Chapter 37 (1/2)

Chapter 37 Meat and Weapons

“Don’t worry, it’s gigantic. Cutting off such a small piece is just like pulling a single hair off of a person; it won’t feel anything.” Qing shui quickly put the small section onto the cloth and under the flashlight, both of them witnessed how the small piece of root struggled as if it was a tail that got cut off from a gecko. It splashed corrosive mucus from the cut and burned off a big portion of the cloth.

“Such an amazing plant…” Carefully observing every movement of the root, Qing shui looked at it as if he was holding treasure.

“Alright, we should really hurry up. I feel like you’re getting crazier.”  Chang pulled Qing shui towards the iron ladder. “Let’s get out of here, the tree might wake up any moment.”

Qing shui didn’t refute him this time. He carefully wrapped the small piece of root and put away his knife, then climbed up the iron ladder.

“Crazy.” Chang sighed as he followed Qing shui. They returned to the world shrouded with red fog.

“Let’s go back to the base.” After they came out, Pangzi and Jing were relieved. Their faces showed a hint of relaxation. They also found those soldiers sitting on the ground ripping the plants.

“Those plants aren’t edible.” Qing shui patted their shoulders, “You’ll have diarrhea that might even pull your bowels out.”

“Oh…” They threw away the bok choy-like plants suspiciously, with voices filled of pity. “Let’s go back then.”

“Great,” Chang nodded first. He didn’t want to stay here a second longer.

The group travelled back to the base without speaking. Chang, Qing shui, Pangzi and Jing were led to an office under the guidance of those soldiers – someone that looked like a captain stood in the room, apparently having waited for them this whole time. Chang and Qing shui looked up and down at the soldier, and Chang realized he had seen him before – he was the person who handled the argument between Chang and his roommate.

“Captain.” Chang had a good impression of him and hence, he greeted him first.

The captain’s mind went blank for a second; obviously, he also remembered this young man.

“Good to see you again. Have a seat.” The captain pointed to the chairs in front of his desk and said, “The main reason I called you here was because I wanted to talk to you about two things. First, I want to thank you for providing your food to the military, and second, I wanted to ask how you managed to get this meat.”

While he spoke, he lifted a parcel from under his desk. “The dog you brought to us weighed 35 kilograms. I have asked my soldiers to leave the inedible parts, so there is about 25 kilograms left. If you agree, we will take 10 kilograms and you will have 15 kilograms, or we could split it differently.”

“Of course, if you let us know how to hunt efficiently, not only will we not take any of your harvest, but we will also provide you extra hardtacks. What do you think?” The captain looked at Qing shui and Chang as he gave the two options.

“I wouldn’t say we have experience to share with you. It was just how much attention we paid to our prey’s sense of smell and hearing. It was something you can find in a book; I don’t have anything to say.” Noticing the captain looking at him, Qing shui added, “the rest was pure luck.”

“Really?” The captain looked across the four one by one and said, “At least one of you are mutated, am I right?”

“Huh?” They were surprised.