He snorted heavily, didn’t retort further, tied the plastic bag tightly, and stuffed it back into his gear box.

His actions were filled with obvious defiance and offended anger.

He mumbled something, turned around, and sat back on his folding stool, not looking at anyone, and focused on stoking the campfire.

The campfire continued to burn, but the atmosphere had changed.

The previous fatigue seemed to be dispelled somewhat by this silent struggle.

Li Younan sat back in his original spot, knowing that Old Zhang must be simmering with resentment, but at least, that bag of dangerous mushrooms wouldn’t be going into the pot for now.

In this regard, Li Younan didn’t care how Old Zhang viewed him; whoever wanted to eat the mushrooms could, but putting them in everyone’s pot was absolutely not acceptable.

Li Younan sighed slightly, initially believing that forming a convoy to cross the land was a good idea, but he found that if he had to cross with a bunch of rookies, it was safer to be on his own.

Everyone was a bit tired tonight, and after this little episode, no one felt like staying around the campfire, so everyone retreated to their own tents or vehicles.

Li Younan returned to his vehicle. He opened the tailgate and took a photo of the scene inside with his phone; the opened folding bed looked really comfortable.

Li Younan turned on the camping light, hung it up, changed into slippers, placed his shoes into a specially designed storage box, and was about to close the door and rest when Ma Jing sauntered over. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Li Younan greeted her: "Not resting yet?"

Ma Jing’s lips curved slightly into a small smile: "You really are quite bold."

Li Younan adjusted his sitting position to look more comfortable, and grinned: "When it comes to safety matters, of course, you have to take them seriously."

Ma Jing’s expression became somewhat serious, as she asked earnestly: "Are those mushrooms really poisonous?"

Li Younan became serious too and nodded: "Although not fatal, the experience of that kind of poisoning is definitely not something people would want to go through a second time."

Ma Jing rubbed her chin: "How sure are you about that?"

Li Younan initially wanted to say 100%, but after thinking, said: "About 99% sure."

Ma Jing chuckled softly, putting her hands on her hips: "If you’re wrong, you’ll be the joke of the convoy, and Old Zhang will definitely keep bringing it up on the road ahead."

Li Younan smiled: "And if I am really wrong, will you laugh at me along with them?"

Ma Jing crossed her arms: "No one will laugh at you openly; but I would think you’re not very reliable."

Li Younan shrugged: "You really are honest."

Ma Jing laughed again: "To tell the truth, even without your warning, I wouldn’t eat such dubious mushrooms, and the convoy’s cook certainly won’t cook them either."

Li Younan was taken aback, suddenly realizing that it should have been the cook or the leader who offended people over this, but he seemed to have taken the blame for them.

Ma Jing chuckled: "Did you figure it out?" Hehehe...

But Li Younan just smiled in response and said indifferently: "It doesn’t matter to me at all how they see me. After this journey, we may never meet again anyway."

Ma Jing’s gaze lingered, showing a deeply meaningful expression.

"See you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow."

It’s already near October, and the weather is getting a bit chilly.

...

But sleeping in the car is surely much warmer than in a tent.

Li Younan has four kilowatts of power available, at least enough to use an electric blanket.

One ordinary electric blanket plus a down quilt—can’t get much more comfortable than that.

Li Younan took out his phone to shoot a video, showing everyone his warm cozy setup, then sent all the day’s footage to Jk Long in one go.

At this moment, in a room in Chengdu.

A young girl watched the video, unable to suppress a rising smile, her eyes glimmering with light, letting out a couple of chuckles unconsciously.

But as she watched on, her smile gradually faded, and she let out a soft sigh.

...

At the break of dawn, the sound of the creek was especially clear and pure.

The camp was already bustling, with the noise of dismantling tents and packing up gear mixed together.

Old Zhou, the cook responsible for breakfast, was a silent middle-aged man, setting up the large pot to boil water to cook noodles.

The air was filled with the scent of steam and firewood.

Li Younan was bent over tying his sleeping bag, and saw out of the corner of his eye Old Zhang taking out the tightly tied plastic bag from his gear box.

Old Zhang’s face showed no expression, but his actions were deliberate.

He walked straight to Old Li’s large pot and unceremoniously dumped the mushrooms from the bag onto a clean rock nearby.

"Old Li, add a dish."

Old Zhang’s voice wasn’t loud, but the morning quiet of the camp made it extraordinarily clear, carrying an undeniable tone.

Old Li’s spoon hand paused for a moment.

He glanced at the wet, black-edged mushrooms, then quickly flicked a glance at Li Younan, who had just stood up nearby, and his brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.

His lips moved slightly, as if wanting to say something, but in the end, he merely muttered an indistinct "mm" and continued stirring the water in the pot, avoiding the mushrooms.

Yesterday’s dispute by the campfire had evidently reached his ears.

As the cook, he hadn’t intended to add anything mysterious to the communal pot, and now he was even more eager to avoid it.

Old Zhang clearly caught Old Li’s momentary hesitation and evasion.

His face flushed red, not from the heat, but from the shame and annoyance of being publicly slighted and having his authority challenged.