To be honest, Shen Shanwu didn’t think he was picky at all. He could eat everything—scallions, ginger, garlic, and cilantro. Chewing on some fish mint was no problem for him either. Moreover, compared to the little Jiang Huan he had just picked up, he was much easier to feed.
He still remembered one afternoon when the delicate Jiang Huan tugged at his sleeve, saying he was hungry. Seeing the poor kid’s face covered in dirt, Shen Shanwu took out the cold steamed bun leftover from breakfast and offered it to him. But Jiang Huan frowned and shook his head, saying he wanted cranberry dark chocolate cookies. At that moment, Shen Shanwu really wanted to punch him into a cookie.
Perhaps Shen Shanwu’s expression was too frightening because Jiang Huan never dared to mention cookies again. Yet he couldn’t help but cry out in his dreams, choking back tears: “Mom, I want to eat caramel pudding…”
Even if Shen Shanwu were chopped into pieces, he couldn’t make caramel pudding…
In desperation, he slaughtered half a mountain of zombies for a farmstead and finally obtained three unirradiated eggs. He also got some salt and steamed a fragrant bowl of egg custard for Jiang Huan.
That dead Jiang Huan didn’t leave him a single bite; he licked the bowl clean, like a dog.
“Are you full?” Jiang Huan asked, noticing Shen Shanwu licking the corners of his lips with apparent satisfaction.
Shen Shanwu nodded, “I’m full!”
After receiving the affirmative response, Jiang Huan lowered his eyes again and continued to flip through the book on his lap.
Yao Wuque looked around, feeling that there was really nothing interesting in the car; it was so lifeless compared to Zhong Yin and his humorous banter. “I’m going back to play cards,” he said as he prepared to leave, but just as he turned around, Jiang Huan called out to him.
“Yao Wuque, bring Jiang Tong along too.”
“Huh?”
Jiang Huan looked up and met Shen Shanwu’s gaze. “It’s boring here; you and the brothers can go play cards in Vehicle 2.”
When it came to card skills, Shen Shanwu was truly a master. Back in the day, he had dominated the university’s chess and card club, almost representing the school in a provincial competition. However, now he wanted to completely separate ‘Jiang Tong’ from ‘Shen Shanwu’ to prevent Jiang Huan from suddenly realizing one day, with a spark of insight, that Jiang Tong and Shen Shanwu had so many similarities. Could they be the same person?
So he decisively shook his head and refused, “I don’t know how to play cards.”
“Then just go watch them play and learn from them.”
“I—”
“I’m giving you the whole afternoon to learn the rules of the poker game they’re playing. Otherwise, you’ll only have compressed biscuits for dinner.”
Shen Shanwu: “…” So after giving him some candy, you start whipping him, huh? Who did he learn this from?
With his heart full of despair, Shen Shanwu followed Yao Wuque to Vehicle 2, where the substitute team would go to Vehicle 1, while Yao Wuque intensely regretted why he had to say anything at all.
Little did he know, the real torment was still to come. For a full two hours, Shen Shanwu was forced to watch Yao Wuque’s abysmal card skills up close, enough to cure his years of low blood pressure. Yet he couldn’t say a word.
Just when he thought he could finally watch someone else play, it turned out that Zhong Yin’s skills were a perfect match for Yao Wuque’s, making Shen Shanwu want to spit blood in frustration.
The key issue was that this group of energetic young people was causing a ruckus, playing cards as if it were a battle, making it impossible for him to sleep. With his eyes open, he was annoyed; with his eyes closed, he was still annoyed.
In the afternoon, the off-road vehicle completely left the area under the jurisdiction of the Central Alliance and entered public territory. The ground had been left unmaintained for years, and with the wind and rain, it was overgrown with weeds and extremely bumpy. Fortunately, they were in a high and stable armored vehicle with soft seats; otherwise, everyone in the car would be in serious discomfort.
Along the way, the convoy encountered a small horde of zombies, about fifty or sixty of them. Hearing the engine sound, they rushed toward the off-road vehicle like fans spotting their idol, moving in strange postures, full of momentum, and wildly ecstatic.
Vehicle 1 took the lead in the battle, and the sound of bullets piercing through skulls continuously echoed. After a round of gunfire, only half of the zombies that had approached the off-road vehicle remained.
The group that had been joking and playing cards suddenly turned serious. They quickly and neatly put on their protective gear, and at the captain’s command, they exited the vehicle to take down the zombies. Yao Wuque coldly warned Jiang Tong to stay put in the car and not move, then jumped out last, casually closing the car door behind him.
Shen Shanwu pressed his face against the window, watching several team members swiftly draw their tactical knives. With a smooth swing, they cleaved through the zombies’ heads, then ruthlessly smashed their skulls to pieces.
After watching for a while and realizing that the Shanhai Unit was more than capable of handling the group of zombies, Shen Shanwu yawned and planned to sit back down. But just then, something caught his eye in the corner of his vision. He turned his head to look and was startled to find a small zombie.
It was unclear whether it had gotten lost or separated from the main group, but it had somehow made its way to the window where Shen Shanwu was sitting.
This was a little girl zombie dressed in a tattered red dress. Her big black and red eyes met Shen Shanwu’s gaze. Her once-cute face, resembling a white peach, was now reduced to a sunken black skin and skeletal structure, with only a faded strawberry hairpin in her tangled hair hinting that she had once been a beloved and adorable little girl.
The small zombie opened her mouth wide, revealing a mouthful of sharp teeth, ready to pounce and gnaw on the ‘human’ inside the car.
Shen Shanwu waved his hand dismissively at her, saying, “Go away!”
To his surprise, the zombie paused for a moment and really swayed away.
Mutants couldn’t communicate with zombies, but zombies could sense the smell of mutants. Just as the scent of humans signified food and an attack for them, the smell of mutants meant danger and that they should stay away.
From this perspective, mutants truly were in an awkward position. Humans feared and despised them, and even zombies rejected and disliked them.
The little girl zombie hadn’t taken two steps before a bullet whizzed through her skull, knocking her entire body away and ending her final ‘life.’ Shen Shanwu followed the bullet’s trajectory and saw Jiang Huan, dressed in military green combat gear. His white cloak billowed behind him, and his arms were steady as he held the gun, the muzzle still faintly smoking.
This cloak could even change color? It shifted to white for insulation in high temperatures and turned black for warmth in low temperatures. He wondered if it would change to various colors when its owner was sad or happy.
After the fierce battle ended, the people in Vehicle 2 returned to their previous lighthearted selves, gathering at the car door to disinfect and wash off the zombie fluids that had splattered on their clothes. Meanwhile, they boasted to each other about how many zombies they had just killed.
Before long, Shen Shanwu noticed Jiang Huan walking over. He wore a mask and stood straight, like a tall, upright pine tree. His white cloak hung down softly, enveloping his figure.
From a distance, he glanced into the car, seemingly looking for his teammates or perhaps searching for something.
Shen Shanwu immediately put on his helmet, jumped down from the car, and jogged up to Jiang Huan. He looked up at the man who towered over him by nearly 50 centimeters. Before he could speak, Jiang Huan knelt down on one knee, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Were you scared just now?”
Scared of what? Shen Shanwu took a moment to realize that Jiang Huan was asking if he was frightened by the close encounter with a zombie.
Not at all. Zombies were nothing compared to the terrifying card skills of Yao Wuque and Zhong Yin…
Shen Shanwu nodded and quietly asked, “Just a little bit. I’ve learned the rules for poker. Can I come back now?”
“…” Jiang Huan didn’t respond, but the hand resting on Shen Shanwu’s shoulder noticeably applied more pressure. After a moment of silence, Jiang Huan nodded, “Then you can switch back with the lieutenant.”
When the lieutenant learned that Jiang Tong was ‘crying and clamoring’ to return to Vehicle 1, he exclaimed in surprise, “Isn’t this little guy quite independent? How come he’s so attached to the captain after just one night apart?”
Xiaowen shook her head, “I feel like Jiang Tong simply doesn’t want to be around Wuque.”
After sending off the lieutenant, Xiaowen returned to the car and saw Jiang Tong sitting obediently next to Jiang Huan. To keep him entertained, Jiang Huan had brought a large stack of books and was seriously asking which one he wanted to read.
Xiaowen leaned over to take a look, and the first three books were surprisingly ‘The Comprehensive Mirror to Aid in Government’, ‘A Brief History of Time’, and ‘The Art of War’. She twitched her lips, “Uh… Captain, I think Jiang Tong might…”
“I can’t read,” Shen Shanwu reacted even faster than Xiaowen, making up an excuse on the spot. “I’m going to sleep!”
Jiang Huan grabbed him and pushed him back into his seat, “Then I’ll read it to you.”
Shen Shanwu: “…”
What’s wrong with this guy?! Is this how you comfort a child? Years ago, he had read to Jiang Huan, but what did he read? ‘One Thousand and One Nights’, ‘Aesop’s Fables’, and ‘Andersen’s Fairy Tales’. And now what was Jiang Huan reading to him?
“Zhou Ji, the reforms of Shang Yang, in the eighth year of King Xian of Zhou, the filial duke commanded the state, saying: ‘In the past, our Duke Mu, between Qi and Yong, cultivated virtue and martial prowess…’”
Xiaowen and Shen Shanwu: “…”
Ten minutes later, Jiang Huan put down the book and took a sip of water. When he looked up, he saw Jiang Tong and Xiaowen both sprawled over the table, fast asleep. He didn’t have the heart to drape a jacket over Xiaowen; instead, he quietly gazed at Jiang Tong’s profile, lost in thought.
He looked so much like that person…
Whether it was the thick eyebrows and their arc, the shape and thickness of his lips, the form of his eyes, or the fullness of his earlobes, they all resembled that person closely. If Jiang Tong grew up, he would undoubtedly possess the same striking beauty.
If there were no blood relation, could there really be two people in this world who looked so alike? Jiang Huan found it easier to believe that Jiang Tong was a relative of that person; perhaps Jiang Tong simply didn’t know.
Therefore, he had to take good care of Jiang Tong and must not lose this last thread of connection to that person.
When he woke up again, it was already pitch dark. Shen Shanwu opened his eyes groggily, half of his face was pressed red, and his mouth still had a glistening drool at the corner.
Before he could fully react, Xiaowen actively helped him put on a breathing mask. At the same time, the car’s speed began to slow down. He looked up and saw the driver’s seat window being rolled down as the person leaned out to communicate with someone at a gate.
First, they showed the team emblem on their arm and exchanged a few words, then handed over something. After a short while, the window was rolled back up, and the barrier in front of the car door was manually lifted. The driver pressed the gas, and the car drove into the underground.
This is a rest stop and supply point set up along the route to facilitate humans needing to make long-distance transfers from various places. The rest stop they were staying at tonight is called “Desolate Island,” converted from the underground garage of an unused shopping mall from before the apocalypse.
Along the way from the Central Alliance to the coast, you would rarely see any living people unless it was at similar rest points.
The massive armored off-road vehicle was quite impressive, and as they got out, a crowd gathered around to watch. Among them were not only ‘travelers’ staying for a night before continuing their journey but also the permanent residents of the rest stop.
The living conditions at the rest stop were extremely basic. Being underground, it was perpetually deprived of sunlight, filled with a damp and decaying smell. The walls were mottled, and the original white paint had turned a grimy yellow and was peeling off in patches. However, the biggest issue was still food.
Most of the food for the permanent residents came from the travelers who stayed there each day. They had to offer sufficiently enticing items or conditions to obtain food from these travelers.
But what else could these people, who were living in such a remote area, possibly have to exchange besides their own bodies?
When Shen Shanwu came out of the disinfection room, he noticed that most of the people surrounding them were women. Some even wore rough makeup, and when their bright red lips met his gaze, one of them immediately pouted and blew him a kiss.
In the next moment, a dark figure blocked his view. Shen Shanwu looked up to see Jiang Huan intentionally slowing his pace, positioning himself to shield Shen Shanwu behind his cloak, effectively blocking all the onlookers’ gazes.
The author has something to say:
Huan: Who do you think I learned it from?
35: …Could it be me?
