"Rumble!" The heavy rain continued to pour.
In Yunling Province, there was a dilapidated stone building near Jinxiu River. There was a bonfire in the small building, and a dozen people in ragged clothes were curled up around the bonfire. These people were either half-grown children, white-haired old people, or a few thin and weak women. Although the small building was dilapidated, it separated them from the storm outside.
The heavy rain had been falling for a few days, and the people in the small building were starving. However, they did not dare to search for food in the heavy rain. This was because terrifying monsters would appear during rainy days, and they would only disappear when the sun was bright.
There was no shortage of food in the world today. As long as one was careful and experienced enough, it was easy to find all kinds of starchy plant roots, highly nutritious tree sap, and even some sweet fruits in the dense forest.
The abundance of food had not only brought about changes in people, but also changes in animals. In the wild, even the weakest animals had their own survival secrets. Not only were they highly intelligent, but they had also evolved all kinds of strange abilities. The smaller the animals, the more asymmetrical their abilities, such as poison.
Just as they were anxiously waiting for the heavy rain to stop, they suddenly heard heavy footsteps coming from outside. A few figures braved the heavy rain and approached the small building.
The people in the building immediately panicked. The people in the building were now scarier than the Direbeasts. Since Higashimogami Province and the Sea Tribe broke out in a war three years ago at Port Xinyi, the world's situation continued to deteriorate. The mutant sea creatures frequently attacked coastal areas, and humans were forced to migrate inland. However, inland areas were not safe either. The four Direbeasts' war zones almost broke out one after another. Although it was not a large-scale war, the Direbeasts had already infiltrated the hinterland of the human race. The entire human race was surrounded on all sides, and there was no place to be safe.
Following that, the frequent changes in the climate caused a large reduction in food production. Supplies fell into an unprecedented shortage, and transportation was blocked. The major countries were like islands divided by endless dense forests.
In addition, all kinds of strange things spread in human society. They were called monsters, and they were even scarier than the Direbeasts. After all, the Direbeasts were real, and no one knew what these monsters were.
When the social system was in chaos, so was the world. All kinds of bandit groups brazenly occupied villages and small towns, driving out the old, weak, women, and children who could not work. This group of people originally lived in a place called Qu Bo Town, but recently, a bandit group suddenly came and occupied the town, driving them out.
A teenage boy took out a gun from his underwear and fearfully asked an old man with a head full of white hair, "Uncle Yan, what should we do?"
The white-haired old man's expression did not change. He took out a hardwood bow and shook his head, "We have nothing. There is nothing to worry about. Don't be afraid."
The heavy iron door did not stop them at all. With a creak, it was pushed open, and three figures appeared. In the middle was a young man with gray skin. On his left and right were two giants. Their wide robes covered their faces tightly. All of them were about two to three meters tall, and they were tall and strong. The one on the right was especially fat. He was like a round ball, and his robes were bulging.
The man looked at the people in the room and said softly, "It's raining heavily outside. Sorry to disturb you." His voice was soft and rustling, and it was very comfortable to listen to.
The people who came did not seem to have any ill intentions. Uncle Yan heaved a sigh of relief and hurriedly said, "It's not a disturbance, it's not a disturbance. Please do as you wish."
The tall giant on the left put down the bag on his body and squatted on the ground. He mechanically took out pieces of meat and quickly spread them all over the ground.
The fat ball-like giant on the right was a little impatient. He crouched on the ground and wanted to reach out his big hand to take the meat. However, he was slapped by the man. He whimpered a few times and did not dare to move again.
The man looked around and saw that there was no firewood available. He went out again and came back in a short while with a big bundle of firewood on his back. It made people feel strange. Where did he get so much firewood in such a heavy rain?
He slowly started a fire to roast the meat. Soon, the smell of meat filled the small building. Everyone stared at it and swallowed their saliva.
A little boy around ten years old tugged at Uncle Yan's clothes and whispered, "Uncle Yan, they have a lot of meat."
"Yes."
Uncle Yan nodded gently. He hesitated for a while and said, "Friend, we have some guns here. Can we exchange them with you for some food?"
The little boy hurriedly hugged the gun in his arms. They had a lot of guns, but they were all wet and rusty. Only the gun in his arms could still be used. He wanted to say no, but he was attracted by the oily meat and fell into a dilemma.
The man turned his head and looked at them. He shook his head and said, "You can't eat this meat."
Uncle Yan did not say anything. They were all old and weak. If the other party did not want to give it to them, there was nothing they could do.
After a while, the rain gradually stopped and the bright sun shone in. Uncle Yan was excited. He said to the little boy, "Xiaoyu, look after the house."
He carried his hardwood bow and led everyone out to look for food. They had not eaten for a long time. Without energy, it was difficult to resist the humidity and heat. Many of them had contracted strange diseases.
There were only a few sick people left in the small building. The little boy held the gun and carefully looked at the three people on the other side. His eyes fell on a piece of bone that had been abandoned on the ground. The bone was very clean, but there was still marrow inside. It could be used to make soup. He could not help but gulp as he imagined the fresh and thick meat soup.
Just when he finally made up his mind to pick it up, the man opened his eyes. His eyes were shining brightly. He suddenly asked, "How long has it been since the thing on your body grew?"
The little boy was stunned. He hurriedly covered his neck. There were many wrinkles on his neck, like withered old tree bark. It was not only him. Everyone here had contracted this strange disease. Some of them had moss growing on their bodies, while others had mushroom-like spores. They had all appeared because of the rain.
After a while, the people who were collecting outside gradually came back. The small building became lively again. Most of them collected some plant tubers and some tree bark. The tubers were food, and the tree bark could be made into clothes and bedding. The weather was very changeable now. Sometimes, it would inexplicably hail, and the temperature would drop to minus thirty or forty degrees. It was impossible to survive without clothes.
On the other side, Uncle Yan was acting alone. He was an old hunter who had experienced hundreds of battles. He shrank his body and passed through the dense jungle reeds on the riverbank. He came to the side of a big river. It had been raining for more than ten days. The water level of the river was very high. It was so vast that he could barely see the other side.
He took out a small knife from his waist and rummaged through the reeds. Some mutated reeds were as hard as metal. After a while, he found a lot of them. He began to make arrows. His calloused hands were very dexterous. After a while, he made a lot of arrows. Then he hid in the dense reeds and stared at the surging water.
About ten minutes later, he had locked onto his target. The hardwood bow in his hand kept moving, and the sharp reed arrows were shot into the water like a storm. There was no sound when they shot into the water, and the surface of the water immediately became turbulent. Bursts of blood came out, and a black-scaled fish floated to the surface of the water.
This fish was very big. It was enough to eat for a few days. Uncle Yan dragged the big fish back to the house. Seeing that Uncle Yan had come back, everyone came to help. They cut the big fish into pieces of snow-white meat and couldn't wait to start a fire to roast it. After a while, the meat made a sizzling sound, and the tempting smell of meat filled the air.
The fat ball-like person on the other side seemed to have smelled the fragrance. It moved carefully and wanted to come closer. With the help of the fire, it could be seen that it had an ugly ape face. It didn't look like a human, but more like a beast. However, after just a few steps, it was slapped on the head. It whimpered and retreated.
In the past few years, there had been a lot of people with local mutations. People were not surprised. Uncle Yan looked up and continued to peel off the fish skin. There was a shortage of clothes now. Animal fur was very precious. The fish skin was very thin and very tough. It was very good to be made into water bags or clothes.
"Uncle Yan, eat … eat."
Another child came over. Her voice was clear. It was obviously a girl, but she stuttered a little. She took a piece of fish and carefully put it in front of Uncle Yan's mouth.
Uncle Yan's face softened for the first time. He said softly, "Xiao Fan, you eat first. I will eat later."
The little girl looked back at the big fish that had become a skeleton. She pursed her dirty mouth and whispered, "No … no more."
They were too hungry. The big fish and plant tubers that were supposed to be enough for a few days were finished in a short while.
Uncle Yan rubbed the little girl's dirty and messy hair. "It's okay. I will go and get more later."
After eating, everyone burped. One by one, they shrank back into the house and began to look for a place to sleep.
The sky gradually darkened. It was raining heavily outside. Uncle Yan walked to the door and couldn't help but praise God. If it weren't for this interval, they would have taken the risk to look for food in the rain. Thinking of the strange things that appeared in the dark, he couldn't help but shiver.