231: Chapter 231 Between Life and Death

The turbid, icy, and foul-smelling liquid, reeking of soil and decay, slithered into his burning stomach like a slimy worm, instantly triggering not only a violent physiological rejection but also an instinctive resistance and disgust from deep within his Soul against the contamination.

Ling Ye kept his eyes tightly shut, his body trembling slightly from nausea and pain, but he forcibly suppressed the urge to vomit, instantly plunging his consciousness into the deepest depths of the "Star Visualization".

This time, he did not guide the faint warmth to heal his wounds; instead, he attempted to communicate with the constant, vast rhythm of the "Ancient Ring" mark deep within his Soul. He transformed his pitiful amount of Mental Energy into the toughest barrier of will, guiding and commanding every cell in his body to resist, repel, decompose, and Purify the inflowing filth.

The rhythm of the "Ancient Ring" mark was like the eternal Law of the distant starry sky, carrying an indescribable sense of suppression and Guardian.

Ling Ye could not directly invoke its power to "Purify" the toxins in the water, but he could attempt to make his body's state "simulate" or "resonate" with this rhythm, stimulating his deepest potential for immunity and rejection.

This was like forcibly injecting a high-privilege command into a computer on the verge of crashing, demanding it to "clear all unauthorized programs."

As for whether the hardware (his body) could withstand it, whether the command could be executed correctly, and whether it would cause damage during the clearing process, all of these were unknown.

"Ugh—!"

A violent, twisting pain shot through his stomach, as if it were being squeezed by an invisible hand! Ling Ye let out a muffled groan, cold sweat instantly beading on his forehead.

He could feel the liquid he had swallowed churning violently under the influence of gastric acid and his body's stress response, as certain components were quickly identified as "harmful," triggering a fierce rejection.

Immediately after, his intestines began to cramp, and an irrepressible urge to defecate surged up along with a wave of nausea!

He forced himself to endure it, not rushing out of the cave immediately. He knew that if he vomited now, the precious water and the small amount of nutrients that might be absorbed would be lost instantly. He had to give his body time to "resist" and "adapt," even if the process was agonizing.

He pushed his willpower to the limit, guiding the warmth of the "Star Visualization" to protect his heart meridian and major organs, while treating all the pain and discomfort as a whetstone to temper his will.

Inside his body, a silent war seemed to be raging. His immune System, liver, kidneys, and even the metabolic mechanisms of every single cell were operating at an unprecedented intensity, driven by the potential influence of the "Ancient Ring" rhythm and his own intense will to survive, attempting to decompose, neutralize, and expel the invading toxins.

The pain lasted for about half an hour before slowly receding like the tide, leaving him in a state of exhaustion, with lingering dull pain in his stomach and abdomen. But he had not vomited, nor had he suffered from diarrhea.

He had succeeded... barely. His body had paid a huge price to resist this "first wave" of the most violent toxic shock, and it seemed to have absorbed some of the water. Although the thirst in his throat remained, the burning sensation had eased somewhat.

He dared not relax in the slightest, continuing to maintain the deep state of "Star Visualization," allowing his body to slowly and continuously carry out subsequent "Purification" and "repair" under low consumption.

He didn't know how much more time had passed, but when he "woke up" from his meditation again, the light outside seemed to have dimmed. Another night? Or a cloudy day?

He felt that the weakness in his body had lessened by an imperceptible fraction, and the dull pain in his abdomen had basically disappeared, leaving only the emptiness in his stomach and intestines, and the thirst that was still present but no longer so urgent.

That half-bottle of muddy water, though it had brought pain and risk, had indeed replenished his fluids, temporarily keeping him away from the brink of dehydration and shock.

The water problem was temporarily alleviated, but far from solved. Food and medicine remained swords hanging over his head.

He had to start looking for other supplies immediately, before his body completely collapsed from hunger and injuries.

He quietly pushed aside the camouflage at the cave entrance and observed outside. The night was deepening, and the wilderness was silent. The wind had picked up, carrying the dry, cold air unique to the wilderness. This was an opportunity.

He did not go out immediately, but instead planned in his mind.

Objectives: Food: Prioritize finding anything edible. Wild plants (need to be identified with extreme caution), possible insects/larvae, bird/rodent nests (high risk), or even... expired but sealed canned food that might remain in some ruins (slim hope).

Medicine: Focus on finding anti-inflammatory, hemostatic, and pain-relieving drugs. These might be found in abandoned farmhouses, rural clinics, or on passing scavengers/vagrants (extremely high risk).

Tools/Materials: More reliable water collection tools (such as intact bottles, water bags), fire-starting tools (flint, magnifying glass), sturdier weapons (such as a long wooden stick to replace the unreliable steel bar), and warm items (such as torn blankets, plastic sheets).

Observation: Incidentally observe whether there are signs of "Plainclothes Agents" activity in this area, whether there are traces of other human activity, and whether there are relatively safe, sustainable resource points (such as a more reliable Water Source).

Search Strategy: With the dirt cave as the center, expand the search range in a spiral pattern, exploring one sector at a time to ensure familiarity with the terrain and retreat routes.

Prioritize searching structures that appear to have been used temporarily by humans but have since been abandoned, such as sheds for guarding farmland, irrigation pump houses, abandoned machine well houses, and roadside earth temples. These places might have leftover items and are relatively isolated, making it less likely to encounter other people.

Avoid any locations where modern electronic equipment or metal structures might abruptly appear, in case they are sensor nodes.

Action Mode: Extremely slow, quiet, and utilizing all natural cover. Spend a lot of time observing while stationary, and only move after confirming safety. "Not being discovered" is the highest priority, with obtaining supplies being secondary.

Planning complete, Ling Ye took a deep breath of the cold air, checked the sling on his left arm and the bandages on his lower leg again to ensure they wouldn't come undone during the action. Then, like a snake emerging from its hole, he slid silently out of the dirt cave and blended into the heavy night.

The first target was a half-collapsed shed made of adobe and asbestos tiles, about two hundred meters west of the mound, which looked like it had been used to guard a vegetable field. The shed was small, and the door was long gone.

It took him nearly twenty minutes to slowly and circuitously approach the shed. Lying in the nearby dry grass, he listened intently and observed for a full ten minutes, confirming there were no living creatures inside and no abnormal energy fluctuations before crawling closer.

The shed was empty, containing only thick dust, spider webs, and a pile of black, moldy straw in the corner. He searched carefully through the straw pile, finding only a few broken tile shards and half a rusty tin can; there was no food. However, he did not give up and used the piece of steel bar to carefully push aside the soft loose soil on the ground.

"Clink."

A slight metallic clinking sound. He paused his movements and gently brushed away the loose soil, discovering a small iron box buried underneath that was heavily corroded. Prying open the iron box, he found a few coins rusted into a lump, a small roll of almost rotten twine, and—a small half-box of damp, clumpy, and suspiciously colored matches!

Matches! Although they were severely damp and most might be useless, what if one or two still worked? In the wilderness, fire meant warmth, cooked food, sterilization, and even the ability to ward off wild beasts! He carefully stowed away the iron box and its contents.

Leaving the shed, he continued his search. Over the next few hours, he acted like the most patient scavenger, searching another nearby abandoned pump station (only rusted machine parts), a small bridge arch over a dried-up canal (nothing but some animal droppings and broken bones), and the edge of an abandoned graveyard overgrown with thorny bushes (nothing but startling a few Ye Xiao).

Food was still nowhere to be found. He even began to observe the plump insect larvae that might exist in the dry grass, but the season was wrong, and he only found a few shriveled beetle shells.

Just as he was about to give up on this sector and return to the dirt cave, waiting until dawn to search in another direction, he noticed a tipped-over green plastic trash can further away in the graveyard, near a barely discernible, weed-choked dirt road. The trash can was half-buried in the soil and stuffed with all kinds of garbage—rotten vegetable leaves, rags, plastic bags, empty tin cans...

A trash heap! On the edge of the city, this often meant... the possibility of expired or spoiled food discarded by the extremely rare, potentially remaining residents nearby!

The risk was extremely high. The trash heap had a strong odor, was easy to attract animals, and could be noticed by people. But at this moment, the temptation of food outweighed the assessment of risk.

He spent a lot of time observing again, and after confirming that there were no people or vehicles near the dirt road, he rushed toward the trash can quickly and silently, like a vulture swooping down on carrion.

The intense stench almost suffocated him. He forced himself to endure it, quickly rummaging through the trash with the steel bar. Rotten vegetable leaves, used toilet paper, broken glass bottles... his heart sank little by little.

Just as he was about to give up, the tip of the steel bar hit a hard object. He brushed away the trash on top and saw a flattened, but seemingly well-sealed, metal can of luncheon meat! The label on the can was damaged and falling off, making it impossible to see the brand or date, but the can itself was not obviously rusted through, and when he weighed it, it seemed to still contain contents!

Immediately after, he dug out half a flattened bread that was still in its intact plastic packaging, although it was hard as a stone and might have been expired for a long time. Also, a small bag wrapped in plastic, containing damp and clumpy white powder—it looked like... salt? Or some kind of seasoning?

He also found an old plastic water bottle that was cracked but barely usable, as well as a few relatively clean rags.

A haul! An unexpected haul!

Ling Ye's heart was pounding, not from excitement, but from the tension of potentially being discovered. He quickly stuffed the can, hard bread, suspected salt powder, water bottle, and rags into his clothes, then without hesitation, immediately turned around and, with the fastest speed (but still controlling the noise), fled the trash heap, rushed back into the darkness of the wilderness, and circuitously returned to the dirt cave.

Back inside the cave, after re-camouflaging the entrance, he leaned against the cave wall and panted heavily, cold sweat already soaking his entire body. It was not just physical exertion, but exhaustion after extreme mental tension.

But the "spoils" in his arms brought a trace of long-lost, icy hope.

He did not immediately process the food. Instead, he first took out the old water bottle and checked it; the crack wasn't big, and if used carefully, it shouldn't leak. Then, he carefully opened the bag of white powder, dipped a finger in, and licked it.

Salty! It was salt!

Salt! In a situation of long-term food shortage and heavy sweating, salt was crucial; it could maintain electrolyte balance and prevent muscle weakness and spasms! The value of this bag of damp salt might even exceed that of the unknown can!

He carefully re-wrapped the salt and kept it close to his body.

Then, he picked up the flattened luncheon meat can, brought it to the extremely faint light at the cave entrance, and inspected it carefully. The can body indeed had no obvious perforations or severe corrosion, just some dents. He shook it vigorously, and there was a muffled, semi-solid sloshing sensation inside. He sniffed the can (through the metal), and there was only a very faint metallic smell, with no putrid odor.

He took out the pipe cutter and carefully, bit by bit, extremely slowly, cut and pried open the top edge of the can. This process took a long time; he had to prevent the blade from slipping and hurting himself, while also avoiding making too much noise.

Finally, with a soft "hiss," a gap was pried open in the tin at the top of the can. A rich odor, a mixture of grease, salt, and... a hint of an indescribable smell similar to chemical preservatives, instantly rushed out.

It was not the fragrance of fresh meat, but a strong and slightly strange smell unique to industrially processed food. But in this desperate situation, this smell was no different from the fragrance of heaven.

Ling Ye carefully used the tip of the knife to pick out a little bit of the contents inside the can. It was dark red, solidified luncheon meat, which looked dense in texture and showed no signs of mold or obvious spoilage.

He hesitated for a moment. Expired canned food carried equally huge risks. Botulism, other bacterial contamination... but he had no choice.

He put that little bit of luncheon meat into his mouth. The texture was greasy, the saltiness was heavy, and it had a strong taste of artificial flavors and preservatives; the meat was coarse. It was not delicious, and even a little nauseating. But he forced himself to chew slowly and carefully, then swallowed.

He waited. Just like when he drank water earlier, he mobilized his body, preparing to deal with any possible violent reaction.

A few minutes passed, and apart from the normal digestive contractions and a hint of warmth in his stomach caused by the food stimulation, there was no abdominal pain and no nausea.

He no longer hesitated, carefully using the knife to cut the luncheon meat in the can into small pieces, and ate them little by little, extremely slowly, along with the bread crumbs that were hard as stone, smelled heavily of mold, but which he had carefully broken open and crushed with the relatively clean stones he had found. Every swallow was accompanied by a careful perception of his body.

He ate about a quarter of the can and a small pinch of bread crumbs, then forced himself to stop. He couldn't eat too much at once; his weak stomach might not be able to handle it. He carefully wrapped up the remaining food and hid it.

As for the salt, he licked a tiny pinch.

Then, he picked up the old water bottle. He still needed to go find water during the day to fill it up.

After doing all this, he sat cross-legged again and began the "Star Visualization," guiding the warmth to help his weak body digest and absorb this hard-won energy, which was mixed with both risk and hope.

With food in his stomach, although it was coarse and inferior, the real calories were slowly seeping into his cold limbs and bones, dispelling the weakness and chill that had penetrated to his marrow. The replenishment of salt also slightly alleviated the feeling of muscle weakness.

Water, salt, a small amount of food. The most basic survival supplies; he had temporarily obtained a meager amount at great risk.

The hope of surviving was like a candle in the wind; although it was still weak and flickering, at least it had not been completely blown out.

Ling Ye leaned against the cave wall, feeling the slow, positive changes happening inside his body, and listening to the never-ending sound of the wind in the wilderness outside the cave. His gaze pierced through the darkness, as if seeing further into the distance.

The long road to recovering his strength had only just begun. But at least, he now had the meager "capital" to keep going.