A Night of Desperation

“I’m planning to buy something, Is she your?” Yu Hong asked in a low voice as he looked at the chubby little girl.

“Yes, she’s my daughter, Aisina,” Li Runshan said with a smile. “She’s very sensible and can draw. When you have time, I’ll show you her drawings; they’re beautiful.”

As he spoke, he pulled out a rolled-up sheet of white paper from his waist pouch.

The paper was filled with items for trade.

• ‘Edible wild vegetables’

• ‘Cow leg mushrooms’

• ‘Sanitary cockroaches’

• ‘Red-tailed lizards’

• ‘Custom small furniture’

• ‘Mail services’

• ‘Mailing items’

• ‘Candles’

• ‘Basic survival skills training’

• ‘Basic combat skills training’

• ‘Basic firearms and knife skills training’

Yu Hong remained silent as he gazed at this extremely detailed list of trade items.

“No wonder you dare to bring a child to such a desolate mountain wilderness alone. You really are impressive!” he muttered in admiration.

“You’re overpraising me,” Li Runshan smiled. “These are just essential skills for a postal worker. After all, in some places, you lack everything and have to do everything yourself.”

Yu Hong asked, “So what can these items be exchanged for? I don’t see any prices marked.”

“Depends on what you have. Right now, I’m cultivating mushrooms and breeding cockroaches. Food and water are scarce. If you can provide some, it can be exchanged. Of course, if you have Luminous Stone or Great Luminous Stone, that would be even better,” Li Runshan smiled.

“Sure, it depends on what you need, what you’re lacking. Just filling the gaps,” Li Runshan nodded. “These are not classified, just basic outdoor survival skills.”

Yu Hong nodded. It seemed that Li Runshan was much more versatile compared to previous postal workers.

“I’d like you to teach me how to cultivate mushrooms and lizards, as well as basic combat and firearms skills. How should we price it?”

“Do you have any extra food? I’m a bit short on food here,” Li Runshan asked.

“How about this?” Yu Hong handed over a protein bar. “One of these can keep you full for a day. I made it myself.”

Li Runshan raised an eyebrow, took the protein bar, and examined it.

“Can I try it?”

“Of course,” Yu Hong nodded.

Li Runshan sniffed it, then broke off a small piece and tasted it, squinting his eyes as a faint wrinkle appeared on his face.

“High in calories! There’s sesame, peanuts, butter, sugar, cream, rice flour… Hmm, and a lot of other ingredients I can’t quite place. This isn’t something you made yourself; you don’t have that many ingredients.”

Yu Hong was startled. He hadn’t expected Li Runshan to be so skilled, able to identify so many ingredients just by taste. The sweetness of the bar had masked most of the flavors, and Yu Hong himself couldn’t identify much.

“You’re right. This was from my previous stock. I don’t have much left. Can you tell me what you can exchange it for?” he said, maintaining his composure.

“Sure. If you want the mushroom cultivation techniques, you need to give me ten of these protein bars, on the condition that one of these bars really lasts you a day.” Li Runshan nodded. “As for the combat and firearms skills, there are many subcategories. And for combat, you need a high-calorie intake. If your food intake is inadequate, it could harm your body. I recommend you focus on a specific type first, like boxing, ground fighting, leg techniques, or swordsmanship.”

“As for firearms, I can only give you a manual of what I have recorded. You’ll have to practice on your own. Honestly, there’s a shortage of bullets now, and since firearms are useless against the Black Disaster, many military factories have been repurposed for other uses. So, bullets are scarce, mostly used internally. I suggest you focus on shooting, and I can teach you about slingshots. I have a lot of experience with those.”

“Slingshots??” Yu Hong blinked, suspecting he had misheard.

“Yes, that’s right.” Li Runshan pulled out a large slingshot from his waist, the handle as thick as an egg, with more than ten rubber bands attached.

“Consider it. It’s a bit cumbersome, but you can use stones as ammo, which are easy to find anywhere. It’s got enough killing power.”

“Let me think about it,” Yu Hong said, speechless. “Since you’re into cultivation, I heard you’re already growing mushrooms?”

“Yes, I’ll have mushrooms ready in about a week, and it will cycle quickly. I brought some seeds,” Li Runshan nodded. “So, right now, I need a week’s worth of food. If you can provide fourteen protein bars for me for the week, I can exchange that for survival manuals and three combat training sessions.”

Yu Hong was somewhat tempted.

If he got the survival manual, he could supplement his food and wouldn’t have to rely on others.

As for combat skills, they were essential. Since he could enhance his armor with bulletproof features, combat skills would become critical when firearms became obsolete.

Most importantly, the advanced physical training methods he had developed had greatly improved his leg strength and endurance.

So, it was better to plan ahead.

Had it not been for his gun, he wouldn’t have been able to defeat Jenny. And if Jenny had a bulletproof vest, he likely would have lost.

If someone wearing a bulletproof vest, fast and skilled in hand-to-hand combat, approached quickly…Nôv(el)B\\jnn

He might not stand a chance.

“This danger is far worse than the Black Disaster and the Ghostly Shadows. At least they don’t try to pick locks in various ways,” Yu Hong thought.

He counted his protein bars. All his jerky had been converted into protein bars. Including the two bags of jerky he found, he had a total of thirty-six protein bars.

If he gave fourteen away, he would still have twenty-two left, which was enough.

“Alright, one week for mushrooms, and if you can replenish, it’s fine,” Yu Hong said, calculating and nodding.

“Great, I was planning on cutting my daily food intake in half. You’re a big help!” Li Runshan smiled. “So, what combat skills do you want to learn? Boxing, sword techniques, leg techniques, or ground fighting? I can teach all of those.”

“Leg techniques,” Yu Hong decided. His legs had become stronger with training, so reinforcing his strength would give him an advantage over others.

“Good choice. It’s also useful for running fast. You don’t need to outrun the ghostly Shadows, just outrun the people around you. The Black Disaster is the same.” Li Runshan chuckled.

The two agreed on a time to exchange, then parted ways quickly.

Yu Hong went back to grab the protein bars, counted them carefully, and then headed back to the post office.

They stood by the stone house’s fence.

“Here’s the survival manual and the basic leg training steps I’ve put together. Take a look first, and ask me if you have any questions,” Li Runshan handed Yu Hong two small booklets. The edges were worn, clearly having been used for some time.

“After you’re done, return them to me. You can copy them, just don’t damage them.”

Yu Hong took the booklets in silence, feeling somewhat tricked as he watched his protein bars being taken.

He had hoped for just two manuals, but he had ended up spending so many protein bars.

Opening the survival manual, the first page clearly said: Ecological Circulation Cultivation System Explanation.

He sighed and started reading.

The first page had a directory.

• ‘Mushroom Cultivation – Pages 1-4’

• ‘Cockroach Cultivation – Pages 5-8’

• ‘Lizard Cultivation – Pages 9-13’

He continued flipping.

‘Mushroom cultivation requires enough humus, clean spores, and the right environment. Given the current special conditions, only a few types of mushrooms can be cultivated. After thousands of attempts, the Silver Tower Research Institute developed a special species called “Cow Leg Mushroom.” This species is rich in protein, oil, and calories, with levels 40% higher than other mushrooms under similar conditions.’

‘The most crucial aspect is that the Cow Leg Mushroom is a lightless species, growing without any need for light, making it perfect for underground cultivation. Below is what you’ll need for planting.’

Yu Hong looked at the diagram below.

It showed a mushroom cultivation box, resembling a large wooden crate, with a bag of clean spores and a pile of dark dirt labeled Humus Soil.

(End of Chapter)