"Let's try the drone first," Lǚ Liu suggested. She pulled a compact quadcopter from her bag, her thumbs hovering over the joysticks of the controller. "But the magnetic field here is weird. I'm worried it might lose control."
She piloted the drone down into the canyon. The small rotors buzzed like an angry hornet, fighting against the drafts rising from the abyss. At first, everything went smoothly, the video feed on the screen flickering with static but holding steady. However, the moment it flew into the churning waves of earth below, the signal vanished into a screen of grey noise. The drone dropped like a rock, vanishing into a grinding fissure.
Boom—!
The sound of pulverized plastic and metal was lost in the rumbling. Far below, they could hear people shouting, their voices thin and distorted, the words swallowed by the constant, deep grinding of the tectonic plates.
Jing Shu's eyes darted around the canyon's edge before landing on Xiao Dou. She was getting anxious. They had finally found the seeds, but they were separated by a kilometer of moving, crushing land. Xiao Dou was her most trusted companion, and right now, she was their only hope.
The hen shivered under her gaze, her small black eyes darting toward the cliff's edge. Xiao Dou took a few nervous steps back, her talons scraping against the dry rock.
"Let my chicken deliver the message," Jing Shu said. "If we send Xiao Hong, they will probably be scared to death. I heard they have guns down there. What if they shoot her, thinking she is some kind of monster? They don't even know she is with us."
Everyone's eyes shifted between the massive, twitching gastropod and the plump, feathered hen.
Yang Yang nodded seriously. "Yeah, if they see a monster, they will kill it. But if they see a chicken... they will probably think it's food they haven't seen in years. At least they will let it land safely." He paused, his expression turning grim. "And after that, they will kill it and cook it."
Jun Bao sighed. "It's a good chicken. But that area looks dangerous. If it gets smashed by those waves, it will be a waste."
Xiao Dou nodded frantically, her beak clicking as her eyes grew teary. She flapped her wings once, a desperate protest.
"It won't," Jing Shu said. "My chicken can fly."
"Fly? Fly your ass!" Xiao Dou's thoughts were a frantic whirl of panic. "Those were just happy flaps! It is so far down, I will be chicken paste by the time I hit the ground. Then no one will ever get to eat my eggs again! Grandma will cry her heart out!"
In the end, they strapped a large loudspeaker onto the hen's back and recorded a message. Jing Shu also attached the collapsible bone umbrella frame that Grandpa Jing had invented last year. It was a clever contraption of lightweight ribs and durable fabric designed to help people glide short distances when the ground collapsed during earthquakes. It had never been used in the field until now.
They also tied on several packets of compressed biscuits. Part of Jing Shu's anxiety stemmed from the survivors' hunger; the sooner they sent food down there, the fewer of her precious seeds they would consume. If Xiao Dou ended up stuck below, at least she would have something to eat. Anything was better than them eating the seeds.
Yang Yang sighed in regret and turned back to discuss rescue options with Lǚ Liu. "We might have to cancel the flight plan. The magnetic field here is too unstable for the larger transport drones."
"Maybe we can use a zipline to transport supplies. It's about a kilometer on a slope. If we move one of those tourist slides nearby, it will be safer, just slower. But we will have to give up on that cargo ship."
While they talked, Xiao Dou—heavily equipped and trembling—was shoved off the cliff.
The hen's terrified scream echoed through the valley. Even the people below probably heard the shrill, avian shriek. Jing Shu stared intently, her god view keeping track of every movement. She had dared to send Xiao Dou only because the target area didn't need to be exact. As long as the hen landed near the ship, she would be fine.
Xiao Dou flapped her wings like mad, but she had gained quite a bit of weight lately. The load on her back didn't help her aerodynamics. At first, she managed to stay in the air, but soon gravity took over, and she started dropping straight down toward the churning earth. Just before she hit the ground, the bone umbrella snapped open with a mechanical click. She glided the rest of the way, landing with a dusty thud right near the massive ship's hull.
Jing Shu exhaled in relief, though she frowned again right after. There were still people down there—lots of them. Gaunt figures began emerging from the ruins and the ship's shadow, their movements hesitant and then frantic.
"Look! Something just fell down!"
"It's from the rescue team! We are saved! The people up there sent us food!"
"Back off! Everyone, step back!"
The crowd erupted in chaos. Xiao Dou, dizzy and bruised from the landing, hadn't even recovered when she noticed dozens of hungry, sunken eyes staring at her. Then the mob lunged.
"Help! Cluck cluck cluck!" She flapped her wings and bolted, her heavy load clattering against the stones behind her.
"It's a chicken! That's a chicken! They sent us a chicken to eat! Catch it!"
The moment she heard that, she ran even faster, her yellow legs moving in a blur.
Bang—!
A gunshot split the air, the crack echoing off the canyon walls.
Li Dayou, his face grim and his cheeks hollowed by starvation, lowered his trembling, skeletal hand. His voice came out weak but firm. "Everyone, step back. Until we know exactly what the people up there sent, nobody touches a thing. Wang Dan, go bring it here."
Some villagers protested angrily, their faces twisted with desperation. "That's our food! I saw the chicken has stuff tied to it. Why can't we have it? If it's not for us to eat, then what is it for? You just want to keep it for yourselves!"
Wang Dan spat on the dusty ground. "Captain, I told you we shouldn't have saved these bastards! They don't even know what's going on! If it weren't for our distress signal, would the rescue team even be here? They came for us! Who knows what kind of mountain village trash these people are? Even if supplies are coming, they are ours!"
Another gunshot rang out, kicking up a puff of dust. The crowd scattered, some running into the safety of the ruined houses, others shouting insults from behind stone walls.
"You should have saved us too!" someone yelled. "You are supposed to serve the people!"
Li Dayou waved a hand weakly. "Enough. Don't argue with them. Just bring whatever was dropped."
Something strange happened then. The same fat, juicy chicken that none of them had managed to catch earlier suddenly strutted toward the officers. Wang Dan's jaw dropped as the bird marched in proudly, carrying the food and the loudspeaker.
Under the stunned gazes of everyone present, the chicken stopped right in front of Li Dayou and dropped the loudspeaker. The recording began to play:
"Buying scrap! TVs, fridges, washing machines! Books, newspapers, and beer bottles!"
Everyone blinked, dumbfounded by the absurd, pre-apocalyptic jingle—just before the recording finally switched to the real message.