Our neighborhood has been transported again.

Chapter 2 Daily Settlement
Qin Ziwen swept the clothesline spear in his hand through the grass a few times, and the chirping of insects stopped abruptly.

As they walked out the gate, Qin Ziwu followed behind, asking, "Brother, which way do we go?"

Qin Ziwen first surveyed the surroundings. Although the resources by the river might be more abundant, to be on the safe side, he said, "Let's look around nearby first, and not go too far from the community."

Qin Ziwu, who was following behind, noticed something interesting and pointed to a large, green grasshopper crawling on a broad leaf not far away. "Is that a grasshopper? It's almost as big as my palm."

Qin Ziwen looked in the direction of the sound and said, "This thing looks really good when roasted. It has sixteen times the protein of beef."

"Then I'll catch one and try it." Qin Ziwu tiptoed closer, but before he could take two steps, the grasshopper hopped into the bushes further back. Qin Ziwu ran over, and the grasshopper disappeared into the depths of the bushes after a few leaps.

To avoid being bitten by snakes, Qin Ziwen walked slowly, sweeping the area in front of him with a clothesline pole every two steps.

A rustling sound came from beneath my feet, and a small, yellowish-brown creature scurried past.

Qin Ziwen gave chase, but there were too many bushes, weeds, and roots, and he lost track of the other person after only a few steps.

Qin Ziwu also saw a similar small, yellowish-brown creature, but it was too agile to catch. "These things are too agile."

Qin Ziwen wiped the sweat from his forehead. "They look a bit like mice. We need to set a trap. Let's look for fruit trees first."

As the sun slowly rose, the surrounding vegetation emitted a faint fragrance of fresh grass, and the air grew increasingly hot.

Qin Ziwen and his younger brother had already walked around the neighborhood once, and more and more families like them were searching the surrounding area.

"Xiao Wu, come and take a look, are these mulberries?" Qin Ziwen looked up and pointed to the tree in front of him.

Qin Ziwu was certain, "It's a mulberry tree. We used to pick mulberries on the mountain back home."

Qin Ziwen said, "Okay, then you go up the tree and pick them, I'll watch over them from below."

Qin Ziwu didn't say a word, and obediently climbed the tree with his schoolbag on his back.

The mulberry tree they found was in a somewhat hidden location, nestled among several other trees. At first, no one noticed it, but since it wasn't far from the residential area, an elderly man passing by spotted it after they hadn't been picking for long and quickly went back to call for help.

"Okay!" Qin Ziwu, the younger brother, was full of energy and climbed the tree as nimbly as a monkey.

Qin Ziwen reminded, "Be careful, don't climb too high."

The old man who went back to call for help brought four or five people with him.

Among the newcomers, an older woman with permed hair glanced at Qin Ziwen and said sarcastically, "There are mulberries over here. You two young men are being unethical. You found them and didn't even call out. You're just picking them here secretly."

Qin Ziwen said without any mercy, "It's none of my business if you're slow at finding it."

The thin old man standing next to the middle-aged woman pointed at Qin Ziwen and said, "How can a young man talk like that!"

A hint of impatience flashed in Qin Ziwen's eyes. He raised his spear and took a step closer, which dampened the group's arrogance.

One of the young men inside quickly dodged the question, saying, "Dude, that's not what my family meant. Mom, these things in the wild are meant to be owned by whoever finds them first."

Perhaps it was the "weapon" in Qin Ziwen's hand that made the old woman reluctantly look away, her gaze falling on her daughter. "Zihan, go pick it."

The girl, who looked like a high school student, widened her eyes.

I?
She glanced fearfully at the spear in Qin Ziwen's hand, clearly somewhat unwilling.

The older woman urged, "You brat, what are you standing here for? Just go when I tell you to. This older brother isn't unreasonable. Would he bully you?"

girl:"."

The older woman said to her daughter, "Besides, these mulberries don't last long. They have to be eaten the same day they're picked, otherwise they'll spoil the next day. How many can these two handsome guys eat? Hurry up and go."

The girl took a few hesitant steps forward and glanced timidly at Qin Ziwen.

Qin Ziwen ignored him.

The girl, a little braver, slowly climbed up the tree trunk while wearing sweatpants, and the skinny old man went over and gave her a push.

At this moment, two more families arrived one after another.

Qin Ziwu jumped down from the tree and handed his schoolbag to his brother, saying, "The others are a bit harder to pick."

Qin Ziwen glanced at it and saw that his younger brother's schoolbag was also about half full.

This mulberry tree hadn't been picked much before, and the fruit on it was plump and juicy. Qin Ziwu had already swept through most of the easy-to-pick areas.

"Let's go."

They zipped up their bags, slung their backpacks over their shoulders, and started walking back.

"There's a crocodile!"

"Someone has been bitten by a crocodile."

"There are crocodiles in this river."

Shouts came from the riverbank not far away; someone was yelling for help.

Qin Ziwen and his younger brother exchanged a glance and walked towards the riverbank without prior arrangement.

Even when we were still dozens of meters away from the riverbank, we could hear the sound of the surging waves.

On the water's surface, a giant crocodile tumbles and splashes, creating huge waves.

On the shore, a teenage girl was crying out, "Dad! Please save my dad!"

On the shore, some people carefully threw stones at the crocodiles, while others used twigs they had collected to hit them.

After being attacked, the crocodile dragged the man away from the shore and swam towards deeper water. The water along the way was stained red with blood. The man who had been bitten had stopped struggling, and his two legs were dangling limply outside.

Qin Ziwu sighed, "What a huge crocodile! I estimate it's at least four or five meters long. It's a good thing we didn't go to the river earlier; all the animals here seem to be quite large."

Qin Ziwen said in a deep voice, "Have you forgotten about the bat from last night? Bats are generally social animals."

Hearing this, Qin Ziwu felt a chill run down his spine. He thought of the scenes he had seen on TV where caves were teeming with bats, and he couldn't even imagine if they were all that size.

"Woo."

The girl on the shore knelt on the ground and cried bitterly, and her mother hugged her.

An old man carrying a bucket of water shook his head on the bank, "Alas, this family is in trouble. The only male in the family is gone."

Back home, Qin Ziwen emptied all the mulberries from his bag and put them in an iron basin.

The mulberries had softened a bit after being picked for a while.

I picked it up, smelled it, and then put it in my mouth to taste it in small bites.

The taste has changed since it was freshly picked.

Qin Ziwen frowned. "It actually spoiled so quickly."

He went outside and looked at the increasingly scorching sun in the sky.

The two suns, one on the left and one on the right, are very close together, and from a distance they look like two eyes hanging in the sky.

Gently wipe the surface of the mulberries dry with tissue paper, select the fresh and plump ones, and spread them evenly on the cardboard on the balcony.

Qin Ziwu squatted down beside him to observe, "Brother, will this work?"

"Let's give it a try first. The shelf life will be longer after drying. Consider it an experiment."

Picking up the plate and looking at the remaining damaged and shriveled mulberries, Qin Ziwen gently wiped them with a piece of paper, carefully picked out the impurities, and put them in his mouth to chew slowly.

The flesh is soft and juicy with a slightly grainy texture, prominently sweet with a just-right touch of tartness.

It tastes good, and I've heard that it's also rich in vitamins and can supplement many nutrients needed by the human body.

"Have something." She handed the plate to her younger brother.

Qin Ziwu took the plate, wiped off the dust, and popped it into his mouth. "Hmm, it's quite sweet."

It was too hot outside at noon, so Qin Ziwen didn't go out. He found a piece of paper and drew a map on it, referring to his memory from the morning. In the middle was the residential area, and about a hundred meters south of the residential area was a river running east to west. The river was calm and shallow, and in some areas, exposed stones could be seen. The river was about one or two hundred meters wide.

The terrain to the north is higher, with mountains in the distance and forests all around, covered in lush vegetation.

After pausing and thinking for a moment, Qin Ziwen drew a small circle to the northwest of where he found the mulberry tree.

He put down his pen and paper; he was sleepy. He hadn't slept much last night and had been up all night.

Qin Ziwen yawned: "I'm going to take a nap. It's too hot outside now, so let's not go out to avoid heatstroke. Let's go out in the afternoon when it's cooler."

Qin Ziwu nodded. His older brother had always been a good student, so listening to him was always the right thing to do.

It was a bit hot on the bed, so Qin Ziwen simply pulled off the sheet and spread it on the floor, where he quickly fell asleep.

When I woke up, it was already 4:40 pm. The temperature had turned cool, and there was a large temperature difference between day and night here.

My phone's battery is down to 24%, and it'll probably shut down automatically in a little while.

So I simply turned off my phone.

After waking his younger brother, Qin Ziwen went to the balcony. Looking down from the balcony, he saw that some residents had set up stalls under the shade of the trees in the community below, with some items on them, and were doing street vending.

Some people exchange unwanted or surplus items from their homes for other things.

Qin Ziwen squatted down and turned the mulberries on the balcony over to prevent them from sticking to the cardboard.

He didn't know if he could make dried fruit this way; he had seen others do it this way when he watched videos before.

Qin Ziwu leaned against the balcony, still yawning. After watching for a while, he became very interested in the street stalls downstairs. The more he looked, the more energetic he became. He leaned on the balcony, his elbows on the railing, his neck sticking out.

"Brother, I want to go down and take a look. Do you think I can find anything good?"

Qin Ziwen flipped the mulberries in his hand over. "These things were all taken out by other people themselves. They're not stupid. If you want to find a bargain, you'll have to wait a while. I guess you won't even have to spend any money by then."

Qin Ziwu understood his elder brother's meaning and chuckled.

Qin Ziwen carefully turned over the last mulberry, stood up and looked down at the bustling crowd below. "Right now, most households have enough to eat to maintain a decent living. But things will be different once the food runs out."

After passing through, all electricity and internet were cut off.

Without the internet, time always seems to slow down.

Qin Ziwen said to his younger brother, "We need to prepare more weapons, food, and water. Our advantage now is that we are two adult men. We should try not to get sick. If we need to drink water, we must boil it first. We should also try to eat cooked food."

"Then why did you give me mulberries just now!"

"Don't argue with me!" Qin Ziwen turned around and gave him a flick on the forehead.

Qin Ziwu: "Brother, do you have a lighter at home?"

"I don't smoke."

"I don't smoke! So where would the fire come from?"

"You don't know how to start a fire by rubbing sticks together?"

"I won't."

"It's okay, I'll teach you."

As Qin Ziwen stepped out of the apartment building, he noticed that the atmosphere in the neighborhood was somewhat oppressive.

The crowd gathered in twos and threes.

I overheard other people talking and learned that someone in Building 6 had been bitten by a venomous snake that afternoon. When they were carried back, their body was covered in purple bruises and they were already cold.

Including the four houses that were eaten by crocodiles this morning, two people have died in the community before the day is even over, causing widespread panic.

At a stall near the tree, an old man wearing a gray vest asked the stall owner, "How much is this lighter?"

The stall owner said, "Five liters of clean water, or enough food for one meal."

The old man was startled. "Are you crazy, kid! You're asking such a high price for a lighter that only costs one yuan!"

The stall owner sneered, "This is a fire! How can you cook without a fire, eating raw food? Besides, this lighter is brand new; if you use it sparingly, it will last you a long time."

"That's too expensive. How about a cheaper price? I have a half-empty bottle of mineral water at home. How about I trade this for it?" The old man squatted down and took out a lighter.

The stall owner, a tall, fat man, grabbed the old man's hand and said, "I haven't given my permission yet, are you trying to steal it?"

"Ouch, someone's been hit! Someone's been hit!" The old man then lay down on the ground.

The tall, fat man chuckled angrily, rolled up his sleeves, and said, "There are no police around here. You really want to get beaten up, don't you?"

Upon hearing this, the old man jumped up. "Young people speak with such veiled barbs and show no respect for elders."

The tall, fat man's lips moved without making a sound, but Qin Ziwen recognized the three words.

The tall, chubby man turned to Qin Ziwen beside him, "Hey bro, wanna buy a lighter?"

Qin Ziwen smiled and waved his hand.

I took my younger brother for a walk around the neighborhood, and the things these neighbors were selling were all kinds of things.

Most of the items are luxury goods, electronic products, and some gold jewelry. There are very few things that can actually help with survival. Even if there are exorbitant prices, people basically still need food.

Qin Ziwen suddenly stopped. He saw a large crowd gathered at a stall not far ahead.

I went over and found out that someone was selling fishing rods.

Qin Ziwu lowered his voice and whispered, "Brother, this is a good thing. There's a river right next to us, so we can fish with a fishing rod."

Qin Ziwen listened for a while, then silently shook his head, "Too expensive."

Because of its scarcity, this fishing rod was being fought over by several families, making it impossible to find a bargain.

Moreover, the most important thing in fishing is never the fishing rod, but the bait.

The bait can attract fish; you can catch them by tying a needle to a twig or thin thread.

"Brother, sell it to me cheaply. I really want it. There are crocodiles in this river, and fishing isn't very safe. If the hook falls into a crocodile's mouth, this rod will be ruined."

"This is Daiwa, a brand name product!"

A man in a suit standing nearby said, "Brother, I have five packs of biscuits here. You'll really not lose out if you trade them with me. These biscuits have a long shelf life; you can keep them for months. After a few months, you won't even be able to trade two packs for ten, let alone ten."

"No, no, it's too cheap. You can add a few more packs."

Qin Ziwen recognized the man in the suit as Huang Tao, the resident of Building 7 who had called everyone together to cooperate.

I led my younger brother out of the crowd and continued searching around the neighborhood.

Unfortunately, no fruit trees similar to mulberry trees could be found. However, a rat trap was found next to the entrance of a hole that looked like a rat hole, which seemed to have been newly hidden there by a resident of the community.

After memorizing the location, Qin Ziwen returned home, drew all the curtains, and closed the doors and windows.

After eating four small bread rolls and half a bottle of water for dinner, Qin Ziwen was still a little hungry. He lay flat on the bed, trying to conserve food as much as possible until he found a new source of food.

It was getting dark outside.

Without the internet, it feels a little strange to be sleeping so early for the first time.

But after walking around outside for most of the day, I was exhausted, and soon after lying down on the bed, I fell into a deep sleep.

In my sleep, I vaguely heard a sound.

"You have successfully survived the first day in the wilderness, collected a small amount of fresh fruit, and drawn a simple map. Overall score: 3 points"

"You have received the following rewards: 1 flint and steel, 1 simple trap crafting blueprint (fragment)"

(End of this chapter)