Chapter 14 : The Crazy Search

The man was taken aback, his expression slightly changed, and he pretended to be ignorant, saying, "What do you mean?"

Li Tianran smiled, leaning halfway against the car window, and said, "These are all foxes from a thousand years ago. What kind of Strange Tales are you trying to play with me? If you dare to take a bite in front of me, I'll buy them all!"

"Don't you believe me?" the man countered.

"Enough, clear the way..." Li Tianran didn't have the patience to continue the confrontation. He pretended to take out his phone and said, "Otherwise, I'll call the police."

"No, no, no!" The man quickly waved his hand, a look of embarrassment on his face. "If you don't want to buy, then forget it. Don't ruin my business... Brother, I'll move my car right away."

Buzz!

The truck that was blocking the road in the middle finally moved, creating a gap for the car to pass. Li Tianran stepped on the accelerator and swiftly drove past.

"Brother, was he a scammer?" witnessed all of this, blinked her eyes and asked.

"Yes!" Li Tianran nodded. From the moment the man opened his bag, he recognized that the fruits and vegetables were irradiated. Although the radiation level wasn't severe and the external appearance wasn't very obvious, after years of farming experience, if he couldn't see the abnormalities on the surface of these fruits and vegetables, then he would truly be worthless. "He's a scammer, and one of the worst kind."

In the current global cataclysm, there were plenty of people trying to make a fortune. Li Tianran didn't mind some unscrupulous businessmen trying to pass off inferior products as something better, but at least they should have some bottom line!

Just like before the Cataclysm, those who sold fake medicine to the elderly on the streets, their product boxes were labeled as "Deer Antler Ginseng Capsules," but the main ingredient was actually potato starch. However, at least potato starch wouldn't kill people, right?

Eating irradiated fruits and vegetables could be deadly!

In the past, people like this, who sought wealth at the cost of lives, would have been caught and executed a hundred times over. But now, these people were acting more brazenly.

From this, Li Tianran felt even more strongly that the impact of the apocalypse on the world was not limited to just food shortages. Even the control and effectiveness of the police and military had weakened significantly!

Suddenly, Li Tianran remembered a sentence from the system's prompt: "Establish a new civilization in the ruins."

Could this be a harbinger... that the current order and civilization would completely collapse after the Cataclysm arrived?

Li Tianran whispered, "The current system has not yet collapsed. Once the Second Cataclysm arrives and the rivers and water sources disappear, it's likely that even the police and military won't be able to suppress the riots."

Li Tianran took a deep breath. He certainly didn't want the system to collapse and civilization to crumble. But he wasn't a god and couldn't single-handedly change the world.

Now, he could only ensure his own safety first before considering how to help others or the country.

...

The experiences he witnessed that night further motivated Li Tianran's diligence.

Only by seizing the opportunity of the system farm and working hard would he and Hanhan avoid the fate of being like stray cats and dogs on the roadside!

After returning to the farm, Hanhan clamored for a late-night snack.

Children had abundant energy and consumed a lot, especially at Hanhan's age when they were growing. So, she needed to eat four meals a day, or she would wake up hungry in the middle of the night.

Li Tianran skillfully tied an apron around himself.

His daily tasks were simple now.

Cooking, farming, and harvesting.

However, perhaps inheriting his parents' nature in his genes, he didn't find this life monotonous. On the contrary, he took pleasure in it. Watching the delicious food he made with his own hands being devoured by Hanhan, he felt a strange sense of satisfaction.

The lamb he slaughtered a few days ago had been thawed. Li Tianran cut two white radishes into small pieces the size of fingertips. He added water to the pot, blanched the lamb to remove any remaining blood, and washed it again with cold water. Then he slowly stewed the lamb in an iron pot.

He didn't use too many seasonings, just some shredded ginger.

The flavor of the lamb itself was already delicious enough, and it didn't need heavy seasonings. Putting in too much would ruin it.

The small fire slowly transmitted heat through the iron pot, and soon, the pot started to bubble.

After about half an hour, the aroma of the lamb began to waft through the room. Li Tianran added the radish pieces and sprinkled them with salt.

At this point, Hanhan was already standing outside the kitchen, holding her small bowl, eagerly waiting for the moment when the late-night snack would be ready.

Ten minutes later, the radish had cooked completely. Li Tianran lightly pierced a piece of lamb with chopsticks and found no resistance, as it went through easily.

Seeing this, Li Tianran sprinkled green onions on top.

"The lamb and radish soup is ready!"

This late-night snack was of high standard.

The siblings, besides each having a bowl of lamb and radish soup, also nibbled on two peppered lamb trotters and had a dessert after the meal... a plate of cherries for each.

Eating too much at night obviously goes against the principles of health and wellness.

However, for some reason, since starting to consume radiation-resistant vegetables, Li Tianran felt that his appetite was growing larger and larger. Eating so much at once didn't cause any discomfort, and he only felt about 70% full!

More importantly, it seemed that Hanhan had an even bigger appetite than him.

Look, the bowl of cherries in front of her was already empty...

"It seems that as physical fitness improves, the demand for nutrients will also increase..." Li Tianran pondered, then glanced at Hanhan, whose data had also noticeably increased. "If this continues, could she develop into a humanoid tyrannosaurus? Eating several tons of meat in one meal?"

Li Tianran was startled by his own speculation, but he quickly calmed down.

It didn't seem like a big deal.

With the shelter system, even if Hanhan's appetite in the future was comparable to that of Monkey D. Luffy, he could still afford to provide for her!

After eating their fill, Li Tianran habitually logged into the Nan City forum.

In the current situation, it was not always possible to obtain the truth about the outside world from official reports. Only in this mixed internet space could there be more information for exchange.

As soon as he opened the forum, numerous posts surged in.

Most of them were about people's recent experiences, the difficulties encountered in grabbing food, and various terrifying encounters they witnessed.

For example, someone saw a homeless person being attacked by mutated monsters and gnawed to the bone. Another person posted about how they had turned against their longtime friend and got into a fight over a few pounds of rice...

Li Tianran casually clicked on a post.

"Jade Beauty (OP): Lately, there have been many incidents around our village of livestock turning into mutants and attacking humans. This afternoon, my father slaughtered the big water buffalo that we've raised for over ten years, wuwuwu... I feel so heartbroken! I used to often ride on its back and play. To commemorate it, my dad sawed off its horns and made them into a horn comb. My heart feels heavy now, tears uncontrollably flow when I look at the horn comb..."

Li Tianran sighed silently as he read the post. Such incidents had been happening frequently lately, and many people were forced to kill their beloved pets that they had raised for many years. There were even military and police forces going out to capture and kill stray cats and dogs.

He continued reading the comments. Suddenly, his expression froze.

"Lovesick Person (2nd floor): I guess the OP is combing her hair with one hand and gnawing on the buffalo meat with the other. Heartbroken? That doesn't exist!"

"Just Left with Handsome (3rd floor): Can you send me a few pounds of the big water buffalo's carcass? I want to commemorate it with you..."

"Helpless (3rd floor): Can I have half of the remaining horn and meat to eat, and the other half to release?"

"All is Vanity (4th floor): I am the big water buffalo! Moo moo moo! Now, I'm back from the dead to say a few words. OP, why don't you use your grandfather's skull as a chamber pot to commemorate him? Just wait until midnight, and I'll bring you the whole happiness at your doorstep!"

"Jade Beauty (OP): @All is Vanity Fuck off!"

Li Tianran finally couldn't help but burst into laughter.

What was originally a sad incident suddenly took a drastic turn with the ridiculous responses from these internet users.

He exited that post and refreshed the page again.

Immediately, several posts with the same title caught his eye.

"High Reward! Seeking information about the poster who predicted the apocalypse three days ago!"

"Mysterious poster in the forum who made the doomsday prophecy, urgently sought! Generous rewards for information providers!"

"A reward of 300,000..."

Li Tianran scrolled down, and his expression became increasingly grim. Among ten posts, there were actually two or three with similar content!

This meant that the other party had been tirelessly searching for him since three days ago!

"They're so persistent..." Li Tianran frowned. "It will never end, will it?"