Chapter 201: Group Dinner Notice
Only those who have never experienced true despair would say something so full of hope.
Zhou Qian looked at Huai Yu and, for the first time, felt that her amnesia might actually be a good thing.
Always striving upward, always passionate, always hopeful.
But… she was too naive, like a blank sheet of paper—some truths had to be told.
“Xiao Yu, you probably don’t know how dangerous the wasteland really is.”
“It’s been six years since the disaster. The first year ended in panic and resistance. In the second year, all resources were consolidated. By the third year, the garrison troops began advancing into the wasteland… It’s been over three years now.”
“But what’s in the central zone of the wasteland? We still don’t know.”
The fact that Zhou Qian was able to retire now proved he had completed at least nine successful auxiliary exploration missions within those three years.
Every loss and sacrifice had left an indelible mark on his heart.
That’s why he wasn’t exaggerating when he spoke to Huai Yu—he was just stating the facts.
“Even if General Lin can surpass his limits and survive the critical mutation threshold, out there in the wasteland… it’s still almost certain death.”
He spoke softly: “Or maybe you think ‘a slim chance of survival’ sounds more hopeful.”
Huai Yu had heard various accounts of the dangers of the wasteland before, but Zhou Qian’s serious demeanor and calm words at this moment truly made her feel the terror of it.
She thought for a moment, then still clung to a thread of hope: “But this is Lin Xuefeng we’re talking about.”
“He’s so strong—couldn’t there be a better chance he’ll survive?”
Zhou Qian gave a bitter smile, shattering her fantasy: “Our country has always had a huge population, even after the disaster. We’re still the world’s most populous nation.”
“No matter what kind of genius, with such a large population base, they will emerge.”
“In peaceful times, certain talents may not have had a chance to shine. But after the disaster, everyone got their own chance.”
“Geniuses like General Lin have always existed since the disaster. For example, the General Wu you look down on—before he created the Rose Corridor, everyone praised him as a wood-type genius too.”
“If he hadn’t fallen into a coma after creating the Rose Corridor, his strength wouldn’t have been limited to what you see now.”
“No matter how much you dislike him, I still have to tell you the objective facts.”
As Zhou Qian spoke, he noticed Huai Yu’s frown deepen, and he couldn’t help but feel a bit like a father giving a life lesson.
It really felt like he was lecturing a clueless teenage daughter!
But… where the heck did he get a daughter from?
Still, no matter how fatherly he felt, he had to say what needed to be said.
“There are many heroic figures who fought for humanity, but in the end, none of them escaped the critical mutation threshold. They either died in a frenzy of killing or, like Lin, chose to enter the wasteland alone and then disappeared without a trace…”
“Only the deepest garrison troops might occasionally retrieve some of their belongings from certain missions.”
Or remains.
Huai Yu listened quietly and gradually fell silent.
Zhou Qian watched her staring blankly and couldn’t help but feel a bit regretful.
Had he been too blunt, too harsh?
She might never even get a chance to set foot in the wasteland in her life. Maybe it was better to let her keep her beautiful illusions.
He sighed quietly, then hesitated for a moment before decisively starting to clean up the dishes—dumping out the leftovers, tossing the bowls and spoons into the pot, and adding a couple of ladles of water to soak them…
“Fetching water isn’t easy, you know! Don’t always soak like that!”
Huai Yu snapped back to reality, quickly setting aside her emotions, and began scolding Zhou Qian again:
“We have to conserve water, okay?”
“I bought some steel wool. Dip it in some ash to scrub everything first, then rinse with two basins of clean water—problem solved!”
Zhou Qian thought to himself, I’d rather dig in the dirt than do this!
Anyway, fetching water is hard work, sure—but he was the one fetching it!
But after eating so much, and having tasted Huai Yu’s cooking, there was no going back to simpler food. Standing there under her roof, he had no choice but to obediently get a basin of ash and scrub the dishes with the water in the pot.
Meanwhile, Huai Yu strutted around like a landlord, and after a while suddenly said: “No matter if Lin Xuefeng survives or not, I said I’d go to the wasteland to find him, and I will!”
She looked at Zhou Qian and couldn’t help but smile: “Zhou Qian-ge, if you hadn’t come back back then, I would have gone looking for you too.”
“But thank goodness—you came back!”
Zhou Qian’s scrubbing hand paused for a moment, then he looked up at her:
“You! If you were like this before your amnesia, that scumbag must’ve been blind to break up with you.”
Who could handle this kind of sweet talk!
Huai Yu clenched her fists: “No worries. Once I piece together more memories and figure out the truth, next time I see him, I’ll smash him into the wall so hard they won’t be able to scrape him off!”
Zhou Qian held back a laugh and pictured the scene, then nodded seriously: “Mm, I support you.”
But back to business—
“We can only dig for a bit this afternoon. Last night, friends from the neighboring camp shouted over that they’re coming tonight for a group dinner. I need you to prep two baskets of vegetables from the field—remember, just ordinary ones!”
When the vegetables were still hanging on the vines, except for a few specially nurtured and purified ones, the mutation levels were normal.
So if she picked the wrong veggies, Huai Yu would have to purify them before cooking. Zhou Qian’s reminder was just to make sure she didn’t grab any mutated ones.
But Huai Yu wasn’t worried: “It’s fine! Even if the veggies are too good, you just add a bit of water from the well and the mutation level goes back down, right?”
She purified water every day anyway—it was good practice.
Zhou Qian nodded: “Alright, give me two big baskets. They have huge appetites.”
Huai Yu thought for a moment: “You should keep digging then. The potatoes aren’t ready yet. I’ll go pick the veggies. I’ll get a bit of everything, okay? Want some sweet potato vines? It’s getting warmer—they need trimming.”
“We can give the trimmings to Da Zai, Er Zai, and the chicks to eat.”
Zhou Qian: “……”
He was about to say something when Huai Yu added:
“Oh, by the way, should we serve meat for the guests? If you have time, do you want to check out the Jin Yuan compound?”
Zhou Qian thought for a moment: “No need. There are plenty of missions now. Since they agreed to come this afternoon, they probably have their own game meat.”
“If you don’t mind the taste, come over and I’ll introduce you to everyone. That way, if I’m not home and something comes up, you can go to the camp for help.”
Huai Yu smiled: “I think I’ll just eat at home first.”
“And wow, that sounded familiar—didn’t you say the same thing to the camp guards back then?”
Zhou Qian thought back to when Huai Yu first went there, all timid and pitiful, and couldn’t help but smile too.
Time really flies!
