The sounds of battle outside continued all night, and Barrett Walker heard them all night as well. The sounds of combat made his blood boil and his heart beat stronger, completely overshadowing his internal injuries. His body temperature rose, and the hunger in his belly could have swallowed an elephant. As dawn approached, the two men returned, exhausted and collapsed to sleep. The sounds outside grew quieter, and Barrett Walker gradually drifted off to sleep. In his dreams, he found himself on the Mountain of War, witnessing the epic battle between Danus Leao and Mas Walker. Their swords soared, their power overwhelming, rendering all living beings before them weak and insignificant.
The experience of witnessing this mighty battle made everything else seem insignificant. His dream then shifted to a battle with the heroes of the Federation. He watched familiar faces fall in defeat, their blood spraying, bodies breaking, and he fled in exhaustion, no longer hindered by Danus Leao. But his escape was futile, as he was eventually overtaken and confronted with his demise. Barrett Walker awoke with a start, drenched in sweat, gazing at the sunlight streaming into the room. He lamented the intense radiation that had permeated the place.
However, Barrett Walker was surprised to find that he could move. Sitting up, he was relieved to feel his body lightened and his strength seemingly increased. He examined his unfamiliar, emaciated body, resembling the starving children of Africa. Even his skeletal frame had diminished, and he was occasionally wracked with excruciating pain, causing spasms and nausea.
Barrett Walker noticed a T-shirt and shorts nearby, at least XXL in size, which now draped him like a bedsheet. Upon standing up, he realized he seemed much shorter. He pushed open the door and saw few people in the area, but the old people and children looked at him strangely. Surprised by their frailty, Barrett Walker wondered why they were dressed so oddly. Nonetheless, his overwhelming hunger took precedence, and he decided to try his luck foraging in the wilderness.
"Look! This person has been lying here with his eyes closed for over a month and still hasn't died. What kind of monster is he?"
"Don't talk nonsense. If this monster gets angry, he'll eat your child."
"This man is indeed strange! We thought he was dead, so we carried him to the street. But then he moved, so we had to carry him back. The brothers charged admission for people to visit him!"
Listening to these people's remarks, Barrett Walker finally understood. He could imagine the scene: not eating or drinking, no nutritional supplements, possibly even worse off than a vegetable. Barrett Walker couldn't fathom what was so strange about him that people paid to see him.
"Hey! Come out! We caught a big tiger today, so we're having an extra meal." A person ran past Barrett Walker, calling out loudly. In an instant, a large crowd rushed out of the house and flooded the street, leaving Barrett Walker feeling dejected. He decided to leave and try his luck foraging in the wilderness, despite the opportunity to eat. He couldn't bear to watch the children's eager, thin faces.
"Hey! Where are you going? It's almost time for dinner." A young man from the hunting party watched Barrett Walker leave without eating and questioned him, not recognizing which family he belonged to.
Barrett Walker's voice was hoarse, but with that statement, he quickly disguised the uneasiness in his heart. He weakly patted his stomach and said, "I just ate something, I'm not hungry! Just a bit thirsty, I want to go out and find some water!"
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"Don't go, come to my house! The water in the Yellow River is good both upstream and downstream, but the section where people live is the worst. Two years ago, the Federal Organization asked us to go downstream to find water, and the water was so clear after the Dalingkou. But that year, it disturbed the wild alien creatures, and many people died in our area. Oh! By the way, if you want water, you can knock on any door." The man patted Barrett Walker's shoulder, helping to carry the dead tiger, and walked towards the border area.
Barrett Walker pondered, if it was just brute strength without unity, I'm afraid this border area wouldn't have lasted so long! It would have been driven away by the federation long ago.
Barrett Walker looked at the barbed wire fence, and not far away, there was a gate with only two soldiers on guard. They greeted the local people and some of them directly climbed through the fence. The soldiers didn't seem to mind, they didn't even look twice. Perhaps these two were also chosen by the locals! Barrett Walker didn't try to climb the fence, but walked out through the gate along the main road.
"Don't go too far, those beasts outside seem to be getting restless!" Looking at Barrett Walker's frail appearance, the two soldiers with their honest and kind faces, kindly reminded him.
"Got it, I won't go far." Barrett Walker replied hoarsely and dryly. At this moment, he really couldn't understand this border area. There was fighting at night, but why was it so quiet during the day? And everyone was so friendly and peaceful, without a hint of rioting. However, Barrett Walker had heard the news about the locals before, demonized by the federation, nurturing them with nutrient fluid, but they forgot their gratitude and launched armed riots, rampaging into the city, committing all sorts of atrocities until the deployment of power warriors drove them back.
However, Barrett Walker didn't want to make hasty judgments based on what he saw in front of him. The most important thing now was to fill his stomach.
Standing outside the city, watching the muddy and filthy Yellow River flowing, Barrett Walker finally understood what it meant for water quality to be poor. It was more than just poor, it was practically indistinguishable from sewage. It was probably the same further downstream! Thinking of the clear water in the uninhabited area upstream, he really doubted whether the person he had just spoken to had ever seen the water upstream, otherwise he wouldn't have said such a thing.
Walking unsteadily into the low trees, looking at the paths trodden by the locals, Barrett Walker judged that there were probably no animals here. As he walked further into the darkening, dense trees, a cat's meow made his heart tremble slightly. He saw a small tabby cat lying lazily on a large rock, looking at him. In the more than a month that he had been lying down, the little cat had grown a lot, but it was still as cute as before.
Barrett Walker picked some fruits, which were very colorful and far from the border area, but he was still afraid they might be poisonous. After setting up a simple trap, Barrett Walker hid in a small pit covered with grass. The little cat lay down obediently and fell asleep. Barrett Walker swallowed, and finally took a bite. It was a bit bitter and astringent, with an almond flavor, but not sweet. Now Barrett Walker felt relieved, it seemed to be safe to eat! However, he didn't dare to eat too much, and after a few bites, he felt even hungrier!
The sound of a large rock falling nearby made Barrett Walker's heart skip a beat. Which unlucky animal had dropped its fruit? Barrett Walker hurried to check, only to find a small wild boar, less than a meter long. These creatures were most afraid of being alone in the wild! They dared to fight tigers when they went mad. But looking at its smashed head, oozing with brain and blood, Barrett Walker felt nauseous. However, his dizziness from hunger had decreased.
Barrett Walker dragged the wild boar to a distant spot before he gathered some firewood, only to realize that he didn't have a lighter. As he gazed at the boar and the pile of firewood, he pondered if he would have to eat it raw. However, there was no water around, and the stench and blood were already making him nauseous.
Gurgle, gurgle! The sight of the wild game in front of him made his stomach protest even louder. He was already starving on this journey, and now he was considering challenging his limit of fainting from blood?