Chapter 117 - 115: We Will Have Meat to Eat All Winter This Year

The anticipated pain of countless thorns piercing the back of her hands never came. The thorny vines were surprisingly soft; upon impact, they simply yielded to the sides, revealing a winding path leading downward. With nothing left to block her fall, her body plunged straight toward the path and tumbled down the slope.

It was a steep incline. Sev tumbled continuously for over twenty meters before slamming into a branch—as thick as a bowl—jutting out diagonally across the center of the trail, which finally brought her to a halt.

Sev felt thoroughly battered and dizzy. Fortunately, her back had taken the brunt of the impact; had it been her chest, the pain would have been unbearable. She caught her breath, slowly sat up against the tree trunk, and raised her eyes to take in her surroundings.

The first thing that caught her eye was a massive patch of carrot tops. She was certain they were carrot tops because their mutation degree was relatively low. Those green, feathery, fan-like leaves were highly recognizable.

Sev decisively took out her Detection Knife and sliced off a leaf. A voice broadcast quickly sounded:

"BEEP! Low-mutation mutated carrot detected. Radiation level: 28. Classified as a double-low plant, suitable for mass consumption.

"The probability of encountering double-low plants is extremely rare. Congratulations, gatherer! You’ve been struck by a lucky star. Best of luck to you!"

Such an enthusiastic voice prompt had never existed in the original owner’s memories, and it was the first time Sev had encountered it since transmigrating into this world.

Looking at the vast patch before her, and then back up the steep slope she had just rolled down, Sev knew that without a Tactical Backpack, she couldn’t possibly take all of this with her. She immediately contacted Hayden Hanson.

"Come quick! I found a huge patch of carrots!

"When you get here, push aside the curtain of thorny vines. The slope is really steep, so be careful not to fall!"

It took Hayden a full half hour to arrive. When Sev sent the message, he had been in the middle of harvesting some mutated noodle weed. It was rare to come across such tender noodle weed, so naturally, he couldn’t bear to leave it behind.

Upon arriving at the curtain of thorny vines Sev had mentioned, Hayden left his handcart behind, covering it carefully with vines before parting the thicket and cautiously stepping inside.

By the time Hayden reached the bottom of the slope, Sev had only managed to dig up a dozen or so carrots. She was digging them up whole, roots and all, because carrot tops were quite tasty too. Whatever they couldn’t finish eating could be dried and preserved.

Seeing Hayden approach, she eagerly called out, "Come quick! Look, there’s a whole patch waiting for us to harvest!"

"I’m riding your coattails today," Hayden said. Mutated carrots were incredibly difficult to find in the wild, let alone a patch this large. Thankfully, the curtain of thorny vines had hidden them away; otherwise, Scavengers would have dug the area clean ages ago.

The two of them didn’t spare any more time for idle chatter and simply buried themselves in the work.

Even though the mutation degree was low, each carrot weighed an average of three to five pounds. Looking at the massive, orange-red roots, Sev felt a profound sense of happiness.

They dug continuously for over two hours before finally clearing the entire patch. Visually estimating the haul, excluding the tops, the total weight easily exceeded four hundred pounds. Sev purposefully left behind a few carrots with weaker-looking tops, hoping they would grow and multiply by next year.

Hayden knew her approach meant missing out on some immediate gains, but he didn’t stop her. He understood the wisdom of not draining the pond to catch all the fish, even if they weren’t the ones to benefit from it in the future.

Having dug up the final carrot, Sev straightened her back and stretched her stiff muscles.

Suddenly, a breeze swept past, bringing with it a faint scent of camphor mixed with lemon. The fragrance was very familiar to her. Back in college, a roommate of hers had bought a bottle of perfume called "The Secret Realm of Plants," which smelled exactly like this.

Sev had loved that perfume too, though, of course, she could never bring herself to spend money on it. However, she had looked it up at the time and found that its primary ingredient was eucalyptus leaf extract. Because of that, she had deliberately searched for eucalyptus in encyclopedias, committing its unique leathery, sickle-shaped, lanceolate leaves to memory.

Following the source of the fragrance, Sev walked a dozen meters before spotting a towering eucalyptus tree.

All the plants in this area had a relatively low degree of mutation. The leaves of this mutated eucalyptus tree were only two or three times larger than regular eucalyptus leaves. While eucalyptus leaves were toxic, when used in the correct dosage, steeping them in water could provide antibacterial and anti-inflammatory benefits, as well as relieve respiratory symptoms like colds, coughs, and nasal congestion.

They could also be used externally to clean wounds and repel mosquitoes. Tossing a few leaves in a wardrobe could even prevent moth damage. Most importantly, they could be dried and preserved, used as incense to purify the air, and refresh the mind. Using them in a foot bath or a regular bath could also help relieve fatigue and promote blood circulation.

Considering how astronomically expensive medicine was in the safe zone, Sev decided to gather some to take back as an herbal reserve.

Hayden trusted Sev implicitly by now. Hearing her list the many benefits of eucalyptus leaves, he didn’t hesitate to join her in picking them. Unfortunately, after plucking just a few leaves, he noticed red rashes breaking out on his face and hands.

He was actually allergic to eucalyptus leaves! Helpless, he could only watch as Sev continued picking them by herself.

Feeling frustrated, Hayden scanned the nearby ground, hoping to find more edible wild greens. Suddenly, he noticed a small bulge near the roots on one side of the eucalyptus tree. Out of habit, he took out his shovel and dug into it. The bulge felt relatively soft, almost like a hollow cavity.

His interest instantly piqued, he continued digging deeper. Soon, a smooth, tunnel-like insect burrow was exposed. Brushing aside the dirt, Hayden found a fat, thick, white grub that looked squishy and soft. It was curled into a ring, its body covered in transverse ridges. Its head was shiny and black, looking as if it were wearing a tiny hat.

Bending a vine into a hook, Hayden fished it out and exclaimed excitedly, "What a fat bug! I wonder if it’s edible?"

Sev looked up and recognized it instantly—a Witch Grub!

She had seen a documentary about them before. The indigenous people of Ostrania considered them a gift from the earth, and tribes would gather to feast on them during celebrations. They were said to be rich in protein and fat, serving as nature’s perfect Energy bar.

The one Hayden had dug up was clearly a mutated larva. It was a good sixty centimeters long and as thick as an adult’s arm. Estimating its weight to be around three or four pounds, Sev looked at it as if she were staring at the precious fats and oils she so desperately craved. She didn’t find it disgusting in the slightest.

Unfortunately, there were usually only one or two of these grubs under a single tree. Hayden finding even one was sheer dumb luck.

"It looks delicious," Sev said with a smile. "Let’s take it back and test it. If it’s not poisonous, I guarantee I can turn it into a gourmet meal."

Her current persona was that of an orphaned child in the wasteland; she couldn’t possibly know everything. She had already revealed a bit too much in front of Hayden, so now she had to play dumb.

Hayden thought her words made sense, so he grabbed a vacuum-sealed bag, tossed the grub inside, and stuffed it into his Tactical Backpack. Seeing that Sev was still busy harvesting eucalyptus leaves, he continued searching the area, hoping his luck would hold out and he’d dig up another fat grub.

Not far away, beneath the shadowy canopy of a towering eucalyptus tree, he spotted a relatively short, sickly-looking tree. It had leaves shaped like miniature Christmas trees, and at the base of each petiole grew a pair of hard, sharp armor plates that resembled oversized steel needles.

It looked rather intimidating, but unfortunately, the tree was clearly dying. Hayden lowered his gaze and noticed that the bark near the ground had blackened and peeled away, exposing the wood underneath. Looking at the ground around the roots, he saw numerous bulging mounds of various sizes on the soil surface, looking as if the roots had sprouted a string of tumors.

Recalling his previous success with digging up the fat grub, Hayden was immediately energized. Brandishing his shovel, he began digging fiercely.

Soon, another fat grub was exposed to the sunlight. Then came another! And another!

Sev remembered from a program she had once watched that Witch Grubs would only appear in clusters under a sick and dying Golden Acacia tree. Under healthy conditions, the grubs would scatter to different parts of the root system, each claiming its own territory. Thus, one could typically only dig up one or two.

Only when a tree was severely weakened, and its root system began to rot and lose its defensive capabilities, would this happen. At that point, the originally scattered larvae would be drawn together by the rotting matter, resulting in the phenomenon of them appearing in clusters.

Such an occurrence was incredibly rare. Sev felt like they truly had been struck by a lucky star today!

She couldn’t even bother to continue picking eucalyptus leaves now. As long as she remembered this spot, she could come back for the leaves anytime. She hurried over to help Hayden dig. By the end of it, the two of them had unearthed over thirty fat grubs!

"Hanson, I feel like we’ll have meat for the entire winter." Sev’s voice trembled with excitement.

Treating this spot as their own secret base, the two of them cast several reluctant glances back as they left. After climbing back up the slope, Hayden swung his axe and chopped down a good number of branches, while Sev haphazardly picked a few mutated goosefoot plants and stuffed them into a torn sack.

With Hayden pulling the handcart in the front and Sev pushing from behind, they made their way all the way back to the safe zone.