Chapter 37: at and Weapons
Translator: Letty / Editor: DarkGem / IceTea
“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 movent 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 mont.”
Qing Shui didn’t refute him this ti. 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 ca out, Pang Zi 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, Pang Zi and Jing were led to an office under the guidance of those soldiers – soone that looked like a captain stood in the room, apparently having waited for them this whole ti. 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 argunt 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 rembered 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 at.”
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 sll and hearing. It was sothing 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 is mutated, am I right?”
“Huh?” They were surprised.
“Don’t give that expression, I have seen so of them already. Our base has more than 1500 soldiers; it wouldn’t be a surprise that a few of them mutated.” The captain knocked on the table, “Have you ever considered serving the military?”
“We were just lucky,” Qing Shui murmured emotionlessly.
“Okay... you can co to anyti if you change your mind. Let’s switch topic and talk about how we should divide the at.”
“We want the 15 kilogram portion!” Chang said loudly.
“No problem.” The captain nodded and pushed the 15 kilograms of at to Chang. “Be careful when you eat; it might cause riots. I’ll lend you our kitchen to cook and eat, so no one will know you have food. Also, it has been almost two hours since the dog died, and it is starting to sll bad. Don’t save it for a next al or sothing, since it’ll rot quickly.”
“We know.” Taking over the chunks of at, the bloody sll caused contractions in Chang’s stomach. He didn’t leave imdiately, and instead asked, “Can I trade so of the at we have for a gun?”
“A gun?” The captain frowned.
“Yes, a gun that we can use to hunt in the future.” Chang said so while he held the at, “We won’t be able finish 15 kilograms of at in one al even though we’ve been starving for days, and what’s left over will be wasted. I want to trade 5 kilograms of at for a rifle so that we have a better chance of surviving...”
“I’m sorry, I don’t have permission to do so!” The captain interrupted Chang. While Chang was disappointed and wanted to change his mind to trading at for hardtacks, the captain spoke again, “I can’t give you a rifle, but if you’re looking for so hunting tools, a crossbow is a better choice.”
The captain glanced at the soldier standing beside him, and the latter left the room as if he received an order from the captain.
A while later, the soldier ca back with a dark green crossbow. He carefully put the crossbow on the table – it was coated with a camouflage pattern, making it easily hidden in the grassy bushes. The barrel of the crossbow was as long as an adult’s arm and the limbs was twice as long as the barrel. It was made of fine tal; the crossbow was light enough to carry around, but heavy enough to make a stable shot.
“How is this? This crossbow is definitely a better weapon than guns and knives when it cos to hunting. It’s flexible and makes almost no sound. In a close or mid-range attack, the arrow can cause more damage than a bullet or a rifle. Although you do need to refill the bow more frequently, it’s not like you are using it for a mass killing, so I don’t think there is another weapon more suitable for you.” The captain ran his hand over the crossbow and said, “How’s this? For 8 kilograms of at, I’ll give you seven large bolts and ten small ones.”
“Deal!” Staring at the green crossbow, hope raised in Chang’s eyes – with his vision and this weapon, in addition to Jing’s ability and Qing Shui’s experience, he believed that the next hunt would be less difficult.
“Good.” The captain ordered his soldier to take away half of Chang’s portion of at, and Chang received the weapon – the military trade was a complete success.
“You can leave if you have no other issues to discuss with .” The captain impatiently asked them to leave as the at started slling worse; he obviously didn’t want to waste ti either.
“Aweso, thank you.” Chang lifted up the parcel of at and the four left the room.
“This is my last reminder to you. Be careful when you walk back; a hungry crowd can be terribly aggressive, and riots are like a highly contagious disease.”
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