Chapter 28: Chapter 28: Volunteering
Currently, the normal operation of the entire team depends almost entirely on Chen Mu, Dong Junwei, Wei Dalei, and Tang Jing, who have not yet awakened their abilities.
Take yesterday's house construction as an example.
Tang Jing is responsible for design and planning; Chen Mu is in charge of material processing; Dong Junwei heats iron rods and pokes holes in the walls to ensure ventilation; and Wei Dalei is the official builder.
Of course, it doesn't mean that the others are completely useless.
Du Jiajia is responsible for logistical support and cooking;
Zhu Hao and Chang Junyan assist Wei Dalei by helping hold materials for Chen Mu during bonding;
And Zhao Xiaoyan, the only one with nothing specific to do, is the designated free person. She goes wherever help is needed - sometimes assisting Du Jiajia in grinding rice flour, other times cleaning up the construction waste left by Chen Mu, and at other times taking care of the hygiene of their living area.
In summary, the nine members of Class 4 in their senior year are all currently occupied; no one is idle.
In fact, compared to their previous academic life, this is even more fulfilling.
"I plan to go to the canteen in a couple of days to look for some other food," Chen Mu said, discussing the next steps with Dong Junwei and Tang Jing after the others dispersed.
"The canteen? Isn't it too dangerous?" Dong Junwei frowned.
"We don't have a choice. If we keep eating rice cakes every day, everyone will soon reach their limit. Besides, the rice won't last forever, and sooner or later, we'll have to go out and find food," Tang Jing agreed.
"This kind of thing is better done sooner than later. After all, it's not guaranteed that we'll find food right away. Without some buffer time, things could easily go wrong," added Dong Junwei.
"Actually, there's another alternative," Chen Mu hesitated and said.
"What is it?"
"We can catch ants to eat."
Upon hearing this, Dong Junwei and Tang Jing felt a bit uncomfortable at first, but they quickly recovered.
"I have thought about it too. Ants are edible by nature. But ever since we encountered those fierce ants that day, it's been hard to associate them with food," Dong Junwei said.
Tang Jing replied, "In the past, people used to dry them or grind them into powder. We can do the same, at least it's better than eating rice cakes every day, and it's essential to supplement our protein intake."
"But ants usually appear in groups, and it's not easy to find isolated ones. Speaking of which, we did encounter a few isolated ones in the classroom before. Why haven't we seen any ants here after arriving?" Dong Junwei asked with some confusion.
Tang Jing smiled and said, "That was just an unfortunate incident. The few ants in the classroom were relatively rare Japanese bow ants, which were kept as pets by our biology teacher, Mr. Chu. Unfortunately, a few days ago, he accidentally dropped and broke the glass container, which caused those ants to scatter nearby. In fact, there aren't many ants in the school area, and even if there are, they are mostly small household ants."
"Yellow crazy ants?" Chen Mu recalled from his biology class.
"Hmm, they are about 2 millimeters long. Even from our current perspective, they are just slightly larger than mice."
"In that case, catching them to eat would be appropriate," Chen Mu's voice even carried a hint of excitement.
Dong Junwei and Tang Jing felt uncomfortable again.
"But as the class monitor just said, finding isolated ants is a matter of chance, and our current condition makes it too dangerous to venture into the grassland environment unnecessarily."
"What if we use some bait?"
"We might end up complicating things, attracting a whole group at once. In any case, it's not easy to control."
"Since that's the case," Chen Mu said, "then I'll still go to the canteen and see if I can find something else to eat. If it doesn't work out, we can consider the ants."
"Isn't that too risky? Actually, although rice cakes might not taste great, they can still sustain us for a while." Dong Junwei hesitated for a moment before saying, "How about waiting for my ability to become more proficient, and then we can go together?"
"No need, I had an idea yesterday. Though I can't guarantee that we'll come back fully loaded, I'm somewhat confident that we can return safely. By then, I'll go with Dalei. However, Class Monitor can provide us with some fire support these two days."
Dong Junwei's ability to turn stones into bombs could indeed be of great help, but currently, her psychic energy was still lacking.
They had conducted experiments before, and making plastic glow was the easiest, followed by heating metal. However, turning a fist-sized stone into a somewhat powerful bomb could only be done two or three times a day, and each attempt took nearly one to two minutes.
Using such an ability in a real confrontation was clearly impractical.
However, the advantage was that the bombs created by Dong Junwei could be handed over to others to use.
Even for someone like Wei Dalei, a strength enthusiast, holding a bomb would be very helpful.
Everything was settled.
Chen Mu planned to set off the day after tomorrow in the morning.
After telling Wei Dalei about the plan, he showed no fear at all. Instead, he was enthusiastic, patting his chest, ensuring that he would guarantee the safety of the leader. He even declared that he would confront the mice head-on.
Chen Mu smiled and gave him a thumbs-up as a sign of praise.
However, at this moment, Zhao Xiaoyan suddenly interjected, "I want to go too."
Wei Dalei was taken aback at first, then immediately opposed, "No way."
"Why?" Zhao Xiaoyan pouted.
"You won't be of any help; you'll just be a burden!" Wei Dalei responded emphatically.
Chen Mu covered his forehead, thinking, "Wei Dalei, even if you think like that, at least sugarcoat it a bit before saying it out loud. With this attitude, Zhao Xiaoyan must have been blind and deaf to be interested in you."
But Zhao Xiaoyan seemed to have already gotten used to Wei Dalei's straightforward nature and didn't mind. She retorted, "Who said I won't be of any help? Who showed you the way to the cake last time?"
"This..." Wei Dalei was momentarily speechless.
"You also said that my ability could help with finding food. Why are you denying it now? With me, you can save a lot of time," Zhao Xiaoyan argued.
Indeed, Zhao Xiaoyan's ability was of great help in finding food. Chen Mu had also considered having her accompany them, but as Wei Dalei mentioned, if there was danger, Zhao Xiaoyan might become a burden. Additionally, as Wei Dalei's good friend, it was awkward for Chen Mu to bring this up.
In matters of social etiquette, Chen Mu was more aware than anyone.
While brothers are brothers, Wei Dalei would gladly take a stab for Chen Mu without blinking an eye. However, if Chen Mu were to actively ask Zhao Xiaoyan to take risks, even if Wei Dalei wouldn't say it aloud, he would definitely hold some grudges in his heart.
Therefore, Chen Mu would rather take a bit more time to find food than to bring up this topic.
However, Zhao Xiaoyan volunteered herself in the end.
In a way, her thoughts were somewhat similar to Du Jiajia's.
Although Zhao Xiaoyan was also an ability holder, apart from guiding them to the cake location the first time, she hadn't made any contributions to the team. Therefore, she always wanted to do something useful.
"But it's too dangerous," Wei Dalei still refused to agree.
"Where is it not dangerous?" Zhao Xiaoyan shrugged, "I even think that it's safer to follow you two. If those three lunatics from last time come again, do you think the people left here can handle them?"
Wei Dalei was startled, seemingly persuaded to some extent. After thinking for a while, he asked Chen Mu, "Leader, what do you think?"
Pretending to ponder for a moment, Chen Mu said, "Both sides have valid points. It is indeed safer to stay here, but if we go together, we will do our best to protect her. In the end, it depends on the two of you. But if you really decide to go together, discuss it with the class monitor first."
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