Section 1 Hunger

"Brother! I'm hungry! I'm so hungry!" A female voice that clearly sounded like a suppressed childlike cry slowly floated out from the dark and damp cave, and entered Tianxiang's ears faintly but clearly. .

Without looking back, Tianxiang knew that it was his sister. Although there must be some survivors like him in the corners of this abandoned city, as far as this narrow shelter is currently temporarily inhabited, only he and his sister can be accommodated in it.

"Tianrou, be good! Be patient, it will be dawn in just a little while. At that time, my brother will go out to find something to eat for you, okay?" Tianxiang lovingly touched her with his dirty little hands. My sister Tianrou was sobbing softly in her arms. I couldn't help but curse the damn sun in my heart: Why couldn't it have come out earlier? The relationship between the energy in the body and time is always directly proportional. Every extra minute you lie here, your physical energy will weaken. Tianxiang really didn't know whether his body could support him until the sun appeared again.

A full seventy-eight hours and six minutes have passed since the last time the sun appeared. This is the number displayed on the slightly red timer on Tianxiang's wrist. According to this data estimate, it will take at least twenty hours from now until the sun fully appears. Tianxiang knew very well that as long as there was sunshine, those large insect beasts that liked to live in a dark environment would have no choice but to hide in their lairs. And the remaining little bugs that can withstand the strong sunlight can naturally become the best targets for their hunting.

Although, the number of this type of bugs is not large.

The last time he hunted, Tianxiang didn't gain much. It can even be said that there is no gain at all. In the limited time, he ran around all the places where insects might be found, but only found a short limb of a pointed insect as big as the palm of his hand. Except for the sour and smelly rotten meat in the center, which weighs more than a hundred grams and can barely be swallowed, the other surrounding cuticles are so hard that even a steel drill can't pry them off.

Despite this, Tianxiang still carefully took out all the rotten meat and roasted it, then handed it to his sister while swallowing furiously, staring at Tianrou with eyes like a hungry ghost, as if he was enjoying a delicious meal. He swallowed every bit of the small piece of rotten meat that exuded a disgusting and pungent smell into his stomach.

As for himself, he had the idea of the horny tip. Fire, something that can bring warmth to people, has also become the most useful food processor Tianxiang has at hand. After being buried in the embers of the fire for more than ten hours, Tianxiang was finally happy to discover that the originally hard horny limb tips were now showing signs of brittleness. However, they are still a little too hard for teeth.

Chiseling with a steel drill, smashing it with a hammer, and cutting it with a knife... After a series of crazy violent activities, Tianxiang saw with satisfaction: The hard limb tip of the insect, which was not that big, had completely turned into dozens of pieces. Small pieces. Without any unnecessary hesitation, Tianxiang eagerly grabbed one of the pieces and stuffed it into his mouth in a hurry. Without any chewing at all, he swallowed the hard object that exuded a burnt smell.

The meat has been eaten by my sister. If I don't get something to eat, I'm afraid I won't have any energy to go hunting until the next sunrise. The result could only be that both people died. Die together.

Therefore, even though the piece of carapace didn't taste very good, Tianxiang still forced himself to swallow every bit of it. Even the powder scattered on the ground was not spared at all. At this time, as long as you can have a little more physical strength, it means you have a little more confidence in your future survival. After all, it is extremely difficult to find some valuable food on this shabby planet.

But now, Tianrou's crying and his physical condition made Tianxiang feel that he might not be able to wait until the sun appears again.

More than half an hour ago, Tianxiang had already felt something abnormal in his body. He was trembling, an inexplicable tremor. Tianxiang is not unfamiliar with this situation. This is a sign of extreme hunger and rapid loss of physical energy. Of course, it is quite simple to eliminate such tremors - just eat something nutritious.

However, in this cave, which is only enough for the two brothers and sisters to live, there is nothing that can be called food except water.

"I have to go out and try my luck and bring back something edible." This is the thought that has been swirling in Tianxiang's mind since half an hour ago. However, the fear of large insect beasts is like a heavy steel ingot, weighing heavily on the desire for food.

Tianrou's weak sobs sounded again, and Tianxiang felt that he was going crazy. My sister is still young, she is only four years old. More than seventy hours of continuous hunger was definitely not a terrifying attack that a small piece of rotten flesh could withstand. What's more, she hadn't eaten anything at all except water for almost as long before that. You can imagine the crazy speed at which the piece of meat was digested in Tianrou's stomach. Not to mention a child, even an adult would not be able to maintain a clear mind in the face of such cold hunger.

"Food! I need food!" Tianxiang endured the severe angina that came from his empty stomach, and carefully wiped away the dirt from the corners of Tianrou's eyes that was mixed with black mud and tears with his hands trembling with hunger. , gently explained to her sister a few things that must be paid attention to before going out for hunting every time, looking at Tianrou's slightly sensible little head, she nodded vigorously, and then picked up her pile of equipment, with a look on her face. Exhausted and hungry, he slowly crawled out of the narrow entrance to the crypt.

More than a mile away from here is a small square, which was not only a public place where people held various activities in the city in the past, but also the best place for various insects to feed today. Although the insect's demand for sweet plant roots is far greater than its growth rate, it also leads to a large number of plants that inevitably become delicacies in the insect's mouth during their reproduction period. However, even the tenderest grass will once again grow out of the blackened soil, relying on the few remaining roots after being completely eaten away by insects. Give yourself new vitality.

There were many plants near the square. From some yellowed and rotten books, Tianxiang knew that these plants were originally a means used by the ancients to beautify the city. They seemed to be called "greening".

However, these things have no meaning at all to Tianxiang. All he knew was that wherever there were plants, there were herbivorous bugs. Compared to those powerful and terrifying carnivorous bugs, these guys who only live on blades of grass are much cuter.

A journey of more than one mile is actually not that far for a normal person, but Tianxiang, who was extremely weak, walked for nearly half an hour. Rather than walking, it's better to say dragging. He had to carry two steel spears more than one meter long on his body, as well as a knife ground from a strip of iron, with the lower end of the handshake wrapped in a rag strip. These things don't actually weigh much, but for a person who has been in a state of malnutrition and hunger for a long time, they are undoubtedly as heavy as a mountain.

Abandoning them is absolutely impossible. Without these things, even if he faced a herbivorous insect with a docile temperament, Tianxiang would not be able to kill it at all, let alone tear open the thick insect skin and eat the meat inside.

Luck is a very subtle thing. It often comes to you when you least expect it, with the most indifferent and indifferent expression, so that you have no way of discovering it. Then, hiding in the dark, laughing at you and teasing you, so that after you were able to catch just a little bit of the corner of his clothes, when you wanted to hug him full of surprise, you got tired of playing with him. With sarcastic eyes and mockery, he mercilessly pulled away the hem of clothes from your hands, then turned away from you with disdain.

It should be said that Tianxiang was very lucky. When this cute but damn guy Luck just snuck up to him and wanted to tease him, he had already pinched its neck and trapped it tightly with an iron chain. got up.

It was a broken wall on the side of the road. Exposed bricks and peeling dry cement are scattered around silently. Steel bars bending out from the large blocks of masonry are like the disgusting legs of insects, extending into the sky and underground from all directions. The ruins of a huge building were tilted, lying there quietly like an old man who could not bear the abuse of years. There were only some scattered pieces of glass mixed in with the dust and soil, emitting a pitiful glimmer among the dots of fluorescent light.

"There is something here, yes, it is definitely a living creature." Tianxiang, who was hungry, had very keen senses and eyesight. Just a few seconds ago when he walked through the ruins, the corner of his left eye glanced at him completely unexpectedly. There was a slight movement on the side of the road - a piece of broken cement moved without any warning. Just such an insignificant abnormality immediately fell into Tianxiang's eyes.

"Inanimate objects will never change their original location for their own reasons. If such things show signs of movement, it must be because other objects with energy force them to change their current situation." This is Tianxiang One of the rules to always keep in mind when hunting.

"Weed-eater! Yes, there must be a weed-eater here!" Tianxiang quietly leaned down and carefully observed everything near the ruins. From the clumps of burnt yellow solids scattered around, he could easily tell that they were the feces of herbivorous insects. And several strange footprints that fell heavily among the dust made him easily judge that it was a weed-eating insect. And with a pair of eyes that had been trained in the dark world for a long time, he was able to clearly see: just under the piece of cement that was erected on the ruins, several restless black and yellow insect limbs were slowly twisting back and forth. . Just on top of these huge limbs, there is a round insect body that is as tall as half a person.

If it were normal times, Tianxiang would not hesitate to throw out the steel spear in his hand and pierce the grass-gnawing insect first. The fleshy taste of this thing is extremely delicious, and compared to other bugs, more than 90% of the parts are edible. More importantly, it does not have a hard carapace on its body surface like other insects. Tianxiang still remembers that the grass-gnawing insect he hunted a few months ago just stabbed it with a steel spear, and a stream of green water with a fishy smell immediately flowed from its fat belly...

Even if it is such a weak insect, Tianxiang has no extra strength to kill it at this time. Although the body of the grass gnat is quite soft, it is also extremely large. Once harmed, their docile nature will immediately become quite crazy. Tianxiang once saw with his own eyes that a hunter of similar age to him had his legs bitten off by the big mouth of a plant-eating insect while he was still alive. The hunter himself, who had no ability to escape at all, watched helplessly as the grass-rattling insect that was supposed to be his prey angrily jumped in front of him, and his fragile throat was bitten off with another bite, killing him.

The target of Tianxiang's trip is a kind of weak insect called "aphid". These bugs are only 20 to 30 centimeters long. They feed on grass and have a docile temperament, making them easy to hunt. The most important thing is that Tianxiang knows: in that small square, although the number of aphids is not large, they have never been extinct. This is also one of the sources of food for him and his sister for many days.

But today's situation is obviously different from the past. Tianxiang is not sure whether he can successfully find an aphid this time. After all, this kind of bug loves sunlight and will almost never come out and move around in the dark. In comparison, the red worms, which are almost equally weak but can pose a certain threat to hunters, seem to be the best choice.

More importantly, this is a weedworm giving birth.

Observation is an important means of survival that Tianxiang has carefully experienced from his battles with insects for their lives. If you can accurately identify the types of bugs and their living habits during a hunt, you will have a greater chance of successfully hunting them. After all, understanding your opponent is sometimes more useful than the sharpest steel spear.

Undoubtedly, the insect was giving birth. Tianxiang can draw complete conclusions from the fact that it has been hiding under the cement debris and does not avoid his arrival at all.

"Kill it. This is my best prey at the moment." Such thoughts quickly flashed through Tianxiang's mind. A weed bug is much larger than an aphid, enough to feed me and my sister for a long time. In other words, I can have the same amount of time without having to take risks anymore. What's more, bugs during childbirth are generally weaker than during normal periods.

"Whoosh!" Without time to think about it, a sharp steel spear flew out from Tianxiang's hand, with a beautiful flight path flashing in the fluorescence. It plunged heavily into the hidden cement fragments, and the sharp tip of the front end sank into the center of the ruins. The location of the weed-eaters. After hearing a "web" sound, Tianxiang saw a dark green fishy liquid pouring out from the hole where the steel spear was inserted, like a fountain.

This throw almost exhausted all the strength in Tianxiang's body. The purpose was to pierce the steel spear through the grass-gnawing insect's body and then nail it to the ground. He had calculated that as long as this throw was successful, the birthing female worm would not be able to move at all. After a short recovery, he could easily step forward and chop off the most threatening head of the female worm. The harvest would be own prey.

The flying steel spear had obviously completed its mission. Tianxiang was happy to see from the cracks of the cement fragments that fell after the impact: a chubby weed biter was desperately twisting its body nailed to the ground with a steel spear. Unable to move, it even raised its head and used a fragile Its herbivorous mouthparts frantically attacked the hard spear body, hoping to bite off the inexplicable attacker. However, as a result of the struggle, apart from the row of short tooth fragments on the mouthparts falling off one after another, the damage suffered by the steel spear itself was only a thin layer of rust chewed off. Violent movement accelerates the passage of life of the female insect. After a few minutes, the insect's body was no longer as flexible as before. The female insect, whose whole body was covered in green liquid and mud, also completely gave up her resistance to the imprisoner, and her head with a pair of huge compound eyes tilted weakly to one side. Only the nerves that have not completely lost their function are still faithfully performing their last duties under the influence of instinct, directing the insect's limbs to make useless and inexplicable movements.

Since Tianxiang threw the steel spear with all his strength, he completely collapsed to the ground and did not regain his strength for a long time. The fatal blow had consumed almost all the physical energy in his body, causing him to have to walk at a shaky pace. With the huge inertia after throwing the steel spear, he fell to the ground and could not get up again.