[edited]

Except for Huo Yishen, everyone else appeared very exhausted. Tears lingered in Doudou’s eyes, her little face pale with fright, clearly traumatized. 

No one spoke as the three men tacitly transported the water tower. 

Jiang Ning stored away the inflatable boat and carried the firewood upstairs. 

Zheng Weili walked ahead of her, nearly stumbling and almost falling. 

Jiang Ning couldn’t free her hands, so she used her body to support her. 

They continued upstairs, but Zheng Weili’s walking posture was odd which indicates that her foot was injured. 

Jiang Ning’s nose caught a hint of blood in the air. 

Did they get into a fight during this trip? 

With countless pairs of eyes in the apartment building, now was not the time to show weakness. If it was discovered that the 18th floor was in trouble, many people would rush over like mad dogs. 

They gritted their teeth and returned to the 18th floor. Zheng Weili placed the firewood in the corridor, looking more than just pained. 

Jiang Ning helped her into the room. “What happened?” 

Zheng Weili had a leg injury, and the blood had stained the bandage red. 

It wasn’t a knife or gunshot wound, but rather a puncture wound. 

Zheng Weili winced in pain. “A wild boar charged at me.” 

Jiang Ning frowned. “You went into the mountains again?” 

“What else can we do if we don’t go into the mountains?” Zheng Weili sighed bitterly. “All the living things are submerged underwater. People are starving to death outside every day. When we went out today, we saw someone throwing bodies from the upper floors, and not just one.” 

“We can barely hold on for seven or eight months, but finding supplies is getting harder and harder. What are we going to do in the future?” 

Dismantling the water tower was secondary today; their main goal was to head into the mountains. 

They crossed several mountains, and Coke lived up to expectations and it actually found a nest of wild boars, with as many as five of them, and they were all quite large. 

After unanimous agreement, they decided to take action and bring down the wild boars. 

Jiang Ning wiped away their sweat. “Wild boars are not like domesticated ones; they’re very aggressive.” 

It was indeed dangerous, but wild boar meat could save lives. Even if it was a huge risk, they had to do it! 

Jiang Ning took out gauze and iodine, searched for surgical instruments and suture thread. “The wound is quite large and it’s difficult to stop bleeding. Should I take you to the hospital, or do you want me to stitch it up here?” 

“It’s not a big deal. You can help me stitch it up.” 

Zheng Weili was used to getting injured from boxing and didn’t think much of it. Plus, going to the hospital wouldn’t help much, so it was better to handle it at home. 

Since she had anesthesia from last time, Jiang Ning first disinfected the wound, then administered local anesthesia to numb the pain, before starting the suturing. 

It was her first time suturing a person, but she had practiced countless times on pork, so her hands were steady. 

Meanwhile, Lu Yu beside her turned pale with fear, tightly gripping his girlfriend’s hand. “Anning, Weili’s life is in your hands now.” 

Zheng Weili pushed him lightly. “You’re squeezing my hand too hard.” 

Zhang Chao rolled his eyes. “Stop flirting.” 

Not only was Zheng Weili injured, but Zhang Chao and Lu Yu also sustained injuries, but they were just minor scrapes. 

Huo Yishen had a scratch on his arm, which was bleeding, but he still comforted the frightened and crying Doudou. 

The rainy forest was slippery, and Zheng Weili killed one wild boar bare handed but got rammed by its tusks. 

Coke was extremely brave and seamlessly cooperated with Huo Yishen, killing the remaining four wild boars. 

Zhang Chao and Lu Yu also helped, but they were not on the same level. If it weren’t for Huo Yishen’s intervention, Zhang Chao might have been in grave danger. 

As a result, Huo Yishen got a scratch on his arm. 

Doudou didn’t participate, she was tied high up on a tree by Huo Yishen, she’s completely scared by the intense battle below. 

After stitching up Zheng Weili’s wound, Jiang Ning proceeded to treat the injury of 1801. 

It was just a shallow cut and it’s not very deep. After cleaning, she stitched it with 10 stitches and gave pain relievers and anti inflammatory medicine. 

The group sat down to discuss how to deal with the wild boars. 

Without a refrigerator, they couldn’t store the meat at home. 

“How about making jerky?” Lu Yu suggested. “We brought back several boxes of charcoal last time.” 

Jiang Ning disagreed, “Jerky consumes too much charcoal. Besides, how long do we have to barbecue five boars? The whole neighborhood will smell like barbecue.” 

“Do you remember the sharp mouthed monkey?” Zhang Chao’s mind was quick. “They not only sell things but also buy things. We’re short of food now. Why don’t we trade the wild boar meat with them?” 

Last time, they had five consecutive transactions, and the other party was quite trustworthy. 

This method was not bad; perhaps they could give it a try. 

They stuffed a boar’s head into the water tower and had already butchered it into four large pieces. 

They took out the wild boar meat from the water tower. The skin was thick, the meat was dark red, and there was hardly any fat. 

Jiang Ning disagreed with bringing the whole head of the boar. “Let’s cut a few pounds first to test the waters. Don’t reveal how much we have. If we can negotiate, we’ll trade in batches.” 

With two people injured, Zhang Chao and Lu Yu volunteered to go to the department store to find the sharp mouthed monkey. 

In the apocalypse, who could take care of each other all the time? How far one could go depended on oneself. 

Jiang Ning didn’t stop them and reminded them to be careful. 

Doudou was frightened and fell asleep after being comforted by Huo Yishen, who carried her back to the room to sleep. 

Zheng Weili told Jiang Ning about the situation at the villas halfway up the mountain. They had dismantled six water towers and collected a lot of solid wood furniture, as well as two unused gas cylinders. 

They needed to find a way to bring these back as soon as possible, or else they would be taken by others. 

“The wild boars are hidden in the mountains and should not be found for now.” 

An hour later, Zhang Chao and Lu Yu returned. 

“We found out that the leader of the sharp mouthed monkey is surnamed Qin. They are willing to trade food for pork, but they want to take advantage of us.” 

One pound of wild boar meat could be exchanged for two pounds of broken rice, but only one pound of new rice. 

Taking five pounds of meat, they exchanged it for five pounds of new rice. 

Jiang Ning inspected the rice, which was of good quality long grain rice. “You weren’t followed, were you?” 

“No, we took the motorboat and made sure to take a detour,” Zhang Chao replied. 

“They really wanted this batch of meat. They said if we exchanged it for new rice, it would all be vacuum packed with the latest expiration dates.” 

She called Huo Yishen over, and they discussed the transaction. 

Jiang Ning agreed to exchange the meat for rice, although it seemed like they were losing out a bit. But Zheng Weili and the others didn’t have the means to preserve the wild boar meat, and many people couldn’t even buy rice. How many people would actually buy meat? 

Compared to meat, rice was more filling and had a longer shelf life. 

With five wild boars, if butchered, each averaged about 200 pounds net weight, which could fetch a lot of grain. 

However, they decided to keep some meat and only exchange four of the boars. 

The meat from the five wild boars was divided—three portions for Unit 1803, one portion for Unit 1801, and the portion for Cola went to Jiang Ning. 

Wild boar meat was good for roasting and making chili meat sauce, which could be preserved for a long time without spoiling. 

However, whether roasting or making the sauce, it took time and had a strong smell, so it was best not to do it in their unit. 

In addition, with the villas already evacuated, it was suggested to prepare the meat there before returning. 

Jiang Ning was thinking along the same lines, and the others had no objections. 

So, the three men packed the wild boar meat into bags and stuffed them into large backpacks, then set off in the motorboat to make the trade. 

They didn’t forget to bring Coke along. 

They met at the department store. They avoided the crowd and trade in secret.