Li Dayou's voice was weak, a mere rasp that seemed to catch in his parched, dusty throat. He leaned back against a pile of damp crates, his breath coming in shallow hitches. "No matter how many eggs she lays, it's still a token of goodwill from above. Besides, we failed to deliver the mission goods to their destination. We even used them without authorization and needed rescue in the end. If we can make it back alive this time, we will go back and admit our mistakes."
Wang Dan was massaging the fat hen, his fingers sinking into the surprisingly soft feathers. He swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing sharply in his thin, corded neck. "Ah, Captain, don't say that. I was just thinking how plump this chicken is. The meat is firm, like tendon, and there's a lot of it. Tsk tsk, just look at those wings, enough for several of us to share." He shifted his calloused hands down to the drumsticks and shook his head again, a hungry light in his eyes. "And those legs, thick as my arms! If only we could have a nice big chicken stew..."
The fat hen suddenly froze, her small, beady eyes widening as she felt the man's grip tighten around her thighs. She wasn't Tang Monk's flesh, so why did everyone want to eat her? What was wrong with just eating the eggs?
"Cluck cluck cluck!" She flapped her wings furiously, creating a whirlwind of white feathers and grit that stung the man's eyes. She leaned forward and pecked Wang Dan's hands several times with her sharp beak. He yelped in pain, pulling his hands back to his chest, but he didn't dare fight back against such a precious chicken.
Fluttering her wings to gain momentum, the hen spotted Jing Shu standing at the edge of the cabin. She bolted toward her, her yellow claws scratching the wooden deck of the boat with a frantic clicking sound as she ran. Even though she had only been away for a short while, she had missed her owner terribly.
"Master, you are finally here! Those nasty people keep trying to eat me! I want to go home!" The hen cried out in a series of distressed squawks, wrapping herself around Jing Shu's leg and huddling against the sturdy leather of her boot.
Jing Shu raised an eyebrow and stroked the traumatized hen's head, her fingers smoothing the ruffled feathers back into place. "So, I heard someone here wants to eat my chicken?"
In the dim light of the cabin, she stood against the cold, gray glow of the horizon. She was carrying a huge crate on her shoulder and a large backpack on her back, yet she stood perfectly straight. Dressed in warm, thick clothes that made her silhouette appear imposing against the backdrop of the wasteland, she looked like a divine being descending from the heavens, bringing an air of hope to everyone in the freezing room.
Li Dayou's eyes widened in surprise, the pupils dilating in his gaunt face. "This, this is the person sent from above..."
Before he could finish his thought, a man rushed in from the deck, his breath coming in ragged, freezing gasps. "Report! Another one from above just dropped in and landed right in Er Gazi's house. A few packs of compressed biscuits fell with her. After a bit of chaos, the villagers in Gashan Valley grabbed some food, but then... we couldn't find her anymore."
The man's voice trailed off when he spotted the woman standing on their boat, surrounded by her heavy crates and bags. He lowered his tone and added awkwardly, "Guess we found her."
The group finally understood the situation. The woman before them was the very person sent by headquarters to secure the cargo. Wang Dan clutched his reddened hand, looking down at his feet in embarrassment. "So... this chicken is yours?"
Jing Shu stroked the hen's head again, her gaze moving slowly over the ragged, frail people in front of her. Their clothes hung loosely off their bones, fluttering like tattered flags in the biting wind that whistled through the boat's cracks. They looked as if a single gust of wind could blow them away. She arched an eyebrow. "Who else would it belong to?"
Why did they look even weaker and more skeletal than the villagers outside?
Wang Dan scratched his head, his face flushing with sheepishness. "Don't be mad. We were just joking. It's been so long since we have had chicken that we were just imagining it. HQ didn't say we could eat it, and we wouldn't dare anyway. Oh, right, I'm Wang Dan. This here is our transport team captain, Li Dayou, and these seven are the rest of our members. Three others didn't make it through the mission."
"I'm Jing Shu," she said, her brow furrowing slightly as she took in the state of the room.
"Jing Shu?" One of the men whispered, his voice rising in pitch.
"She is the one! The most critical person in this entire transport mission!"
"The owner of the seed batch, the one who made huge contributions, who helped our country preserve countless rare plant seeds!"
At once, everyone looked at her with deep respect and admiration. The atmosphere in the cramped space shifted, the despair replaced by a quiet, reverent awe.
Supported by his men, Li Dayou straightened his back. Every movement seemed to cost him a great deal of effort, but he gave a formal salute despite his sheer exhaustion. "We have completed our mission without disgrace. We have protected the seeds and finally waited for you!"
Jing Shu sighed softly. She could imagine how much hardship they had gone through during their long silence. They were starved and thirsty for months, yet they still held on to their duty. It wasn't easy. If they hadn't guarded the seeds so carefully, they could have eaten them long ago just to survive the winter.
"Why do you all look worse off than the villagers outside? What happened on the way here?" She frowned at Li Dayou, who looked like he might collapse any second. The way his skin clung to his cheekbones was haunting, making his eyes look sunken and hollow. "And what is with that belly? Didn't you have seeds to eat?"
Wang Dan quickly explained, his voice thick with a sudden, suppressed emotion. "The seeds are too precious. We couldn't bear to eat them. Every day, we would check on them carefully, one by one. Only the spoiled ones or those that sprouted—we would eat a few of those. But the captain, he is the one responsible for transporting them. He wouldn't eat a single one, even the bad ones.
I know he didn't want to waste them. He gave most of the bad ones to the villagers in Gashan Valley so they could have something. As for himself, he has been living on dirt. Day after day, he would eat soil just to fill his stomach. Lately, even dirt won't go down anymore. If you hadn't come when you did..."
No wonder his belly was so bloated and hard, protruding unnaturally from his skeletal frame. It was full of undigested dirt. Jing Shu's expression softened. She looked at them with newfound respect. These people had risked their lives and sacrificed their very health just to protect the future contained in those crates.
Li Dayou shot Wang Dan a brief, sharp glare. Then he turned back to Jing Shu. "Take Miss Jing to check the seeds. We have lost some along the way. After that, explain what has happened these past six months so she can understand. The weather and other uncontrollable factors caused our mission to fail, but we will still take responsibility for it."
Wang Dan hesitated for a heartbeat before replying, "Alright. Xiao Zhao, take care of the captain. I'll show Miss Jing around."
Jing Shu waved her hand, the sharp gesture cutting through the heavy air of the cabin. "No rush. The seeds are here, and whatever is spoiled or eaten can't be recovered anyway. What matters now is your situation." She looked around the dim, cold interior. "Didn't my chicken drop off a batch of compressed biscuits before I came down? The broadcast said clearly that you were supposed to eat them first while waiting for rescue. Why didn't you?"
Wang Dan looked sheepish, his fingers twisting a loose thread on his tattered jacket. "We counted the biscuits and compared it to the next expected supply drop. The captain said there wasn't enough to last long, even if we turned them into water. So we have been rationing. Tonight we were planning to dissolve some in water and share it with the villagers."
Jing Shu was speechless. How could they be starving to death and still refuse to eat the very food sent for them? She had lived through fourteen years of the apocalypse and had rarely seen people this selfless, this unbelievably disciplined. Still, it was people like them who allowed the country to survive through the end times.
Li Dayou managed a small, strained laugh that turned into a dry cough. "We have got Aunt Wang, the cook. No matter what we give her, she can turn it into something edible. We wouldn't have lasted this long without her."
Jing Shu waved her hand again. "Alright, your mission is as good as complete. Now just wait for the next rescue team. I'm starving too, so let's eat something first, then you can tell me what has been going on here."
Li Dayou thought for a moment, then nodded. "Go call Aunt Wang to make dinner. Dissolve the biscuits into water and cook them a bit. Borrow some roof beams from the villagers for fuel."
Over the past six months, they had burned almost everything they could for warmth. Ever since they were stranded here in this wasteland of waves and debris, they had been tearing down houses just to keep a fire going.