Chapter 41: Surrounded by Wolves

In order to remove all the toxins from the cassava, Xu Yi roasted it for a long time. After more than an hour, he finally cleared away the soil covering it. While the sweet cassava was roasting, Xu Yi had spent that hour using a stone chisel to hollow out the charred wood from inside his wooden bucket. By now, the bucket finally looked like a proper container. Xu Yi had even burned two small holes through the sides, threading vines through them to serve as a handle. The bucket was now nearly 40 centimeters deep and ready to hold items. He figured that burning it for another five centimeters or so would be enough; the bottom needed to remain thick to bear a greater load.

Once the temperature of the cassava dropped, Xu Yi broke off a piece. "Daddy will eat first to see if it's poisonous." Upon breaking it open, he smelled a delicate fragrance. The inside of the cassava resembled a steamed yam, with a slightly translucent appearance that looked very appetizing. Xu Yi peeled off the skin and took a bite.

[Number 1 is too reckless! He doesn't even know if it's sweet or bitter cassava, eating it just like that—isn't he afraid of being poisoned?]
[It's probably bitter cassava; Number 9577 dug some up too, but he's been soaking it in water and still doesn't dare to eat it.]
[Number 1, please don't get poisoned! If you get poisoned, what will happen to Keke? It will terrify her!]
[You guys are being too biased. You don't care about Keke being scared, just about Number 1 getting poisoned?]

Xu Yi didn't swallow it immediately; he chewed it for a good while. If it were poisonous, his mouth should have felt bitter or numb, but it didn't. There was only sweetness; this cassava was incredibly sweet. He felt it was no less sweet than a sweet potato. Of course, he had done this on purpose; he needed to show the audience. He had already known from the system scan that it was sweet cassava and that as long as it was cooked, it was completely non-toxic.

"It tastes very sweet—it's definitely sweet cassava." With that, Xu Yi picked up another piece and handed it to Su Keke. She took it happily, knowing that Xu Yi had just said it tasted sweet. Children are especially fond of sweets. She took a bite; the texture was soft and glutinous, and it was delicious.

"Daddy, it's so sweet! This tastes so sweet—it's like a yam, but sweeter than a yam."

"Yes, this can be our staple food. The human body cannot do without carbohydrates. The existence of this stuff is extremely beneficial for our survival." Even if they didn't eat meat for a few days, as long as they had enough carbohydrate intake, the impact wouldn't be particularly severe. Moreover, the cassava he dug up today was quite large; each piece weighed over a pound. It was very filling, and one piece was enough for a meal. They had eaten two, leaving eleven left. Perhaps there was more of this sweet cassava nearby. Xu Yi had already memorized what the plant looked like; from now on, he would be able to recognize it even without using X-ray vision to look underground.

"I'm so full. This tastes better than meat." Su Keke had finished a whole piece of cassava and had also drunk plenty of water, her belly rounded. Xu Yi was also full, and he felt his mood lift significantly. Humans truly cannot lack carbohydrate intake; otherwise, it is easy to become depressed. In severe cases, symptoms like palpitations and weakness can occur.

After resting for a while, Xu Yi climbed the tree and untied the snakeskin. He didn't remove the vines from the skin, so if it rained again, he could quickly tie it back up to shelter from the rain. Once everything was packed up and the fire was completely extinguished, Xu Yi took Su Keke and set off to continue searching for a water source. The rainwater on the ground had already been absorbed by the earth, leaving only some dampness.

"Strange, why isn't there a single animal?" Xu Yi thought that after the heavy rain, those animals would have been hungry for a day and should have come out to forage. Yet, he hadn't spotted any herbivores or omnivores, nor had he seen any trace of animals at all. Even snakes were nowhere to be found. It is better to have a diverse diet, eating both meat and vegetables to ensure sufficient nutrition. If there were no traces of animals, how could he find a water source? After all, animals need to drink water too. Only in places lacking water would there be no animals.

Before he knew it, it was noon again. Xu Yi and Su Keke stopped to roast two more pieces of cassava. Today, aside from failing to find any animals, they hadn't even found any more cassava. The lack of any harvest made Xu Yi feel anxious.

Last night's torrential rain hadn't just affected Xu Yi and Su Keke; it had also impacted Lu Ning. Because she was underprepared, the fire beneath her camp was extinguished, leading three jungle gray wolves to seek shelter under her wooden hut. They weren't just there to hide from the rain; they were eyeing Lu Ning, intending to hunt her. Although Lu Ning had a stone axe and a spear, she was alone and could not handle three adult jungle gray wolves. Fortunately, her treehouse was built high enough that the wolves couldn't leap directly onto it. If they jumped, Lu Ning could use her spear to attack them, so she was relatively safe staying in her loft and facing off against the wolves. She had stored quite a bit of dried mountain rat meat and some water, so lasting for a few days wasn't a problem.

However, she was worried that more wolves would appear. The longer the situation dragged on, the more disadvantageous it became for her. Therefore, she had to find a way to drive these wolves back and show them her strength. That way, the next time they smelled her scent, they would avoid her. This was the instinct animals followed; if they were driven back by a strong enemy, they would remember the scent and try to avoid it. Unless they felt they had gained enough strength to challenge you, they would not launch another attack.

Fire is the perfect weapon for dealing with all kinds of animals. Therefore, she planned to chop down the trees she used as pillars for her camp and then find a way to set them on fire. She had a stone axe, so chopping down trees was no problem at all. Using vines to make a foot loop and a safety buckle, she climbed up a tree. Above the roof, Lu Ning swung her stone axe, chopping away with a steady *thud, thud, thud*. Below, the jungle gray wolves kept their heads tilted, howling at Lu Ning. They hadn't given up on her; they were still attempting to tear her to shreds.

Chopping down a tree from high up with a stone axe was exhausting work because you needed a lot of strength to stabilize your body and even more strength to hack at the tree than you would on the ground. Fortunately, Lu Ning had excellent physical fitness, significantly stronger than the average man. It took a full twenty minutes before Lu Ning finally chopped one down, aiming it directly at the jungle gray wolves below. She hoped to injure or even kill them.