232: Chapter 232 Edge of the Wilderness

The edge of the wilderness is both a temporary sanctuary and a cage of extreme resource scarcity.

He cannot live like a mole forever, relying on accidentally discovered garbage heaps and turbid mud pit water.

Recovering from his injuries requires better nutrition and medicine, rebuilding his strength requires a more stable energy source, and investigating "the key" and The Plainclothes Organization is impossible in the wilderness, far from traces of civilization.

He needs to develop a more systematic and sustainable plan for the "wilderness survival" phase, with the goal not just being "not dying," but "recovering," and gradually accumulating capital to return to the city fringe for limited exploration.

New Phase Goal: Wilderness survival and foundational reconstruction.

Core Principles: Safety first, concealment above all, resource circulation.

Action Plan:

1. Establish relatively stable "safe houses" and resource points:

Main base reinforcement: The current earthen cave is too rudimentary. He needs to reinforce and improve the interior without enlarging the entrance or damaging the external camouflage. Using stones and mud found nearby, he will construct a simple, movable "inner door" (made from branches and rags) inside the entrance to enhance concealment and wind resistance. Clear rubble from inside the cave, lay down more dry grass and those few rags to improve resting conditions. Dig a small "cellar" for storing food and important items (pay attention to moisture protection).

Secondary resource point reconnaissance: With the earthen cave as the center, within a radius of one to two kilometers, search for and confirm several backup hiding spots (such as other natural caves, dense bushes, large hollow tree trunks, etc.), as well as potential, more reliable Water Source(s) (such as springs, deeper stagnant water pits, old stream beds that may not have completely dried up). Mark and memorize these locations, but do not use them frequently unless necessary to avoid leaving traces.

Set up simple early warning Systems: In hidden places at the earthen cave and main activity paths, use thin ropes, soda cans, rubble, etc., to set up extremely simple trip-wire warning devices. Although crude, they can provide a certain degree of early warning.

2. Systematized food and Water Source acquisition:

Food source expansion:

Plants: During the day when the light is good, extremely cautiously expand observations of surrounding wild plants. Look for wild vegetables remembered or appearing edible (such as shepherd's purse, dandelion tender leaves, certain ferns), tubers (need careful identification to prevent poisoning), and possible wild fruits (season is wrong, but keep an eye on vines and shrubs). Absolutely do not consume any plant that is not recognized.

Small animals: Try to make the simplest traps. Use that roll of hemp rope and found tough grass stems to make snare traps, set near paths where small animals (such as field mice, wild rabbits) might be active. Use that broken tin can to make a trapdoor trap. This is a process that requires patience and luck, and one must be extremely careful when handling prey to avoid the smell of blood attracting larger predators or exposing his position.

Insects/larvae: As a supplement to protein. Look for beetle larvae, ant eggs, etc., under rotting wood. Also need to identify them, and it is best to roast them with fire (if he can make a fire).

Water Source Purification: Relying on turbid stagnant water is by no means a long-term plan. He needs to find a relatively clean Water Source and find a way to perform Purification. If running stream water is found (hope is slim), it can be prioritized. For stagnant water, he needs to make a more effective filtering device. Collect relatively clean sand, charcoal debris (obtained from found, completely burned firewood), and rags to try to make multi-layer filtration. If he can stably make a fire in the future, he can boil the water for disinfection.

Food storage: Found food (such as small animals caught in traps, gathered plants) needs to be processed as soon as possible. Meat can be tried to be simply cured with salt (extremely precious, needs to be saved) and then air-dried. Plants should be eaten fresh as much as possible. All food must be properly hidden to prevent it from being stolen by other animals.

3. Improvement of tools and equipment:

Weapons: The rebar spear is the main weapon and needs to be kept sharp. Find suitable hardwood to try making a sling (using rags and rope) as a tool for mid-range sneak attacks or driving away small wild beasts. The pipe cutter serves as a close-quarters backup and tool.

Fire making: That half box of damp matches is a treasure and needs to be tried to be dried (e.g., using body heat or sunlight), and look for alternatives. Try to use found flint (if any) and metal (like the pipe cutter) to strike fire, or look for convex lenses (e.g., from discarded flashlights or glasses) to use sunlight to make fire. Making fire must be extremely cautious, choosing a windless, hidden time and place where smoke is easy to dissipate, and thoroughly burying traces after use.

Containers: The old plastic water bottle is the main water storage tool and needs to be used carefully. That broken tin can can be used for boiling water and heating food. Need to pay attention to finding other usable containers (such as intact plastic bottles, metal lunch boxes).

Clothing and warmth: Ragged, thin clothing cannot withstand the wilderness night cold. Need to collect more rags and dry grass, try to weave or stuff them into clothing to make simple "warmth layers." If possible, look for discarded plastic sheets or linoleum to make simple ponchos or moisture-proof floor mats.

4. Injury monitoring and slow recovery:

Check wound changes daily, cleaning with boiled water (if fire can be made) or the last bit of povidone-iodine (extremely economical). Rely mainly on Star Visualization and the body's self-healing ability, with medicine as a supplement.

According to food acquisition, gradually and slowly increase food intake to let the weak stomach adapt. Prioritize protein (from traps or insects) and salt intake to support tissue repair.

Under the premise of ensuring safety, perform extremely small-scale stretching and activities to prevent muscle atrophy and joint stiffness, but never overdo it to avoid tearing wounds that have not fully healed.

5. Limited environmental observation and information collection:

Choose a fixed, safe time every day (such as dawn, dusk), from the observation slit of the earthen cave, or from a nearby high point, use a homemade crude "periscope" to observe the skyline in the direction of the city from a distance, whether there are abnormal smoke columns, lights, or aircraft activity. Use ears to catch whether there are unusual engine sounds, explosions, or alarms.

Never actively approach any roads, buildings, or obvious traces of human activity.

Compare any abnormalities observed with previously obtained intelligence (sensor characteristics, "Plainclothes Agents" activity patterns) to try to analyze whether the focus and activity range of The Plainclothes Organization have changed.

6. Maintenance of psychology and will:

Wilderness survival is lonely, boring, and full of uncertainty, which is a great erosion of the will. He must set short-term, achievable goals for himself (such as "successfully set a trap today," "find a new Water Source") and strictly execute his schedule to maintain a clear mind and tough nerves.

Repeatedly recall and deduce the information on the G-7 Node record paper, think about the connection between "the key," "abyssal eye," and The Plainclothes Organization, and turn the thirst for knowledge into one of the driving forces to keep going.

The plan is an idealized blueprint; reality is bound to be full of accidents, failures, and setbacks. But he must have a direction, a framework, to avoid getting lost in the day-to-day struggle and becoming a real beast.

In the following days, Ling Ye strictly yet flexibly executed this plan.

He reinforced the earthen cave and dug a small cellar. He spent a lot of time observing plants and finally only dared to confirm and collect a very small amount of dandelion tender leaves with extremely obvious characteristics and a kind of sorrel leaf from memory, eating them raw; the taste was bitter, but at least it was green plants.

He carefully set up several snare traps, choosing positions near bushes where there might be animal tracks. The first day, he gained nothing. The second day, a trap was triggered, but the rope broke, leaving only a few strands of gray fur. At dawn on the third day, when he checked with faint hope, he found a stiff, thin field mouse with its neck caught in a trap set near a Water Source (a deep stagnant water pit in a rock crevice he had found).

Harvest! He suppressed the bloody smell and the discomfort of handling prey, brought the field mouse back to the vicinity of the earthen cave as quickly as possible, skillfully skinned it with the pipe cutter, removed the internal organs (carefully burying the organs and bloodstains deeply), and cut the mouse meat into small pieces. He used the little bit of salt he had saved to smear on the meat, then found a hidden rock crevice that was ventilated and could be illuminated by the sun for a moment, and spread the mouse meat on a cleaned stone slab for air-drying. The mouse skin was simply tanned (using wood ash), and although rough, perhaps it could be used to make something small in the future.

He tried to make fire with flint and the back of the knife many times, failed many times, and his hands were blistered by the sparks. Finally, he gave up and pinned his hope on that half box of damp matches. He put the matches in his close-fitting clothing and slowly baked them with his body heat.

He found a new Water Source—a tiny, extremely subtle stream of water slowly seeping from a crack in the rock wall, and the water quality was relatively clear. He used that broken tin can, spent a long time filling a can, then used his homemade sand-charcoal-cloth multi-layer filtration, and then carefully boiled it (finally, on a windless morning, he risked using a carefully dried match to light the collected, extremely dry withered grass and twigs, successfully starting a small but precious fire, boiled the water, and thoroughly buried the ashes in time). Drinking the boiled, relatively clean hot water, that warm feeling almost made him tear up.

He improved the sling, practiced with small, relatively round stones he found, and his accuracy slowly improved. The spearhead of the rebar spear was sharpened even more by him.

The injuries were slowly improving. The sprain in his left arm had basically recovered, and he could use it with slight force. The wound on his lower leg had scabbed firmly, although it left a hideous scar. The dull pain in his ribs only appeared during strenuous activity. His body's strength was recovering; although still thin, that deep-seated weakness was replaced by a kind of lean, restrained sense of power. This was the tenacious vitality like wild grass, honed by hunger and labor.

Every day, he would spend time observing the direction of the city. Most of the time, the skyline only had the constant leaden gray and occasionally drifting filthy clouds. But once, at dusk, he saw several short, dark red streamers streak across the sky in the southeast direction (the direction of the Dark Nest), disappearing quickly, like some kind of signal flare, or... energy discharge? Another time, in the middle of the night, he heard extremely faint, dull explosions from the same direction.

The Dark Nest side did not seem peaceful.

He carefully kept these fragmented pieces of information in his mind.

Days passed, and the scenery of the wilderness changed from complete, dead silence and desolation to occasionally seeing sporadic new green (spring seemed to have finally struggled to seep into this forgotten land), and then to wind and sand rising. The weather was changeable, sometimes with cold sleet, sometimes with dry, strong winds.

Ling Ye, like a true resident of the wilderness, adapted to all of this. His skin was worn rough and dark by the wind, sand, and sun, and his palms were covered with calluses and small wounds. The cold flame deep in his eyes, after experiencing a long struggle for survival, seemed to have settled down, becoming deeper and calmer, like a bottomless cold pool, with sharp light occasionally flashing, which was the instinct of a predator.

He was no longer the teenager who had just escaped from the underground pipeline, covered in wounds and exhausted. He was a survivor who had struggled on the edge of the wilderness for nearly a month, relying on will, knowledge, and luck to survive tenaciously. His strength had recovered by about sixty to seventy percent; although still a distance from his Peak, it was enough to deal with most challenges of wilderness survival and possessed a certain degree of self-protection and limited combat capability.

Food sources were still unstable, but relying on traps, occasional gathering, and extreme saving of that little bit of salt, plus his body seemed to have adapted to the state of low-calorie intake, he barely maintained. The Water Source problem was basically solved due to finding the seepage in the rock crevice. Tools and equipment had been extremely limitedly improved.

After once again using the crude sling to scare away a vulture attempting to approach his "drying" jerky (another unfortunate field mouse) from low altitude, Ling Ye stood on the top of the mound, looking at the city skyline covered by haze and gloom in the distance. The wind blew his ragged clothes, which had been barely "patched" with various cloth strips and grass stems, making them flap.

The rebar spear in his hand, the spear tip reflecting a bit of cold, icy light under the dim twilight.