Chapter 27: Foraging for Mushrooms and Digging Up Bamboo Shoots
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Neatly arranged medical bandages filled a specialized first-aid case—819 rolls in total.
That was Song Yu’s achievement after working from five in the evening on Game Day 17 until eight the next morning on Game Day 18.
The results were quite gratifying.
Enough to exchange for a full two cubic meters of space!
That meant Little Black now had a four-cubic-meter treasure cave!
After obtaining the space from Tree Source, Song Yu left with Little Black.
For the seventeen extra bandages, the unfamiliar NPC gave Song Yu a compass—a rather useful tool.
Tree Source and his three companions also left the library at the same time, looking as though they had something important to attend to.
Song Yu was not particularly curious. Her destination was the bamboo grove.
It had rained lightly the night before, so there ought to be bamboo shoots or mushrooms today.
With Little Black around, finding such things would be easy.
Because of yesterday’s rain, the streets were still slick and wet, and both pedestrians and zombies were unusually scarce.
Now that Little Black could speak, it could report any problems directly to Song Yu.
She reached the vicinity of the mountain without using many arrows or nails.
If only Little Black knew how to drive.
Song Yu’s gaze fell on Little Black, who was leading the way ahead. She had once seen short videos of dogs driving cars.
Those dogs might have been fake, but Little Black was so intelligent now that perhaps it could make the impossible real.
If Little Black learned to drive, they could kill zombies while driving.
Perhaps they could even try taking on Rank Five or Rank Six zombies in exchange for a few more backpack slots.
The soil in the mountain forest was exceptionally damp after the rain. Fortunately, Song Yu had put on rain boots beforehand, so she did not end up covered in mud.
The bamboo grove lay near the foot of the mountain, and human figures could be seen within it.
Song Yu was not sure whether they were players or NPCs.
At the sight of her, everyone stopped what they were doing.
“A player?”
A capable-looking middle-aged woman stepped forward and gave Song Yu a thorough once-over.
“Yes.”
Song Yu nodded.
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“We’re harvesting this area. Find somewhere else, and we’ll leave each other alone.”
The middle-aged woman’s tone was calm. She glanced at Little Black behind Song Yu, then added, “This bamboo grove is huge, and bamboo shoots grow quickly. Even several people couldn’t harvest them all.”
They clearly had no intention of provoking Song Yu, and Song Yu had no intention of provoking them either. She acknowledged this with a word and took Little Black to another section.
Song Yu’s luck was excellent. After circling around to the depths of the grove, she discovered a vast patch of bamboo fungus.
The bamboo fungus looked like tiny steamed buns topped with umbrellas, each wrapped in a greenish-brown shell. They were a delightful sight.
Moreover, they were all at the perfect stage for harvesting. She had arrived just in time; before long, they would begin to rot.
Song Yu had specifically exchanged with Chen Su for a hoe meant for digging bamboo shoots, though for the moment, it seemed she would not need it.
She and Little Black divided the work between them: one picked bamboo fungus while the other dug up bamboo shoots.
Little Black was far better at finding bamboo shoots than Song Yu. It struck gold every time.
There were zombies in the bamboo grove as well, but Song Yu did not need to lift a finger against the ones that appeared. Little Black tore them apart with ease.
Song Yu devoted herself to picking bamboo fungus. The grove held more delicacies than just bamboo fungus and bamboo shoots. There were also bamboo bird’s nests, termite mushrooms, wood ears, and other wild fungi.
Song Yu picked only the varieties she recognized. Anything unfamiliar or uncertain was left untouched.
The mushrooms and bamboo shoots did not raise satiety by much, usually only one or two points.
But there was no denying that they came in abundant quantities—and tasted delicious!
Song Yu and Little Black transformed into a mushroom-picking girl and a large yellow dog digging for bamboo shoots, happily bustling about in the grove.
At noon, they chopped down some bamboo and made bamboo-tube rice.
Song Yu even found bamboo worms. They were extraordinarily nourishing.
A single bamboo worm actually increased satiety by two points.
Song Yu did not dare eat one herself—not that she had reached that point yet—so she gave them to Little Black as an extra treat. Little Black did not mind in the least. In fact, it wanted several more.
This was the first time they had cooked and eaten so openly. The main reason was that players in several neighboring sections of the bamboo grove were also lighting fires to prepare meals.
Song Yu took out the barbecue rack and cooked as well. Her meal with Little Black was far more sumptuous than what the other players had.
The others basically had nothing but bamboo shoots to eat, while Song Yu’s meal was positively lavish.
The fresh bamboo fungus was bursting with flavor. Served with rice and steamed buns, it was so delicious that Little Black polished off an entire large basin.
Song Yu’s maximum satiety was one hundred. Little Black’s was probably two hundred.
After lunch, they even had fruit for dessert. Sweet fruit preserved in cans restored plenty of stamina and lifted the spirits.
Fresh fruit and canned fruit had very different textures and flavors. If she had the chance, Song Yu felt she should stock up on some fresh fruits and vegetables.
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Unfortunately, even Chen Su did not have such things. Song Yu could only occasionally find one or two rare treasures among the common goods.
These items were especially effective for raising NPC affection and were guaranteed bestsellers.
Song Yu picked up a chopstickful of bamboo shoots and bit into them with a crisp crunch. She had stir-fried them with canned luncheon meat.
Stir-Fried Bamboo Shoots with Luncheon Meat (+40 Satiety): an excellent dish to eat with rice.
Bamboo shoots did not add much satiety—only five points per shoot—and eating too many came with a negative buff.
Song Yu knew all too well how uncomfortable the stomach could become after eating too many bamboo shoots. She loved them, especially the hand-peeled kind.
Once, she had been too greedy and eaten more than a dozen in one sitting. Her stomach had felt chilled for a long time afterward, leaving her miserable.
If those players had nothing but bamboo shoots and bamboo fungus for food, they would probably develop negative buffs very soon.
Still, that had nothing to do with Song Yu.
Two hours had passed since she entered the bamboo grove. The mushrooms inside had either rotted or opened their caps, so after lunch, Song Yu simply focused on digging bamboo shoots.
She wondered whether Tree Source had raised any giant pandas.
If he had, could she exchange bamboo shoots for affection?
Song Yu sank into deep thought. Perhaps she could trade with the nearby players for more bamboo shoots.
Maybe Tree Source really did have one. After all, every time she saw him, there were new animals at his side. A panda counted as a beast, too.
People should not underestimate pandas simply because they looked harmless. Tree Source had black bears and brown bears there; surely he could have pandas as well.
It was worth a try.
One pound of meat for one affection point, and eight hundred affection points for one cubic meter. If one pound of bamboo shoots could also be exchanged for one affection point...
At worst, she would end up with a pile of bamboo shoots to slowly consume. But if it worked, Little Black’s treasure cave would gain several more cubic meters!
By then, Little Black’s space would be large enough to fit a car!
Once she had made up her mind, Song Yu tidied up and prepared to find the nearby players and trade for bamboo shoots. Little Black stayed behind in the grove to keep digging.
It moved incredibly fast—one bamboo shoot every fifteen seconds!
However, before she could go looking for the players next door, they came looking for her first.
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