Chapter 5

After changing his clothes, Qi Heng lifted the curtain and appeared in front of Yan Ning.

Yan Ning stared at him for a long time before reacting: "Brother Qi, you look really good in this."

"The clothes fit me very well, thank you." Qi Heng raised his eyebrows and accepted Yan Ning's exaggerated compliment.

"No, you're welcome. As long as it's suitable," Yan Ning said shyly. She scratched the back of her head, tilted her head back and said to him, "I wanted to say this when we met. Brother Qi, you're so tall."

Qi Heng smiled and said nothing.

He didn't feel anything special about his height. Although he was over 1.8 meters tall, it was common in the area where he used to live.

If he remembered correctly, the average height of the Zerg was not low, but now they were generally more than ten centimeters shorter than him... Thinking of the "food" Yan Ning had just taken out, Qi Heng guessed that it was probably because of insufficient nutrition.

The Zerg's diet is similar to that of humans, but they prefer meat. Plant roots and stems are all starch, which is far from enough to meet the consumption required for physical development.

Qi Heng's thoughts were racing in his mind, but in reality not much time had passed.

"—Ah, I almost forgot to cook."

He came to his senses just in time to hear Yan Ning's words. Before he could say anything, he saw Yan Ning rushing past him and into the house.

Qi Heng looked over and saw Yan Ning running to the stove and setting up a smoothly polished stone pot. He then took out two white pebbles-sized stones from his pocket and threw them up and down at several thin pieces of wood thrown into the stove.

The whole set of movements is smooth and flowing, and you can tell at a glance that he does it often.

Are those two stones flints? Qi Heng pondered, but was somewhat surprised when a large flame appeared between the stones and then licked the wood fiercely, making the unique crackling sound of burning.

If so, the size of the flame is a bit unfair.

Yan Ning didn't notice the doubt on his face and threw a stone in her hand into the stove, after which the flames became bigger.

Although they were making a fire indoors, a chimney was built with earth on one side of the stove to exhaust the smoke outside, so there was not much smoke inside.

Under Qi Heng's gaze, Yan Ning took out a very sharp stone knife that was definitely not inferior to metal. With a few clicks, he chopped the plant roots in his hand into small pieces and threw them into the pot. Then he scooped a bucket of water from the half-person-high bucket next to him and added it in.

After finishing all this, Yan Ning clapped her hands and said, "Mission accomplished."

“Then you just have to wait until it’s cooked and you can eat it.”

Yan Ning turned around and met his curious gaze as he stared at the pot. "Brother Qi, have you ever eaten blue cassava before? It actually tastes pretty good when cooked this way."

Qi Heng pondered for a moment, thinking about how to deal with this question, when he heard the second half of the sentence.

He changed his words and said, "I haven't eaten it, but I have seen it."

It turned out to be blue cassava.

After hearing this, Qi Heng remembered it. Well, he had seen it in the game, so it could be considered as such.

In the early stages of the Zerg civilization, blue cassava was used as food to fill their stomachs. Later, in order to increase production, it was specially studied and many peripheral products were developed.

I didn’t expect that after working hard for ten thousand years, we would be back to the time before liberation, and the way of eating would regress to the original time.

"Oh, then Brother Qi, you try it first and see if you can get used to it." Yan Ning laughed dryly, sighing inwardly and feeling a little worried.

There was only blue cassava left at home, but looking at Brother Qi's appearance, I knew he must have had a good life in the past. It was normal for him to look down on blue cassava because he had never tasted it.

After all, some of the options are definitely better tasting food. Well, if that doesn’t work, I’ll find a way to get something else to eat later.

He remembered that his brother once said that there were edible animals in there, as long as they could be caught... Yan Ning held his cheeks with his hands and stared at the pot in a daze.

Qi Heng said: "Don't think too much."

Whatever Yan Ning was thinking was written all over her face. It was hard for him to pretend he didn't see it. He comforted her, "I'm not that picky."

"But Brother Qi, you must have had a good life before." Yan Ning was conflicted.

From Brother Qi's fair skin and good complexion, it can be clearly seen that he has never done heavy or hard labor before. Also, his manners and tone of voice are different from theirs. He seems somewhat similar to the district chief?

——No, no, the district chief is far inferior to Brother Qi. Brother Qi not only has a good temper, but is also more handsome than the district chief.

"I guess so." Even Qi Heng couldn't say "it's better now than before" against his will.

The food in the pot was cooked while they were talking.

Yan Ning lifted the lid to reveal the soft and mushy paste inside, and poured a bowl of it into his mouth, saying, "Brother Qi, you eat first."

"Thanks."

Faced with the porridge in the bowl that looked similar to baby food, Qi Heng's early mental preparation came in handy at this moment. He scooped up a spoonful, blew it cool, and put it in his mouth - he was actually quite curious about what the food in the game tasted like.

It is soft and a little sandy when eaten, and the salty taste of the blue cassava itself makes the porridge taste good. It is worthy of being the "magic plant" that fed half of the civilization on its own in the early days.

"It tastes good." Qi Heng took a few bites and asked, "Yan Ning, I want to take a walk around the neighborhood later, is that okay?"

Yan Ning was stunned for a moment, then quickly reacted and said, "Of course."

"but……"

Qi Heng asked, "But what?"

Yan Ning raised a piece of metal tied with a rope on her wrist and gestured, "This is it. I don't think I saw you wearing it."

"If you don't have identification, the patrol will report you to the district chief if they see you outside."

Qi Heng:?

Yan Ning's words surprised him. A slum also has a district chief. From the meaning of her words, it seems that she also has the responsibility of managing the area.

As for the identity verification issue, it's not that he looks down on the Zerg today, but he didn't expect that they would still need an ID card after becoming like this.

In addition, this thing that is fixed to the wrist with a rope passing through the two ends of the iron plate looks more like a number plate than an ID card, which gives a strong sense of incongruity.

Qi Heng observed the iron plate on Yan Ning's wrist inconspicuously. It was a standard industrial assembly line product, and there was actually a string of dented steel stamped numbers on it... Another thing that shouldn't appear in the current scene.

"I dropped it on the way here." He said calmly.

His wrists were clean, without any jewelry, let alone this thing.

"That's bad." Yan Ning frowned, not doubting the possibility that Qi Heng was lying.

"We were seen coming in through the entrance. The patrol must have known about it by now. They might come over soon."

"Will it be serious if we are sent to the district chief?" Qi Heng asked.

Compared with Yan Ning's anxiety, he seemed particularly calm.

"I don't know." Yan Ning shook her head and said as if she had thought of something, "But my brother said it's best not to get involved with the patrol team..."

“—Ah, I remember now.”

"I remember I put my brother's sign away."

Yan Ning ran to the bed where the insect eggs were nesting and rummaged around for a while, and found a rope with an iron plate strung together. It was very similar to the one in his hand, but it was a little older.

"Found it."

"Brother Qi, try to see if you can wear it."

Qi Heng looked at the iron plate that Yan Ning had stuffed into his hand. Although it looked old, it was well preserved. "This is your brother's thing. Don't you need to ask him?"

Yan Ning's expression darkened, and she shook her head and said, "No need, my brother is gone..."

"Is that so?" Qi Heng knew that his words had touched upon his sorrow, so he said nothing more, "I will take good care of it."

He put the bracelet on his wrist and tied a knot, but he knew in his heart that he owed another favor. He really had no reason to refuse - it was not a good thing to contact the patrol team and the district chief mentioned by Yan Ning when the situation was still unclear.

"Yan Ning."

"Hmm?" Yan Ning, who was suddenly called, was a little confused, and looked at him with a pair of blue eyes like cat's eyes.

Qi Heng knew that his external identity was a problem, and he needed to reconcile his testimony with Yan Ning before others noticed anything was wrong. Now he had a perfect excuse.

"To the outside world, just tell them that he is your adopted brother."

Yan Ning exclaimed "Ah" in disbelief.

He continued, "If you're asked, just say I came from another district and had nowhere to go. I accidentally met you and you took me in."

"During the time I stay at your house, if you're willing, it wouldn't be bad for me to have another brother."

Qi Heng is not the kind of person who can ignore the kindness given by others. Since he cannot pretend to be blind to everything Yan Ning did, he might as well just accept it and then return the favor in other ways.

What's the point of a grown man being so hesitant? Just do what you want to do.

"Do you understand?" he said softly.

Yan Ning nodded blankly.

Qi Heng's expression reminded him of the stray cat downstairs. He rubbed Yan Ning's head and said, "I'll go out and pick some perilla leaves later. Your insect eggs need to be soaked in the juice of perilla leaves to heal."

He still roughly remembered what perilla leaves looked like, having seen quite a few along the roadside on his way back. The only problem was that the demand was huge, and picking them took quite a while.

Yan Ning, who had been dazed at first, came to her senses after hearing him mention the insect eggs. Confused yet anxious, she asked, "What are perilla leaves? Can they save the cub? Is there anything I can do to help?"

"I'll go with you."

Seeing Yan Ning's panic, Qi Heng said helplessly, "You stay."

"I……"

"You come with me, who will take care of him?" He pointed at the insect egg and said, "I can't do anything with him."

"Besides, curing him is what I promised you. I can do it even if I'm alone."

Yan Ning wanted to say something more, but finally stopped under his gaze, nodded and said, "I know, I'll stay."

Twenty minutes later.

Qi Heng left Yan Ning's house and turned right.

There are places marked with red circles on the system map that only he can see. One is the Dead Egg Pit and the other is Yan Ning's home.

Qi Heng's purpose was certainly not just to pick perilla leaves. It was now a little after nine in the morning, and there were still about seven or eight hours until dark. He could use this time to get to know the surrounding environment.

The author has something to say:

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The update that was supposed to be posted at midnight today was not posted... [burst into tears]