Chapter 36: Eat!

Oh oh, then let's rest a while.

Wei Dalei went along with it, just like Chen Mu, and sat down leaning on a pack of instant noodles.

"According to our current progress, we might still need until tomorrow to get back." Chen Mu calculated the time.

"What time is it now?"

"Around 2 p. m." Chen Mu, though not as good at estimating as Tang Jing, was roughly not far off.

"Too bad our phones don't work." Zhao Xiao Yan would sigh whenever she mentioned the time.

The school forbids students from bringing phones onto campus, but just like the ban on bringing snacks into the classroom, the so-called school rules are meant to be broken. Moreover, for students of this age, the importance of phones far exceeds that of snacks.

Including class monitor Dong Junwei, everyone would secretly hide their phones on their person and bring them to school.

Of course, Chen Mu was the exception.

His tuition was covered by the local government, his miscellaneous fees half self-funded through work-study and half waived by the school, but even so, he couldn't possibly have any spare money to buy a phone.

However, after the apocalypse descended, everyone's phones could no longer be turned on.

This seemed to confirm what Tang Jing said: many things cannot be simply scaled down proportionally.

According to Tang Xueshen's explanation, humans themselves, shrunk to this scale, would be unable to survive, but due to some mysterious force's influence, everyone remained unharmed.

But phones obviously did not receive such treatment.

Moreover, even if they could work, without a charger they wouldn't last long—even if they had a charger, they couldn't plug into the socket—even if they could plug in, there would be no electricity……

The three of them, idle, started chatting about all sorts of fantasies, the topics nothing more than "If we had phones now" or "If we could still play games" and the like.

Once basic survival was largely settled, humans inevitably thought of entertainment, and Chen Mu was no exception.

While they were chatting, Chen Mu suddenly slapped his forehead.

"Stupid."

"How come?"

Chen Mu didn't answer, turned around and stood up, reached out to touch the instant noodle package, and an opening as tall as a person appeared.

The packaging was very thin and light, easy to handle.

Wei Dalei laughed heartily: "Exactly, how could we forget to eat something that's right there."

He strode forward, grabbed a strand of instant noodles, exerted force to break off a small section, turned and handed it to Zhao Xiao Yan behind him.

Zhao Xiao Yan stared blankly at the instant noodle strand thicker than her thigh before her and asked, "Just gnaw on it like this?"

This could obviously no longer be called noodles.

But rather… a noodle pillar?

"Want me to help you smash it?" Wei Dalei asked, dazed.

"Never mind, let's just gnaw it."

Zhao Xiao Yan took the noodle, held it in her arms, and for a moment didn't know how to take a bite.

Chen Mu and Wei Dalei were much more rough, directly approaching the whole noodle block and biting into it.

"Not bad, I thought it would be very hard."

"Mmm… delicious!"

To be honest, after getting used to crude, poorly made rice crackers, the texture of the instant noodles was simply unbeatable; plus the noodle cake was already seasoned, making it a mountain delicacy and sea treasure for the three who hadn't tasted salt in ages.

"Wow, eating it dry is this delicious."

Zhao Xiao Yan, who had only ever eaten instant noodles once in her life, now complained all the more about her mother.

"Wait, don't just eat this, Old Wei, go take out the vegetable packet inside."

The dehydrated vegetable packet was extremely light in weight; Wei Dalei hardly expended any effort to pull one out from the instant noodle packaging.

Inside were colorful bits, and at a glance they looked very appetizing.

Chen Mu easily opened a hole, and then his whole body crawled inside.

Egg, beef, cabbage, carrot.

Happiness came too suddenly, and they didn't know what to choose.

He moved each item out in batches, and the three gathered around these delicious dishes, hardly able to believe it.

"If we go back, soaking them in hot water should make them even better, but for now, as the External Duty Hunting Squad, we have the privilege to first taste the fruits of our labor."

Chen Mu was in high spirits, urging the two to feast heartily together.

In fact, before he finished speaking, Wei Dalei had already lunged at a chunk of beef, tearing and chewing vigorously.

Zhao Xiao Yan crouched, leaned close to a piece of dried cabbage about half her size, sniffed it, opened her mouth, and took a bite.

"A bit hard, but it definitely tastes like cabbage." Zhao Xiao Yan moistened the dried vegetable with saliva in her mouth, and the more she chewed, the more flavorful it became.

Meanwhile, Wei Dalei had no time to speak.

He hadn't eaten meat for a week.

Old Wei had never been this miserable since birth.

Chen Mu also didn't hold back, holding a piece of dehydrated yellow egg granule and eating it with relish.

The texture was indeed not as good as a normal egg.

But for the three of them at this moment, it was already the ultimate delicacy.

"Go ahead and make more, there's plenty anyway."

"Boss, let me try your egg."

"Here, I'll also try some beef."

"……"

This meal went on for over twenty minutes straight.

But even when the three were nearly stuffed, these foods had barely been consumed.

After humans shrank, their demand for resources became so tiny it could be neglected; according to a rough calculation, the consumption of 7 billion people now equals only that of 7,000 people before.

Only 7,000 people remain in the world; this feeling is both desolate and affluent.

Moreover, it's impossible for everyone to survive.

According to Tang Jing's guess, surviving half of humanity in the face of various insects and animals in the first three days would already be remarkable.

Even if they could find a safe place.

Afterwards.

Unable to find food;

No clean drinking water;

Falling ill with no treatment;

Mental breakdown.

All kinds of problems will come one after another.

Only after a small portion of humanity becomes proficient in mastering and using Special Ability can basic survival be maintained.

But at that point, how many humans would remain is unknown.

……

……

The three rubbed their rarely full stomachs, then sat down again to rest.

"So refreshing." Wei Dalei sighed.

"I haven't been this full in a long time… burp…" Zhao Xiao Yan said, then suddenly burped and hastily covered her mouth out of embarrassment.

Chen Mu took out the small bottled water prepared before departure, opened the seal, and distributed it to the three.

At this point his ability could easily make a water bottle the size of a human, but the threads on the cap couldn't be made airtight; thus he could only make a few fully sealed plastic bottles, which he would open when they needed to drink.

Having eaten and drunk their fill.

The three rested again for about half an hour.

Then they resumed work.

Zhao Xiao Yan remained on watch, while Chen Mu slit the cardboard box from end to end and then helped Wei Dalei drag the instant noodles.

But honestly, his strength wasn't enough to pull a pack of instant noodles; most of the time he just stood aside directing the direction—after all, a whole pack of instant noodles is too bulky, and when Wei Dalei dragged it with all his strength, he often lost his sense of direction.

Soon.

Six unopened packs of instant noodles lay neatly flat on the ground.