Super Soldier in the City
Chapter 1054 - 1097: Lizards and Scorpions as Food

Chapter 1054: Chapter 1097: Lizards and Scorpions as Food

Xu Shanshan finally fell asleep, but the saintly woman hadn’t. Lowering her voice, she said, "Yifei, is the chance of us surviving and getting out of the desert very slim?"

Li Yifei, careful not to wake Xu Shanshan and more importantly, to not shake her morale, responded honestly to the saintly woman, whose willpower was evidently strong, "Indeed, but it’s not completely hopeless. It all depends on our luck now. If there’s no rescue, with the water we have left, I can guarantee to sustain us for a week. We must leave during this week or find a water source to replenish our supplies."

The saintly woman spoke softly, "A week, I hope our luck isn’t that bad."

"If we were outside, a week would suffice for many things, but here in the desert, unable to discern direction, lacking water and food, we’ll face many difficulties."

"Oh, then I’ll trust you. You’ll definitely lead us out."

"Mm, I definitely do not want to die; I still have so many things left undone."

"That’s right, you have so many wives at home. If you died, they would all be widows. Hehe, what you’re probably most worried about isn’t them being widows, but them marrying someone else, which would hurt you even more."

"Hehe, yes, so I cannot die. I must get out, for them, and I must bring you two with me. Now, let’s sleep. Sleep reduces consumption."

"Mm." The saintly woman agreed, then stopped talking. Soon, both she and Li Yifei fell into a deep sleep.

The next day, as temperatures rose, the three woke up one after another. Li Yifei, the first to awaken, crawled out of their small, cool shelter and took another round near the plane wreckage, hoping to find something valuable. However, finding absolutely nothing but charred remains, especially of the bodies, would have made anyone else feel nauseous, unless they were as mentally resilient as him.

While the sun was not yet strong and the ground still retained some coolness, Li Yifei searched around. Shortly after, he found six small lizards and two scorpions. As the sun rose, these creatures disappeared completely, hiding under the sand, and catching them became significantly challenging for Li Yifei.

Xu Shanshan and the saintly woman were stunned to see Li Yifei return with lizards and scorpions. Xu Shanshan stuttered, "Brother-in-law, you’re not really making us eat these, are you?"

Li Yifei laughed and said, "Yes, I’m sure you’ve never tried them. These things are actually delicious, and you usually can’t even get them."

"Gross, I’d never eat those," Xu Shanshan’s head shook like a rattle drum.

Even the usually calm and graceful saintly woman couldn’t help but grimace and said, "Are those edible? Especially the scorpions, aren’t they poisonous?"

Li Yifei laughed and explained, "Scorpions are poisonous, but only the tails are. Remove the tails, and the meat on the body is poison-free."

"How do we eat them? Raw? Surely you don’t have a lighter on you, those aren’t allowed on planes," the saintly woman asked with a tight face.

Proudly, Li Yifei pulled out an object, saying, "No need for a lighter, many things can start a fire." It turned out to be a magnifying glass, which he had found in the wreckage.

Li Yifei popped open a small device with his keychain, revealing a sharp little knife, which was small enough to be carried on the plane. He first used the knife to roughly process the lizards and scorpions, then he gathered some dry grass.

Although the desert appears barren, some plants still manage to survive, so finding some dry grass wasn’t that difficult. Li Yifei also found some rags, and using the magnifying glass with the sunlight, he quickly ignited the dry grass. He then used the rags to enhance the fire, and soon, the six lizards and two scorpions were roasted.

Neither of the three had eaten much on the plane, and having not eaten all day, they naturally grew hungry. The scent of the roasted lizards and scorpions was surprisingly tantalizing, causing Xu Shanshan and the saintly woman to salivate—people like them were typically unaccustomed to feeling hunger.

But the thought of eating lizards and scorpions immediately killed their appetite.

Li Yifei handed two lizards to Xu Shanshan, saying, "Shanshan, try it. It’s really tasty."

"No, no, I’d rather die," Xu Shanshan shook her head repeatedly, retreating, and flatly refused to take the lizards offered by Li Yifei.

"Yanzi, how about you? Don’t tell me you’re afraid to try them too."

The saintly woman gave a wry smile and said, "I think I can hold on for now. I’ll pass for the moment."

No matter how much Li Yifei tried to persuade them, Xu Shanshan and the holy woman simply refused to eat, which left Li Yifei with no choice. Considering they weren’t starving to a critical degree yet, he thought, "If they won’t eat, so be it."

"Fine, if you won’t eat, I will," Li Yifei said, casting them a glance before stuffing a scorpion into his mouth.

Listening to the crunching noise from Li Yifei’s mouth, both the holy woman and Xu Shanshan felt nauseous and quickly crawled into their small shelter.

Li Yifei shook his head and ended up eating the two scorpions. Each was only slightly bigger than a thumb, hardly enough to quell his hunger. Even if he had consumed all six lizards, it would not have been enough, but he didn’t eat the lizards. Instead, he carefully stored them in his backpack. Opportunities to find food during the day were rare, so it was best to save them in case Xu Shanshan and the holy woman became desperate enough to eat, and it would also provide him a bit of energy. He thought they would manage without problems today.

After enduring a day of waiting in the small shelter, no rescue teams came, affirming Li Yifei’s suspicion that not only had the plane experienced engine trouble before the crash but its entire communication equipment malfunctioned as well. This was highly irregular; planes not only malfunction but also undergo strict inspections before taking off, ensuring even minor issues are rectified long before they become serious.

This strongly suggested sabotage. As to why the plane was sabotaged and who the target might have been was unclear, it could even have been targeting him.

But without any evidence, Li Yifei decided not to speculate for now. His current priority was figuring out how to survive and exit the desert.

After a day of waiting, Xu Shanshan and the holy woman grew anxious. Xu Shanshan particularly blamed the Australian officials for not locating such a large aircraft until now.

Li Yifei comforted Xu Shanshan and, while the sun was just setting and it wasn’t dark yet, he attempted to catch more lizards, but the ground was still very hot, and none were visible.

Once it cooled down at night, they still couldn’t see any creatures, so Li Yifei had to give up.

Back in the shelter, Xu Shanshan kept complaining about being hungry, but whenever Li Yifei offered her lizard meat, she immediately claimed she wasn’t hungry. This went back and forth several times until, from sheer hunger, Xu Shanshan finally fell asleep.

The holy woman didn’t complain of hunger, but she clearly was suffering too. However, her formidable strength meant she could cope with the hunger for the time being.

The next morning, Li Yifei woke up before dawn and, once it was light, started catching lizards. This time he was quite successful, catching around thirty lizards and more than ten scorpions. After cooking them, he ate all the scorpions, finally feeling full and energized.

After two days without food, Xu Shanshan had grown weak from hunger. Li Yifei knew this couldn’t continue, forcibly pinched her nose, and stuffed some lizard meat into her mouth.

Xu Shanshan struggled for a bit but then stopped wriggling and commented, "Actually, it tastes pretty good."

Li Yifei gave her a look and said, "I told you to eat earlier. You refused and ended up like this. I really can’t understand you."

"Those things really look disgusting," Xu Shanshan pouted, but she shied away from touching the lizards herself. She grimaced and said, "Brother-in-law, tear it up for me to eat, otherwise I feel uneasy just looking at it."

Li Yifei laughed and sighed, "Alright, alright, after all that fuss and you still eat." He then tore up the lizards and handed them to Xu Shanshan, who started to eat heartily.

The holy woman, also very hungry by this point, and seeing Xu Shanshan able to eat, felt her hunger intensify. She nudged Li Yifei and said, "What about me?"

Li Yifei asked with a curious tone, "You don’t want me to tear it open for you too, do you?"

The holy woman stuck out her tongue and replied, "Yes, I also feel uncomfortable seeing it whole. Besides, I am a girl too."

Li Yifei rolled his eyes and retorted, "Okay, okay, since you are the holy woman, such gruesome tasks are naturally not meant for you."

He tore up more than twenty of the thirty lizards and let them eat. Xu Shanshan consumed more than ten but was still hungry, looking at the remaining ones and pleading, "Brother-in-law, I still want to eat."

Li Yifei shook his head, "Let’s save these for daytime. If you want more, we’ll have to catch them tomorrow morning. This is all we have for today’s food."

Upon hearing this, Xu Shanshan and the holy woman could no longer insist on eating, fully realizing the stark reality of their hunger. They truly did not want to experience it any further.

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