Wei Dalei stopped his actions and returned the spear to Chen Mu.
However, Chen Mu declined it and turned to Dong Junwei, saying, "Squad leader, organize everyone to load the rice onto the cart, leaving half of the space. Wei and I will go get some water."
"Sure, go ahead," Dong Junwei nodded.
Before coming here, Chen Mu had taken some materials from a disposable plastic spoon, intending to replicate what they did last time by collecting more water. After all, there might not be another chance in the future.
Back at the mineral water container, Wei Dalei followed the same procedure, piercing the bottles with his spear.
Chen Mu handed the prepared water buckets to Wei Dalei one by one, and after they were filled, he sealed them shut.
Having done it once before and having rested overnight, Chen Mu's mental strength was now very abundant. He performed these tasks much more skillfully.
"Hey, why does the water surface look uneven?" Wei Dalei asked with some confusion while filling the water.
"That's because of water surface tension and capillary action. It's like how the water surface in a test tube is concave. These water buckets are even smaller than test tubes, so it's natural to see this phenomenon. Clearly, you haven't paid enough attention in class," Chen Mu explained and scolded.
"Hehe," Wei Dalei didn't feel embarrassed at all.
Last time, it was dark, and everyone's spirits were low, so they didn't notice these details. However, Chen Mu had already thought about it and even discussed it with Tang Jing before.
They filled five buckets of water in a row before taking a break.
Wei Dalei carried one bucket in each hand and headed towards the flatbed cart.
Chen Mu tried lifting one bucket too, but it didn't budge.
Indeed, he couldn't be compared to this bear-like creature.
On Dong Junwei's side, they only needed to load the rice onto the cart. It quickly finished as the rice grains, although looking huge, were light enough for even a girl to carry one.
They could only move a dozen or so rice grains to leave enough space for the water buckets. But in terms of size, it would be enough to sustain them for a long time.
The only problem was they currently lacked a means to cook it.
If it came down to it, they would have to eat it raw.
Still better than starving to death.
After moving the last grain of rice, Tang Jing caressed the full rice grain and smiled, "This is newly harvested rice, less than a year old."
"You can tell that?" Chen Mu asked.
"The color and luster of old rice would be much different, and there would be a distinct smell. It's not very reassuring to eat it raw. But with new rice, we can manage," Tang Jing explained.
Among today's students, being able to distinguish between different grains of cereals was already quite remarkable, let alone telling the age of rice.
Chen Mu sighed, "The biggest issue now is how to cook our food. We can't keep living like primitive hunters."
"Yeah," Dong Junwei nodded.
"Is it possible to start a fire?"
"It's very difficult," Tang Jing shook her head. "Leaving aside the challenge of starting a fire, even if we manage to ignite one, the matchstick that's bigger than all of us will burn out in a few seconds, rendering it almost pointless. On the other hand, the wood that can sustain a fire for a longer time is too heavy for us to carry. Even if we could move it, we wouldn't be able to get close to the fire safely."
"So, we won't be able to use fire in the future at all?"
"It's not entirely impossible. We can look for smaller items that burn slowly and are relatively durable."
"Like what?"
"For example, candles. Though they are still much larger than us, they are somewhat manageable. With proper handling, we can still make use of them."
"But, except for birthdays, I haven't seen candles for many years now," Dong Junwei sighed.
Even in developed coastal cities like Shangshi, frequent power outages had become rare nationwide. As a result, residents had indeed grown less familiar with candles.
"The cafeteria probably won't have them either. Even if they do, where would we find them at the moment?" Chen Mu sighed as well.
Tang Jing said, "That's indeed a big problem. We may have to rely on raw food to sustain ourselves for a long time."
"We can discuss these things later. Let's head back now and figure out a plan gradually," Dong Junwei suggested, preparing to organize everyone to return.
But Chen Mu interrupted, "Squad leader, do you guys want to wash up over there?"
This suggestion instantly gained everyone's support.
Over the past two days, everyone had been sweating profusely. Their clothes were constantly wet and then dried, forming salt crystals on their bodies. Yet, they hadn't had a chance to properly wash up.
Wei Dalei stepped forward and pierced two bottles of water in succession, allowing everyone to wash up.
The boys just stood under the water and let it splash everywhere.
The girls couldn't be as bold, so they could only use handkerchiefs or sleeves to dab the water and wipe themselves.
But being able to wash their faces at this moment was more comforting than anything else.
After people shrank, even the slightest breeze would kick up the dust on the ground like a sandstorm. Almost everyone looked dusty and disheveled.
Dong Junwei washed her face and regained some of her previous charming appearance.
After drinking their fill here, everyone was ready to head back.
"This place is full of food, but luckily, we haven't stayed here for too long, so there aren't too many random critters around. However, Chen Mu could already see some moths flying around the flour bags," Tang Jing pointed out.
Just as they were about to leave, Du Jiajia suddenly screamed.
Everyone became extra sensitive to any noises and instinctively became alert.
"A mouse... no, some bugs..."
Du Jiajia pointed towards a spot near the rice bags where a few dark and tiny creatures were crawling. At first glance, they really looked like mice.
But now, real mice were much larger than humans.
"They're rice weevils," Tang Jing quickly recognized them.
"Rice weevils?"
"Yes, when grains are stored for a long time, rice weevils can appear. Although these bags contain new rice, this place has been used for long-term grain storage, so it's normal to find rice weevils here."
"They... won't bite people, right?"
"Don't worry, rice weevils only eat grains, and they don't have teeth, so they won't bite people," Tang Jing reassured.
"That's a relief," everyone sighed in relief.
"Let's keep moving. I can't help but feel anxious here," Dong Junwei said.
"Wait a moment," Dong Junwei stopped them and said, "I have an idea."
"What is it?"
"Besides Chen Mu and Dalei, I suggest everyone else try to kill a rice weevil," Dong Junwei proposed.
"Why?" Even Qian Fei, a tall and strong guy, seemed a bit hesitant.
Compared to humans at this moment, rice weevils were indeed quite small, so no one was worried about being eaten like facing a centipede.
However, human fears didn't always follow size.
Mice, cockroaches, snakes – most of them were much smaller than humans, yet 99% of people would still get creeped out when they saw them.
Dong Junwei understood everyone's discontent but insisted, "We can't always rely on others; we need to be capable of protecting ourselves. Maybe not facing centipedes, but at least we should be able to deal with ordinary ants. Rice weevils won't cause any harm, so they're perfect for practice."
Everyone quickly grasped what their squad leader meant.
It had to be said that Dong Junwei's idea was indeed good.
Chang Junyan hesitated, "But we don't have the abilities like Dalei."
Dong Junwei responded, "Chen Mu is just an ordinary person too. Why was he able to kill ants from the beginning?"
Everyone thought that people like Chen Mu were rare, and using him as an example wasn't fair.
But they also knew that the squad leader's proposal was for their own good.
Tang Jing added, "True. Even if we can't practice much, at least it will build up our courage. We shouldn't freeze in fear the next time we encounter something."
After saying that, she turned around and smiled, "Chen Mu, lend me your weapon for a bit, will you?"