Kuafu watched Shen Feng expressionlessly, searching the human's eyes for any hint of mockery or scorn. But all he saw was sincerity.
After a few seconds of silence, Kuafu gave a slight nod.
Shen Feng poured some of the fried cracklings onto a plate and placed it in front of Kuafu.
After a moment's thought, he loosened Kuafu's ropes slightly, just enough so that while his hands were still bound, he could move a little.
Kuafu grabbed the cracklings on the plate, stuffed them into his mouth, and began to chew ravenously.
After such a long ordeal, he was genuinely starving.
'He understood even better that if he wanted to escape, he needed to have enough stamina.'
Shen Feng ate a few pieces of crackling himself, then tossed the diced lean pork and belly into the pot and began to stir-fry them.
Once the meat was mostly cooked, he immediately added the chopped wild onions and sliced water radishes, continuing to stir-fry before sprinkling in some salt.
An enticing aroma began to spread once more. Kuafu had already finished the cracklings in his bowl, but now he only felt hungrier.
The instant noodles in the pot were cooked. Shen Feng tossed in a few chopped cherry tomatoes and added a bit more lard, turning the noodle soup a beautiful golden-red color that completely erased its initial dreary appearance.
Lifting the entire pot of stir-fried radishes and pork off the fire and setting it aside, Shen Feng first ladled a full bowl of the tomato and lard instant noodles for himself, then filled another. Sticking two small wooden sticks into it, he offered it to Kuafu.
"Eat up."
'There was plenty of food, so he could spare a bowl. Besides, if he was going to take Kuafu with him, he couldn't let him get too weak.'
Kuafu couldn't believe his eyes. He had no idea what this vicious, malevolent human was planning. The wise and composed facade he had maintained for so long began to show hints of panic, but he still reached out and took the bowl of soup involuntarily.
Shen Feng plopped down on the ground. Cradling his shotgun, he held his bowl in one hand and used chopsticks to pick at the food with the other, digging in with gusto.
This was the first time he'd eaten a proper stir-fry in all the days he'd been here.
Although the only seasonings were lard and salt, it was truly delicious. A sip of the golden-red noodle soup, rich with the fragrance of tomato and pork fat, was absolutely divine.
Seeing Shen Feng so thoroughly enjoying his meal, eating and drinking with relish, Kuafu finally couldn't resist. He sat down across from Shen Feng and began eating the food and sipping the soup.
'Whatever this human's plan is, now is clearly not the time to fight.'
Shen Feng took a bite of food, then a sip of soup, and asked casually, as if making small talk,
"Your main base is in the Capital."
Kuafu was so startled he almost shot to his feet. He asked grimly,
"How do you know!?"
'The main base was home to the Ape Race's women, children, elderly, and infirm. It was extremely well-hidden. How could this human possibly know about it?'
Shen Feng remained unfazed, continuing to eat as he spoke.
"When I mentioned I was going to the Capital, your expression was one of panic. The only thing that could make the great leader of the Ape Race lose his composure like that would be his kin. Therefore, I deduced that your main base must be in the Capital."
Kuafu gave Shen Feng a deep look, then slowly sat back down.
In the years following humanity's great extinction, the intelligent Ape Race had continued to propagate. The entire clan's non-combatants—the women, children, and those born without intelligence—all lived among the ruins of the Capital.
Over the years, the entire population had grown to tens of thousands of apes.
To the intelligent apes, those who were no different than wild beasts, the ones without sapience, could not be considered kin. They were merely animals.
But among them were many of their mates and their own flesh and blood.
The feelings these intelligent apes had for the common ones were therefore extremely complicated.
There was affection, pity, disdain, attachment, and resentment—a whole spectrum of emotions.
As the man and ape continued to eat and drink by the campfire, Shen Feng asked another question.
"You hate humans? The humans of this world are completely extinct, so why does it still cause you so much pain? Were you abused in the past?"
This time, Kuafu wasn't surprised. A meaningful smile touched his lips as he slowly replied,
"No, humans are no different to me than the stones on the roadside... but did you know that the maximum group size for ordinary apes is only fifty...
"Speaking of which, humans are just one branch that evolved from the ancient Homo sapiens. Their contemporaries—the Flores Man, the Neanderthals, the Heidelberg People, the Indonesian Javanese, and so on—were all wiped out by Homo sapiens.
"Why? Because Homo sapiens possessed complex language. Through this powerful linguistic ability, they could transmit spiritual concepts like religion, myths, and legends. When everyone shares a common goal, they can form powerful collectives.
"Hatred for the extinct human race is our religion. And you are an awakened sacrifice."
As he spoke, Kuafu carefully observed the human's expression, hoping to find some useful information.
Shen Feng nodded. This was more or less what he had guessed.
This ape leader with his extraordinary intellect was simply using everything he could to his advantage.
'In that case, his plan could proceed.'
Swallowing a piece of pork belly, Shen Feng let out a contented sigh. He looked at Kuafu and continued,
"To this world, I am merely a passerby. Or perhaps, an observer."
His gaze was like a sword, piercing straight into Kuafu's eyes. "For your people, I am the only chance. A savior who will never appear again. The world I come from still has a complete system of technology, with infinite possibilities."
Kuafu's eyes narrowed. He fell silent before the campfire. After a long while, he spoke slowly.
"I have considered that possibility. You show no emotion toward those statues, no emotion toward this world at all, as if you don't belong here... It's just that all of this is far beyond my imagination. I'm just a monkey who's read a few books. How do you expect me to believe you?"
Shen Feng didn't answer. He got up, walked over to Kuafu, plucked a few hairs from his shoulder, took out his phone, and opened the "True Apocalypse Game" app. He said,
"I have learned the origin of the Brain Apes and obtained a tissue sample. Requesting mission reward."
A few lines of text immediately flashed across the phone's screen:
Please place the mission sample in the empty barrel next to you.
Beside Shen Feng was an empty iron barrel. He placed Kuafu's hairs inside and closed the lid.
Three seconds later, he opened the lid again. The hairs in the barrel had vanished, and in their place was another roll of documents!
Shen Feng took out the documents. On the cover was a single line of large text:
"Report on Extracting Muscle-Activating Substances from the Stone Statue Virus"
What was written in this report was, to his astonishment, the experimental results of a scientist from the Capital Epidemic Prevention Center. It described a biological agent capable of dramatically enhancing physical capabilities!
The Nuwa Potion!
And the location of this potion was the Capital Epidemic Prevention Center!
Shen Feng scanned the report at a glance. In moments, he had finished the entire research paper, feeling as if his eyes were a camera that had recorded the whole document from beginning to end.
He was incredibly excited. He had already experienced the power of the Pangu Virus; if he could really obtain this new Nuwa Potion, his body would definitely be strengthened significantly.
When that time came, his stamina problems would be greatly improved.
He casually tossed the entire stack of documents into the campfire and continued eating without another word.
After they finished their meal, he locked Kuafu in a huge iron cage and then settled into an adjacent one himself.
He extinguished the campfire, covered the cages with two pieces of cloth, and, lying down on the ground, fell fast asleep.
After such a long and grueling time, he was utterly exhausted.
Kuafu, however, did not sleep. He sat upright in his iron cage, lost in deep thought.
Just then, a chaotic clatter of hooves and the shouts of apes echoed from the street outside. A small squad of Ape Cavalry was passing through the town!
Kuafu's eyes flew wide open, his breathing becoming rapid!
~
(Another of my books got banned, but that's not important. What's important is this story!)