe. Finally, she poured out some flour.

A thin sheen of oil still coated the pan from earlier—something she absolutely couldn’t bear to wash away. She placed the pan back on the stove. Once the oil was hot again, she poured in the purified flour.

The snow-white flour puffed up into a fine mist in front of her. In that mist, she could almost see noodle soup, dumpling wrappers, noodles, flatbreads... even steamed buns and dumplings. She sighed, taking a deep breath to suppress her rumbling stomach, and began to toast the flour.

The thin layer of oil had coated the surface, leaving the brand-new iron wok glistening, as if it had been properly seasoned. She carefully maintained a low flame in the stove. As she gently stirred, a rich, wheaty aroma gradually wafted through the air.

She lowered the heat even further. A gentle heat rose from the bottom of the wok, slowly toasting the flour. Huai Yu carefully scooped in a tiny bit of lard to enhance the flavor. After a bit more stirring, the fragrance of the flour deepened once again. It was ready.

She scooped the toasted flour—now snowy white with a hint of pale yellow—into a clean bag, leaving only half a bowl for her meal. The rest she hung back up on the vines. And now, she could finally have dinner!

She stuffed a spoonful of the dry, fragrant toasted flour into her mouth. The wheaty flavor was rich, though it was slightly hard to swallow. It took quite a bit of effort for Huai Yu to slowly chew and force it down. It was fragrant and authentic. Even if it only had a faint, almost imperceptible hint of sweetness, it was still vastly superior to the bizarre taste of the nutrient solution.

She boiled some water in the kettle. After hesitating for a second over whether to add salt or sugar, she decided to go with a high-energy, sweet toasted flour paste for tonight!

With the addition of sugar and hot water, the pale yellow toasted flour quickly darkened into a rich paste. Huai Yu stirred it with her chopsticks. One mouthful in, and she felt her life was complete.

She thought, "This is what humans are meant to eat! No more nutrient solutions! Never again!"

After finishing the bowl of sweet flour paste, even though it lacked actual nutritional value and certainly didn’t have the various trace elements added to the nutrient solutions, Huai Yu still felt her body warm up, brimming with energy! Capitalizing on her momentum, she hauled out the 5kg of soybeans and began another lengthy purification process.

Another new day dawned.

The broadcast seemed to have sounded once while she was half-asleep, but the new quilt was simply too comfortable and relaxing. Without even opening her eyes, Huai Yu rolled over and went right back to sleep.

Now, as she woke up in the toasty bed, the first thing she noticed was the heavy, damp moisture hanging in the room. It was far too damp. The quilt, which had been fluffy and soft just yesterday, now felt slightly heavy. Huai Yu sat up and stared blankly into the dim room.

After a while, she got out of bed. The moment her bare feet slipped into her cold, clammy slippers, she jolted wide awake. Skillfully grabbing a handful of dry grass with one hand and flicking her lighter with the other, she made a mental note to stock up on a few more lighters. It would be even better to get a lamp—

Ah, she hadn’t returned the flashlight Captain Zhou of the Defense Army had lent her!

She dug the flashlight out of her storage bag. Since electricity was so expensive now, she had only used it once when navigating her way back in the dark and hadn’t touched it since. Turning it on to test it, she instantly illuminated the entire room.

She thought, "It’s really nice, but this one is rechargeable. Even if I kept it, I wouldn’t be able to use it. I wonder if there are solar-powered ones?"

Keeping that in mind, Huai Yu pushed the door open. A chilly breeze hit her face. It was already late March, but the temperature still felt like it was under fifteen degrees Celsius. Furthermore, it was past nine o’clock, yet the outside world was still blanketed in fog. Fortunately, it wasn’t raining. She glanced at the sky, wrapped the flashlight in a bag, and placed it into her woven basket.

After a moment’s thought, she scooped a bowl of yesterday’s toasted flour and poured it into a bag as well. She put on her down jacket, sweatpants, and rain boots, stashing her raincoat in the basket just in case.

Wheeling out her heavy-duty vintage bicycle, she added one last batch of firewood to the makeshift fire pit, hoping it would bake away more of the moisture. Then, she hopped on the bike and set off toward Zone 69.

The vintage bicycle was large and fast. As Huai Yu pedaled, she felt the damp wind on her face. Looking at the fresh green sprouting across the city and the vibrant vitality emerging all around, she felt an inexplicable surge of joy, even with the sky still heavily overcast!

She mused, "It’s so wonderful. Spring is here."

Before long, the camp of Zone 69 appeared ahead. For some reason, an extra squad of sentries had been posted at the gate. Huai Yu hesitated for a moment, slowing down her speed. She leisurely got off the bike and wheeled it over.

She had barely approached when someone stopped her. "Who goes there?"

Just as she was about to explain, one of the sentries recognized her. "Little Yu, you’ll need to register first. The mutation index has gone up recently, so we’ve increased our security."

Huai Yu nodded obediently. "Do I have to register even if I’m not going inside?"

"Yes. A few days ago—" He quickly cut himself off and handed her a logbook.

Huai Yu had a rough guess as to what had happened. She took the book and filled out the fields one by one:

[Name]

[Residence]

[ID Number...]

She didn’t quite remember her ID number, but fortunately, it was recorded on her wristband. She pulled it up to check and successfully filled out the form. After notifying the base through his walkie-talkie, the sentry saw her checking and chuckled. "Still haven’t memorized it after filling it out for so many years?"

Huai Yu’s pen paused. Realizing he was just making a casual remark, she relaxed. However, after taking the logbook back, he didn’t return to his post. Instead, he stood there, hesitating for a moment with a conflicted expression.

Huai Yu smiled faintly. "Sir, did you have a question to ask?"

"Ahem..." The sentry’s face turned a bit red. Braving the baffled looks from his comrades, he stammered, "That time... those Zaozi you gave Captain Zhou last time... Do you know where to find more...?"

"What? If there are any for sale?" Huai Yu hesitated for a second. "I got them from a relative. I don’t know where they sell them."

Those Zaozi from last time were ones she had purified herself. Though she didn’t know their exact mutation index, judging by the sentry’s reaction, they were definitely within the safe range. They were probably quite tasty too. After all, the man was in the Defense Army and should have access to abundant resources. He wouldn’t have asked otherwise.

The sentry sighed quietly and muttered, "I knew it..."

He nodded at Huai Yu and silently returned to the sentry box. Meanwhile, Huai Yu patiently waited with her bike. Before long, she saw Captain Zhou emerging from the camp.