Magic Space: Struggling to Survive in the Apocalypse-Chapter 62: High Temperature, Wild Vegetables

Chapter 62: Chapter 62: High Temperature, Wild Vegetables

Evelyn Ford had indeed stockpiled many night-vision goggles, buying several boxes at wholesale prices.

"Sure."

"That’s great. Later, you can come over to my place and pick out something you like."

After their conversation, the two went their separate ways. After a few hours of digging, they had half a bucket of wild vegetables. Officer Graham blew a short whistle, and everyone immediately started to head back.

Back home, Evelyn Ford gave the night-vision goggles to Quincy. In return, Evelyn Ford took two painkillers from him.

The discovery of wild vegetables quickly eased everyone’s food crisis. Evelyn Ford made some wild vegetable buns and dumplings, which tasted decent.

However, she still thought they tasted better raw. Plus, the wild vegetables had a cooling effect on the body, and eating them made her feel much more comfortable.

In the scorching weather, it was easy to get "overheated" and have nosebleeds. Even though Evelyn Ford had ice water in her space and could use her air conditioner and fan at home, she still got several nosebleeds.

After eating wild vegetables for two days, the signs of being "overheated" gradually disappeared, and she felt much more energetic.

That evening, everyone gathered in the hallway on time. Once the wind died down a bit, they all went out again to dig for wild vegetables. Even Wendy joined them this time.

All the wild vegetables in the complex had been picked clean. Evelyn Ford suggested they go out to the streets to dig, forming teams of two. She warned them not to stray too far apart and to keep their weapons on them. If they ran into that group of bandits from before, it would be a perfect chance for revenge.

A "HISS HISS HISS" sound came from an overturned car nearby. Evelyn Ford drew her combat knife and approached slowly. The sound was very much like a snake flicking its tongue. But when she lifted a wooden plank and a rat suddenly scurried out, Evelyn Ford was stunned.

She had never seen such a fat rat. On pure reflex, she threw her knife, pinning the rat to the ground.

This rat looked a lot like a porcupine, except it had no quills. It was enormous, with grayish-brown fur. It didn’t resemble any native rat species; it looked more like an African giant pouched rat.

’Rationally speaking, rat meat is edible,’ she thought, ’but the plague is also terrifying.’

Evelyn Ford picked it up to inspect it. Its fur was smooth, its reactions had been quick, its tail was intact and not rotting, its eyes were clean with no growths or discharge, and its fur color was normal. This giant rat was healthy. Evelyn Ford hung it on her bucket and went back to digging for wild vegetables.

Quincy and Officer Graham had also encountered giant rats. Although the rats were a source of meat, everyone thought of the plague. They immediately brought their giant rats over to Evelyn Ford to ask if they were edible.

"You’re practically half a doctor. Can’t you tell if it’s edible or not?" Evelyn Ford said, picking up Quincy’s rat and examining it from all angles.

"I don’t study rats," he replied, quite self-righteously.

"This one is fine. Its hide is thick; you can save it. It might be useful later." Evelyn Ford handed the giant rat back to him and proceeded to inspect the one in Officer Graham’s hands.

"I’ll tell you the inspection method, so you can check for yourselves in the future."

All three giant rats were fine. It was a good haul tonight. By two in the morning, no one wanted to go back except for Evelyn Ford.

"Don’t be penny-wise and pound-foolish. If the strong winds sweep you away, there’s no rescuing you."

After offering this piece of advice, Evelyn Ford headed back first. The others didn’t dare to linger any longer, hurrying home with their buckets and giant rats.

When Evelyn Ford processed her giant rat, she took out a special boning knife. She wanted to skin it in one complete piece. As for the meat, she decided to make it into Dried Meat.

She rubbed the meat with chili powder, Sichuan peppercorn powder, and salt. After cutting the giant rat meat into strips and hanging them on the balcony, Evelyn Ford went back to processing the hide.

Degreasing, kneading, drying, soaking to soften, then degreasing and drying again.

A few days later, a perfect giant rat hide was finished.

With the appearance of wild vegetables and giant rats, everyone in the building had been very busy lately. Officer Graham had everyone make a few nets. If they encountered a giant rat, they wouldn’t have to struggle to kill it; they could just catch it with a net.

Evelyn Ford gave each of them a handful of salt, and Roy Henderson’s group gave her a bag of chili powder in return.

Once the giant rat meat was made into Dried Meat, as long as it was preserved properly, it wouldn’t spoil no matter how long it was kept. If they had to leave this place later, they could easily take it with them.

Having food gave them a sliver of a chance to survive in this desperate situation.

But they didn’t catch giant rats every night. When their luck was bad, they wouldn’t see a single one for two or three days.

They had to keep digging for wild vegetables. After being dried, they were stored in plastic bags. They could be eaten after being boiled in water to soften them up.

They could also mix the wild vegetables and giant rat meat together and roast them over a fire to make meat-and-vegetable patties.

Officer Graham and the others had a simpler, cruder way of dealing with the wild vegetables. They would just wipe the sand off the leaves and eat them raw. Water was so precious that they had to calculate how many sips they could take a day; how could they bear to waste any?

The wild vegetables in the complex and on the streets outside were all gone, so everyone started going to more distant places. In the past few days, the wind had weakened, making it a bit more convenient for them to go out.

But the persistently high temperature was truly annoying.

A fire suddenly broke out in a building up ahead. It burned for two days and two nights before the flames gradually subsided.

Smelling the burnt odor filling the air, Evelyn Ford couldn’t help but sneeze.

As the wind died down, visibility improved significantly. Standing on her balcony and looking at the burning residential building through binoculars, all she could see was thick smoke and a charred, empty structure.

Fortunately, the wind had weakened and didn’t blow any embers toward Prosperity Gardens.

Evelyn Ford went to the eleventh floor, where everyone was training. They were all a little surprised to see her.

"Mr. Graham, we should perform some maintenance on the van downstairs. If something unexpected happens, we need to be able to leave immediately. Everyone should also get their things packed so we’re not scrambling when it’s time to go."

Six people would be squeezing into one van, and there was a lot of luggage. However, they could put some on the roof rack.

"Other than essential tools, food, and some crucial clothing, we should bring as little as possible."

"Ford, do you think the fire in Norcast is going to burn its way over here?"

Evelyn Ford shook her head. "It would take a long time for the fire in Norcast to reach here. But I’ve noticed spontaneous fires breaking out in several nearby complexes recently. There’s no guarantee it won’t happen here too. It’s better to be prepared."

"I have a suggestion," Quincy said. "We should find a few more tires. We must have spares. The gasoline we’ve found is enough to go two thousand kilometers, no problem. I’m just worried about the tires." Evelyn Ford agreed with his proposal.

She remembered there was an auto repair shop behind Prosperity Gardens. They might be able to scavenge something there.

"I’ll go with you. It would be even better if we could find some repair tools."

Officer Graham had no objections. "Then let’s head out at ten tonight. It’s just a shame we couldn’t find an SUV with higher ground clearance."

"All the good cars were washed away by the flood. That pit up ahead is full of limited-edition luxury cars," Quincy said, a pained look on his face at the thought of them.