Chapter 111: The Wilderness
Before leaving this time, Qing Chen was no longer alone when cleaning up the camp.
Qin Yiyi didn't even help with her camp before coming over, and she swiftly started folding up the tent and the stool.
She even helped Qing Chen find the six "Thor" igniters from the extinguished fire pit.
The girl came to Qing Chen, handed the ‘Thor' to him that she had already cleaned, and said, "If you hitch a ride with you, the wound on your feet can start to heal."
After she said that, the girl returned to Qin Cheng and said in a low voice, "Dad, how much would a servant need to pay to buy his freedom?"
The old man Qin Cheng glared at her angrily, "Just stay in the car for me, and stop talking to that boy."
"No, I won't." Qin Yiyi jumped off the car.
Girls in the wilderness were wild by nature, like wild cats. At her age, her parents had no control over her anymore.
Although they are from the city, Qin Yiyi has followed his parents in the wilderness all these years and has basically learned a lot.
Qin Cheng looked at his rebellious daughter and sighed, then he said to Qin Tong, "Go sit at the back of the car with her and make sure others don't take advantage of your sister. She can still somewhat listen to what you say, but wouldn't listen to me at all."
"Okay," Qin Cheng also sighed.
Sitting in the car, Qing Chen found that in the back of the pickup truck, there was an empty cage covered by a green canvas.
And in the car he was sitting in, there were various traps and repair tools scattered around here and there.
The pickup's powerful engine roared like a lion.
He took out the foldable stool from his backpack and gave it to Li Shutong, who sat on it very naturally.
No matter how bumpy the ride was on the dirt road, Li Shutong still sat very still.
Qin Yiyi hugged her knees and asked, "Uncle, what level are you? There's just the two of you, not to mention that you're going toward the South."
Right now, they were still relatively close to the city.
There were many production bases here, and the Second Army of the Federation was also nearby. From time to time there would be troops patrolling the area, so it was not very dangerous yet.
However, it was different further south. Even if one was not close to the Forbidden Land, it was dangerous for ordinary people.
Last night, Qing Chen also asked Li Shutong if the camp next to theirs was a family.
Li Shutong answered yes.
Qing Chen was a little puzzled. Why would the whole family travel together in such a dangerous place in the wilderness? What if they fall into danger together?
Li Shutong replied: They couldn't find a way to survive in the city, so they came out of the city to seek a living.
As to why they would travel as a family, no one from outside of a family could be trusted in a dangerous place like the wilderness.
If a team goes camping in a desolate place, and someone drove the car away secretly in the middle of the night, then the rest of the people would be soon dead for sure.
Those who got left behind would immediately change from hunters to prey.
In this era, even family members could hardly get mutual trust, let alone outsiders.
According to Li Shutong's judgment, the old man Qin Cheng was the leader of this team, and the remaining ones were either his children or his niece and nephews.
At this time…
Li Shutong looked at Qin Yiyi and asked with a smile, "What level do you think I am?"
Qin Yiyi thought for a while and said, "Level C."
Li Shutong shook his head, "I'm Level S."
Qin Yiyi pouted, "if you don't want to say it, forget it. So stingy."
From what the girl could tell, Li Shutong was no different from a lier.
Qin Cheng sat beside them and didn't speak. He watched his sister chat with Uncle Li and was relieved.
His sister was smarter than him and was far more observant. From the chat, they could tell that this middle-aged man seemed to have a good temper.
As they were talking, Qing Chen was flipping through an e-reader the whole time.
Qin Yiyi glanced at it, and there were pictures of plants on the screen, with small text beside them.
Lin Xiaoxiao got this for him so that he could quickly remember all the known planets.
Some were edible, some could be used to draw fresh water, some could treat wounds, some can be used as medicine, and some could temporarily act as an antidote to poisons.
Qing Chen was remembering all these in case there were emergencies that he might encounter in the wild in the future.
While he was reading, a slender hand came into his view, holding an apple in it.
Qing Chen watched silently. There were many small wounds on her hand, and there were calluses on her knuckles. He could tell that she must have been doing some heavy work over the years.
Qin Yiyi said, "Here, this is for you."
After saying that, before Qing Chen could refuse, she shoved it directly into his arms.
Qin Yiyi continued, "There was an apple grove 30 kilometers west of the camp we were at, which is not part of a production base. Generally, wild apples are very sour, but the apples picked from that apple grove are big and sweet. Our family has already been there for three consecutive years to pick apples. Give it a try, I guarantee that it's delicious"
Under normal circumstances, during the fruiting period of fruit trees, they must be fertilized, and the branches and leaves must be pruned. For example, the trunk of the oranges needs to be cut, so that the fruit can be sweetened.
Therefore, wild jujubes and apples were generally small and sour, because no fruit farmers have taken care of them.
But from what Qin Yiyi said, that was a while apple grove.
That didn't make any sense.
Li Shutong looked at Qin Tong and said, "Tell your father to be careful next time when you go to that apple grove."
"Why?" Qin Tong was a little surprised.
"There has already been a sign of a forbidden land forming here. Maybe a superhuman died there decades ago. Before it even formed, it already affected an area of over 30 square kilometers. The person who died was probably at least a Level B," Li Shutong paused and continued, "The fruit is fine now, but perhaps if you eat it a few years from now, the fruit will have hallucinogenic effects. After eating it, you can see dragons flying in the sky and insects crawling on your body… Slight hallucinations are ok, but if it gets serious, you might not live for long."
Most importantly, the insects and beasts in the forbidden land would also mutate, showing an unknowable evolutionary direction.
Over the years, there have been more and more forbidden lands.
"Are these apples still edible now?" Qin Yiyi asked.
"Yeah," Li Shutong nodded, "The Forbidden Land hasn't been formed yet."
Qin Yiyi then handed an apple to Li Shutong, "I'll give you one too."
Li Shutong was amused, "How come you didn't give me one earlier?"
Qin Yiyi glanced at Qing Chen secretly and said, "If I only gave one to him and not to you. I'm worried that you will feel salty."
Li Shutong laughed, suddenly feeling that this trip would be very pleasant.
On the other hand, Qing Chen was thinking about what would happen if Nan Gengchen was taken to this dangerous wilderness.
However, he thought about it and found that he should be more worried about whether that kid could withstand Li Yinuo's massive body first…