“Trust me.” Pang Zi nodded and stopped Jing from following Chang.
Chang followed the darkness from the sewer and cautiously climbed down. The moment he reached the ground, his eyes were shrouded in darkness.
It was still as dark as he remembered; hence, that bright beam of light from Qing Shui’s flashlight was sharp and clear. This first thing he saw were roots from some kind of plant that had entirely covered the wall.
However, reentering this fearful underworld almost broke his nerves. Chang was too anxious and scared to look at the roots. His hands still grabbed at the iron ladder as he shouted, “Mr.Li, you should come back!”
“There’s no danger here.” Qing Shui smiled at Chang, but the smile was twisted by the light of the flash; it horrified Chang. “Come here, it’s peculiar and beautiful.”
“I don’t think that is peculiar, it’s merely some roots.” Chang stayed close to the ladder.
“No, you’re wrong. This is a splendid and magnificent underground world!” As he said that, the beam of light swung across the wall of the sewer as Qing Shui moved his arm slightly.
From just a glance, Chang was impressed by how splendid and flourishing it was!
The walls on both side of the sewer were covered with vines and roots; some closely grew on the wall, some crossed the canal, and some dug through the floor and continued further downwards. It seemed like these massive vines and roots had occupied the underground world of the whole city. From where the light could reach to where they could see, it was all covered with these prospering and strong branches of vines. This peculiar scene astonished him, making him speechless. There was only one thing he could think of from the ancient myths – the world tree.
“What…what is this?” After his initial shock, Chang hunkered down and gently touched a root than was few times thicker than his waist and asked, “What kind of tree does it belong to?”
“I have no idea, it came from far away.” Qing Shui knocked Chang’s hand off of the root as he continued. “Don’t touch them. Their juice is acidic and your hand might be corroded. In fact, I think these roots can act aggressively and attack, but they are currently dormant.”
Qing Shui hadn’t finished speaking before Chang saw a few thinner roots that were wiggling in the light. It looked like a sleeping person’s weak breath – it didn’t resemble a normal motionless plant.
“No wonder why I didn’t see any tentacles; I bet they were absorbed by this plant.” Looking at the wiggling roots, Chang suddenly imagined how they would sweep forward and roll him up with spikes inserted into his body. He shuddered and said, “Hurry up Mr.Li, we’ll be in a lot of trouble if it wakes up.”
“Wait, I need to collect a sample before we go,” Qing Shui said. He ripped off a piece of cloth from his shirt. He took out a knife from his pocket and carefully sliced off a short piece of root. As Qing Shui made the cut, Chang started to tremble with fear and shouted, “What are you doing?”
Chapter 37: Meat and Weapons
“Don’t worry, it’s gigantic. Cutting off such a small piece is just like pulling a single hair off of a person; it won’t feel anything.” Qing Shui quickly put the small section onto the cloth and under the flashlight, both of them witnessed how the small piece of root struggled as if it was a tail that got cut off from a gecko. It splashed corrosive mucus from the cut and burned off a big portion of the cloth.
“Such an amazing plant…” Carefully observing every movement of the root, Qing Shui looked at it as if he was holding treasure.
“Alright, we should really hurry up. I feel like you’re getting crazier.” Chang pulled Qing Shui towards the iron ladder. “Let’s get out of here, the tree might wake up any moment.”
Qing Shui didn’t refute him this time. He carefully wrapped the small piece of root and put away his knife, then climbed up the iron ladder.
“Crazy,” Chang sighed as he followed Qing Shui. They returned to the world shrouded with red fog.
“Let’s go back to the base.” After they came out, Pang Zi and Jing were relieved. Their faces showed a hint of relaxation. They also found those soldiers sitting on the ground ripping the plants.
“Those plants aren’t edible.” Qing Shui patted their shoulders, “You’ll have diarrhea that might even pull your bowels out.”
“Oh…” They threw away the bok choy-like plants suspiciously, with voices filled of pity. “Let’s go back then.”
“Great,” Chang nodded first. He didn’t want to stay here a second longer.
The group travelled back to the base without speaking. Chang, Qing Shui, Pang Zi and Jing were led to an office under the guidance of those soldiers – someone that looked like a captain stood in the room, apparently having waited for them this whole time. Chang and Qing Shui looked up and down at the soldier, and Chang realized he had seen him before – he was the person who handled the argument between Chang and his roommate.
“Captain.” Chang had a good impression of him and hence, he greeted him first.
The captain’s mind went blank for a second; obviously, he also remembered this young man.
“Good to see you again. Have a seat.” The captain pointed to the chairs in front of his desk and said, “The main reason I called you here was because I wanted to talk to you about two things. First, I want to thank you for providing your food to the military, and second, I wanted to ask how you managed to get this meat.”
While he spoke, he lifted a parcel from under his desk. “The dog you brought to us weighed 35 kilograms. I have asked my soldiers to leave the inedible parts, so there is about 25 kilograms left. If you agree, we will take 10 kilograms and you will have 15 kilograms, or we could split it differently.”
“Of course, if you let us know how to hunt efficiently, not only will we not take any of your harvest, but we will also provide you extra hardtacks. What do you think?” The captain looked at Qing Shui and Chang as he gave the two options.
“I wouldn’t say we have experience to share with you. It was just how much attention we paid to our prey’s sense of smell and hearing. It was something you can find in a book; I don’t have anything to say.” Noticing the captain looking at him, Qing Shui added, “the rest was pure luck.”
“Really?” The captain looked across the four one by one and said, “At least one of you is mutated, am I right?”
“Huh?” They were surprised.
“Don’t give me that expression, I have seen some of them already. Our base has more than 1500 soldiers; it wouldn’t be a surprise that a few of them mutated.” The captain knocked on the table, “Have you ever considered serving the military?”
“We were just lucky,” Qing Shui murmured emotionlessly.
“Okay… you can come to me anytime if you change your mind. Let’s switch topic and talk about how we should divide the meat.”
“We want the 15 kilogram portion!” Chang said loudly.
“No problem.” The captain nodded and pushed the 15 kilograms of meat to Chang. “Be careful when you eat; it might cause riots. I’ll lend you our kitchen to cook and eat, so no one will know you have food. Also, it has been almost two hours since the dog died, and it is starting to smell bad. Don’t save it for a next meal or something, since it’ll rot quickly.”
“We know.” Taking over the chunks of meat, the bloody smell caused contractions in Chang’s stomach. He didn’t leave immediately, and instead asked, “Can I trade some of the meat we have for a gun?”
“A gun?” The captain frowned.
“Yes, a gun that we can use to hunt in the future.” Chang said so while he held the meat, “We won’t be able finish 15 kilograms of meat in one meal even though we’ve been starving for days, and what’s left over will be wasted. I want to trade 5 kilograms of meat for a rifle so that we have a better chance of surviving…”
“I’m sorry, I don’t have permission to do so!” The captain interrupted Chang. While Chang was disappointed and wanted to change his mind to trading meat fo
r hardtacks, the captain spoke again, “I can’t give you a rifle, but if you’re looking for some hunting tools, a crossbow is a better choice.”
The captain glanced at the soldier standing beside him, and the latter left the room as if he received an order from the captain.
A while later, the soldier came back with a dark green crossbow. He carefully put the crossbow on the table – it was coated with a camouflage pattern, making it easily hidden in the grassy bushes. The barrel of the crossbow was as long as an adult’s arm and the limbs was twice as long as the barrel. It was made of fine metal; the crossbow was light enough to carry around, but heavy enough to make a stable shot.
“How is this? This crossbow is definitely a better weapon than guns and knives when it comes to hunting. It’s flexible and makes almost no sound. In a close or mid-range attack, the arrow can cause more damage than a bullet or a rifle. Although you do need to refill the bow more frequently, it’s not like you are using it for a mass killing, so I don’t think there is another weapon more suitable for you.” The captain ran his hand over the crossbow and said, “How’s this? For 8 kilograms of meat, I’ll give you seven large bolts and ten small ones.”
“Deal!” Staring at the green crossbow, hope raised in Chang’s eyes – with his vision and this weapon, in addition to Jing’s ability and Qing Shui’s experience, he believed that the next hunt would be less difficult.
“Good.” The captain ordered his soldier to take away half of Chang’s portion of meat, and Chang received the weapon – the military trade was a complete success.
“You can leave if you have no other issues to discuss with me.” The captain impatiently asked them to leave as the meat started smelling worse; he obviously didn’t want to waste time either.
“Awesome, thank you.” Chang lifted up the parcel of meat and the four left the room.
“This is my last reminder to you. Be careful when you walk back; a hungry crowd can be terribly aggressive, and riots are like a highly contagious disease.”
Chapter 38: Aroma
“Don’t worry, we understand.” Chang and the others nodded and left the office.
“Do you know where the kitchen is?” Chang picked up Jing so that she didn’t need to limp.
“I know.”
“Great.”
“How’s your injury?” Qing Shui asked.
“I’m alright; the wolfhound bit my leg, but it wasn’t deep. It hurts a lot, but it won’t affect my walking and running.” Chang looked at the marks on his leg. “I feel like my wounds heal faster than before; it should be better by tomorrow.”
“That’s good, because we can’t afford to take a break from hunting.” Qing Shui looked at Chang’s crossbow. “Although you’ve got a good weapon and will have a good meal tonight, we will still need at least two meals a day to make sure you have enough strength to hunt. However, since it’s not currently possible to store food, we need to understand the crisis we have on our hands.”
“I know.” Chang nodded as he looked at the red sky feebly and said, “In this world, I’ll never let my guard down.”
“I’m glad then,” Qing Shui replied.
They walked to the kitchen as they talked. Chang found the kitchen, but it was unexpectedly small, which seemed unnatural considering it was supposed to be able to cook for the whole army. There was only one stove – apparently, it was a private kitchen for captains or commanders.
“We’ve arrived. Pang Zi, could you ask Lin to come over? We’ll have dinner here.”
“Alright!” Pang Zi ran out as he answered. He was so quick that he didn’t look like someone who’d starved for a few days.
“Haha, look at him, I haven’t seen him so happy in while.” Chang laughed, “Mr. Li, let’s cook.”
Qing Shui smiled back and rolled up his sleeves. He lifted the parcel of meat onto his shoulders and walked into the kitchen.
This was probably the best moment they had since the red fog. Even though Chang didn’t know how to cook as his parents did everything for him, he still had some basic sense of how to put the ingredients together. He put aside his crossbow and helped Qing Shui slice the meat. Then, they marinated the meat in a big bowl with salt.
“See, I told you we’ll have meat for dinner today.” Jing was standing beside Chang and her eyes clearly showed her hunger. Chang picked up a piece of meat as if he was showing off his achievement.
“Thank you!” Jing looked at the pile of meat on the chopping board. She did her best not to drool as she nodded expectantly.
While they were speaking, Lin joined in the festivity and helped boil the soup base.
While Chang was preparing the meat in front of him, he was extremely considerate of every cut he made. He almost got killed by the giant wolfhound, and this was his reward from the deadly chase. Even though it was brutal and inhumane to eat dog meat, who cared when death was looming around the corner?
As they only had limited seasoning, Qing Shui decided to make a stew – not only would they get protein from the meat, but they could also have some soup to warm up their bodies.
An hour later, a big pot of dog stew was placed in front of them.
The five surrounded the pot closely, but they didn’t pick up their bowls and chopsticks immediately as they greedily inhaled the smell of the stew into their lung like this was their last meal.
“I finally understand why people in the past always prayed before they ate food.” Chang picked up a pair of chopsticks and put his palms together. “I feel like I’ve been blessed to have this meal!”
“Yes! Exactly! I give thanks to god’s grace for giving us food today!” Pang Zi took out a spoon and scooped a spoonful of the hot stew; he didn’t even care about the heat before swallowing the food. “Hah—-” Pang Zi sighed, “Thank you god for giving us life!”
“It’s a million times better than the vegetable soup we had yesterday.” Chang also put a spoonful of stew in his mouth. The rich texture and the aroma caught him the moment the spoon touched his mouth. It was so satisfying, and he felt like he was raised up high in the air.
“Thank god for giving us food.” Chang also showed his appreciation as he took a spoonful.
“Oh please, don’t mention that vegetable soup here. Lin and I ate some of the vegetables that you didn’t cook yesterday, and it was the most terrible thing I have ever tasted in my life.” As Pang Zi complained, he stuffed his mouth with a big chunk of meat.
“I still remember how you resisted eating those plants…. As Mr. Li said, as soon as you are hungry enough, you can put anything in your mouth.” Noticing that Jing didn’t have any food in her bowl, Chang grabbed her a spoon, encouraging her to join in as he smiled. “Jing, there’s no need to hesitate. We were fortunate to have you help us to get all this food, so make yourself comfortable. You can eat as much as you want to, we have three pounds of meat for each of us.”
“If it’s still not enough, I’ll get more for you tomorrow!”
Jing glanced at Chang’s face and under his encouragement, she put down her worries and started to eat and drink merrily.
Everyone was immersed in this brief happiness, as if they were living in a dream. They all enjoyed it so much that the room sank in a short period of silence – only the sound of swallowing could be heard, until they almost finished their dinner…
“Chang, we should practice using the crossbow when we finish dinner.” Qing Shui was the first to break the peaceful atmosphere. He put down his empty bowl and turned to Chang. “Practice makes perfection; I didn’t know much about crossbow either, but we can try to use it a few more times before we actually go out. Also, the crossbow is too shiny, we should cover it with some mud so it’s less noticeable.”
“Alright.” Chang nodded and put the last piece of meat in his mouth.
Time glided by unnoticeably.
The entirety of the big pot of stew, including the bones that could be chewed up had gone down their stomachs. They left the empty kitchen in satisfact
ion – The other three went back to the dorm room, while Chang and Qing Shui went to a deserted corner of the base to figure out how to use the crossbow.
Standing in the grassy jungle, Qing Shui’s figure blurred in the red fog. Chang refocused on his crossbow – they discussed its structure. Like most weapons in the world, its structure wasn’t too different from the bows he used to see on TV: a curvy body with a metal wire connected on its two ends, and a rectangle structure placed below, with a horizontal tray at the end. Chang carefully counted the number of bolts in the tray – there were 17 in total. The horizontal tray made picking up bolts while shooting easier and faster, and it also prevented the archer from accidently being stabbed by the bolt.
On the side of the crossbow there was a small handle to pull the string. Chang tried to put the handle in place so that the crossbow was ready to shoot, but it required quite an effort, and anyone that hadn’t trained for this wouldn’t even able to bend the bow.
Chang kept finding a way to make the process easier. He pulled the handle so that the string was put in place tightly, and then he pulled out a long bolt from the tray and set it in place. Chang carefully aimed at a tree a few meters away, and without hesitation he pulled the trigger.
Chapter 39: Betrayal
Whoosh!
The bolt was ejected from the crossbow violently, creating a small gust in the air. In a flash, the head of the bolt was buried deep in the tree trunk.
Chang was astonished by the result; he hastily ran up to the tree to check the bolt – it was 40 centimeters long, but more than thirty centimeters penetrated the tree, leaving only the tail of the bolt sticking out. He grabbed on the end of the bolt to try to pull it out, but it stayed put in the tree without even budging an inch. Chang tried another dozen times before the bolt was finally removed from the trunk bit by bit.
“This is more powerful than I thought!” Staring at the deep hole as well as the juice dripping from it, his voice was full of hope. “This is even more powerful than the pistol I got. The captain was right; a crossbow is definitely a better choice for attacking at short distances.”
Global Evolution Page 16