Chapter 82: Stolen Moments of Leisure at the End of Days

"Anyway, I’ve made myself clear today: as long as I'm alive, as long as I can keep finding you something to eat—be it weeds, bark, or even something more disgusting," the man continued to roar, "I will never allow you to eat this! Not unless I'm dead!"

With those words, the man picked up his military knife, said “goodbye” to Liu Chang, and left with his wife and child, continuing their search for food.

After he left, Liu Chang was left pondering the man’s words. That man was just an ordinary person—someone you could find anywhere in Zhengzhou, as common as could be. Yet, they all possessed their own kind of wisdom. They lacked systematic knowledge, and didn’t have the extraordinary analytical or scientific capabilities of Li Qingshui and Zhao Zhuo, but they could still think of practical, old-fashioned ways to survive in the cracks of this apocalyptic world.

Humanity is far less fragile, and far less great, than it imagines itself to be. In fact, if these ordinary people were allowed some time to adapt—if they survived the first wave of bacterial invasion and the initial crisis of maladaptation—most of them would manage to survive. Of course, that’s assuming no one provides them with “food.”

If Zhao Zhuo’s newly synthesized food was as terrifying as Li Qingshui suggested, then decades or centuries from now, everyone who ate it might be wiped out. Liu Chang understood that, while Chinese people never lacked for cleverness, there always seemed to be a deficiency of integrity, a lack of backbone—a tendency to follow the crowd and echo popular opinion. There weren’t many people like that middle-aged man, who could stick to their own ideas. Once the first batch of crops was harvested, Liu Chang believed most people would eat it, and Zhao Zhuo would likely gain the “absolute control over food” and unparalleled “honor” he sought.

As for what Tang intended to do with all the connections and resources he gathered, Liu Chang could not guess.

Having thought through these details, Liu Chang felt an even deeper dread of that young man. Radical in thought, decisive in action—truly a figure worthy of being called a hero of his era. Unfortunately, his heart seemed excessively cruel; he possessed the resolve to do whatever it took, even at the cost of the world.

“Did he not consider the consequences of these actions?” Liu Chang wondered. “Or is there some other objective?”

No matter how much he pondered, he could not reach a conclusion, so he simply set the matter aside. Some things were beyond his understanding, and even if he did understand, there was nothing he could do.

All Liu Chang could do now, and all he had to do, was to protect himself.

So, though his mind teemed with questions, he focused on the present—picking up the insect in his hand and scanning the ground, covered in plants, to search for food.

Since the apocalypse began, plant life had grown explosively, likely spreading across the entire world by now. Strange new plants poked their shoots out of the earth, many mutating into forms even scientists could not recognize. Food wasn’t scarce, but rather so varied and unfamiliar that most people couldn’t tell what was edible and what wasn’t.

With the little insect in his hand, Liu Chang found it much easier to identify edible plants. Over the course of the afternoon, he discovered seven or eight kinds, collecting their seedlings, seeds, and fruits, wrapping them up in a cloth.

As dusk fell, he returned to the research institute, seeking out Li Qingshui.

“Hey, I found seven or eight edible plants today, but I’m not sure which ones can be widely cultivated.” Liu Chang placed the cloth bundle on Li Qingshui’s lab bench.

“Seven or eight kinds?” Li Qingshui looked at the contents of the cloth and his face lit up with delight. “You’re pretty impressive!”

“Not really, it was all thanks to this little thing taste-testing for me.” Liu Chang put the insect on the table as well, then recounted everything that had happened that day.

“That’s actually a great method. The collective intelligence of ordinary people is a force no scientist can match.” Li Qingshui sighed after listening. “Humans are social creatures—surviving by relying on the wisdom of the group. The insight of ordinary people should never be overlooked. I’ll start testing these new plants tomorrow. If possible, I hope we can save as many as we can.”

“Yeah.” Liu Chang looked at Li Qingshui’s calm face and smiled. “Really, even though you usually seem cold, you’re actually quite kind-hearted.”

As he spoke, Liu Chang thought back to the time they had bumped fists on the edge of the forest, heading back together to find Fatty.

He turned to leave the lab. “That’s the biggest difference between you and Zhao Zhuo.”

“I’ll let you keep working. I won’t bother you anymore,” Liu Chang said, then exited the room.

Leaving the lab and the research area, Liu Chang returned to the dormitory building, to the room assigned to Li Qingshui. There, he found Xiao Jing, who had been anxiously waiting for him all day.

“I’m back.” As he opened the door, Liu Chang immediately saw the girl standing by the entrance. He knew she’d sensed his life force from afar and had waited there. His heart warmed, and he smiled. “You must’ve waited a long time, huh?”

“Yes, I was getting anxious.” The little girl nodded and tugged at his sleeve.

“Let’s play for a while today. I’m actually in a pretty good mood.”

“Okay.” She nodded again.

Liu Chang glanced around the room, but apart from the bed and computer, there was little they could use for entertainment. With the television and internet gone, and no way to go outside, there seemed nothing left to do. Thinking it over, Liu Chang finally took a knife and cut a small block of wood from the table leg, carving a die. Then, he drew a Ludo board on the desk with pen and paper.

When the game board was ready, he laughed and, despite the deadly fog outside and the constant danger, he and the little girl managed to steal a moment of childhood joy in this doomsday.

An eighteen-year-old boy and a twelve-year-old girl played happily together—since the apocalypse began, this was their only real entertainment. The girl’s laughter was so sweet it seemed to blossom even around the scar on her face. Liu Chang, too, thoroughly enjoyed himself. As they played, he remembered the games of his own childhood—marbles, water cards, and square corners. The memories came flooding back, and for a moment, it felt as if his soul had left his body and returned to a peaceful, harmonious age.

But since the apocalypse, all these things had been left far behind.

More than a month into the end of the world, Liu Chang had endured countless trials and tribulations, growing up and growing tougher with every stumble and recovery. He had become sharper, but had lost much of his happiness.

Perhaps that was why, with this little Ludo game, they played for a long time—until Li Qingshui came back from the lab, and even joined them.

In the end, the three of them—each from a different age—played with the battered board deep into the night. Only when they were too tired to keep their eyes open did they each collapse into bed, falling asleep with rare, relaxed smiles. Thanks to that little game board, their taut nerves finally loosened, and they drifted into dreams.

But in the apocalypse, leisure is never the main theme.

The next morning, everyone returned to their tense routines.

Over the next two days, Liu Chang continued wandering around Zhengzhou with his little insect, while Li Qingshui quietly experimented with the seeds and plants Liu Chang brought back.

In three days, Liu Chang collected a total of twenty-seven plant species. Li Qingshui managed to cultivate eighteen of them, confirming that three had the potential for large-scale farming. During those three days, besides the plants, Liu Chang also found a species of small white insect.

These transparent, crystalline white insects looked like plump grains of rice. Completely non-aggressive, they nonetheless reproduced and survived at an astonishing rate, eating and digesting anything. According to Li Qingshui, they were “an insect species whose survival strategy relies on strong reproductive and adaptive abilities.”

After Liu Chang brought these strange insects back, Li Qingshui’s experiments showed that they were high in protein, and, due to their adaptability and indiscriminate diet, easy to raise. With this conclusion, Li Qingshui had Liu Chang collect more breeding stock, setting aside an area specifically to farm them.

Thus, in just three days, Liu Chang and Li Qingshui had made initial progress in solving the food crisis.

During the same three days, all of Zhengzhou heard the good news that the “food crisis” was being resolved.

Zhao Zhuo’s experimental fields of Liang beans finally yielded their first harvest.

Large quantities of Liang beans were distributed among the military and civilians. This highly nutritious food required only about a hundred grams per day to meet basic needs, and three hundred grams was enough to fully nourish an adult.

As a result, the new crop was widely accepted and praised. By resolving the city’s food crisis, this beam of hope in the apocalypse naturally inspired intense gratitude and admiration.

With the military leadership quietly fanning the flames, a grand movement to create a new idol began once more.

At the New Food Commendation Assembly—

Sitting at the back row of the audience, Li Qingshui listened to the provincial and municipal leaders on stage, speaking with their usual official rhetoric, voices resounding with strength. Yet his brows were tightly knit.

“…We must commend Comrade Zhao Zhuo for his outstanding contributions to the new scientific field…for his dedication and noble spirit in serving the people…for being a member of the new generation unafraid of hardship or fatigue…a role model for all…”

“All these formulaic speeches are really boring, aren’t they?” Beside him, Zhao Zhuo wore his perpetual kindly smile.

“They are quite dull. But when it comes to creating national heroes, we Chinese are always experts. These things may seem tedious, but you know better than I do what purpose they serve. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have secretly orchestrated this entire series of events, would you?” Li Qingshui glanced at his peer, frowning. “Besides, as the hero being honored, shouldn’t you be sitting in the front row receiving your medal?”

“Yes, but I prefer sitting with smart people.” Zhao Zhuo turned to look at Li Qingshui. “I hear you’re also working on food research now?”

(To be continued)