"Yang... Yang Yuan?"
"He's actually not dead?!"
The group of people had their faces change several times in succession; some had flickering eyes, some showed a look of shame, and others hurriedly made a pitiable expression.
But Yang Yuan kept glaring at them with a cold face, the muzzle of his handgun casually and intentionally aimed in their direction.
This was already at the very edge of the temporary camp, almost beyond the military patrol area. If those people dared to rob him, he could shoot and kill them, and the military wouldn't intervene.
In the original body's memory, the military despised those who broke the rules the most.
Seeing Yang Yuan's attitude, the group's faces changed repeatedly; some gave a jealous glance at Zhao Jiayan and Jiang Yiyi before reluctantly turning away.
"It's all Liang Gao's fault!"
"That's right, it's all his fault. If he hadn't incited us, we wouldn't have abandoned Yang Yuan!"
Everyone shifted the blame onto a middle-aged man among them, glaring at him angrily.
"Bullshit, are you all so noble? I only mentioned it, and then you all acted faster than anyone else, taking his food. I never intended to take his food."
Liang Gao snorted coldly, secretly regretting why he didn't wait a little longer.
Originally, he could still enjoy free meals, but now he had to figure it out for himself.
They actually had their own handguns. Handguns weren't that precious; a pound of meat could exchange for one. Now, food and water were the most valuable.
But such small firearms couldn't kill alien beasts and required close combat, yet few dared to engage in close combat with these beasts.
Even those who awakened abilities, unless they were close-combat types, didn't like to engage in close combat either.
"Damn, need to find another place to eat. But in this kind of environment, gaining others' trust is too hard! Next time we encounter a similar situation, I must wait longer and not leave until the last moment, or it would ruin my reputation. Hopefully, Yang Yuan won't speak out about my matters, or we'd have to become enemies!"
Although in this current environment everyone was wary of strangers and wouldn't easily trust others, he was fortunate to have previously been involved in direct sales scams and was skilled in persuading people.
"But... Yang Yuan couldn't have really awakened, could he? It should be unlikely, as not every high fever is a symptom of awakening!"
He was somewhat uncertain because even with injuries, Yang Yuan could still obtain meat...
"Maybe he just got lucky and hunted some kind of small animal? Otherwise, Zhao Jiayan wouldn't only exchange for that little water."
He thought about these things in agitation, directly took his share of supplies, and left the crowd, unwilling to stay with them and attract too much attention, affecting his reputation.
Seeing Yang Yuan drive away those people, Zhao Jiayan breathed a sigh of relief. She was really worried that Yang Yuan would be soft-hearted as before and take that group back in.
However, the current Yang Yuan was already no longer the same good-natured person as before.
Having painstakingly gotten a second chance at life, he didn't want to throw it away.
"Don't bother with those people in the future. If they hold a grudge, I'll handle them," Yang Yuan said lightly.
Having crossed into this world, after accepting the original body's memories and skills, and having already killed twice before, he felt he should face the terror of killing head-on. This is something he would certainly encounter in the future, so it's good to be mentally prepared sooner.
"Okay."
Zhao Jiayan nodded, placing out the exchanged items: "I traded the wolf skin too, got three pounds of water, three pounds of compressed biscuits, an ounce of salt, and a hundred handgun bullets. Couldn't trade for any antibiotics."
"So much water?"
Yang Yuan exclaimed in surprise; even after trading a hundred bullets and other supplies, they still managed to get three pounds of water?
Water was extremely precious nowadays, much more than food.
"There seems to be an underground river here, so water is cheaper this time."
Zhao Jiayan smiled, "I suspect the military might stay here for a while. That's why I suggest picking a good spot to set up camp, maybe tonight or tomorrow morning."
"I see."
Yang Yuan suddenly realized, "Staying is good; otherwise, my injury would really hinder travel. You can decide these things; I'm fine either way, but let's do it tomorrow morning; it's too dangerous at night."
"Okay. About the water, I suggest eating the roasted meat first before drinking, it would be wasteful otherwise."
While speaking, Zhao Jiayan took some salt, sprinkled it on the wolf meat roasted by Jiang Yiyi, cut a piece, and handed it to Yang Yuan.
With the salt sprinkled on it, the aroma spread, prompting many from afar to look over, their eyes filled with envy and resentment.
If it were anywhere else, those people might have come to snatch it. Nowadays, food was precious, and not to mention roasted meat, many couldn't even find roots to eat, and fights broke out over a single morsel.
But here, they could only stare helplessly; if anyone dared to snatch, the military would shoot them without needing Yang Yuan to lift a finger.
Yang Yuan took the roasted meat and tried a bite. To be honest, it tasted terrible, mainly because he hadn't truly gone hungry in this world.
However, his stomach was very empty, and after drinking wolf blood during the day, he hadn't eaten anything, so he endured the unwashed raw taste and ate in large bites.
First, fill his stomach; if he wanted tastier food, he'd plan for it later.
Suddenly, he noticed Zhao Jiayan cutting a piece of roasted meat for Jiang Yiyi, then eating compressed biscuits herself. He asked in confusion, "Why aren't you eating the roasted meat?"
"I'm fine with the compressed biscuits. You two have the meat, especially since you're injured and need more meat to recover."
Zhao Jiayan smiled, "I don't need to fight, so eating too well would be a waste."
Jiang Yiyi hesitated, looking at Yang Yuan. She felt that eating would be wasteful since she didn't need to fight either. As long as she could eat her fill, it didn't matter what she ate.
Guessing that Zhao Jiayan might be worried about a balance between the two Awakened, Yang Yuan paused and then said, "I'll remember what happened today; you're a good partner. I'll make sure you won't go hungry as long as I have something to eat."
Zhao Jiayan's eyes lit up, "I'll hold you to that!"
"I'm not joking."
Yang Yuan smiled, then said to Jiang Yiyi beside him, "Eat up; conditions are tough now, but they'll get better. Work on improving your abilities so that Sister Jiayan can also enjoy some meat."
"Yes, yes." Jiang Yiyi felt reassured, eating the roasted meat while deciding to work on enhancing her capability.
After Yang Yuan devoured almost half a pound of roasted meat, he realized he was full.
The wolf meat contained strong energy, unlike the ordinary meat from his past life, and even when very hungry, eating half a pound almost made him too full.
"Want more?" Zhao Jiayan asked.
"I'm full; pass me the water." Yang Yuan replied.
"Here you go." Zhao Jiayan handed over the water bag, "There might be some sediment, so drink slowly."
"Will do."
Yang Yuan pulled out the cork from the bag, immediately smelling an earthy scent, but he didn't mind, drinking straightforwardly.
Although the water was murky, after being thirsty almost all day, it was like nectar to him.
He drank more than half a pound in one go before stopping, resisting the urge to drink more.
With conditions as they were, saving some was necessary as long as he wouldn't die of thirst.
He plugged the water bag and returned it to Zhao Jiayan, picking up the short knife and wooden sticks, continuing to make the arm crossbow.
He intended to take advantage of the early hours to make a few more crossbows, gaining experience and upgrading his skills first.
As long as his level increased, his items could level up quickly.
The item levels and experience were relatively easier to gain.