"I wanted to ask sothing..." Tang Ye tried to talk to this man, but he stopped midway because the man simply ignored him and continued to wave a frying pan in his hands as if he feared Tang Ye would see sothing. Initially, Tang Ye thought the man might have seen sothing on him, hence his fear, but on closer inspection, he realized that this guy was just wary of strangers. The environnt seed reminiscent of the early Apocalypse where any stranger could pose a threat. Back then, it was a ti when trust among people was extrely low—no one knew if a moldy piece of bread could result in a bloody conflict!
As the man waved the frying pan, he also moved backward using both his hands and feet, desperately trying to distance himself from Tang Ye. Tang Ye observed that the man had a typical Lan Ou European face and wore a yellow short-sleeved shirt, which had turned to dark yellow due to not being washed over a long period. Dirt and stains were all over it; his trousers were black and were dirtier than his shirt. The black trousers had been worn to the point of showing multiple colors with different depths of dirt and gri stuck on them. One leg of the trousers was also missing a large piece, making it look odd.
The man had long hair due to not being trimd for a long ti; they were strawy yellow and tangled together from lack of washing, turning into clumps.
His ssy beard, coupled with the dirt on his face, made it really hard to discern his features clearly.
The man kept waving his frying pan to chase away Tang Ye, and it seed like he was also trying to attack Tang Ye, but every attempt was in vain, making him look more like a madman. Tang Ye stood still, just quietly watching the man’s performance. After a while, the man gradually cald down, seemingly realizing that Tang Ye ant no harm.
After so more ti, the man stopped his actions and looked at Tang Ye with confusion, finally uttering sothing.
"Mo Entai?"
Tang Ye was baffled for a mont; he couldn’t understand what the man was saying, and looked back at him with a puzzled expression. He not only couldn’t comprehend what the man was saying, but also couldn’t determine which language he was using, as it was very different from English!
Considering that English was the most widely used language before the Apocalypse, he could only try to recall certain English words to form the sentences he wanted to say.
Regardless of whether the other person could understand English, now he could only hope that his broken Chinglish could be understood by those who knew English.
"Im... is... China?"
As soon as Tang Ye blurted out in barely acceptable English, the perplexity on the man’s face instantly transford into utter confusion—as if there were three huge question marks floating above his head!
However, before the man could react, Tang Ye realized the issue with what he had said and reconsidered the sentence, saying again: "Can you... speak... Chinese?"
This ti it should have been standard; he rembered Yi Huangcheng from the Royal Court had used this English phrase before... It should be correct, right?
That’s what Tang Ye thought to himself, but to his disappointnt, the man still looked confused, confirming that he couldn’t understand English after all.
The man’s face displayed a thoughtful expression; he shook his head and then nodded at Tang Ye, before speaking in the local language and gesturing with his hands, but Tang Ye could neither understand his spoken words nor his sign language.
The man hadn’t yet noticed the expression on Tang Ye’s face and pointed towards a street; he continued speaking unclearly, still in a manner that Tang Ye couldn’t comprehend.
At this mont, the man finally realized how difficult it was for the two to communicate, and his face sank into dejection.
Tang Ye gathered that the man was seemingly guiding him sowhere, but what use was just pointing with a finger? How could he know where he wanted him to go?
"You take there?" Tang Ye said in Chinese, and although the other person couldn’t understand, Tang Ye gestured the action of leading the way; the man imdiately shook his head as if he was unwilling to go there.
"Ah nu ah nu..."
He uttered the sa syllable twice, then waved back at Tang Ye before starting to leave. Tang Ye didn’t pursue him. The man had sowhat understood that Tang Ye wanted to inquire about sothing, but communication was too difficult, preventing Tang Ye from obtaining the information he needed. What the man could be sure of was that Tang Ye posed no danger to him, which relaxed his guard enough to unzip his trousers and urinate in front of the ruins right before Tang Ye’s eyes. Afterward, he began rummaging through items, appearing like a scavenger and also a wanderer in the area.
He might have been searching for living resources out in the streets.
As he watched the wanderer leave, Tang Ye seed to co to an understanding. Apart from seeking clues from the graffiti on the wall, he had another option, which was to find other people. In this city, it wasn’t just him; there were other natives, although not many. However, the clue to "clearing the level" was among these people.
Moreover, the people he sought should at least not have a communication barrier with him. He could blurt out so English phrases, but if the conversation involved more complex matters, Tang Ye could only apologize. Therefore, the people he sought must understand Chinese—at least well enough to communicate with him.
The figure of the wanderer disappeared from Tang Ye’s sight; he specifically rembered the man’s scent and then sniffed around, trying to catch the sll of other people.
Soon, Tang Ye detected a scent different from that of the wanderer—a living creature.
Forcing himself to calm down, Tang Ye headed towards the southeast. It wasn’t long before he reached a pile of building ruins, where the scent of a living creature was emanating from.
However, as he neared, Tang Ye felt sothing was off. The building had completely collapsed, with rubble and steel rebar piled up together, and there were no signs of human habitation around. The scent of the living creature was coming from within these building ruins, and the scent was sowhat strange.
"Could soone be living here?"
Having circled around the ruins, Tang Ye couldn’t find an entrance, so he decided to start digging with his hands. He could feel that the living creature below was not deep down, just less than half a ter.
Rolling up his sleeves, Tang Ye reached in, and imdiately a large section of the wall was pulled out by him, shedding dust "whooshing" down, and vaguely, Tang Ye heard a sound from inside, as if startled.
"Hello, is anyone there? Can you understand Chinese? I’m a good person, don’t worry, I’ve co to rescue you!"
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