97 Those With Arms and Legs Won’t Go Hungry
“I used to live in the town next door. When the extreme heat arrived, my parents brought me to this base. They said that there were mountains and water here, so it’d be cooler here than in the town. After that came the extreme cold, and the temperature plummeted. Two days later, we could hear the howls of wolves when we slept at night. Last week, we went to bed early. In the middle of the night, a wolf’s howl suddenly sounded from outside, and it sounded very close to us. We wanted to escape from here, but it was dark and cold outside, and there were wolves running around. In order to protect me, my parents were bitten to death by the wolves…”
After saying this, the boy’s eyes were already filled with tears.
Du Yue was quiet for a moment before she asked him in a low voice, “How many people were killed by the wolves that night?”
The boy turned to look at Du Yue when he suddenly heard her speak. When their eyes met, he replied in a choked voice, “I can’t remember, but there were many, many casualties.”
“What about the bodies of these people?” When they came here yesterday, they could only see damaged houses everywhere, but they did not see any corpses. Moreover, the snow on the ground was very thick, and it was a vast expanse of white. If people had died here, they should have been able to see blood, but they did not see anything.
“Those people said that… the wolves took all the corpses away.” The wolves bit their victims to death and brought the bodies away? Did the wolves bring them back to have food stored?
“Did you see where the wolves came from?” Du Yue continued to ask him.
“The north. There are more of them in the mountains to the north. Everyone says that they came from the deep mountains.” All the questions she wanted to know had been answered, and Du Yue had no intention of dawdling.
She opened her backpack and found a can of meat and a loaf of bread. She handed them to the boy. “These are for you.” The boy did not lose out as he managed to exchange a piece of information for canned meat and bread. The boy looked at the can of meat, his eyes full of desire. He hesitated for a moment before he quickly reached out and took the food from Du Yue. He then hid it in his arms.
The boy moved quickly, but Du Yue still noticed that his hands had turned blackish-purple from the cold. They were covered in frostbite, and even his fingernails were blackish-purple. He probably did not have a nail clipper, nor was he in the mood to take care of his nails. His nails were a little long, and the edges were rough. It was obvious that he had been gnawing on his nails often.
Du Yue did not look at him any longer and retracted her gaze. She did not feel much emotion. In the apocalyptic world, there were too many people who were in the same situation as the boy. She could not help all of them.
Survival of the fittest might sound cruel, but it had always been like this.
When they returned the day after tomorrow, Zuo Mingdong would bring all the survivors back to the base. When they reached the base, as long as they were diligent and willing to work, they would have enough food and clothes, though their lives would not undergo an immense change from how they were now.
He Xing was about to roll up the window when the boy outside spoke again, “Uh, you must be careful if you go! People say that the wild animals have mutated and are now more powerful than before!”
Du Yue and He Xing had already realized this when they caught the wild boar and the five giant hares after they left the base. Even so, the boy’s reminder was out of good intentions. He Xing took out a piece of chocolate from his pocket and gave it to him. “Thank you. The world is indeed dangerous now. You should take care of yourself too.”
He Xing rolled up the window and started the car. The boy stood at the side and did not leave until he saw the car start. Then, he slowly took a few steps back. Even after the car had driven some distance away, Du Yue could still see the boy in the rearview mirror. He was still standing in the same place, looking a little lonely.
He Xing held the steering wheel and turned to look at Du Yue. Seeing that she was staring at the rearview mirror, he said softly, “Don’t be soft-hearted. We can’t bring him along.”
Soft-hearted? Du Yue chuckled. “You don’t have to worry. In an apocalyptic, a saint’s heart is the most useless. I’ve known this for a long time.”
“That’s good.” He Xing smiled. “There are officials in the hall too. Even if he brings the food back, no one will dare to snatch his food as long as he’s smart enough to sit beside them. He’s a boy with his arms and legs intact. If he works a little harder when we return to the base, he won’t be cold or hungry.”
He Xing explained to Du Yue slowly while she listened quietly. She did not feel annoyed at all even though she already knew all of this.