"Are you planning to buy some? Is that yours?" Yu Hong asked in a low voice, looking at the chubby little girl.
"Yes, my daughter, Aisena," Li Runshan replied with a smile.
"She is very sensible and can draw. When I have time, I’ll show you her paintings; they are beautiful."
As he spoke, he pulled out a rolled-up white paper from his waist pouch.
On the paper was a detailed list of items available for trade:
- Edible wild vegetables
- Beef leg mushrooms
- Sanitary cockroaches
- Red-tailed lizards
- Custom small furniture
- Mailing letters
- Mailing items
- Candles
- Basic survival skills teaching
- Basic combat skills teaching
- Basic firearms and knives skills teaching
Yu Hong stared at the extensive list in silence.
"No wonder you dare to bring a child alone to such wild places. Truly impressive!" he murmured.
"You flatter me," Li Runshan smiled.
"These are just skills that every mailman must have. In some places, you lack everything and must do everything yourself."
"What can these items be exchanged for?" Yu Hong asked.
"I don't see any prices listed."
"It depends on what you have. For example, I'm currently cultivating mushrooms and raising cockroaches. I'm a bit short on food and water, so if you can help with some, that can be used for trade. Of course, if you have lumstones or great lumstones, that would be even better," Li Runshan said with a laugh.
"I do have great lumstones, but we need to discuss the price. By the way, if I trade for the basic survival manual, will you teach me how to cultivate mushrooms?" Yu Hong inquired.
"Sure, it really depends on what you need and what you're missing to fill in the gaps," Li Runshan nodded.
"These are not confidential; they are essential skills for outdoor survival."
Yu Hong nodded.
It seemed that compared to the previous mailmen, Li Runshan was considerably more accomplished.
"I'd like to request your teachings for cultivating mushrooms and lizards, as well as the basic combat and firearms skills. How's the price calculated?"
"Do you have any surplus food? I'm running a bit short," Li Runshan asked.
"Is this acceptable?" Yu Hong pulled out a protein bar and handed it over.
"One of these can keep you full for a day, and it’s very filling. I made it myself."
Li Runshan raised an eyebrow, took the protein bar, and inspected it.
"Can I give it a try?"
"Of course."
Yu Hong nodded.
Li Runshan sniffed the protein bar and broke off a small piece to taste.
Squinting, he wrinkled his face slightly.
"This is very high in calories! It contains sesame, peanuts, butter, sugar, cream, rice flour... Mmm, there are many other ingredients I can't quite identify. This couldn't have been made by you—there's no way you had all those materials."
Yu Hong was taken aback, not expecting Li Runshan to discern so many ingredients just from one taste.
After all, the protein bar was very sweet, and the flavors were mostly masked, making it impossible for him to detect much.
"You’re right; this was from my old stock, and there's not much left. Just tell me what you can trade for it," he said, keeping his expression calm.
"Alright, if you want to exchange for cultivation techniques, I can give you ten of these, assuming one truly lasts a day," Li Runshan agreed.
"As for the other combat and firearms skills, combat has many subcategories that require high caloric intake. You must ensure proper nutrition; otherwise, it could harm your body. I suggest you prioritize the specific techniques first, such as boxing, ground work, kicks, and blade techniques."
"As for firearms, I can at most give you my manual; you’ll need to practice on your own. To be honest, bullets are in short supply now. With firearms being useless against the black disaster, many military factories have converted into other uses. So, bullets are used sparingly and are generally only for internal issues. I suggest switching to slingshot techniques; I have considerable expertise in that."
"Slingshot?" Yu Hong blinked, doubting he heard correctly.
"Yes, just like this."
Li Runshan pulled out a metal slingshot with a handle as thick as an egg, with more than ten bands attached.
"That’s worth considering. Although it’s a bit cumbersome, rocks can work as ammunition, and they're easily found everywhere, so the lethality is sufficient."
"Let me think first," Yu Hong said, speechless.
"Since you have cultivation techniques, you mentioned you were already starting to grow mushrooms?"
"Yes, it will bear fruit in about a week, and the cycles will keep going fast. I brought some seeds," Li Runshan nodded.
"So, I need a week's worth of food. If you can provide me with fourteen of those protein bars for a week, I can offer you the survival manual and three sessions of classified combat training."
Yu Hong felt a bit tempted.
If he could obtain the survival manual, he could supply his own food without relying on others.
He also needed combat skills, as he would eventually enhance his gear for bulletproof capability.
When firearms become obsolete, martial skills would be crucial.
Most importantly, his advanced physical training method had greatly improved his leg strength and overall endurance.
Thus, he needed to prepare in advance.
If it weren't for the gun last time, he wouldn't have been able to defeat Jenny.
If Jenny had a bulletproof vest, he would likely have been defeated.
Speaking of which, if a skilled fighter wearing a bulletproof vest quickly closed in on him, he could be in serious trouble.
‘This danger is a lot more troublesome than the black disaster and the sinister shadows.
At least they won’t try various ways to unlock anything,’ Yu Hong thought.
He calculated how many protein bars he currently had.
All the jerky had been turned into protein bars, and adding his own together with two bags of jerky he had scavenged, he had a total of thirty-six protein bars.
If he exchanged fourteen, he would still have twenty-two left, which was enough.
"Alright, a week to yield mushrooms, and if you can meet that, it's a deal."
Yu Hong agreed after working it out in his mind.
"That’s wonderful! I was about to reduce my daily intake by half; this helps tremendously," Li Runshan said with a smile.
"So, which aspect of combat skills do you want? Fist techniques, blade techniques, legs techniques, or ground work? I can teach them all."
“Let’s go with legs techniques,” Yu Hong decided.
Strengthening his legs would keep giving him the advantage.
"Good choice; legs techniques also help you run faster! You don’t need to outrun the shadows, just be faster than those around you. The same goes for the black disaster," Li Runshan chuckled.
The two agreed on a time for the exchange and then quickly parted ways.
Yu Hong returned to take the protein bars, counted them carefully, and then headed back to the post office.
The two stood by the rocky house's fence.
"Here is the survival manual you wanted, along with my notes on the basics of legs techniques training. Take a look at them, and feel free to ask me anything you don't understand," Li Runshan handed two small booklets to Yu Hong, the edges of the booklets were worn, indicating they had been handled many times.
"Just make sure to return them after you're done looking, or you can copy them, but don’t damage them."
Yu Hong accepted the booklets with a sigh, noticing that his protein bars were taken away.
He felt a bit ripped off.
Had he known, he would have given only two booklets; he wouldn't have willingly exchanged so many protein bars.
Opening the survival manual, he flipped through to the first page.
The title read clearly: Detailed Explanation of the Ecological Circular Cultivation System.
"Go ahead and look it over at your leisure, but you can only come to me with questions three times. Three questions about survival and three about legs techniques," Li Runshan reminded with a smile.
"Three times? Why didn’t you mention this before?" Yu Hong was at a loss.
"That was before. I couldn't possibly teach you for a long time just for a few food rations, could I? Only a bit more than ten days' worth of food, you do the math on whether it’s worth it," Li Runshan laughed.
He seemed to enjoy smiling.
Despite being a robust, tall man, when he grinned, he gave off a cunning vibe, as if constantly calculating.
"Alright then," Yu Hong understood.
"In that case, if I have questions beyond those three, I can exchange great lumstones with you for one session of two hours, how about that?"
"Gems?" Li Runshan's gaze flickered.
"Fine, two hours is not a bad deal."
"Okay, I’ll head back and study this closely."
Yu Hong nodded, slowly backing away, and after ten or so meters, he turned quickly and dashed into the woods, disappearing swiftly.
As he ran, the outline of the pistol strapped to his waist was unexpectedly accentuated, catching Li Runshan's eye.
Li Runshan unconsciously smiled, weighing the protein bars in his hand before turning back toward the rustic stone house.
"Aisena, look what I brought back! Tasty sweets!" He cheerfully entered, and soon the little girl's delighted cheers echoed from inside.
"Another daughter? Coming alone with a daughter to such a place..."
As Yu Hong walked back, he had vague suspicions arising in his heart.
‘Jenny was like this, and so is Li Runshan.
Did he also bring his daughter here after something happened to her, attempting to use lumstones to solve problems?’
From the experimental records in that manual, it seemed lumstone disease could counter some of the marks and troubles caused by the black disaster outside.
‘Otherwise, who would willingly leave the well-functioning Hope City area to come to such a remote and dangerous place without a pressing need?’
He returned to his cave, placing the two booklets down.
Picking up the first survival manual, he flipped it open, where, apart from the title page, there was even a table of contents:
- Mushroom Cultivation — Pages 1 to 4
- Cockroach Cultivation — Pages 5 to 8
- Lizard Cultivation — Pages 9 to 13.
He turned the pages further.
‘Mushroom cultivation requires enough humus, clean spores, and a suitable environment.
Due to the unique situation, there are not many types of mushrooms suitable for cultivation now.
After thousands of attempts, the Silver Tower Joint Research Institution developed a special variety called Beef Leg Mushroom.
This type of mushroom is rich in protein and contains more oils and calories than other mushroom varieties under the same conditions by over forty percent.’
‘The most important thing is that Beef Leg Mushrooms are photophobic fungi, meaning they can grow without light, making them extremely suitable for planting in underground environments.
Below are the preparations needed for planting.’
Yu Hong looked at the illustrative diagrams below.
One mushroom cultivation box, rectangular and resembling a large wooden box.
A bag of clean spores, looking like a cylindrical bag of soil about the length of an arm, wrapped in thick white plastic.
A pile of dark soil, marked in small text: Humus.
(End of Chapter)