69novels Chapter 56 What to Eat
Chapter 56 What to Eat
"As mentioned before, the committee has dispatched a reconnaissance team to explore the directions indicated by the road signs using drones. After gathering information, the committee will formulate several action plans. If you have any comments or suggestions regarding the current situation, please feel free to come to the train conductor's lounge. That concludes my remarks."
This time, there was no applause. Because the speech contained nothing to evoke emotion, nor did it emphasize human courage or value; instead, it simply laid out the information plainly before everyone and foreshadowed the next phase of work.
Just as Li Lin had anticipated, after a brief discussion, everyone outside resumed their work.
Now is the time to race against time to save ourselves; there's no time to worry about anything else.
The nuclear-powered backpack attached to the carriage was quickly removed, leaving only one still attached—Luo Yinchang discovered that as long as the water dispenser was turned off, one nuclear backpack could maintain the basic operation of the carriage. At the very least, it could maintain the most basic lighting.
"Then, Chairman Luo..."
Luo Yinchang interrupted him: "Stop, Chairman. I was just joking when I said that before. I don't want to suffer here with everyone for so long. The first thing to solve is the problem of food."
He was at a loss about the diet problem, but Li Lin asked in surprise:
"Food is everywhere, isn't it?"
"You mean..."
He looked at the ground outside the carriage with a look of horror.
They had just stepped on a carpet-like surface. The ground felt soft underfoot, but not enough to make them fall.
If I had to describe what it resembles—it's somewhat like silt that becomes very elastic after rain due to the stagnant water, only not as sticky.
"This is edible?!"
"What are we going to eat?" Li Lin spread his hands. "There are so many of us, how can the rations we're carrying be enough? And as you can imagine, water will be a problem too."
These two questions are indeed pressing—what to eat and what to drink.
This isn't a dining car, just a passenger bus. The journey to Raize isn't a long trip; we should arrive by tomorrow afternoon. This is even considering the constant loading and unloading of supplies along the way. In terms of the distance itself, it's only a few hours' drive to Raize.
Therefore, none of the people on the train were prepared for a long journey. They did bring emergency rations in their packs, but only enough for two or three days. After all, they wouldn't be leaving the railway and supply lines along the way, so there was really no need to bring so much.
And now, the problem is right in front of everyone—
Two days, three days at most, and this carriage will run out of food. Not to mention the water problem; they don't even know how much water they have left. The mechanical team is currently trying to dismantle the water tank, at least to count the water stored for flushing the toilets. That's tap water, after all. But like the electrical team, they haven't found the water tank yet.
It was almost lunchtime, and many people hadn't had a drop of water all morning. Getting water had become a more urgent task than obtaining food.
"So...do we really have to eat these?" Luo Yinchang couldn't bear to imagine what it would be like.
"Haven't you ever eaten monster meat before? I remember it was a bestseller all over the country."
"I've definitely eaten them—but I've never eaten a monster inside a monster's belly! Have you?"
Li Lin shook his head: "I don't have any either."
"Who knows, what if we dig it up and get killed as some kind of parasite?"
"Hey~" Li Lin waved his hand, "You guys didn't bring any luggage, but you must have brought weapons, right? If any dragon maggots or anything like that come out, just kill them."
"What maggots?"
"Dragon maggots—you've never seen them before, have you? They're the giant maggots that appear among certain monsters, roughly the size of a python. In common versions, their width ranges from 30 centimeters to 3 meters, and there are even larger ones, with no upper limit to their size."
Luo Yinchang remained silent.
He silently looked out the window: "Okay... I'm a very introverted person, you know that."
Li Lin nodded: "I know. So, I've already put it very tactfully—to put it bluntly, if we don't eat, there might be a commotion tonight."
"Then let's go." Although he was extremely reluctant, since he was the highest-ranking officer present and had been chosen as the temporary commander, he had to take responsibility. He absolutely had to be there for this dangerous task.
The two men got out of the carriage, and not far away, Li Lin found a slightly sunken crease in a place where no one had stepped on it.
"Hmm... this is it." He glanced back at Luo Yinchang. "Are you squeamish about blood?"
"I'm not dizzy."
"Okay, then stand back a bit."
He took out the dagger he had just acquired, dug out a cone-shaped piece of meat from the ground, then inserted the tip of the knife into the meat and picked out a large piece of meat that looked like a rice dumpling.
A corresponding dent appeared on the ground.
"My God..." Luo Yinchang covered his forehead, "It really is meat."
"I already told you it was meat." Li Lin shook the tip of his knife, and the piece of meat that had just been cut off wobbled along with it.
Judging by appearance, this tissue looks like a mixture of skin, fat, and cartilage, much like beef brisket fat.
The newly dug pit now has some liquid at the bottom.
Li Lin first put the meat aside, dipped his dagger in the liquid, and used his fan-smelling technique to safely obtain some information.
[Clear tissue fluid]
The ingredients came into view. It looked like a piece of meat.
It seems the ingredients are indeed drinkable. But I wonder what it tastes like.
He tried tasting it with the tip of his tongue.
"Um..."
"How is it?!" Luo Yinchang asked hurriedly, "Is it drinkable?"
"I can, but the taste... how can I describe it to you? Have you ever had oyster soup? It's like that. It's quite fragrant and not very salty, but it has a kind of fishy meaty smell."
"Sounds pretty good?"
Li Lin nodded: "To be honest, I'm actually quite picky. If I think it tastes good, then it really is good. But I don't recommend drinking it like water, because even saline solution will make you feel nauseous. My suggestion is to cook some food later and make soup, which will also kill some bacteria. If you think of it as 'soup,' you should be able to drink it. Besides, it's very nutritious, containing calcium, iron, zinc, selenium, and vitamins."
As he spoke, he handed the dagger to Luo Yinchang: "Won't you have a taste?"