Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

Chapter 433 Black Fungus

"Yes, black fungus," Xu Xiaoyan nodded. "In a sense, this stuff is food. It can be stored for a long time when dried, and it can be eaten after soaking. Whether you cook it in soup or make a cold dish, it is a vegetable after all."

As she said this, she looked up at Lan Yue and said, "I was thinking, if we can both climb trees, why don't we go hunting for wild food? Eating those compressed biscuits every day is so bland, you'd get tired of it, wouldn't you?"

Lan Yue paused for a moment, then covered her mouth and laughed for a while, her eyes regaining that mischievous light. "How could I not be disgusted? I feel nauseous just smelling the compressed biscuits now."

After saying that, she stood up, dusted off her pants, turned around and crawled into the tent. While packing her things, she said, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go and see if it's birch fungus or black fungus. If it's really black fungus, we can have black fungus soup for dinner tonight."

Xu Xiaoyan's lips curved slightly, but she didn't reply. Instead, she bent down, unzipped her backpack, and took out several clean plastic bags from her storage space under cover. She folded them and stuffed them into her pocket, then checked to see if the knife was still in her side pocket.

The two quickly packed up, slung their backpacks over their shoulders, and left the camp one after the other.

A few people who were still chatting outside glanced up at them, but didn't ask any questions. They followed them for a while before looking away.

Leaving the campsite and walking west along the path at the foot of the mountain, the vegetation gradually transitioned from broad-leaved mixed forest to a forest dominated by birch trees. The birch trees had straight and slender trunks, and their silvery-white bark gleamed slightly in the sunlight.

Lan Yue walked ahead, turning back as she went, saying, "Why don't we go directly to find Brother Dayong? We went to that hill last night, so we know the way well. I also have a general idea of ​​where the birch tree is. We can just go there and start looking for it, saving time and effort."

Xu Xiaoyan followed behind her at a leisurely pace. Hearing this, she did not answer immediately, but lowered her head and thought for a while.

When she looked up again, her tone was cautious after careful consideration: "It's really not appropriate to go looking for someone just to get a bite to eat."

She paused for a moment, then continued, "As for Brother Dayong, from our conversation last night, he's not a bad person. He's warm and generous, and he even offered to take us to another pine forest."

But precisely because of this, we can't just run to them for every little thing. If we go to them today for food and tomorrow for some other reason, it's fine once or twice, but if it happens too often, even the best relationship will turn sour.

Lan Yue thought for a moment and nodded. "That's right. Then let's not go looking for him. We can find him ourselves by going around from here, without passing through his pine forest."

"Okay," Xu Xiaoyan replied, but stopped walking.

She took the backpack off her shoulder and placed it at her feet, then raised her left wrist and began pressing on the watch.

The watch face lit up, emitting a soft blue-white glow that stood out against the shadows of the birch trees.

Lan Yue took a couple of steps and realized no one was following her. She turned around and saw Xu Xiaoyan intently fiddling with her watch, her head bowed.

She curiously leaned closer, tilting her head to look at the watch that looked ordinary but seemed to hold a lot of secrets.

What are you doing?

"Let's set a location first," Xu Xiaoyan said without looking up, her fingers swiping across the screen, her tone as focused as if she were doing a delicate handicraft. "We've never been to this birch forest on our own before, we're not familiar with the way, and if we get lost and miss our appointment, it would be a huge loss."

As she spoke, she clicked on another feature—route tracking.

The map on the screen flickered slightly, and a thin blue line started from their current location, steadily locking onto the starting point as Xu Xiaoyan confirmed with her finger.

From here, the watch will automatically record every step they take. Even if they get lost in the forest, they can return to where they are now by following this red line back the way they came.

Lan Yue stared at the watch, her lips slightly parted, her eyes revealing an undisguised envy.

She couldn't help but reach out and gently touch the edge of the watch face. "Xiao Yan, where did you get this amazing watch? It even has a location tracking function."

Lan Yue's voice carried a heartfelt sentiment: "When I was at the Huaxing base before, none of the officers' watches were as high-end as yours."

After confirming the functions of the watch, Xu Xiaoyan looked up and gazed at the distant forest where silvery-white tree trunks intertwined. She shook her head. "I didn't buy it."

Lan Yue blinked, waiting for her to continue.

"It was given to me by a friend I met on my escape route," Xu Xiaoyan said, pausing as if hesitating whether to continue.

But she continued, speaking a little slower than usual: "We walked together for a long time back then, and then I had a health problem, so he took off this watch and gave it to me."

I initially refused to take it, but he insisted on giving it to me, saying that he could follow the army and be safe, and that I needed it more than he did.

After listening, Lan Yue took a deep breath and said in a tone that said, "I'm jealous, but I'm openly jealous," "Xiao Yan, your luck is truly amazing. Someone even gave you a watch with these functions."

Do you know how much this thing is worth outside? It's not about the money; it's that you can't buy it even if you have the money. To be willing to give away such a treasure, in a sense, you two have a life-or-death friendship.

Upon hearing this, Xu Xiaoyan's lips slowly curved into a smile. She didn't deny it. "I only pray that he's safe and sound, and that he'll suffer as little as possible while traveling with the army. No news is good news, right?"

Lan Yue didn't reply, but simply reached out and gently patted Xu Xiaoyan's shoulder.

Xu Xiaoyan raised her hand and waved her watch in front of Lan Yue, her tone returning to its usual calm and pragmatic tone: "Alright, the tracking is on, and the location is set, so you won't get lost."

"Let's go that way. I remember that grove of birch trees is on the southwest slope, about a 20-minute walk from here."

Lan Yue put the scarf back on, nodded, and strode ahead.

Soon, the two arrived at a birch forest. The daytime light was completely different from the nighttime light, and the "black bumps" were clearly exposed on the silvery-white tree trunks.

Xu Xiaoyan stood at the edge of the forest, glanced around, and immediately understood the situation.

One, two, three... those "black bumps" are not dense, but they are not sparse either. About one out of every dozen birch trees will have something growing on it.

Some grow at the base of the trunk not far from the ground, while others climb to a height of two or three meters. A few are particularly tall, clinging to a side branch that extends out at an angle, and can only be seen by looking up.

"As expected," Xu Xiaoyan said softly, stepping into the woods.