After the black bear was killed, everyone felt it was a pity, not that the black bear was killed, but that its fur was ruined. Such a huge black bear could knock down trees, and its fur must have had excellent insulation properties, which would have been good for making blankets, but it was chopped to pieces by Xu Xing's wild knife.
"It's fine, if the fur is gone, it's gone. Aren't there still bear paws and bear gallbladders? These two are the most precious," Shen Feng quickly said.
Bear paws were a required ingredient in the Manchu Han Imperial Feast, and like camel humps, they were very precious, but even more so than camel humps. Bear gallbladders were even more precious medicinal ingredients. In the past, the wealthy couldn't afford them, and many precious medicines required the addition of bear gallbladder powder.
Compared to these two items on the black bear, the fur was nothing.
Upon hearing this, Qi Lingshan couldn't help but step forward to dissect it, saying, "That's perfect. There are four of us, one bear paw each, so we can taste what this famous dish from the Manchu Han Imperial Feast is like. As for the bear gallbladder, I'll freeze it and take it back to Yuzhou. We don't need it now."
Xu Xing immediately said, "Even with good ingredients, without a good chef, we'll just be wasting them. Why don't we freeze the bear paws too and find a specialized chef to cook them when we return to our country?"
To eat delicious food, both ingredients and culinary skills are indispensable. Some places believe ingredients are more important, such as in Japanese cuisine. Is Japanese cuisine really delicious? Not necessarily. Whether it's Wagyu or sashimi, it's the ingredients that are precious. Some places believe culinary skills are more important, such as some ordinary Chinese restaurants. Since they couldn't find precious ingredients, they had to showcase their culinary skills. When ingredients and culinary skills are combined, it becomes a delicacy.
"Alright, let's just make do with this. We don't even know when we'll be going back, and four bear paws won't be enough to share if we take them back," Shen Feng said with a helpless shake of his head, finding Xu Xing's thoughts too petty.
Actually, Xu Xing was also thinking of her mother at home, believing that good things should be shared, which was why she wanted to take the bear paws back. However, since Shen Feng had already said this, Xu Xing didn't want to object. They only had salt and chili powder for seasoning, so they would just roast them.
At this moment, the four Arctic foxes that had escaped during the fight had also returned. These foxes were very clever. When they saw danger, they hid far away without a second word. If they saw humans being killed, they would definitely flee without looking back. But now that the humans had killed the black bear, they would continue to latch onto them. In any case, in this icy and snowy weather, they couldn't find any food to eat, so following humans at least meant they wouldn't starve.
Seeing the four disloyal foxes return, Xu Xing couldn't help but curse, "You cowardly fellows, you were useless during the fight, but you're all eager when it comes to eating. Stay put obediently, or I'll whip you."
At this time, Xu Xing was still holding the sharp titanium alloy long saber, which had killed the black bear earlier. Seeing Xu Xing's posture, the foxes quickly sat down obediently, not daring to move, for fear of angering Xu Xing and being cut down with a single blow.
Afterward, the four of them continued to roast meat. The Arctic foxes didn't get any bear paws, as good things were always for their own people. However, Xu Xing still roasted some bear meat to feed the Arctic foxes.
While digging out the bear's gallbladder, Qi Lingshan discovered something unusual and immediately said, "This black bear seems too thin, with very little fat. I didn't find anything edible in its stomach."
Hearing this, Shen Feng began to ponder and said, "It seems the black bear did not hibernate because it couldn't fill its stomach, so it had to hunt in winter. Otherwise, it wouldn't have survived hibernation."
Not all bears hibernate. Only bears in the far north hibernate because it's difficult to find food in winter. So, they eat their fill in advance, accumulating fat all over their bodies, then retreat into their dens and sleep for several months. They resume activity in spring.
Therefore, if a bear cannot eat its fill before winter, it cannot survive hibernation. Many bears suffer from osteoporosis after hibernation, which is the result of no activity and no energy replenishment during hibernation. This was the case with the black bear that Shen Feng and his companions encountered this time.
Lu Xian suddenly used his imagination and asked, "If that's the case, if even black bears can't find food to fill their stomachs, do other animals also have no food to eat? In that case, wouldn't human settlements be very dangerous?"
"That makes sense. In previous years, when animals were starving, they would rummage through trash cans, hoping to find food. But now, the human population is rapidly declining, and it's impossible to find food in the garbage dumps. It's possible that mutated beasts are attacking cities," Shen Feng said in a deep voice.
Shen Feng had now roughly deduced what kind of danger Qiu Ming City had encountered. It was likely that mutated beasts, lacking food, had attacked the city, leading to its fall. Consequently, Xiao Sheng and others couldn't contact headquarters. However, even if the city had fallen, it wouldn't have been difficult for the twenty-odd ability users in Siberia to break through the mutated beast encirclement.
However, these were just speculations. To truly know what happened in Qiu Ming City, they would have to wait until they reached their destination.
The bear gallbladder inside the black bear was large, about one dou. Such a large gallbladder was comparable only to the legendary Jiang Wei. After all, it was a mutated black bear, and its size dictated that the bear gallbladder wouldn't be too small.
Shen Feng immediately roasted the bear paws. There was no salt, so the four of them ate roasted bear paws while gnawing on flatbread. The taste wasn't as good as they had imagined. Although it was still tender and delicious, it was far from the legendary level.
Afterward, the four of them continued their journey. It took them seven days to travel from Lake Baikal to Qiu Ming. There were many forests here, and there was a lot of snow on the ground. The northern part of Qiu Ming Prefecture was very cold. Once it snowed, it basically wouldn't melt until the ground thawed in the spring of the following year.
Shen Feng finally understood what Siberian permafrost looked like after seeing it with his own eyes. The ground was frozen hard. Using a hoe to dig down would cause a painful tremor in the hands. Although there were many plains in this area, crops could only be planted once a year. In winter, all crops would freeze to death.
"I heard that there are many mammoths under the permafrost in Siberia, and mammoth ivory can also be traded. If we're lucky enough to dig up a few mammoths, that would be great," Lu Xian said, looking at the ice and snow on the ground.
"If you want to dig, I won't stop you, but I recommend you find an excavator for this job. Do you think you can dig up mammoths with your bare hands?" Shen Feng shook his head helplessly. In this terrain, even planting potatoes was extremely difficult, yet Lu Xian wanted to dig up mammoths. It was truly wishful thinking.
Lu Xian shrugged and said, "One must have some ideals."
In this era, it was rare to find good things, especially things that couldn't be obtained before the apocalypse. In the apocalypse, with power, one naturally had to find ways to obtain them. Lu Xian already had fame and fortune, and a beautiful wife. What remained was to adorn his reputation. Shen Feng could bring back the original manuscript of Journey to the West from overseas, something many people wished they could do but couldn't.
Thus, Lu Xian decided that since he was going out, he might as well bring back some local specialties. What did Siberia produce? Northwest wind was definitely not a specialty, and forests and coal couldn't be brought back. Coincidentally, there were mammoths under the permafrost here. If possible, he would bring back ivory. Wouldn't that allow him to brag to others?
"Back then, I personally dug out a mammoth in Siberia. Unfortunately, I couldn't bring it back whole, only the ivory. If you don't believe me, look, this is the ivory I brought back!" Lu Xian had already thought of his bragging speech. When he put the massive ivory in front of the other person, he could just imagine their amazed expressions.
However, Lu Xian gave up after testing the hardness of the permafrost. The ground was as hard as ice. Excavating mammoths in this situation was purely a matter of having too much time on his hands.
Upon arriving around Qiu Ming City, the transportation conditions immediately improved. They no longer needed to use sleds on the snow because this was an important transportation hub. The roads to the north led to the Arctic Ocean, the south led to the grasslands, and the west led to Moscow. There were both roads and railways. The roads were covered with thick ice, and on both sides were thick snow walls. As long as they followed the roads, they would reach their destination.
For convenience, Shen Feng took the necessary supplies and set off. Before leaving, he threw the black bear's meat near the Arctic foxes and instructed, "Wait here honestly and don't run around."
Afterward, Shen Feng and his group set off towards Qiu Ming, regardless of whether the Arctic foxes understood the instructions. Lu Xian used his abilities, and the situation within a one-kilometer radius was clearly visible. The city appeared very quiet, with no traces on the roads, as if no one had used them.
When they walked into the city, Shen Feng immediately felt something strange. There was no one on the streets, not even stray cats or dogs. The entire city was very quiet. It was completely like a ghost town.
"Hey, is anyone there?" Shen Feng shouted loudly.
His shouts carried out, but no one responded, and no one could be found even in the houses.
Lu Xian found no thermal reactions and couldn't help but frown, saying, "City Lord, most of the people here are dead. It is said that the population here was only fifty thousand. With such a small number, any slight danger would lead to extinction!"
Before the apocalypse, Qiu Ming had a population of over five hundred thousand. However, with the outbreak of the zombie virus, only fifty thousand people remained in Qiu Ming. Such a small population had absolutely no resistance to disaster.
After hearing Lu Xian's words, Shen Feng was somewhat unwilling. Since they had come all this way, if they couldn't find anyone, wouldn't it be a wasted trip?
Then, Shen Feng continued to call out.
At this moment, Xu Xing put her ear to the ground and listened carefully, saying, "It seems there's movement underground. Something is moving in the sewers."
After using her abilities, Xu Xing could quickly sense vibrations, no matter how small. Earlier, on the grassland, Xu Xing had learned of the approach of wolf packs through ground vibrations, and now, she sensed vibrations underground.
Large cities have sewers to discharge sewage. Normally, no one lives in the sewers, but in the apocalypse, sewers are good hiding places.
Upon hearing this, Shen Feng immediately opened a nearby manhole cover and looked down. He was immediately hit by a foul odor, and the darkness below obscured everything.
Suddenly, Lu Xian felt something and quickly looked up, his face turning pale. This was because in the distance, silhouettes appeared in the sky, almost obscuring the entire sky. He quickly said, "Look at the sky, something is approaching us!"