Although the woman was short, she was agile and was holding a machete arm's length, scrutinizing Yu Hong with an evaluating gaze.
"Do you have any food?" Her gaze briefly shifted to the luminous stone rod with steel nails in Yu Hong's hand.
"Want to trade? What do you need?"
She added.
".... Got any dicine?" Yu Hong, observing her robust physique, felt that this woman might be stronger than him, which made him grow very cautious.
He was alert, his peripheral vision scanning the surroundings as he sized her up. "I need anti-diarrheal and anti-inflammatory dications."
"What will you trade for it? I only need food! Old Zhou hasn't been back in two days, and several households around us are short of food. If you have any, you can trade it for whatever you want," the woman quickly replied.
Her tone was sincere, and at the sa ti, the knife in her right hand unconsciously perford a flourish.
The machete, arm's length, straight and sharp and as wide as an adult's palm, wasn't sothing just anyone could flourish.
This action imdiately brought Yu Hong's caution to its highest level.
He suddenly felt that coming out to trade so recklessly might have been a mistake.
Those who had survived outside alone for so long, even if they were slightly frail won, definitely had special skills to ensure their own safety.
However, since she didn't know his specifics, as long as they didn't start fighting, everything remained unknown and was just a probe; this was manageable.
"I have food," Yu Hong quickly replied. "But not much on , I need to go back and get it. Do you have dicine?"
"I do have so, but you need to be clear about what illness you have, or it's a waste," the woman quickly responded.
"Diarrhea, it's happened several tis in a row, I suspect it's from drinking rainwater," Yu Hong quickly replied.
"Rainwater!?" The woman appeared shocked, pausing abruptly and staring at Yu Hong. "Did you drink it directly or did you filter it?"
"I filtered it," when Yu Hong saw her reaction, he imdiately felt a sinking feeling that sothing was amiss.
"That's good, that's very good," her tone relaxed. "Since those ghostly things appeared two years ago, rainwater has been toxic. If drunk directly, it causes severe diarrhea, and only those with strong constitutions can withstand it."
"What should I do now?" Yu Hong asked, frowning, as he tossed a piece of dried lizard over.
She caught it, sniffed it, bit off half, and slowly chewed. Her gaze towards Yu Hong softened significantly.
"Good that you filtered it, didn't anyone tell you not to drink rainwater?" she said, almost incredulously.
".... No, I had a companion who would drink it casually...." Yu Hong recalled the days he lived with the stutterer, who seed to often drink rainwater, but never offered it to him.
".... You have a very strong companion," the woman also went silent.
"I guess she's like a buffalo, could lift you with one hand."
"Not quite... but can you tell how to resolve this?" Yu Hong threw another piece of jerky over.
The woman caught it, her face breaking into a slight smile.
"It's simple, dig so black soil with a bit of purple, about the size of a chicken egg, dissolve it in water and swallow it, and you'll be better quickly."
She stood upright, looking at Yu Hong.
"By the way, this must be your first ti trading with soone, right? Just giving away all your specifics outright, you must have been one of the townspeople from the bunker before?"
"...." Yu Hong didn't respond, but his face showed an expression of how did you know.
Of course, he wasn't from the bunker, but it didn't stop him from letting her think that.
"You're Yu Hong, right?" the woman suddenly ntioned his na, "Yiyi has told about you. There haven't been many newcors in this area for miles around, and the most recent one is you."
"Okay.... I'm Yu Hong, and you are?" Hearing Yiyi's na, Yu Hong knew she was an acquaintance and felt slightly more relaxed. However, he still gripped the rod in his hand.
"I'm Jenny. I nd skins; you must have heard Yiyi ntion . I can fix anything these people around here wear," she said, her tone becoming gentler.
"Where's Yiyi? Why did you co this ti instead of her?" Jenny asked, puzzled.
"She went to town," Yu Hong didn't say Yiyi had left, he just lied simply.
"Fine, do you have more food? I've told you how to treat diarrhea from drinking rainwater. If you have anything else to trade, you can bring food, need any clothes to exchange?"
Her gaze lingered on Yu Hong's T-shirt, which was so dirty it was almost unwatchable, and chuckled.
The once gray-white short-sleeved T-shirt was now a grimy yellow, completely soaked through with dried sweat.
Wearing it was both oily and cold, adding significantly more weight.
"Got any nails?" After thinking, Yu Hong asked. He needed nails for crafting; they were much more convenient than traditional joinery.
"I have quite a few, what do you need those for?" Jenny was taken aback, then instantly seed to realize sothing, "Could it be you make your own things?"
"I do a bit," Yu Hong nodded, took out a water filter cup he had made, "This is a water filter cup I made. If you guys want it, you can order from . ds, clothes, unprocessed luminous stones, or help with so work, all can be traded."
Jenny looked at the water filter cup in his hands, her eyes lighting up more and more.
If this craftsmanship was really effective, then everyone nearby could benefit.
"Because of the 'Big Skin' last night, we all gathered at Old Zhou's bunker. We'll co to trade with you after the surge period is over!" she quickly said.
"Are you trading this cup now?" she asked, pointing at the water filter cup.
"Trading," Yu Hong nodded.
He was skilled in crafts, and his work was decent. This was the identity he had prepared for himself in advance.
This identity would help him maintain a basic level of security in the area.
Because only if he was alive could he continuously produce the things everyone needed.
That's where his value lay.
"Wait for , I'll be right back," Jenny said without ntioning how much in exchange, then turned and ran. She darted into the forest and disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Yu Hong glanced in the direction she had left, then carefully found a place to hide, no longer foolishly standing out in the open.
He now desperately longed for the Training thod, which was close to being strengthened. His physical condition was too poor now, likely unable to defeat anyone.
Should the Training thod succeed, he would be able to strengthen other survival techniques like forest survival thods, Lurking and Hiding Skill, among others.
But the prerequisite was that the thods he strengthened had to be usable by him.
'Training also needs sufficient food and rest... If only I could figure out how the lizard jerky and mushrooms are made.'
Yu Hong crouched in the bushes, pondering while he waited.
Fortunately, it was the fieriest ti of the day when the shadows generally didn't appear.
And for unknown reasons, there were hardly any mosquitoes or bugs to be seen in the forest.
So he wasn't bitten while crouching in the bushes.
The rustling of leaves varied with the wind, and the intense sunlight continuously brought waves of warmth as it beat down on him.
Yet, aside from the noise of the branches and leaves, the forest was devoid of any other sounds, void of any signs of life.
No birds, no bugs, all was deathly still.
Yu Hong frequently scanned his surroundings to ensure that the shadows couldn't approach him unawares.
Despite the brilliant sunshine, the eerily quiet forest exuded a bizarre sense of terror.
No butterflies, no bees, no flowers—only grass, branches, roots.
Young green, erald, dark green, yellowish-green—layers upon layers of foliage intertwined, forming a forest that was real yet bizarre.
'This forest, it's like it's dead. Lush and quiet in a deceitful way.'
This thought flashed through Yu Hong's mind.
After about several minutes, footsteps again echoed from the side of the stone post office building.
"Yu Hong? Are you there? I'm back."
Jenny's voice sounded.
Upon hearing her, Yu Hong carefully peered through the bushes towards the source of the sound.
He saw that Jenny was still dressed the sa, holding a small cloth bag, standing still and looking around.
He didn't co out imdiately but observed her a bit longer to make sure her movents were natural, not stiff, and she moved step by step.
Clearly, she wasn't a shadow.
Besides, there was no one else following her; she was alone.
After confirming this, he slowly stood up.
"I'm here. Did you bring the stuff?"
"Got it." Jenny squinted towards him. "Don't move, just stand there!"
She suddenly shouted.
"What did we agree to exchange?"
"Water filter and nails!" Yu Hong replied imdiately.
"Good!"
Relieved, Jenny approached.
"Here." She handed over the small cloth bag.
Yu Hong took it, opened it, and saw a bunch of rusty nails as long as fingers.
"More than thirty pieces, enough for a while. But for just these, it's not enough in exchange for the water filter."
He looked at the other person.
"Add this." Jenny put down a backpack from behind, took out a patched long-sleeve sweatshirt from it.
"I guessed you needed a change of clothes. Else, getting wet from rain could make you sick."
She smiled at Yu Hong and winked.
"Deal!" Yu Hong nodded. He handed over the water filter and took the sweatshirt.
The gray sweatshirt was woven from so unknown fine grass and added animal fur, looking rather warm.
"This is made with wild boar skin. It's rainproof but won't handle prolonged rain, so be careful," Jenny advised. "It was originally made for my daughter. She works in the bunker in town and cos back once a month. Speaking of which, she's only a bit younger than you."
As she ntioned her daughter, a tender smile involuntarily spread across her face.
"You really love your daughter." Yu Hong packed away the clothes and nails.
"Yep, she's my pride and joy, combining the best traits of her father and . Beautiful, confident, capable, she can handle anything life throws at her," Jenny answered with a smile.
"By the way, if I want to contact you over a long distance, is there any way?"
"You could use a long-range communicator, but charging it is a hassle. It was useful before the Black Disaster but not much now," Jenny replied. "However, the postman has one, always in contact with the bunker in town."
"About charging it? How is that resolved?" Yu Hong asked quickly, his mind whirring.
"It uses a hand-crank generator, and there's solar power too, but because its efficiency has decreased over ti, it's more of a supplental solution now," Jenny answered. "Why, are you interested?"
She keenly guessed Yu Hong's intention.
"I have a small electrical device, being able to charge it would be a big help. When the postman returns, could you ask him if he sells the solar generators?" Yu Hong asked.
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