The beehive was a vibrant shade of yellow-orange, brimming with honey, and despite its stickiness in hand, it exuded a peculiarly enchanting floral fragrance that penetrated the soul.
Li Wenli saw that the children were hesitant to touch it, so he cut another piece and handed it to Bai Junjun.
Bai Junjun received it graciously without making a fuss.
In the world after The Apocalypse, there naturally was no honey, and in the original host’s memories, honey was nothing more than sweet water; she had only ever had it after the small kitchen had prepared it for her and had never seen the true form of a beehive.
Now, faced with this beehive for the first time, Bai Junjun casually popped a piece into her mouth.
The moment it touched her tongue, she was stunned.
She had never imagined there could exist a sweetness so intense!!!
The sweetness derived from honey water was a mild sweetness, the sweetness of candied sugar was cloying, but this honeycomb’s sweetness was a fragrant kind of sweet, like wandering through an ocean of flowers, from which one could never escape!!!
Seeing her expression, Li Wenli knew the young girl must have been captivated by the flavor, and he couldn’t help but chuckle.
"This mission was worth it, wasn’t it?"
Though Bai Junjun didn’t speak, her body candidly continued to nibble on the piece of honeycomb in her hand.
While Bai Junjun ate the honeycomb, Xiao Shan was also sucking away with gusto nearby, clearly an experienced honey-eater.
Seeing them so engrossed, Bai Sasa and Bai Lingyu finally cautiously placed the honeycomb in their mouths and with just a gentle lick, they too fell prey to its sweetness.
Sweet foods are among the most irresistible to humans, as they raise insulin levels rapidly upon entering the body; the tryptophan in insulin moves into cells and is converted to serotonin, which in turn stimulates the secretion of dopamine, leading to feelings of pleasure.
For those who had been fleeing for three years, including Bai Junjun, who had survived The Apocalypse amidst blood and carnage, there was an immediate sense of being soothed by that sweetness.
Li Wenli watched them with a smile, and after a long while, he also cut a small piece for himself, chewing it thoughtfully as if savoring the happiness brought by the honey.
Xiao Shan was the first to finish, then gazed at Li Wenli with longing, hoping for another share.
But Li Wenli shook his head, "Sweet foods are good, but it’s ill-advised to have too much. Be patient; we’ll have more tasty things later."
Xiao Shan’s initial disappointment turned to excitement upon hearing there would be more to eat.
Bai Lingyu felt the same way.
So instead of asking for more sweets, everyone eagerly watched as Li Wenli filled jars with honey.
However, with over thirty pounds of honey, the few small flasks Bai Sasa had brought could hardly contain it all.
Eventually, Bai Junjun brought out a 50-pound wooden barrel to properly store all of the honey.
After they had extracted all the honey, they found that the beehive also contained many white bee larvae, squirming about in a way that was both frightening and endearing.
Xiao Shan seemed to have tried bee larvae before; picking one up, he put it straight into his mouth, continuously exclaiming how sweet it was.
Bai Lingyu and Bai Sasa couldn’t resist and also pinched one each to taste.
Indeed, the moment it melted on their tongues, the sweetness captivated their hearts.
Their eyes unanimously turned to Bai Junjun, expecting her to take a bite quickly.
To their surprise, Bai Junjun’s head shook like a rattle drum.
She could cope with snakes and rats, but she couldn’t stand such soft-bodied creatures.
The resemblance between these and the worms that parasitized zombies was strikingly similar; Bai Junjun could never forget the sight of parasites bursting from within zombies’ heads after being shot. Asking her to eat these... she’d rather die.
Unexpectedly, Bai Junjun realized that Li Wenli hadn’t eaten them either.
While Bai Junjun was pondering whether he had experienced the same feast of worms, Li Wenli spoke up.