Chapter 42: 42, Home is lost

It seemed as though Ren Xiaosu's eating the biscuits had caused Liu Bu to be deeply displeased with him.

But in truth, Ren Xiaosu had long understood that whether he ate those biscuits or not, Liu Bu's attitude toward him would remain equally hostile.

Thus, whether the convoy provided him food or not, Ren Xiaosu had already anticipated it; he simply hadn't expected them to be so blatant in their hostility.

This was for the best, for Ren Xiaosu was oddly at ease, no longer needing to tread carefully.

He had been mentally prepared for the situation.

He turned and walked toward the forest, only for Liu Bu to grow agitated: "Where are you going? If you run off now, you'll never make it back to the settlement beyond Barrier 113!"

If Ren Xiaosu left, they would waste another day; without a guide, they could not possibly traverse the woods to find the path to Jing Shan.

It must be said, Ren Xiaosu admired these people. The journey to Jing Shan still took five days, and last time, though they had lost their way early, they had eventually found their way out. If they ventured deeper for two or three days, they might never escape the forest.

This was no mere waste of a day—these pampered elites of the refuge had no inkling that they were now on someone else's turf...

Of course, Ren Xiaosu understood that people were bound by inertia. The elites of the refuge had long scorned the refugees; it was only natural they could not adjust quickly.

Ren Xiaosu turned back and grinned: "I'm going to find food. What's the rush?"

"I'm not panicking," Liu Bu awkwardly explained. "I'm just warning you—the guide who died last time was near here. Don't end up like him, dying mysteriously and delaying us."

The guide had led them astray, and after wandering for days, they had all sensed something was wrong. They had turned back to restart from Yunling, only for the guide to meet an accident while washing his face by the river that morning.

As they spoke, a staff member suddenly called out: "There are beast tracks on your land!"

Ren Xiaosu furrowed his brow. What beasts could there be? Few survived at the forest's edge, and humans had long barred large beasts beyond the outer barriers of the refuge. Rarely did any penetrate directly into Barrier 113.

Take the wolf packs that had attacked the factory—they were a rarity.

Everyone gathered to examine the tracks. The private soldiers were nonchalant; armed as they were, what had they to fear?

But when they saw the prints, they froze. The line of tracks stretched into the forest, each one nearly the size of a human head.

At the sight, the soldiers immediately raised their guns, tense and aiming into the depths of the woods. For reasons unknown, even armed, they felt no safety.

"Did you see these tracks last time?" someone trembled.

"No," someone shook their head.

Ren Xiaosu glanced at the prints and understood the creature's identity, his heart lightening.

Then he noticed the clearing where the band was setting up camp. Scattered there were remnants of their last encampment—trash, even food scraps. He spoke gravely: "It's a bear, drawn by the food scraps you left."

Liu Bu scoffed: "Nonsense. Do you think I don't know what a bear's claws look like?"

Ren Xiaosu followed the tracks into the forest. He had no intention of enlightening these fools about everything: "Ahem, perhaps it was a wild boar..."

Behind him, the group watched Ren Xiaosu vanish into the forest, unafraid of the tracks, undaunted by hidden dangers.

"That kid's got guts," Liu Bu drew a cold breath. "Doesn't he value his life?"

The private soldiers lowered their guns. If some monstrous beast lurked there, they could raise their guns when they heard Ren Xiaosu's screams.

These soldiers seemed carefree, yet the tremor in their voices betrayed their bravado.

Ren Xiaosu walked through the forest, recognizing at once the deer tracks.

He followed them because, in forests, tracking such large beasts often led to water sources—they, like humans, needed timely hydration.

Moreover, he wished to see the river where the guide had died.

According to Liu Bu, the guide had washed his face in the river, only for his face to be mysteriously devoured by something, leading to his immediate death.

Ren Xiaosu muttered inwardly, "What a fool." It was common knowledge that species hierarchies were evolving, yet herbivores remained herbivores, carnivores remained carnivores.

The guide, like many in the settlement, probably believed fish survived on aquatic plants. But Ren Xiaosu had once read a preserved book by Mr. Zhang stating that freshwater fish were mostly omnivorous, with few strictly herbivorous.

With such a chunk of flesh near their mouths, how could they resist?

Ren Xiaosu rejoiced in his knowledge, always seeking to replenish it. Otherwise, he might have met the same fate as the guide, unknowingly walking into peril.

He followed the tracks, deer being gentle creatures of the forest—unprovoked, they posed no threat.

Then he spotted wood shavings on a tree, clearly termite damage. At the roots, an earthen mound rose unnaturally around the trunk.

Ren Xiaosu eagerly kicked it open, revealing brown termites scurrying within. These creatures were thumb-sized, not particularly tasty, but nutritious.

In the settlements, many suffered chronic malnutrition; some relied on termites and their eggs as supplements. Finding a termite nest could brighten one's days...

But termites couldn't be eaten raw, as their formic acid was dangerous. Besides, Ren Xiaosu wasn't so desperate as to resort to them.

The termites scattered in confusion, their colony destroyed before they could comprehend. Ren Xiaosu plucked a large leaf, wrapping a piece of the nest and its inhabitants.

He snapped a branch, trimmed it with his bone knife into a makeshift spear, ready to fish...

He hadn't gone far when he returned, jabbing the spear into the nest until he found plump larvae, which he took with him...

The termites had suffered a catastrophe. To put it crudely, their home was gone, their mother was gone...