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as translator, proofreader and editor!
Although it looked a bit messy, there was a sense of order within the chaos.
Hearing the noise, a few children who didn’t look very old ran out of the cave. One of them, upon seeing the bearded man, was visibly happy and rushed over, calling him “uncle.”
The bearded man held the little girl, who looked to be only a few years old, his expression covered by his beard clearly gentle and affectionate.
“This is my sister’s daughter. She passed away during childbirth, so she’s been with me ever since,” the bearded man explained as he noticed Jiang Ci’s gaze on them.
Jiang Ci nodded, “She’s a lovely little girl.”
After saying that, she took out a piece of chocolate from her bag. It was from her favorite brand, which she had bought when she went home. She had stored them all in her space along with other candies and snacks so she could have a piece whenever she wanted.
She gave each child a piece of chocolate, and received sparkling yet shy looks from the children in return.
“Those over fourteen have gone out to collect crystal cores while the rest are keeping watch,” the bearded man added.
Jiang Ci nodded. Such arrangements were quite common in the post-apocalyptic world, as those over fourteen were already considered capable fighters.
pls do not share this anywhere or u will always stub ur toe when u walk past a door frame !! this translation has been stolen from mioscorner.com, pls only read there i’m begging u :kneels:
The inside of the cave was pitch black, so Jiang Ci turned on her flashlight, allowing her to see the general layout of the place. The cave had additional spaces partitioned out, with a bed made from wood and dirt near the entrance, and the more valuable items likely stored further inside. There was surprisingly no foul smell of waste in the cave. Later, the bearded man explained that there was another cave they used as a toilet about a hundred meters away.
“However, staying here isn’t a long-term solution. Although the zombies can’t reach us, we’re still vulnerable against mutated beasts. So, we urgently need to find a place to settle down,” the bearded man added.
Jiang Ci nodded. “So, you all really can go back and help me manage the place. My place has a high foot traffic daily, with conflicts often arising. I can’t be there all the time. At the very least, I can guarantee you food as well as a warm and safe place.”
The bearded man nodded, though it was unclear how much he believed her. The two then began discussing the scar-faced man’s daughter, Chen Xi.
Chen Xi had been maliciously poisoned. Someone had secretly contaminated her nutrient solution with toxins from a mutated beast.
“Who could be so cruel?” Jiang Ci frowned. She had previously heard from the scar-faced man that Chen Xi was just an eight-year-old girl.
“It was a group in the base that has conflicts with us. They targeted Little Xi for revenge and have powerful backers who hold high positions in the base. In the end, it’s just us ordinary survivors without connections who are secretly ‘disposed of.’ So, we simply left that base that couldn’t distinguish right from wrong,” the bearded man said with a sneer.
Jiang Ci listened with a furrowed brow. Adults having conflicts between them, yet retaliating against a child—the person that did it must be a coward.
Jiang Ci asked for the name of their base and nodded, saying she would remember it.
Soon after, the scar-faced man emerged, carrying a child wrapped in clothes.
Chen Xi looked extremely thin, her face sallow and dark, somewhat resembling Yuan Min from earlier.
However, she seemed to be in worse condition than Yuan Min. Her hair had completely fallen out, and her limbs that were littered with black spots were as thin as bamboo sticks. It was to be expected, after all, since she had been directly exposed to pure toxins.
Her breathing was labored and her eyes were vacant. Her emaciated body rose and fell slightly with each breath. Without that faint movement, it would be hard to believe she was still alive.
The scar-faced man who was two meters tall, instantly teared up. His fingers trembled slightly as he looked at Jiang Ci with pleading eyes. “Can she be saved?”
Jiang Ci glanced at the girl and didn’t make any promises. “I can only take a look first.”
The scar-faced man carefully placed Chen Xi on a rock covered with old clothes, stepped back a few paces, and then looked at Jiang Ci.
Jiang Ci walked over and crouched beside Chen Xi, placing her hand on the girl’s body. Like before, she closed her eyes to sense the situation.
Soon, the transparent human diagram appeared before her again. This time, the black toxic gas had already invaded Chen Xi’s brain. Jiang Ci wasn’t sure if she could successfully disperse the black substance, especially since it had already reached the most vital part of the human body—the brain.
Jiang Ci took a deep breath and then began directing the white light under her control to corral the black toxic substance together.
As the light passed through the brain, her movements became exceptionally cautious.
Her brain, eroded by the black toxic substance, seemed somewhat lifeless. Jiang Ci quickly soothed it with the white light.
Song Jinchuan stood beside Jiang Ci. Seeing the sweat trickling down her temple, he took out a tissue and gently dabbed at it, his eyes filled with a faint trace of heartache.
This time, it took Jiang Ci a long time before she opened her eyes again, meeting the expectant gaze of the scar-faced man when she did.
Before she could speak, a bottle of water with its cap already twisted open was handed to her by Song Jinchuan. Jiang Ci was indeed truly parched. She took a few sips and before she could say anything, Chen Xi, who had been lying on the bed, suddenly vomited mouthfuls of black blood.
Seeing this, the scar-faced man hurried over to help support her head, preventing his daughter from choking on the black blood.
Although the black blood emitted a foul odor like they had seen earlier, Chen Xin’s complexion visibly improved alongside it.
The scar-faced man wiped the bloodstains from Chen Xin’s face and held his daughter in his arms, patting her back with a heart full of pain.
Seeing this, Jiang Ci slowly exhaled—it seemed the result was good.
Just then, the survivors who had gone out began to return in small groups. Seeing the bearded man and the scar-faced man, they were surprised, “Why are you back already?”
Ever since the bearded man and the scar-faced man started working under Ying Hu, they had lived near the fake hotpot restaurant, only occasionally finding time to return.
The bearded man briefly recounted the events of the day to them and introduced their savior, Jiang Ci, amidst gasps of astonishment.
Upon learning that she not only helped the bearded man and his companions escape from that den of wolves but also saved Chen Xin, the survivors looked at Jiang Ci with gratitude and admiration.
“Little Xin just spoke to me, she called me dad,” The scar-faced man suddenly shouted to the group, his voice choked with emotion.
It was no wonder the scar-faced man was so excited. Since Chen Xin’s condition had worsened, she had been lying in bed lifelessly, unable to speak.
But just now, as Chen Xin stutteringly called out to him, the scar-faced man’s eyes had immediately reddened.
Seeing that after all that commotion, it was already nearly two in the afternoon, Jiang Ci suggested they all have hotpot together.
“Hotpot? But…” The survivors wanted to say there were no ingredients and no pot that was large enough, but the next second, they saw Jiang Ci take out everything needed for hotpot from her space, including the pot and ingredients.
The survivors were stunned, forgetting what they were supposed to do, and just stood there dumbfounded, watching Jiang Ci set up the pot and start the fire.
Only when the ingredients were in the pot and the rich aroma wafted out did they finally snap out of it.
“Don’t be shy, everyone. There are disposable bowls and chopsticks here, help yourselves,” Jiang Ci called out to everyone as the ingredients were almost ready.
At first, everyone was a bit reserved, but soon they couldn’t resist the enticing aroma and picked up their bowls and chopsticks to eat around the large pot.
“This really is authentic hotpot!” The bearded man and his companions praised repeatedly.
Among the crowd, one of them who had once been in the livestock industry quickly recognized that the meat was extremely fresh pork, beef, and lamb.
Regarding the source of the ingredients, although the survivors were surprised, they didn’t ask too many questions. After all, capable people always had their own ways.
After this series of events, the bearded man and his group had already decided to follow Jiang Ci.
However, since Chen Xin had just started to recover, it wasn’t suitable for her to travel such a long distance yet. So, they agreed with Jiang Ci to set off for City C as soon as Chen Xin’s condition improved.
What pleasantly surprised Jiang Ci was that among this group was also a woman who came from a family of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners.
Before the apocalypse, she had even served as a chief physician in a major hospital, with her family running a traditional Chinese medicine clinic. She still had some herbs left from before the apocalypse, so this group relied entirely on this doctor, named Lu Dongmei, for any minor ailments.
She appeared to be in her forties, with a calm and composed demeanor. Jiang Ci could tell she would be easy to get along with at first glance.
Before leaving, Jiang Ci had a discussion about the situation with her since she was about to acquire a medical clinic, and a clinic couldn’t be without a doctor.
Lu Dongmei never imagined that even in the apocalypse, she would have the opportunity to sit in a clinic healing people, and continuing to shine in her profession. She immediately agreed without even hesitating or enquiring about the salary.
Jiang Ci also left a bag of jujubes for Chen Xin before departing.
When descending the steep slope, she still had Song Jinchuan carry her down. However, due to the early wake up this morning and treating two survivors in a row, she was exhausted and ended up falling asleep on Song Jinchuan’s back.
When she woke up again, it was already dark outside. Song Jinchuan hadn’t traveled far with her but had instead found a nearby spot to set up their tent. So, when she found herself lying in bed, she wasn’t too surprised.
Song Jinchuan had even prepared dinner, seemingly timing it perfectly for when she woke up. He was always this thoughtful and considerate.
After spending a night in the wild, Song Jinchuan and Jiang Ci set off on their electric scooter toward the hotpot restaurant early the next morning.
Having been away for two nights, Jiang Ci missed her small courtyard and bed dearly.
The electric scooter sped along, and as the sky began to darken, they finally returned to the hotpot restaurant.
After being away for two days, Jiang Ci found the lights of her hotpot restaurant particularly warm and welcoming.
At this time, the survivors hadn’t left yet. The three restaurants, along with the convenience store and barbecue stall outside, were all bustling with people.
Seeing everyone busy, Jiang Ci and Song Jinchuan didn’t disturb them and went straight to the backyard.
Having spent two nights in a tent, the bathing situation hadn’t been as convenient as it was at home. Jiang Ci proceeded to thoroughly wash herself from head to toe upon returning home.
This time, although she hadn’t brought Hui Hui and Xiao Lulu with her, she was still pleasantly surprised to find that the cracked egg had finally been nudged open a bit more. Though it was still too dark to see inside clearly, fragments of the eggshell continued to crack off. She estimated that there would probably be another delightful surprise by tomorrow morning.
not a translator error, author suddenly changed the girl’s name from chen xi to chen xin
also WOULD IT KILL THIS AUTHOR TO GIVE SOME OF THE SIDE CHARACTERS NAMES bro this is the explosive hair incident all over again
