Disaster Apocalypse: Farming, Family, and My Hidden Secret Space-Chapter 219. To Stay Alive

The mountains were full of people; even if you found something and wanted to hide it, there was no way to keep it a secret, so more people went down the mountain to search.

Many people indeed had some success; some, not afraid of danger, even fished out many things from the lake. After all, many were caught by the flood midway, carrying with them many belongings. Food and bedding were all wrapped tightly in waterproof oilcloth due to the rain, so many floated on the water and did not sink, some being washed to the mountain edge by the waves.

As long as you weren’t afraid of falling into the water, you could think of ways to fish it up.

Indeed, many people did this. For the sake of themselves and their families, they had no choice but to fish despite knowing the dangers.

Of course, everyone wasn’t foolish and took necessary precautions.

If it could float on the water, it meant it was tightly bound, with perfectly good food and clothing. As each parcel was retrieved, many temporarily overcame the current difficulties, solving food and warmth problems.

But more were the ones who were cautious even in comfort, who couldn’t bear to eat the food in such situations, mostly foraging all over the mountains in the rain, even trying to store leftover wild vegetables and mushrooms somehow.

The rain was unsettling, pelting the body so painfully; who dared to greedily eat their own things? Especially watching the rain show no sign of stopping, their family’s stockpile of food was the only lifeline.

Everyone cherished it dearly, avoiding consumption if possible. No one knew how long this disaster would last or if greater challenges awaited them. All were well-versed in life’s hardships and dared not gamble.

Wherever there are people, there are conflicts, especially in such a special time now.

Some survived by their own hands, ensuring their families didn’t starve, while others thought of shortcuts for survival.

Besides families with power and unity, or whole villages together, solitary individuals became the targets for those looking for shortcuts.

Over time, as the days hiding on the mountain grew longer and food became scarcer, some people couldn’t hold back anymore.

...

"Big brother, we don’t have much food left, at most for three more days. What should we do? You have to come up with a plan!" Under a straw hut made of wood and dried grass, a skinny man with buckteeth looked at another bucktoothed man resting against a tree.

The man glanced at him, irritably wiped the rain off his face, showing obvious displeasure.

"What do you mean, what to do? Haven’t you got limbs? Can’t go find stuff?" The big brother, also the leader, glared at his brother, growing more annoyed, stood up, and directly kicked the third brother.

Bucktooth Three, tough as nails outside, was only good for a beating in front of his big brother, too scared from childhood to even think of resisting.

No, it should be that all the brothers were pretty scared of the eldest.

"Can’t find any..." Bucktooth Three shrank his head.

At this time, where could one find food? Even fetching wild herbs was done in groups, with rare lone individuals.

As for wild herbs, by the time they got there, anything edible was long taken, even wild fruits were hard to come by unless they risked their lives going into the deep mountains.

"Can’t find anything, might as well starve to death." Bucktooth Leader couldn’t help but kick Third Brother again.

"Big brother, this is not a solution, is it?" The speaker looked slightly better but also had buck teeth. Among the brothers, only the youngest had relatively normal teeth; otherwise, just seeing their teeth told they were siblings.

"Of course, I know. We’ll talk at night. Third and Fourth, go roam in the afternoon if there’s nothing going on." The leader of Bucktooth said so, and the rest understood.

Hungry beyond endurance, the youngest grabbed a handful of coarse rice mixed with a little bit of leftover wild vegetables, and the brothers made a watery meal, calming themselves to wait for nightfall.

They were five brothers from Shangrao Village, lazy and greedy. Their parents, who raised them like this, weren’t diligent either, living in poverty themselves, let alone finding wives for their sons.

During the flood, the parents reacted too slowly and were swept away, which was somewhat fortunate for the brothers. Otherwise, there would have been even less food for them. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓

The rain pattered relentlessly for another whole day, showing no sign of letting up even at night.

After enduring another day, people were asleep in their makeshift huts, leaning against their most essential food supplies.

The Bucktooth Five also fell asleep under their shabby shelter. Once asleep, the hunger was lessened, sparing them the discomfort.

As darkness deepened and no one could see even a hand in front of them, the eldest bucktooth abruptly opened his eyes, a sinister gleam flashing in them.

Getting up, he donned his raincoat and bamboo hat, kicking his sleeping brothers on the straw mat.

"Get up," he growled.

The familiar pain instantly woke the four bucktooth brothers. After a moment of confusion, they sobered up upon seeing the dark-eyed figure standing before them, scrambling to stand up.

"Big brother," they said, subdued by long-standing fear, not daring to utter a peep.

"Get ready quickly, we’re heading out to score." He picked up a firewood knife, sharpening it against a rock, then grabbed a bundle of rope from the corner.

The brothers didn’t dare delay, hurriedly preparing themselves and donning their raincoats and bamboo hats.

"Let’s go." Seeing the brothers were ready, the eldest led the way.

They dared not touch the big households or wealthy people, nor those gathered as entire villages, but scattered solitary homes, especially those with fewer people, were no worry.

They were already familiar with the surroundings from recent days, well aware of who lived where. The only trouble was the darkness; even with eyes wide open, it was like being blind. The rain battered their eyes, making it hard to keep them open, and the muddy, slippery paths required careful steps, ensuring stability before taking the next step.

Short mountain paths took a long time; midway, if not for Bucktooth Three’s quick hand grabbing Bucktooth Five, who almost slid down the mountain, the brothers might have become four instead of five, scaring them into a cold sweat.

"Be careful," the eldest bucktooth frowned and growled. It wasn’t particularly about his brother’s life but rather valuing their numbers; a larger group was deterrence enough for most, who’d think twice before targeting them.

Just as they weighed their chances when targeting others now.

The brothers needed no more words; all grew more cautious. In the pitch-black night, falling down the mountain was nearly fatal.

They hadn’t married yet, nor even experienced a woman; they couldn’t afford to die just yet.

A stick of incense later, the five brothers stopped.

"Big brother, do you see that pine tree ahead? Six live below it: three kids, four adults, two are old, only one man. From observation, the kids aren’t exactly thin; the family probably isn’t short on food."

"Above them, a little to the side under a large boulder, there’s another family. Only two men are there. In the evening, the woman inside complained the porridge was thin. They probably also aren’t short on food." Bucktooth Fourth quietly repeated the information gathered with Third Brother in the afternoon.

The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l