Chapter 53: Power Distribution Box

According to Chen Mu's original plan, he wanted to use the towels in the storage room to make a few changes of clothes for everyone; after all, in this summer not bathing is already unbearable, and having no clothes to change is truly inhumane.

Fortunately, in the first few days everyone was under survival pressure and didn't pay much attention to this, but as time passed and food and security were resolved, the hygiene problem began to stand out.

But for now.

There isn't a very good solution yet.

He Ying initially kept fiddling with the short sword in her hand, but as they got closer to the destination, her mood grew heavier.

Chen Mu understood.

She was afraid that something might happen to her three companions while she was away.

The journey had been uneventful.

They encountered an earthworm, two groups of ants hurriedly transporting supplies, and a slow-moving green worm.

The sight of that green worm wriggling made even Chen Mu feel a little nauseous, but He Ying seemed hardly affected, and even Sun Yuan, who usually liked to shout, seemed accustomed to it.

It seems these two have spent far more time running outside than Chen Mu, and their experience is quite rich.

Chen Mu increasingly felt that recruiting He Ying was a wise move; for the original nine of Class 4, Senior Year 3, He Ying made up for many things they lacked.

Chen Mu originally wanted to try killing that green worm, because in his mind such creatures had long been on the food list; if given the chance, he indeed wanted to dissect it to see how much edible part it had.

But thinking there were more important matters, he could only temporarily give up.

Moreover, though it looks slow-moving, if truly attacked it would desperately roll and resist, and if one were careless, injury was possible.

However, they hadn't walked long.

The three then encountered several lone ants.

This time Chen Mu didn't hesitate; he went up and killed one outright.

Ordinary Little Yellow ants, to humans at this size were no bigger than former mice; although their shells were indeed hard and their strength frightening, the size difference was too great, and Chen Mu, armed with a weapon, easily killed it.

Ants are also said to be a medicinal ingredient.

Using them as food is certainly no problem.

But when Chen Mu cut open this ant, he found its interior differed from his imagination: the thorax held two tubes, one thick and one thin, likely the esophagus and nerve, while the abdomen was mostly filled with the stomach, the rest being some intestines.

The structure is very simple.

But it appears to have little muscle.

"What are you doing?"

He Ying wasn't too afraid of insects and ants, but seeing Chen Mu do this, she also felt a bit unaccustomed.

"Let's see if there are any edible parts on it."

"Eat ants?" He Ying felt even worse.

"Well, the food we have will eventually run out, whether instant noodles or flour and rice." Chen Mu sighed, stood up, and said: "Vegetarian food can be gathered from wild plants, but meat must rely on hunting; normal pigs, cattle, and sheep are obviously beyond our current capability, so insects like ants are the primary choice."

He Ying certainly understood this as well, but the thought of eating ants made her feel nauseous.

"So you're dissecting it to look for meat?"

"Hmm." Chen Mu nodded: "But looking at it now, ants don't seem to be ideal food; their organs and shells should be edible, but psychologically they'd probably be hard to accept."

"Very hard to accept." He Ying quickly agreed.

"You could also crush it all into patties, or dry and grind it into powder, and try later when the chance arises."

"Hmm, we'll talk later." He Ying really didn't want to continue this topic.

"Are we almost there?"

The three walked another twenty-plus minutes; Chen Mu estimated the time, figuring they'd walked over an hour.

"Yeah, it's just behind that little house."

They walked another half hour.

Until they returned once more to the vicinity of the cafeteria's main building.

Only then did Chen Mu see that silver-gray metal power distribution box.

This thing isn't big; before, it reached up to a person's waist, but now it looks like a skyscraper, of course, compared to the surrounding houses it's still not large.

The floor-standing power distribution box is located in the middle of a lawn, with a small path leading to it.

In Chen Mu's view, this place is quite dangerous; just any worms crawling out of the grass would be enough to frighten someone.

But perhaps precisely because of that.

He Ying and her group being so close to the cafeteria, they also hadn't been discovered by the people of Yi Zhong.

Moreover, the metal power distribution box has decent sealing; entry and exit rely only on a ventilation hole big enough for one person to crawl in and out, so large animals aren't much of a worry either.

As they got closer, Chen Mu's vigilance increased a bit.

He Ying's steps became noticeably hurried.

"Under normal circumstances, the three of them would guard one side of the ventilation hole; if someone barged in, they'd attack directly, and I'll go knock the signal."

He Ying said this and was about to go up and knock on the metal casing of the power distribution box.

But Sun Yuan stopped her: "Wait, senior."

"What's wrong?"

"It sounds like there's someone else inside."

"Huh?"

He Ying not only didn't stop her steps, she became even more eager to go inside.

"Don't rush, let Sun Yuan listen first." Chen Mu grabbed her.

He Ying, worried and flustered, calmed down then and realized she had been too rash just now.

"They seem to be chatting, and no conflict has occurred." Sun Yuan said after listening carefully.

"What are you saying?"

"There's a layer of metal, I can't hear very clearly; why don't we get a bit closer?"

They were about a meter from the distribution box at this point, and it was already no small feat for Sun Yuan to hear the sounds inside.

However, before Chen Mu could make a decision, a person slowly crawled out from the ventilation hole on one side of the distribution box.

"It's Feng Xiao Yu."

He Ying said a sentence, then explained: "She's a junior from the second year of high school; although she hasn't awakened any abilities, she's very quick-witted."

The one who came out was a female student; she struggled to crawl out of the ventilation hole, and after straightening her body, she immediately waved at them.

"How did she know we were coming?"

"Through the gap in the distribution box door, one can observe the outside."

"Looking at it this way, the people who came indeed have no ill intent, but it's still better to be careful." Chen Mu saw that the girl named Feng Xiao Yu showed no panic on her face, but rather some delight.

He Ying nodded.

The three of them walked over.

"Senior, you're back!"

"Hmm, what people have come?" He Ying pulled Feng Xiao Yu closer to herself and asked in a low voice.

"Yes, yes."

Feng Xiao Yu's voice clearly showed excitement as she laughed and said: "Those are the people Li Xu mentioned before; they're our own from Ziwei High School, and they've set up a huge camp on the sports field, saying they'll come pick us up."

Chen Mu and He Ying both froze at the same time, glanced at each other, and for a moment didn't know what to say.