13: Chapter 13 Photosynthetic Straw

A giant Sand Scorpion, one and a half meters long with its sharp tail stinger removed, hung upside down from a hook on a large iron frame at the entrance of the cafeteria, suspended by a chain as thick as a thumb.

Zhang Dafang, the head chef of the cafeteria, held a heavy pointed knife. His sharpening steel scraped against the blade's tip with a metallic rasping sound, the edge glinting under the sunlight.

A dense, earthy stench rushed into his nose. Thanks to his Corrupted Olfaction trait, Wang Ting's sense of smell was even sharper, causing his nostrils to twitch slightly.

Sunlight streamed down onto the giant Sand Scorpion. As Wang Ting looked it up and down from the hook, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

This was a monster that lived in the earth and gravel.

He observed this huge, hideous scorpion. Its yellowish-brown carapace wrapped around most of its body like armor, and its two massive, spiked claws resembled heavy, sharp morningstars. The edges of the claws were as sharp as blades; they could likely snap a human calf in half in a single strike.

"What a massive Sand Scorpion! Did the patrol team bring this one back too? How many contribution points per portion?"

Zhang Dafang looked up and saw Li Jinming and Qu Ling walking over with some fresh faces. He instantly guessed that the people behind them were the newly joined members of the Guard Team.

He grinned, his round double chin completely obscuring his jawline.

"It wasn't the patrol team's doing. Boss Zhao spotted a Sand Scorpion creeping up near the city walls, jumped down, and killed it himself. Boss Zhao said this Sand Scorpion is free—no contribution points needed—to give the boys an extra treat."

"Boss Zhao? He hasn't fought in a while. But if he was the one who did it..."

Qu Ling's eyes lit up. He immediately scanned the Sand Scorpion's entire body and sure enough, found no ragged wounds from a barrage of bullets.

In the wasteland, metal materials were precious, and bullet quality wasn't great. Hunted game was often riddled with shrapnel, sometimes even ruining the meat. If a poison gland was hit, it became completely inedible.

Wang Ting followed their gaze, his pupils suddenly contracting. There was only a single wound on the Sand Scorpion's hard carapace: a blade mark two fingers wide that pierced through the tough skull carapace, cleanly and decisively ending the monster's life.

Such a lethal wound proved one thing: this Sand Scorpion had been killed in close quarters with a single strike, before it could even react.

Wang Ting wanted to see if staying here a bit longer would help increase his recording progress for the Sand Scorpion.

However, Zhang Dafang had already chosen his cutting point. He slipped the sharp boning knife into the seam between the carapace and scorpion meat, slicing down from top to bottom to separate shell from flesh. Prying with the blade, he tore off a large section of carapace, revealing the tender meat inside. The Sand Scorpion's meat was firm and looked as succulent as fresh chicken.

As Zhang Dafang worked his blade, he glanced at Wang Ting and the others. "The scorpion's tail is poisonous. The poison gland at its base connects to the tip of the stinger. The gland, stinger, and venom are all prime ingredients for making medicine in other Shelters. Besides those, this hard armor and its meat are the most valuable. Butchering this Sand Scorpion will yield at least twenty to thirty pounds of meat. Normally, half a pound would cost one contribution point."

Even after Zhang Dafang fully butchered the entire Sand Scorpion, Wang Ting's recording progress didn't rise even by a fraction, making him feel a bit disappointed.

'If it were a live Sand Scorpion, maybe the progress would keep increasing. But at least this is a good sign.'

He comforted himself inwardly and began to scheme: 'The patrol team goes on patrols and hunts monsters... that seems pretty promising.'

Free Sand Scorpion meat soup instantly enlivened the whole cafeteria. Many members of the Guard Team made a special trip back to the cafeteria just for this lunch.

Although the cafeteria was bustling, twenty to thirty pounds of Sand Scorpion meat split among all present Guard Team members didn't amount to much. It was watery soup in fist-sized bowls—bland broth with barely a drop of oil grease, leaving each person with only two or three small pieces of meat.

In his previous life, such skimpy portions would have made cafeteria lunch ladies bow down to Zhang Dafang's stingy precision, and even a passing dog would have barked in complaint.

But in the apocalypse, aside from those hard-to-swallow energy bars, fresh meat was already considered a rare commodity.

'Who would have thought I wouldn't taste meat for half a month?'

Wang Ting gave a self-deprecating laugh in his heart, but deep within his eyes, a resolute light burned like a flame.

He didn't just want to survive; he wanted to live well.

Zhao Hu arrived late, sitting down next to Li Jinming and the others with an imposing posture.

"How is it? Must have been a while since you last had meat, right?"

"Eighteen days."

Wang Ting's answer surprised Zhao Hu for a moment. "Sounds like you had pretty good luck in the wilderness."

Eighteen days was how long he had been in this world. In other people's eyes, being able to eat meat eighteen days ago was indeed good luck.

In the apocalypse, refugees struggled to find even a mouthful of food, let alone meat. Even Guard Team members only got to eat meat once every week or two.

Not just anyone had the ability to eat meat.

"Captain, will we be assigned to patrol duty as well?"

Zhao Hu flashed a meaningful smile. "Thinking about hunting Sand Scorpions already?"

Wang Ting didn't deny it, and even Fu Xing and Ding Yu nearby showed curious expressions.

To their surprise, Zhao Hu shook his head. "Even for the patrol team, having luck like this every day is impossible. The wasteland isn't just home to Sand Scorpions—there are zombies, Lizard Hounds, and Carrion Spiders too. Every single one of them is a deadly monster. Don't go dying out there trying to hunt; don't aim higher than you can reach."

"I'm just interested in the monsters."

Wang Ting's face was calm. Monsters sounded like ordinary flowers and weeds when he spoke of them, with not a shred of fear visible in his eyes.

Zhao Hu assumed he was joking, but seeing that Wang Ting's expression didn't look fake, he couldn't quite tell for sure.

He thought for a moment before saying, "Once you learn the Giant Wood Fighting Technique and get decent at combat techniques, I'll let you take a turn with the patrol team."

"It's a deal."

Wang Ting finally smiled in satisfaction and readily agreed.

Zhao Hu originally thought his enthusiasm would be short-lived, but once he saw Wang Ting start training, he changed his mind.

Because Wang Ting was improving far too fast, and his physical capabilities seemed to keep increasing.

Possessing the Scarecrow Physique, he naturally displayed greater talent when learning the Giant Wood Fighting Technique compared to others.

Every attack and movement was swifter and more powerful, his perception sharper, like a humanoid beast.

The Scarecrow Physique also granted him peerless endurance. Compared to others, his much longer and tireless training allowed Wang Ting's combat style to rapidly become muscle memory.

Within seven days, Wang Ting was already firmly holding the upper hand in spar sessions against Fu Xing and the others.

This wasn't just relying on physical dominance anymore, but rather catching up in actual combat skills.

"Bang! Bang!"

Unable to withstand two consecutive punches from Wang Ting, Fu Xing faltered, prompting Ding Yu nearby to step up to help.

Sensing his movement, Wang Ting stepped back. Agile as a cheetah, he grabbed Ding Yu's arm, slammed him to the ground, and aimed a fist straight at his throat.

The fierce display startled Ding Yu, but luckily Wang Ting pulled back in time, stopping his sandbag-sized fist right in front of Ding Yu's Adam's apple.

"He's improving way too fast. With a physique like that, no wonder he went through all ten energy bars."

Guard Team members like Li Jinming and Qu Ling were astounded as they watched Wang Ting's progress. In terms of raw physique alone, they couldn't even match him.

Qu Ling muttered, "The captain bet against him, but I think the captain's going to lose."

Zhao Hu narrowed his eyes, disagreeing with Qu Ling's words. "If he wants to join the patrol team, he at least needs to practice shooting. Just a few days of training isn't enough."

[Collector: Wang Ting]

[Life Rank: Tier 0]

[Monster Points: 62]

[Recorded Monsters: Scarecrow, Rot Soil Hound, Sand Scorpion (5%)]

"At 4 Monster Points a day, in ten more days I'll have enough to exchange for Photosynthetic Straw. By then, the Scarecrow Physique should be developed to its limit."

Through continuous training, his Scarecrow Physique kept strengthening. In recent days, the weight he could lift had reached around four hundred pounds while allowing relatively stable movement, with his peak limit at roughly five to six hundred pounds.

His punching power and speed had both increased substantially. Although Li Jinming and Qu Ling didn't say it out loud, Wang Ting was actually much stronger than them in raw power now.

'Aside from wild instinct-like combat awareness, I've practically broken through the human limit once.'

Tap, tap, tap.

Urgent footsteps approached as a squad carrying a stretcher rushed into Zone 1.

Something went wrong!

Wang Ting frowned. Several people in the squad were injured.

"Doctor Liao, quick! Zhang Cong was bitten by a Lizard Hound!"

"Did something happen to the patrol squad?"

Zhao Hu's expression changed. Everyone quickly rushed over, and before they even reached the infirmary, Liao Minmin bolted out.

"Set him down!"

She immediately pressed down on Zhang Cong's wound. The mangled flesh looked as if it had been shredded by sawteeth, blood gushing out uncontrollably.

She tightly bound the upper section of his limb, injected a blue vial of medication into Zhang Cong's neck, and swiftly pressed clean gauze onto the wound to stop the bleeding.

"What is wrong with you patrol team? How did he get bitten so badly by a Lizard Hound? Did you poke a Lizard Hound nest?"

Liao Minmin cursed loudly, but even while shouting, she managed to stabilize his injuries.

After a few minutes, the wound finally stopped bleeding profusely.

"His life is saved. This kid owes me fifty contribution points."

Liao Minmin finally stood up, her clothes already stained red. "You should be glad it wasn't the zombie virus or a Carrion Spider, or he wouldn't have survived."

Cheng Nuo had a solemn expression, his brow furrowed as he spoke heavily, "It wasn't that the patrol team was careless. The monsters outside are multiplying."

Liao Minmin frowned. As a veteran of the Shelter, she lowered her voice and asked, "An anomaly?"

"Yeah, high probability."