Zhou Zheng went to the military tent. When he came out, a few soldiers followed him. When he returned, the same soldiers were still behind him, but each of them was carrying a burlap sack.
After letting the doctor test these items to confirm there were no issues, Jiang Jinghuai and the others instructed the supplies to be sent to the kitchen first as an emergency relief. Everyone only heard that supplies from above had arrived, and the atmosphere became cheerful. Even the oppressive heat seemed to dissipate, with a breeze blowing through that brought some coolness.
The remaining items, such as watermelons and tangerines, quietly lay in the burlap sacks, which in turn rested on the floor inside the military tent.
"Sit." Jiang Jinghuai uttered a single word, his tone flat and steady as a line, gesturing toward Zhou Zheng with his eyes.
Zhou Zheng shivered and sat down instinctively.
The whole setup didn’t feel like they were rewarding a meritorious soldier. Instead, it resembled an interrogation of a suspect. Zhou Zheng now felt unsure about what was coming. Sitting there, uneasy, cold sweat dripped down his face one drop at a time.
The two people sitting across from him seemed to hold high ranks, both dressed in olive-green military uniforms, neat and upright, exuding an air of integrity. These days, Zhou Zheng had seen plenty of soldiers, but they had all been wearing camouflage vests. Now that most of the work seemed to be done, they had changed into their more formal military attire. An endless sea of green dazzled Zhou Zheng’s eyes.
One of them stared at him the whole time, interested but not threatening. It was Captain Jiang who intimidated him.
For some reason, Zhou Zheng just felt a hint of fear toward him.
Even in the middle of summer, when most people were wearing short sleeves, the person across from him was donned in a green military jacket. The row of polished buttons was neatly fastened, and the insignia on his epaulets gleamed strikingly.
The belt at his waist, the perfectly pressed green uniform pants, his tall and straight legs, his upright posture, and his piercing gaze—all of it added an invisible pressure on Zhou Zheng.
"You’ve shared your account of the events earlier. Jinghuai and I have both heard it. Now we have a few more questions for you to answer," Lu Chi said. He sat across from Zhou Zheng with a smile that seemed approachable.
"Major Lu, please ask. I’ll leave nothing out," Zhou Zheng replied with a forced smile, relaxing a bit.
"You said you were the one who discovered these sacks. At the scene, did you see anyone else?"
"No," Zhou Zheng blurted out. "I was the one who found these items. At the time, there wasn’t anyone else there." That woman didn’t look like someone who would take credit. Naturally, Zhou Zheng wouldn’t mention her. He claimed all the credit—missing out would’ve been foolish.
"Describe exactly when you found these items," Lu Chi continued.
"At the time, I really needed to pee. I went to the woods to relieve myself. After I was done—"
Jiang Jinghuai frowned and interrupted coldly, "Get to the point."
Zhou Zheng flinched and said, "After finding the items, I immediately ran here to notify you. The whole round trip was around ten minutes ago."
"Ten minutes ago. Let me check the time... That would be before 5:10," Lu Chi said.
"Add a few more minutes," Jiang Jinghuai suddenly interjected, looking directly at Zhou Zheng. "You smell like watermelon. There’s some watermelon juice splattered on the lower-left corner of your shirt, and you haven’t wiped the corner of your mouth clean. Didn’t you say you’d leave nothing out? Hmm? How are we supposed to trust you?"
"C-Captain..." Zhou Zheng’s face turned crimson as he nervously twisted his hands. "I ate a watermelon."
"Just one?" Lu Chi asked with a smile.
"Yes, just one. Absolutely only one," Zhou Zheng exclaimed, raising his hand as if taking an oath.
Lu Chi seemed to accept this, but Jiang Jinghuai remarked coolly, "How long did it take to eat the watermelon?"
Zhou Zheng hesitated. "Three minutes."
"Then add another three minutes. So, the time is now set to before 5:07," Lu Chi continued. "When do you think these supplies appeared?"
Zhou Zheng chuckled awkwardly. "Major, to be honest, I think they fell from the sky."
"Major Lu, Captain Jiang, think about it. With the earthquake and food shortages everywhere, how could so many supplies suddenly appear in the forest without a sound? If it were just vegetables and meat, fine, that would make sense. But watermelon? That’s too unbelievable. Even disaster relief supplies from another province wouldn’t include watermelon. This entire area is under your control—if any strangers entered, you’d notice immediately. So, it has to be heaven’s mercy, deliberately sending aid for disaster relief."
"We don’t believe in gods or spirits," Jiang Jinghuai said, unusually cracking a faint smile. He nodded meaningfully. "But you’re making some sense. Based on what you’ve said, we can fairly conclude it’s someone on our side. I don’t believe in miracles, and it’s not the rescue team—we’ve received no messages from them. It’s not outsiders either. That leaves only the people here. And there are quite a few of them."