Chapter 5: How Many Years Into the Apocalypse Has It Been? How Could Anyone Run a Restaurant Outside the High Walls?
“Auntie Qian, Xiaoya and the others are back.”
A frail-looking man knocked on the door of a dilapidated wooden shack, speaking softly to whoever was inside.
“Come in.”
The man pushed the door open, leading the three people behind him into the room.
The wooden shack was old, its furnishings utterly bare. The only furniture was a single table and a stool. The woman called “Auntie Qian” had short hair and wore long sleeves and pants tightly bound at the wrists and ankles. Her arms looked exceptionally strong.
“How was the harvest?” Long Qian asked.
“Damn it, Mad Dog’s crew stripped the entire east side clean! They just brought in more hands a while ago, and they tore through it like locusts—not a scrap left. We wandered around all morning and only scavenged this pathetic pile.” The young woman who followed him in tore off her face cloth in frustration, revealing a fairly young face.
With a loud clatter, she slammed the large sack in her hand onto the table.
“Long Ya, quit being so rash.” The two men beside her had also removed their black face cloths. The younger of the two spoke up before turning to Long Qian. “Auntie, next time we head beyond the wall, we need to pick a different direction.”
“Go where? The south wall was sealed off ages ago, Auntie won’t let us go north, and now Mad Dog’s bunch is pulling this crap in the east. What, go west?” Long Ya kicked the table leg in irritation.
“Watch your strength. You’re about to kick the only decent piece of furniture we have into splinters.”
“Long Shi, stop arguing with me.” Long Ya glared at the young man who had spoken.
Long Qian was already inspecting the contents of the bag.
A scattered dozen or so small crystals, along with five medium-sized ones.
Aside from that, the bulk of it was metal scrap, cloth rags, and a few damaged plastic bottles that had once held who-knew-what.
“This is barely enough for six rations. I already ate today, so I won’t eat tomorrow. Save half a portion for Geli, and the rest of you can split what’s left.”
“No need. I won’t eat tomorrow either—I’m already full from pure rage! I still have a little money on me, so let’s call it six and a half rations,” Long Ya said.
“Keep that meager bit of money to yourself,” Long Qian said.
“I still have leftovers. No need to count me in tomorrow either,” said the older man who hadn’t spoken since stepping inside.
“Old Hu, you’ve been stretching a single ration over three days. Stop giving it away.”
Long Qian said, “It’s enough that you all returned safely. Rest for now. The sisters across the way haven’t eaten in two days, right? In a bit, Qiu Jie and I will head outside the wall to search for more crystals and spare some for them. You guys look after Geli.”
“How is Geli doing?”
“Not good.” Long Qian’s brow furrowed tightly.
The emerald green had already crept into his pupils… The city doctor told them to just wait for the end.
In this condition, only an anti-toxin serum could save him. But right now, they could barely trade for rations, let alone an astronomically priced anti-toxin injection.
Saying they were waiting for him to recover was pure self-deception. At this point, the most they could do was ensure Geli had a few full meals before he passed.
No sooner had her voice fallen than a knock rattled the wooden door.
“Auntie Qian… Auntie Qian!”
“It’s Lina. Open the door.”
Long Qian gestured with her eyes toward Qiu Jie, who was standing by the door.
The moment the door opened, the little girl wearing a face cloth and a cloak rushed right inside. “Auntie Qian, my sister…”
She could barely string a sentence together. Having sprinted the entire way back, she was completely out of breath.
Seeing the girl rush back alone, draped in Lilin’s cloak, the people in the room exchanged loaded glances.
Pity mingled with compassion.
In this world, it was hard enough for two young girls to survive, and now…
Long Qian’s heart skipped a beat. Picking up a water skin, she held it out to the girl. “Don’t panic. Take your time. Did… something happen to Lilin?”
Lina gulped down a mouthful of water, finally catching her breath.
She hurriedly tried to explain the situation to Auntie Qian: “My sister was bitten by a bug, but—but that’s not the point! She’s doing much better now! Just outside the high wall, we ran into an incredible boss! She opened a restaurant out there, selling non-toxic roasted potatoes and roasted sweet potatoes, and they can even purge poison! My sister—my sister told me to hurry and get you all to buy some, before they’re all sold out!”
Long Qian and the others: “…”
What kind of nonsense was she babbling?
How many years into the apocalypse has it been? How could anyone run a restaurant outside the high walls?
Selling roasted potatoes and sweet potatoes, and purging poison on top of that?
Every single word sounded like a fairy tale.
Long Qian stroked Lina’s head gently. “You’ve had a hard time, child. How about… you move over here to sleep tonight? That way we can all look out for one another.”
“The kid probably couldn’t handle the bad news and is hallucinating,” Long Ya said, crossing her arms and shaking her head from the side.
“I’m telling the truth! Didn’t Brother Geli get bitten when he served his duty in the Black Fields a couple of days ago? Isn’t he still running a fever? Take him over there to try it! Maybe eating a roasted potato will cure him!” Lina pleaded urgently.
“Right, right, I know roasted potatoes smell amazing. Poor kid… if you’re going to dream, at least dream bigger! Meat smells so much better—why only dream about roasted potatoes?” Long Shi sighed.
“Both of you, quiet down!” Long Qian scolded her niece and nephew, then turned to Lina with a gentle tone. “Lilin… where is she right now?”
“Right outside the west wall, just in front of that tricycle called a restaurant!”
Even a tricycle had entered the story now.
“Then how about I round up a few people and go check it out with you?”
Long Qian thought Lina had simply suffered too great of a shock.
Heading outside the city together was fine. If Lilin’s body hadn’t been eaten by mutated beasts or plants yet, they might still have a chance to retrieve the poor girl’s remains.
It would give Lina some closure, too.
“All of you should go! Bring all your money! Really! You have to bring it!” Seeing that Auntie Qian and the others didn’t believe her, Lina pleaded with all her might.
“Look, Geli can’t move easily, so we need people to stay and look after him, right? And we haven’t traded our crystals yet, so it’s not easy to bring them,” Long Qian said, coaxing the child.
“The restaurant accepts crystals too! The conversion rate is higher than in the city!” Lina urged.
“…”
When Lina said that, even Old Hu, who had remained silent in the corner, shook his head.
The child truly had been pushed over the edge.
It was understandable. Losing her last remaining family member in this dog-eat-dog world was enough to drive anyone mad.
In this endless apocalypse, plenty of people had lost their minds after watching their family and friends die one after another.
Was it Lina’s turn now?
Poor kid.
“Alright, alright, I’ll bring it.”
Long Qian shot a glance at Long Ya, then stood up. “Qiu Jie, call the two next door. We’re heading out of the city with Lina.”
“Got it.”
“Grab your gear. Stay alert for danger, full armor. Long Ya, you guys take care of Geli.”
“Let Long Shi watch him. I’ll go back you up.” Long Ya glanced at Lina. “Who knows what we’ll run into out there. An extra pair of hands means extra strength.”
Long Qian nodded. “Fair enough. You come with us, then.”
If they were retrieving Lilin’s body, they might encounter mutated plants drawn by the scent of blood.
They needed combat capability.
“Auntie Qian, do you guys still not believe me…?” Lina asked quietly.
“We believe you. But going outside the wall requires preparation. You know how dangerous it is out there.”
Long Qian brushed the child off with the usual excuse.
If they found the body and Lina remained in this delusional state… things would be tricky.
They would have to break the hard truth to her and wake the poor girl up.
“Okay, then.”
Lina nodded hesitantly. “Then I’ll lead the way!”
And so, Lina set off toward the west gate alongside Long Qian and the others, who were prepared to recover Lilin’s body.
Outside the wall.
Ling Jing was inspecting her system interface.
Currently, the interface provided by the system was completely grayed out, stamped with a massive gray padlock that blocked out all details.
Tapping it only brought up a prompt: [Unlocks upon completion of the Novice Quest].
The Novice Quest had appeared the moment she claimed the Starter Pack, displayed at the top left of the interface.
—[Novice Quest: Complete 10 transactions (2/10)]
Well, then.
Ling Jing shrugged helplessly.
Guess she would just wait until ten transactions were finished.
She wondered just how many people that little girl would manage to bring back.
