In the scavenger camp, Team Lei was in front and Xu Qing was behind. The sun was shining thickly on the ground and falling on them.
From a distance, one is tall and the other is short, one is old and the other is young, but there is a vague sense of harmony.
It seems that in this cruel world, such harmony is rare.
Or maybe the python corpse in Team Lei's hands was such a deterrent that most passers-by who had never been to the Colosseum didn't bother them after seeing it.
Xu Qing liked this feeling very much. Whether it was eating the snake next or the sunshine hitting his face at this moment, it made him feel warm.
Very comfortable and looking forward to it.
And every time his eyes fell on the python corpse held by Captain Lei, his mouth would salivate even more.
He also likes to eat snakes.
The home of the Thunder Team is in the central part of the camp.
Compared with the brick houses in the inner ring area and the simple tents in the outer ring area, most of the residences in the middle ring area are stone and wood structures, with three cabins arranged together.
Although each room is not very big, it looks much better than when Xu Qing was in the slums.
In particular, Team Lei's residence also has a small courtyard, which is even more rare.
At this moment, the door of the bamboo courtyard was pushed open. Under Xu Qing's observation and size, Lei Dui carried the python corpse to the tail room and pointed to the second cabin.
"Kid, you can live there from now on. You can get familiar with it first. I'll call you when dinner is ready."
With that said, Team Lei entered the side room, and soon there was the sound of chopping meat.
Xu Qing swallowed, first observed the small courtyard carefully, and then walked into the second small room. There was a bed, a set of quilts, a table and chairs, and nothing else.
The floor was very tidy, the tables and chairs were dust-free, and they had obviously been wiped frequently. The bedding was obviously washed very clean, and there was a sun-baked smell on it.
All this made Xu Qing very satisfied.
He doesn't like big houses, he likes small houses where he can see everything at a glance, as if everything can be reflected in his mind.
This makes him feel safer.
So after checking it carefully, Xu Qing looked at the clean bed, thought for a while and didn't go over, but sat directly on the ground.
Cross your legs and close your eyes to start today’s practice.
During this practice, with the influx of spiritual energy, the sound of boiling oil crackling in the back room next door could be heard in his ears.
Soon, bursts of aroma drifted in along the gaps in the stone and wood of the wall. While filling the cabin, it also evoked the dry sound in Xu Qing's stomach.
good smell.
Xu Qing's throat moved involuntarily, and she opened her eyes and looked in the direction of the back room.
After years of living in the slums, he couldn't remember the last time he smelled such a fragrance.
So he suppressed the sound of longing coming from his stomach, closed his eyes, calmed himself down, and continued practicing.
Time passed slowly like this, and soon dusk came.
When the sound of the thunder squad calling for dinner came from outside the house, Xu Qing, who had just finished practicing for the day, opened his eyes quickly.
He stood up and walked out of the house quickly, and saw Captain Lei standing at the door of the side room, waving to him.
Following the empty space beside Team Lei, Xu Qing had already seen seven or eight different types of snake feasts placed on the dining table in the house, including fried, braised, steamed, and snake soup.
Obviously, Team Lei has excellent cooking skills, and the food is delicious, delicious, and tasty.
Xu Qing glanced at it and his eyes were a little straight. Captain Lei smiled, turned around and went in to pick up the bowls and chopsticks and put them away.
Xu Qing also immediately approached. As he entered the rear room, the aroma became stronger. However, he did not sit down immediately. Instead, he waited for Captain Lei to place the dishes and chopsticks before his eyes suddenly froze.
There are three sets of bowls and chopsticks.
"Is there anyone else?" No matter how tempting the fragrance was, with the appearance of three sets of bowls and chopsticks, Xu Qing was instantly isolated from his body.
He looked at Captain Lei cautiously and asked softly.
"Don't be nervous. This is my habit. That's someone... who will never come."
Lei Dui spoke calmly, a glimmer of reminiscence appeared in the depths of his eyes, then disappeared quickly, and he sat on the chair.
Xu Qing nodded, and as he sat down, he couldn't help but grab a piece of fried snake meat, put it in his mouth and took a big bite.
It was very hot, but he enjoyed it very much and his mouth was full of oil.
As soon as he finished eating a piece, he licked the grease on his mouth and went to grab the braised snake meat. Captain Lei coughed lightly.
"use chopstick."
"Oh." Xu Qing picked up the chopsticks awkwardly. After getting used to it, he inserted a piece of braised snake meat and swallowed it in a big mouth.
The two of them didn't speak during the whole meal, but their eating habits were very disharmonious.
Lei Dui ate his food carefully, not like a scavenger. He only took three or two bites of each dish, while Xu Qing devoured his food voraciously, eating much more than Lei Dui.
Seeing Xu Qing eating like this, Captain Lei couldn't help but speak.
"Why don't you eat it in small bites like when I gave you steamed buns before?"
Xu Qing swallowed the snake meat in his mouth hard, looked up at Captain Lei, and answered seriously.
"The steamed buns are yours, and the snake meat is mine."
One is to treat yourself to other people's food, and the other is to treat others to eat your own food.
In the young man's simple thinking, items that belong to him naturally taste more legitimate.
Captain Lei couldn't laugh or cry when he heard this. He watched Xu Qing stabbing the snake meat with chopsticks and drinking the snake soup. However, he also noticed that the young man did not touch the part of the snake feast that was close to him.
I also drank with some restraint.
He just eats his portion with confidence.
"That python of yours is very heavy. It should be enough to last half a month. The skin and bones are also quite valuable, so..." Captain Lei said casually.
"I will pay the rent, there is no need to use it as a deduction." Xu Qing suddenly said.
The snake meat is a reward for the steamed buns and sleeping bags along the way, and the value of the snake skin and snake bones is to repay the other party for covering his tent with the broken cow.
As for the other party taking him out of the ruins and into the camp, this is a favor and a favor.
Xu Qing felt that it was inappropriate to use material things to offset it, so he kept it in mind.
Captain Lei took a deep look at Xu Qing and saw the seriousness in his eyes and the clear thoughts of grudges, so he nodded, thought about it, and spoke again.
"Kid, you must have made a lot of guesses about me along the way."
Xu Qing said nothing, but his swallowing movements slowed down slightly.
"Everyone calls me Thunder Team. As for the name, it's not important. No one in the scavenger camp uses my real name."
Team Lei picked up a piece of steamed snake meat, put it in his mouth and chewed it slowly.
"The reason why I have this title is because I have a few friends in this scavenger camp who I can trust with my life and death."
"We formed our own team, and the team's name is relatively common, called Thunder."
"On weekdays, everyone takes on the work individually. If there is a difficult task, the whole team gathers to complete it. Counting me, there are four people in total. Now three of them have gone out and haven't come back yet."
"When I come back, I will introduce you one by one. From now on, you will follow us as a new member of the team to earn resources for survival and practice."
Captain Lei seemed a little full, so he put down his chopsticks and looked at Xu Qing.
Xu Qing was not surprised by the last five words of his words.
Xu Qing felt that he could detect that Lei Dui was a casual cultivator. After being in contact with him for so long, even if he was practicing body training, the other party would naturally be able to detect his details under observation.
"Okay." Xu Qing nodded without hesitation.
This also made him feel relieved. Growing up in a slum, he knew deeply that there is no such thing as unreasonable dedication and help in this world, everything must have a reason.
"You keep eating, I'm old and I can't digest it if I eat too much."
Captain Lei coughed a few times, his face flushed a little, but he quickly recovered, stood up and walked outside, speaking words.
"The spiritual energy in this world is like poison. If you practice hard along the way, it is very likely that you will be alienated before you go very far. You must practice steadily and not be radical."
Xu Qing was silent and didn't speak.
The old man who walked to the door turned around, looked at Xu Qing, and shook his head.
"But it's right for you to practice this way."
"The scavengers' camp and the restricted area next to it are different from the place you were before. Due to the products in the restricted area, this place is more of a gathering place for low-level casual cultivators and desperadoes."
"If you live here, you must go to the restricted area and practice more."
The Thunder Team leaves.
Xu Qing sat there alone until he had eaten all the snake meat. He did not leave immediately. Instead, he packed up the dishes, cleaned them and put them away before returning to his hut.
Sit down cross-legged and continue practicing.
Xu Qing knew very well that if he did not want to survive, to bend down to survive, and to control the power of life and death in the hands of others, then his own strength was the foundation of everything.
Especially in this scavenger camp, there were a lot of casual cultivators, more than he had seen in the past six years combined, and every one of them was not a good person.
If slums were doghouses, this would be the wolf's den.
If you don't work hard, you will die without a burial place due to a conflict or dispute before alienation.
As for the heterogeneity, Xu Qing knew at Haishanjue Bamboo Slip Mountain that there were elixirs that could resolve it.
Although it treats the symptoms rather than the root cause, it can still be dealt with. The name of this elixir, he already knew from the conversations among the scavengers on the way, is called Bai Dan.
The nearby restricted area is rich in important herbs needed to make white pills, so there must be white pills for sale in this camp.
Thinking of this, Xu Qing touched the place where the purple crystal was buried on his chest.
During this time, he has clearly felt that in addition to his recovery ability, both his speed and strength have improved greatly.
It has something to do with reaching the first level of Haishan Jue, but Xu Qing feels that his first level seems to be somewhat different from the power of a tiger described in Haishan Jue.
"I can kill many tigers."
Xu Qing murmured and felt the spiritual energy in his body. With his hard training along the way, he seemed to be about to reach the second level.
"Tonight, attack the second level." Xu Qing's eyes showed determination, he closed his eyes and began to breathe.
Soon spiritual energy was pouring in from all directions. The spiritual energy outside the restricted area was much less heterogeneous than that inside the restricted area, which resulted in a relatively faster cultivation speed.
Xu Qing had already noticed this in the row room of the Colosseum yesterday.
At this moment, he let go of his body, absorbing and breathing hard, and the faint purple light on his chest, which was covered by the leather jacket, flickered.
As time passed, Xu Qing's body gradually heard a slight banging sound, and black impurities were expelled from the sweat pores again.
The flesh and blood in the whole body seems to be getting stronger and stronger as it is nourished, and there is a faintly stronger power, gradually bursting out within it.
At the same time, in the night outside, the little girl who had been exchanged for bamboo sticks by Xu Qing during the day approached the courtyard of Xu Qing's residence.
She stood there hesitantly, as if she wanted to knock on the door, but she was a little uneasy.
After a long time, she seemed to muster up the courage and knocked gently on the bamboo door of the courtyard, but the sound was too weak and could not be transmitted in at all.
And at the moment when the little girl knocked on the bamboo door, the banging sound in Xu Qing's body reached its strongest point.
With a roar in his mind, Xu Qing opened his eyes, and the purple light shone in his eyes again. His expression showed joy, and he looked down at his arm, where a second alienation point appeared.