vncnus Chapter 023: Not as Wonderful as I Imagined?
Chapter 023: Not as Wonderful as I Imagined?
At approximately 16 PM, we departed from the area marked "Metal Zone" on the map.
After driving for nearly three hours, the pickup truck, driven by Yu himself, finally stopped in a new area.
This time, there are obvious geographical features.
It is a low-lying area.
It is about several hundred meters long and wide, with irregular edges and a gentle depression three or four meters deep.
In Lu Chen's view, it was as if a bowl-shaped area had been dug out from this relatively flat, scorched earth.
"I found it a few months ago."
"On the map, it's marked as: a safe haven."
As she spoke, Yu had already opened the door and gotten out of the car, deftly stepping on the rear wheel and climbing into the cargo box.
Lu Chen followed closely behind, and was about to step onto the rear wheel like Yu, but the backpack that Yu 'threw' at him was firmly pressed down in front of the wheel.
"I'll spend the night here."
"The car needs to be charged from dawn until noon tomorrow."
"Let's walk around the area and see if we find anything."
"If we find it, we'll stay for a day or two depending on the situation. If we don't find it, we'll leave at noon and head to the next place."
Yu had arranged the itinerary, and Lu Chen naturally complied.
He took the backpack that Yu threw down and then reached out to help Yu jump off the cargo box.
Before long, the two sat down on the edge of the depression—with their backs against the steep slope and the pickup truck in front of them to block the wind—and began to eat their second and last meal of the day.
As Lu Chen had expected: it was still black bread.
It's just a bit too much, two pieces per person.
Lu Chen dejectedly reached out and took it, about to open his mouth to take a bite, when his gaze turned expectantly to the metal can that Yu took out of his backpack.
Although his instincts told Lu Chen that the canned food couldn't possibly contain meat, Lu Chen still harbored a small hope.
Unfortunately, Lu Chen's instincts did not go wrong.
—It's a jar of pickled vegetables.
Moreover, it was a small amount of pickled vegetables that had already been opened and were almost empty.
Lu Chen, however, was not disappointed.
On the contrary, Lu Chen was already pleasantly surprised to have food other than black bread.
"This is all we have; it will last us seven days."
"Estimate the amount yourself, don't eat it all at once."
After saying that, Yu used the edge of the black bread to scoop up a few pieces of vegetables from the bottom of the can.
He brought it to his mouth, took a big bite without any regard for his image, and then chewed it slowly and deliberately.
As for Lu Chen, he felt helpless when he learned that the thin layer at the bottom of the can contained only a tiny bit of pickled vegetables, enough for two people to eat for seven days and fourteen meals.
But they didn't complain.
He reached out and took the can, dipped the black bread into the bottom of the can, lightly dabbed it in the salty sauce, and then handed the can back to Yu.
"I've had enough, you eat."
"I prefer milder flavors and don't like salty food."
"Just a little something to replenish the salt, that's enough."
...
Before long, the two of them ate their black bread, and Yu put away the small jar of pickled vegetables.
Then, he took out two chipped military water bottles from his backpack and tossed one of them to Lu Chen.
"The wastewater from the steel mill has been filtered."
"It's not very harmful to the body, it just doesn't taste very good."
...
"Drink sparingly."
"It's the same amount for seven days."
Lu Chen took the kettle, unscrewed the lid, and smelled it, immediately catching a strong metallic odor.
However, having tasted coal ash water from the mine, a mere rusty water wouldn't be a problem for Lu Chen.
I tilted my head back and took a small sip, barely managing to swallow it, then took another sip.
Then he tightened the lid, placed the kettle beside him, and looked up at the jade again.
—It wasn't dark yet.
However, judging from Yu's many preparations, there was no indication that he intended to start a fire.
Lu Chen guessed that it was probably for security reasons.
Yu, on the other hand, got up and clapped her hands after finishing her meal. Then she stood on the roof of the car and looked around with binoculars.
He watched for more than ten minutes before removing the binoculars from his eyes, still standing on the roof of the car, looking down at Lu Chen.
"How is it?"
"Is it not as wonderful as I imagined?"
Lu Chen stood beside the car, looked up at Yu, and smiled slightly.
"A scavenger, truly deserving of the name."
Yu chuckled and picked up the binoculars again—seemingly unwilling to give up, he looked at them for a long time.
It wasn't until the sun was setting that he jumped from the roof of the truck onto the cargo box, and then Lu Chen helped him jump to the ground.
Judging from Yu's agile figure and skillful movements, Lu Chen shouldn't need to reach out to help her.
But Lu Chen did it anyway, and Yu remained noncommittal.
After getting off the bus, Yu directed Lu Chen to repack his backpack.
This time, however, it didn't fall into the open cargo box at the back of the vehicle, but instead ended up inside the back seat.
He then gestured for Lu Chen to sit in the driver's and passenger's seats before taking out his cigarette case again.
I don't know if it's because the 'haven' is located at a lower elevation, or because it's farther away from the sandstorm belt;
—After lighting the cigarette, Yu actually rolled down the car window by hand, not at all worried about the sand and dust blowing into the car.
With a cigarette between his fingers in his left hand and his left arm draped over the window frame, he let the breeze carry away the wisps of smoke.
He lowered his head to look at Lu Chen in the passenger seat, spread the map out on his lap, and then stretched out his hand to gesture on the map.
"The metal zone can be removed from the map."
"It doesn't look like there's anything to be gained near a safe haven."
"I'll try looking for it tomorrow morning, but there's a high chance I won't find it."
"We'll set off at noon for the building ruins area."
Lu Chen remained silent, listening attentively, his gaze fixed on the map.
After Yu finished explaining the arrangements for tomorrow, she looked at the map for a long time.
Only after Yu stubbed out her cigarette and subconsciously looked at the passenger seat did Lu Chen slowly reach out his hand.
Point your finger on the map to the only "city gate" marker directly below the "City of Time".
"Is there only one city gate?"
Yu gently shook her head.
"Four."
"One each in the east, south, west, and north, right in the middle of each city wall."
"But the other three city gates are closed year-round."
"So only the south gate is marked on the map."
Lu Chen nodded slightly, and then roughly drew a semicircle in the east, west, and north directions of the City of Time.
"Only the south gate is open."
"In other words, for scavengers, the area south of the City of Time is the closest and easiest place to explore."
"Of course, that's where the scavengers plunder the most and the most thoroughly."
...
"The other three directions are farther away and more troublesome, so scavengers will explore them less frequently."
"—Especially the north side."
"If a scavenger comes out of the south gate and wants to get to the northern suburbs, he needs to walk around half of the city wall, which is more than 400 kilometers."
"Therefore, the resource abundance in the four directions outside the city walls should be: the south side with the least; the east and west sides with moderate abundance; and the north side with the most abundance."
As he spoke, Lu Chen slowly turned his head and looked at Yu with a slightly puzzled expression.
Why not go to the north side?
"Is it dangerous?"
Upon hearing this, Yu shook her head again.
He simply turned to the side, facing Lu Chen in the passenger seat.
His finger then dotted the yellow outer circle representing the 'sandstorm belt' on the map.
"The City of Time is 200 kilometers long and 200 kilometers wide."
"Add to that the 40-kilometer-wide sandstorm belt—which envelops the City of Time, making it a square area 280 kilometers long and wide."
...
"Leaving the city from the south gate and going around to the northern suburbs would be a long journey."
"—Go south for 40 kilometers to get out of the sandstorm zone."
"Then turn east or west and travel 140 kilometers to the edge of the sandstorm zone."
"Go 280 kilometers further north and you will reach the outskirts of the northeast and northwest cities."
"Finally, we have to walk another 140 kilometers to reach the place 40 kilometers outside the North Gate."
...
"The total distance is 600 kilometers—it will take two days just to get there."
"We need to stay for two more days to come back, so we only have less than three days left to explore."
"Moreover, unlike in the southern suburbs, most scavengers have pre-selected resource-gathering areas."
"After going to the northern suburbs, I had no idea where any place was or what was there."