BXBX NOVEL Chapter 328: 326 Louse
Those with experience understand that the roof of a car is actually very soft — practically a natural soft bed. It’s also spacious, unrestricted by seats, and one person can lie down with room to spare.
“Moreover, a small space actually has its benefits, as it can provide a sense of certainty. Open, dark, unknown environments make people feel uncertain, and that feeling of uncertainty is hard to bear.”
Closed, controllable environments offer much higher certainty. There’s nothing unknown, everything is within one’s capabilities, and it feels safe and comfortable. It’s the same reason why cats like to squeeze into tight places.”
With a stable environment, people can rest better and use less energy.”
After clearing away all the broken glass and debris, Bi Fang took a kitchen knife he had found in a corner of the kitchen to cut open all the seats, removing the foam padding. Kitchen knives from abroad are usually delicate and sharp, quite decent to use, and could make do as a dagger as well.
“Wait, what’s this here?”
While cutting the padding, Bi Fang’s peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of something underneath the back seat. He crawled over, picked it up, and examined the English on it, then opened the cap, sniffed it, and quickly sealed it again.
“Antifreeze. It smells of it, with a faint sweet smell. This is a bucket of antifreeze. Although it smells sweet, don’t ever taste it; it’s toxic. We can keep it; it might come in handy later.”
[Hold on, did you say it smells a bit sweet? Can sweetness be sniffed out?]
[Probably smells like syrup. Actually, you can smell the sweetness in syrup too. I feel queasy just by smelling it.]
[You’re making me want to take a whiff.]
[Sweet smell, so that’s ethylene glycol, right? I remember this stuff can be used to make explosives?]
“Yes, ethylene glycol is also known as sweet alcohol, hence the sweet smell. It’s hazardous because it can burn or explode upon contact with open flames, high heat, or oxidants. It seems the Shuiyou are full of hidden talents. Is this from someone specialized in chemistry?”
Bi Fang chuckled, recalling that basic chemistry wouldn’t cover this topic.
Of course, he couldn’t be certain as he’d never seriously studied chemistry in either his past life or this one. After dividing subjects in high school, he studied biology instead. His knowledge of these matters came entirely from the skills the System provided.
The Shuiyou, however, were startled. Could it really be used to make explosives?
[Bold prediction, it will definitely be used!]
[Careful confirmation, it’ll appear in the next episode!]
[Wild guessing, use it to blow up a door!]
[Wild guessing is still okay.]
[I knew it, Master Fang has revealed yet another skill. Damn, I’m envious.]
“There’s a lot of padding, and besides blocking up these broken windows, we can also lay some on the ground for additional warmth. Despite it being spring, the chill can be severe. Last night was so cold that I woke up three times, though you didn’t notice.”
“Moreover, placing padding underneath is better than having two layers on top. The body loses heat to the ground much faster than to the air, so the insulation on the bottom is key to staying warm.”
After laying down the padding, Bi Fang lay inside to test it. He found it soft and warm, and his muscles relaxed in the coziness.
He hadn’t had a good rest since getting off the plane the previous day, and the previous night’s sleep was unsatisfactory. Instead of relaxing, it had only made the fatigue worse.
“Alright, the simple shelter is already set up. If it weren’t for the need to prepare for the upcoming days, I’d really like to lie down and take a nap right now.”
Bi Fang sat up from the cushion, pulled away the padding covering the car window, and carefully crawled outside.
He was going to start a fire.
“With a car, starting a fire is naturally much simpler. There’s no need to exhaust all my strength trying to produce some elusive sparks. This vehicle has all the tools needed to start a fire.”
Once outside, Bi Fang turned to the front of the car, crouched down, and pointed at the headlight, “Next, I’m going to remove a headlight. By using the headlight and the battery, I can make a temporary lighter. Actually, what I want is the small bulb inside the headlight.”
While saying this, he removed the headlight. He took down a large light, smashed it a couple of times with a rock, and the plastic shell shattered, revealing the target item.
A tiny bulb, no bigger than a thumb, that was the true source of light in the headlight.
“This is it. The exposed filament inside will act like an electric lighter. The intact filament within the bulb, once it conducts the full current from the battery, will overheat and catch fire. We need to be careful to pry open the glass of the small bulb, being very cautious not to break the filament inside,” said Bi Fang.
Bi Fang held the handle of the knife, tapping at the small bulb with the back of the knife, controlling the force, carefully creating cracks, and then breaking it open.
He took out the car battery, pulled out two wires, stripped open the rubber casing, and Bi Fang caused them to spark against each other, creating a dazzling display of sparks.
The Yemen war had erupted only one or two months ago, so the cars had been abandoned here for at most two months; the batteries were fully charged.
Bi Fang pulled over a clump of sponge padding, held the wires, and moved them close to the tail of the bulb. When they touched, a stream of electrical sparks burst forth, bright as a magnesium stick, startling the audience. Even Bi Fang took two steps back, nearly blinded, but after shaking his head, he approached again and continued trying.
“You don’t really need to worry too much. The voltage of a car battery is generally less than 24 volts, which is below the safe voltage for the human body, so just be careful not to get exploded on, and it will be fine. This level of electrical sparks can burn a layer of skin off, and even if it’s not serious, it still hurts a lot.”
[Don’t worry, everyone just be careful. Bi Fang’s legs: Took two steps back]
[Damn, that’s amazing!]
Moving the wires close again, this time it went much better. The light bulb got powered, and almost instantaneously, the filament turned red and got hot. In no time, the sponge padding began to blacken and smoke; catching fire took only about half a minute.
This efficiency was far better than spending the usual half hour on Fire-Making by Wood-Drilling, even if one used charcoal to light the fire, it would still not be less than fifteen minutes.
Aside from the somewhat troublesome initial preparation, it was absolutely effortless. As long as one was careful about safety, basically anyone could learn it.
“It’s a pity that the batteries are too heavy, otherwise they could be carried around.”
After expressing his regret, Bi Fang pinched the burning sponge with two fingers and threw it into a metal tube, which contained a pile of flammable materials; cardboard was ignited first, and soon thick smoke rose up; a small flame glimmered into existence.
Success!
With fire and shelter, a makeshift refuge was now established.
“I’ve set up the shelter and lit the fire, but with nightfall approaching, I ought to check the mousetraps.”
After adding some more flammable material to ensure the fire wouldn’t die out easily, and seeing that it was getting late and night was about to fall, Bi Fang thought it was time to go check on the traps.
He went to the factory wall, threw out the rope, hooked the iron rod onto the windowsill, and once again climbed inside, following his memory to where the mouse holes were.
Unfortunately, looking at the dark walls, Bi Fang’s gaze grew dim as he sighed.
The trap was empty.
But what was more ironic was that the trap didn’t fail to catch prey; it was just that something else had taken the catch away, leaving behind a piece of dark brown innards, which looked like it had rolled on the floor and gathered dust.
Picking up the small clump of innards, Bi Fang explained.
“The trap was right here, and it’s been triggered, but my trap is empty. Look, the innards are still here. This is common in urban environments, where wild cats and foxes are likely culprits. My secondary trap didn’t work either. It seems like the adversary is quite cunning, perhaps they’ve encountered traps before, otherwise they wouldn’t have deliberately gone around it.”
“Don’t be discouraged, everyone. Victory and defeat are common in war. You might catch some prey, but later they might retaliate. I’m not the only animal trying to survive here.”
“I won’t bother with the guts. Rat innards can contain all sorts of things and are very filthy. Eating them would definitely make you sick, so I’ll leave them here as bait instead.”
“Rats are actually very clever animals. With a companion dead here, the chances of catching another in this spot are not high, but it might attract other creatures. I can set up some more noose traps, so I can’t let the opponent clean us out and slip away again.”
[Actually, I think it’s because Old Fang explained the plan (smirk)]
[Plus one, every time I talk about glue traps my mom hisses at me, saying you can’t let the rats hear]
[Same mom]
Following the previous arrangement, Bi Fang set up several more traps nearby, aiming to maximize the likelihood of catching the adversary.
However, the hopes weren’t very high,
Let’s hope for the best.
Feeling the grumble of an empty stomach, Bi Fang exited the factory. Since the traps came up empty, he needed to start looking for other food sources.
“The choices around here are very limited. If I can’t catch any prey, I’ll need to make some other choices, like some insects. Let’s go to a place with plants.”
[My god, bugs?]
[Have things really come to this?]
[I can’t believe Old Fang has fallen so low as to eat bugs. Tell us! Have you found a girlfriend behind our backs, been drained dry, and your skills declined?]
[Ah, so my affair with Master Fang has been discovered, huh? I’m so embarrassed (shy)]
[Pfft, you’re shameless.]
“Haha, altogether I’ve just been hungry for a day and a night. I could hold out much longer if I had to. Haven’t I gone three days without food before? Just like that time drifting at sea. But here in Yemen, I need to maintain my strength at all times.”
Bi Fang returned to the campfire. The night had already fallen, and he needed to take a torch to continue his search for food.
“On my first day here, Yemen gave me a rude awakening, showing me this isn’t the real ‘Ghost City,’ but a violent town occupied by outlaws. If I’m in bad shape, it could be dangerous if something happens.”
[Outlaws?]
[Zhang San: My time to flex is here]
[DNA stirring]
If faced with animals, one might deal with them by confrontation and intimidation, backing them off with the “laws of nature,” but if targeted by humans, all talk becomes useless.
How can you struggle if you are starved for two days, with most of your strength gone?
Having learned his lesson, Bi Fang was more cautious this time. He’d rather eat less desirable food than compromise his condition, ensuring he had the strength to defend himself in the face of danger.
Holding the torch, Bi Fang began searching the area and came across a bush. While looking for some firewood, he made a discovery—a large number of winged insects crawling on the bushes. Under the glare of the firelight, the cluster of bugs gathered together was particularly creepy.
[Damn, my fear of insects is kicking in!]
[Oh no, what the heck is this?]
[Ugh, so disgusting.]
“It’s booklice!”
Bi Fang was very happy, not finding it disgusting at all, but rather delighted. Without any disdain, he went over and scraped up a whole bunch in his hand.
Tonight’s dinner was settled.
“Booklice are small insects that inhabit moist and dark environments. They’re considered pests like mice, and although they spread plant viruses, they don’t really affect humans, so eating them is safer than eating rats.
Don’t be fooled by their wings; they can’t actually fly. They’re just for show, although some species can fly, it’s clear that the ones we have here are not those. Most pleasingly, booklice reproduce sexually, but they have a low reproduction rate which requires them to have stable habitats, so they rarely change locations. We can come back later and there might still be some.”
[Holy crap, this is eating out of house and home!]
[That’s unethical]
Bi Fang’s hands were so full that he couldn’t empty them; his left hand grabbed and stuffed into his right hand, brimming full.
Having made a catch, naturally he was happy. He came to the fire bucket with a clutch of insects and placed a thoroughly rinsed, thin iron plate on top.
Once the iron plate was hot, Bi Fang found another and placed it above the right hand, timing it right, he released his grip and prevented the insects from escaping by pressing down the iron plate.
The booklice, living in bushes, had never encountered such a situation. The high heat seared away half their lives in an instant, and when the iron plate pressed down, not one could escape. They were all thoroughly roasted, becoming grilled insects on the hot plate.
The audience only heard banging noises, which felt weird, kind of like nature’s popcorn.
“When the banging stops, we’re almost ready to eat. Booklice are staple food for birds and other insect eaters, but it’s my first time eating them. Grilling them is definitely much better than eating them raw.”
When the noise stopped, Bi Fang knew it was about time. He moved the iron plate away, found a mat to protect it from the sea surface, and shifted the plate on the fire bucket to another location.
The booklice lay still on the plate, perfectly charred. He gave them a shake and listened to the friction between them and the plate, which seemed somewhat crispy.
Without any courtesy or hesitation, Bi Fang pinched one and tossed it into his mouth, chewing it up. It was crispy, but not overly so, given their small size, generally around half a centimeter.
“Tastes a bit like not-so-fresh shrimp, the kind you chew with the shell on, maybe even worse. The protein content in most insects is very high, several times that of meats; over seventy percent is protein.”
[What’s the remaining thirty percent? I really want to know.]
“The remaining thirty percent? Who knows. Just kidding, there’s also hemolymph and other stuff. Insects are indeed great survival food. I don’t usually eat them, simply because I don’t like to and there’s no necessity.
This time I didn’t catch any rats, which would have been the second-best food, even though it doesn’t count as a meal.”
Bi Fang cooled the insects down a bit, and when the iron plate wasn’t too hot to handle, he grabbed the remaining booklice and stuffed them into his mouth. After that, he went back to the bushes to look some more. After a couple of rounds of searching, he successfully managed to stave off hunger.
It felt pretty good.
After drinking some water, Bi Fang could no longer resist the urge to sleep. He approached the overturned car, crawled through the door, sealed the window, and placed the drone to one side.
And fell into a deep sleep.