Chapter Nineteen: The Man-Eating Valley

On the shelves of this shop lay some food, and apart from that, old newspapers were scattered haphazardly on the floor.

[Salted Biscuits: Dry and salty, eating them will make you thirsty]

[Energy Bar: A high-energy candy filled with chocolate and nuts—hungry? Grab an energy bar!]

[Dog Food: A can of dog food, smells awful but can stave off hunger]

After gathering all these, Qin Fei walked out of the shop.

The blizzard was still raging. It was impossible to go far in such weather, so Qin Fei continued searching the other houses.

There were quite a few houses near this crossroads, but food was scarce inside them. Yet, in the closet of one house, Qin Fei unexpectedly found a canister of table salt.

Beside the canned salt, there was also a bag of peppercorns wrapped in a plastic bag.

These two bags of spices were exceedingly precious to Qin Fei; now, he wouldn’t have to be so frugal when roasting meat.

Within the church, Qin Fei also discovered several books.

They were collections of fables and parables relating to religion. Since almost all the writing in this world was in Chinese, there was no language barrier for reading.

These books served well to pass the time.

Since Qin Fei arrived at Pleasant Valley, the blizzard had not ceased for a moment.

Such snowy weather drove the outside temperature very low and limited visibility.

Due to the blizzard, Qin Fei was forced to stay here for about a week.

Besides searching the nearby houses for food, Qin Fei spent most of his days indoors, reading to while away the hours.

By the frozen riverbank, Qin Fei collected some cattail stalks. Fearing he would get lost and be unable to return, he dared not venture too far.

For nearly a week, he subsisted almost entirely on the dried meat he’d brought in his backpack.

With only consumption and little replenishment, his supply of dried meat had dwindled to just two kilograms—barely enough for another two days.

Now Qin Fei had no choice but to go out; he needed to find more food.

Even if outside the blizzard continued to howl.

From the crossroads, following the road straight ahead would lead to a barn nearby.

As an experienced gamer, Qin Fei had long since memorized the map.

Even with the blizzard obscuring his surroundings, as long as he didn’t stray into the woods, but stuck to the road, he wouldn’t get lost.

Perhaps due to the blizzard, Qin Fei walked for quite some time without encountering a single grey wolf.

Occasionally, he’d spot a stranded car or two, but they contained nothing.

The barn wasn’t far; in less than half a day, Qin Fei arrived.

Inside, apart from some hay and firewood, there were useless odds and ends—mostly tools for harvesting fields, which were of little use to Qin Fei.

He already had axes and saws, and since they wouldn’t break anytime soon, taking more was pointless.

Qin Fei needed only food; even a mountain of gold and silver would be useless now.

Perhaps because the walls were too thin, the barn was bitterly cold. There wasn’t even a bed, making it impossible to stay.

In the center of the barn stood a small truck; its cab was relatively warmer, so Qin Fei climbed inside for a brief nap.

Upon waking, he left the barn and continued along the road.

His ultimate destination lay not far from the barn: Pleasant Valley Farmstead.

At that moment, the week-long blizzard suddenly ceased, and the sun even broke through the clouds, with temperatures beginning to climb.

After barely ten minutes of walking, Qin Fei could already see the farmstead ahead.

Nearby, many trees grew—Qin Fei couldn’t even name them. In the woods, a couple of reindeer wandered lazily.

With little food left, Qin Fei had stayed hungry all day. Now, famished, his eyes lit up at the sight of the reindeer.

He took out his hunting bow from his backpack, crouched, and crept forward.

But just then, a fierce gust of wind swept through...

Within moments, the wind intensified, whipping up the snow from the ground.

The weather in Pleasant Valley changed in an instant. The sun hadn’t been out long before the blizzard returned with renewed fury.

Soon, visibility was reduced to nothing once again...

Damn!

Qin Fei couldn’t help but curse inwardly.

What kind of “Pleasant Valley” was this? With its madcap weather, it was more like “Killer Valley!”

Helpless, Qin Fei abandoned the two reindeer and entered the farmstead to take shelter from the storm.

The house on the farmstead was the largest Qin Fei had seen since arriving in this world. Besides two floors, it also had a basement.

In the basement, Qin Fei found dozens of cans and a large sack of flour.

A bounty!

Qin Fei was so exhilarated that his hands trembled as he grasped the flour.

Flour! Actual flour!

It had been nearly a hundred days since he’d eaten any staple food!

Flour was filling; with this sack and the canned goods, Qin Fei could eat for ten days straight.

Finally, Qin Fei could rest easy.

With this food to sustain him, he just needed to wait for the blizzard to pass before venturing out to hunt those reindeer!

Moreover, the farmstead contained a study filled with books. Though the blizzard raged outside, Qin Fei found reading indoors kept boredom at bay.

He stayed in this house for seven days straight.

Throughout those seven days, the blizzard never let up. By then, Qin Fei had already eaten almost half the flour he’d found.

He was speechless with frustration... Pleasant Valley truly was unbearable... If the blizzard never stopped, he’d surely starve to death here!

One morning, Qin Fei woke once more from the farmstead’s bed.

[You have survived: 121 days, 5 hours, 6 minutes]

He glanced out the window; today the wind seemed gentler. Taking advantage of the brief improvement in weather, Qin Fei hurried out of the farmstead.

Nearby, a river ran close to the farmstead, frozen solid due to the cold.

Following the icy river upstream would lead to the entrance of Wolf Forest Snow Ridge.

Qin Fei had no desire to retrace his steps—he’d already searched every house along his route, and none would yield any food.

But at the entrance to Wolf Forest Snow Ridge, a passenger plane had crashed.

Qin Fei guessed that near the wreck, he’d be able to scavenge plenty of food.