Chapter 80 The Mutant Wheat Wasn't Him
"Please, please give me something to eat..." The man was so thin he was barely recognizable, and his eyes appeared unusually large as he looked at what seemed to be a refugee who had fled from famine.
But it is indeed a person, not a zombie.
Cheng Zhiyu frowned, offered the other person water, but didn't dare give them any food, fearing that eating too much at once might cause problems.
The other person's eyes widened as soon as they saw the water. Cheng Zhiyu held the water bottle to the other person's lips, and the other person subconsciously opened their mouth and desperately swallowed the water in the bottle.
After drinking half a bottle, Cheng Zhiyu stopped offering him any more. The other person had recovered somewhat and kept saying, "Thank you, thank you..."
"Where are you from?" Cheng Zhiyu asked.
The other person seemed a little slow to react, pausing for a moment before saying, "The... the village next door, Damai Village."
"Damai Village?" Cheng Zhiyu asked anxiously, "How is the situation in your village?"
"Waaah, so many people have died. In our Damai Village and several nearby villages, there are only a few hundred people left. We're all gathered together, but we have no food. I... I just wanted to... I wanted to go out and find something to eat..." the man said haltingly.
Cheng Zhiyu quickly asked, "Do you know Liu Ping'an?"
Liu Ping'an is Cheng Zhiyu's uncle. After he returned, he went to his uncle's village, but there was no one there.
The village where Liu Ping'an lived was not Damai Village, but a village next to Damai Village. That's why Cheng Zhiyu was a little anxious when he heard "Damai Village".
Hearing that survivors from several nearby villages had gathered together, his hope was rekindled. What if his uncle's family was among them?
He went to his uncle's village to look for his uncle, but couldn't find him. He hadn't dared to tell his mother about it, afraid she wouldn't be able to accept it.
The man thought for a moment and shook his head: "I... I'm not very familiar with some people, so I don't know... I don't know if such a person exists."
After saying that, the other person quickly grabbed Cheng Zhiyu and cried, "Please, take me with you! I don't want to starve to death, and I don't want to become a zombie, please..."
Cheng Mo frowned as he looked at the other person's hands, which were so black that their original color was no longer recognizable.
Cheng Zhiyu frowned slightly, but didn't say whether he would take the other person or not. He said, "Take me to the location of the survivors in the villages."
Upon hearing this, the man stammered and dared not speak.
"Was what you just said false?" Cheng Mo looked at the other person, his eyes slightly narrowed. Otherwise, why would the other person refuse when Zhi Yu asked him to take him there?
"No, no... I'm not lying." The other person quickly shook his head, afraid that Cheng Zhiyu and the others wouldn't take him: "I... I was kicked out."
Upon hearing this, Cheng Zhiyu looked at the other person and asked, "Why were you kicked out?"
The other person explained: "I didn't do anything. It was just... everything was fine until... someone said he had mutated seeds that could grow a lot of food. He asked everyone to provide him with food. If you provided food, he would share the food he grew with you. If you didn't have any, he would kick you out to find food. That's how I was kicked out to find food."
As he spoke, he burst into tears: "He just wanted me to die. What food is there outside? There are only zombies. I was lucky to have met you guys, otherwise I would have definitely been bitten to death by the zombies."
Cheng Zhiyu frowned. Mutant seeds? He remembered that Xiang Qi had taken some mutated wheat and barley seeds with him before. It couldn't be such a coincidence, could it?
"So many of you, and you just listen to him like that?" Cheng Zhiyu asked.
The other person wiped away their tears: "We had no choice. The food we had saved up was about to run out. He said there were mutated seeds that could grow food. Who would dare not listen to him? Besides, he also has a little bit of fire-type ability. Although it's not very strong, he said that if anyone disobeys him, he'll just take everyone down with him and burn all the mutated seeds without leaving any for us."
"Mutant seeds, they are the hope for the future, we dare not disobey them."
Cheng Zhiyu: "Don't you have any superhumans in your team?"
The other party said, "There are a few, but they are not very powerful. When the zombies come, they can barely fight them. But these few superhumans dare not provoke him. He guards the mutated seed. Everyone is really afraid that he will destroy the mutated seed in a moment of impulse. The superhumans can only listen to him."
“He didn’t plant the seeds in the ground. He found some seeds in flowerpots, and we saw that they had indeed sprouted. So everyone believed that this was our hope.”
Cheng Zhiyu listened, but for a moment he was not quite sure if that person was Xiang Qizheng.
Xiang Qi is just an ordinary person; he shouldn't have any special abilities.
But no matter what, Cheng Zhiyu still wanted to go and see, just in case his uncle's family was there.
“Take us there, and I’ll give you food,” Cheng Zhiyu said.
The other person watched as Cheng Zhiyu took out food, swallowed hard, and finally, unable to resist the hunger, nodded.
Besides, he came out to find food, and once he had food, he could go back.
In a ravine in Damai Village, people used to live here, so there are many caves dug in the ravine. Later, everyone moved out and lived in cement houses, so the caves were emptied.
After the apocalypse, survivors from several villages gathered here. This place was secluded and had natural defenses. The zombies were not able to move easily and it was not easy for them to reach the ditch. So the survivors brought food and stayed here.
Because there are very few zombies in this area, the few superhumans in the team can handle it.
At this moment, a man woke up in the cave. He stretched and quickly glanced at the flowerpot next to him. After confirming that the Chinese man was safe and sound with him, he felt relieved.
With these seeds in place, he can completely manipulate this group of fools.
He rubbed his stomach, feeling a bit hungry, and called out, "Is it my turn to be fed today?"
Someone said, "Food is scarce right now, and we're almost out of food too, you..."
"How dare you speak to me like that? You should call me 'sir'!" the man said, his voice stern but his tone weak.
The other party quickly replied, "Sir, we really have no more food."
"If there's no food, go out and find some. If you don't find any, die out there and don't come back!" the adult said.
"You've gone too far!" someone grumbled in dissatisfaction.
The adult immediately looked at the other person and said, "If you say another word, I'll burn all of this and we'll all starve to death!"
He said this to scare these people. If he really burned these seeds, he wouldn't be able to control them anymore. He had finally tasted the feeling of being an "adult" and being fawned over. How could he possibly want to go back to his old life?
Sure enough, after he said that, the man didn't dare to say a word. Although the other party only had a dozen or so mutated seeds, this was the only food they had ever seen that could grow.
This is the hope for the future. They know what it represents, so they dare not offend this "big shot." Even though they feel extremely aggrieved, they can only endure it.
So what if they say a few words to me, and I have to provide them with food? I'll put up with it for the sake of the mutated seed.
Once the mutated seeds have produced ears of wheat, they can plant them again and grow more wheat. With wheat, they will have hope of survival.
The "master" was pleased with the silence of these people. Feeling a bit hungry, he frowned, casually pointed at someone in the crowd, and ordered, "You, go find me something to eat!"
Liu Ping'an, who was unlucky enough to be called out in the crowd, subconsciously said, "I gave him food just the day before yesterday."
The "master" was very dissatisfied with his attitude and raised his voice, saying, "Do what I tell you to do! What, you dare disobey me? Once the wheat ripens, you won't get any! Go, go, go get me some food! If you can't, go find some yourself! Either die outside, or get some food. You choose!"
Liu Pingan wanted to say something more, but thinking of his wife and son, he reluctantly shut his mouth.
"Hurry up and go! What are you standing there for, looking so dazed?" the "adult" muttered, urging. "Hurry up, do you want me to starve to death? Let me tell you, if I get hungry, I'll eat all these mutated plants first! Then we'll all starve to death!"
They kept repeating the same few sentences, but everyone regarded the mutated wheat as their hope and dared not refute the other party's words.
What if the other party really loses their mind and eats the wheat that we worked so hard to plant?
Those few tender green wheat seedlings were so lovely in their eyes, and they were determined not to let them get hurt.
Someone helplessly advised Liu Ping'an: "Ping'an, don't be angry. For the sake of the wheat, if he eats the wheat, we will starve to death sooner or later."
"Yes, just hang in there a little longer, and things will be fine once the wheat heads form."
"Sigh, this person is really... I'm also very angry, but what can I do?"
Listening to these words, Liu Ping'an had little hope for this "adult". Putting aside the question of how long it would take for the wheat to grow, even if it did, how many ears would there be? There were only a dozen or so wheat seedlings. Who would eat them all?
Therefore, even if the wheat ears have formed, you can't eat them; you have to keep planting.
Actually, he would be very grateful if this "adult" were so kind, but he felt that the other party would not be so kind.
Everyone's smart enough to know better; it's impossible that he was the only one who sensed it. It's just that they subconsciously didn't want to think that way, subconsciously numbing themselves.
"Sigh." Liu Ping'an sighed and returned to his cave dwelling.
There are quite a few cave dwellings in this mountain valley, but with several hundred people living there, several people will definitely have to share one cave dwelling.
Liu Ping'an and his family of three lived on the left side of the cave dwelling, while another family lived on the right. At times like this, privacy was no object; having a place to stay was already a blessing.
Liu Ping'an's wife was talking to their son. These adults were already on the verge of collapse from living like this every day, let alone the child.
The child said listlessly, "Mom, when can we go home? I want to go home."
Looking at her son, who had lost a lot of weight in less than a year, Liu Ping'an's wife felt a pang of sadness. Her son, Longlong, was only 10 years old.
"Longlong, be good, it'll be soon, we'll be able to go home soon." These are obviously just words to coax a child. What home? Just being able to continue living here is already a blessing.
But what could she say? She couldn't very well be so cruel as to tell the child the truth, could she?
However, Longlong wasn't very happy to hear this, because he had heard it countless times. The first time he heard it, he was full of expectations, but the second and third times, his hopes were dashed time and time again.
But Longlong is sensible; he'll only ask the question once, and even if he can't go home, he won't make a fuss. His understanding is heartbreaking.
When Liu Pingan came over and saw this scene, he felt a little sad and sighed.
Liu Ping'an's wife wiped away her tears and forced a smile: "What's wrong? Why are you sighing again? We're doing well now, the whole family is together, and we're all alive, which is already a blessing."
Liu Pingan forced a smile: "That 'adult' wants food again."
Liu Ping'an's wife immediately frowned: "Why do you want it again? Didn't we just give it to you the day before yesterday?"
His family didn't have much to eat to begin with, relying entirely on their pre-apocalyptic food reserves. After escaping from Damai Village, they only carried a little over half a bag of food with them. The three of them barely dared to eat any, scrimping and saving every day. As a result, this so-called "adult" kept asking for food every few days.
"Is this guy trying to force us to our deaths?" Liu Ping'an's wife's smile vanished. Looking at her emaciated child, she felt a pang of sorrow and couldn't help but say, "If you ask me, since this so-called 'adult' has been brought here and we've been served food and drink, it would have been better if he hadn't come at all!"
Liu Pingan sighed: "There's nothing we can do. They have mutated wheat. If they don't come, we'll run out of food, and we'll either have to go out and find more or starve to death."
"It's better than us scrimping and saving only to give him the food we need now." Liu Ping'an's wife sighed, "Do you really think we'll benefit from the crops he grows?"
Liu Ping'an said, "There are so many of us here. We're only supporting him because of the mutated wheat. If he dares to go back on his word, we won't let him off the hook."
Liu Ping'an's wife thought to herself: So what if they won't let us go? They'll just eat all the food anyway.
She ultimately didn't say those words aloud. In reality, everyone relied on this reason to keep going numbly through life.
Liu Ping'an's wife took out a small bag of wheat from a cave next to hers. There was probably only a little over a pound left in the bag. Even if they ate a little bit every day, it wouldn't last long.
Longlong saw the wheat in the bag and swallowed hard: "Mom, I'm hungry."
Liu Ping'an's wife felt a pang of sorrow; her own son was starving, yet he had to give food to others...
"Okay, Mom will cook wheat for you in a bit," Liu Ping'an's wife said with a smile, patting her son's head.
Liu Pingan: "I just ate today."
“Instead of letting others eat it all, we might as well eat it ourselves,” said Liu Ping’an’s wife.
Liu Ping'an opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything for a long time. What could he say? It was his fault for being useless. If he had any ability, his wife and children wouldn't have to suffer like this.
He wiped away his tears in a disheveled manner, grabbed a handful of wheat, and went to give it to that "adult".
The "adult" looked at the pitiful handful of wheat and still complained, "How come there's so little? It's barely enough to fill a tooth gap."
Liu Ping'an's temple twitched: "My family has no food left, this is all we have, forget about it."
"Hey, hey, hey? What kind of attitude is that?" The "sir" was very displeased and threatened, "If you dare to talk to me like that again, I'll kick you out!"
Liu Ping'an opened his mouth, but ultimately didn't make a sound. If he were alone, it wouldn't matter, but he had a wife and children. If he were kicked out, would he have any chance of survival?
"That's all there is," Liu Pingan said.
The "sir" looked at Liu Ping'an and told him to put down the wheat: "Alright, alright, I'm just being soft-hearted, I won't make things difficult for you."
Seeing Liu Ping'an's aggrieved expression, he was afraid that the other party might act impulsively and recklessly, so he decided to find another easy target.
Liu Ping'an breathed a sigh of relief and returned to the cave. His wife had already cooked a small bowl of wheat, gave Longlong a bite, and then pushed it to Liu Ping'an: "You eat."
Liu Pingan swallowed hard. It was just boiled wheat, but it tasted like a delicacy. He shook his head and said, "I'm not eating it. You and your son can eat it."
Fortunately, there is a narrow river in this ditch. The river used to smell terrible, but for some reason, it suddenly stopped smelling bad a while ago, so at least everyone has water to drink.
"You eat, just one bite," Liu Ping'an's wife urged. "You eat one bite, and we'll eat the rest."
Longlong watched longingly from the side.
Liu Pingan hesitated for a moment, took a sip, and drank the soup but didn't eat the wheat.
Seeing this, Liu Ping'an's wife sighed inwardly, only drank a sip of soup, and gave the rest to Longlong.
Longlong was sleeping nearby, and the couple chatted.
Liu Pingan muttered, "I wonder how my sister's family is doing..."
Liu Ping'an is more than ten years younger than his sister, and his nephew Cheng Zhiyu is already over twenty. He is only more than ten years older than Cheng Zhiyu.
Two years ago, Cheng Zhiyu's maternal grandparents passed away one after another, and Liu Ping'an was closest to Cheng Zhiyu's mother.
Liu Ping'an doesn't know whether he should be grateful that the two elderly people didn't experience the cruelty of the apocalypse.
“They’re definitely alright,” Liu Ping’an’s wife comforted him.
Everyone knows these are just words of comfort, but what can we do? We can only console ourselves with these thoughts.
"Yes, everything will be fine," Liu Pingan said.
I don't know if I'll ever see him again in this lifetime.
Sigh, what is he thinking? He's lucky to even be alive.
"Go to sleep," Liu Pingan said.
It's still early, but I'm so hungry that I'll stop feeling hungry once I fall asleep.
If only ordinary wheat could be grown into food, they wouldn't have to worry so much every day. But they just can't grow it. They even tried to grow it, but in the end, all that wheat was wasted.
That's why everyone fawned over the so-called "adult" when he brought out wheat seeds that could grow into seedlings.
Liu Ping'an's eyelids felt heavy, and he was thinking groggily when he suddenly heard a voice from outside: "What are you doing here?"
Who is it?
Liu Ping'an suddenly opened his eyes: "Why do I hear my nephew's voice?"
“Zhiyu? How could that be?” Liu Ping’an’s wife retorted instinctively. If he lived in the village, she thought it was possible, but when the apocalypse broke out, Cheng Zhiyu was working outside.
"I...I'll go out and take a look." Liu Ping'an felt his heart pounding. He felt like he hadn't misheard, as if he really heard Zhiyu's voice.
Meanwhile, outside.
Cheng Zhiyu and his group were led to the edge of a ravine, where the other person pointed down and said, "This is it."
After speaking, he hesitated for a moment and asked, "You won't hurt the people here, will you?"
Cheng Zhiyu was extremely anxious and didn't have time to say anything more, only saying, "No."
After saying that, he was about to leave.
No wonder he had come to the nearby villages before and couldn't find anyone. It turns out he was here. It was indeed a bit hard to find.
Cheng Zhiyu and his group were spotted halfway there. A group of people looked at them nervously and asked what they were doing.
Cheng Zhiyu: "I am Liu Ping'an's nephew. I've come to find my uncle."
"Liu Ping'an? You know Liu Ping'an?" The speaker relaxed his guard slightly.
"Yes, I heard that the survivors from Damai Village are all here." Cheng Zhiyu asked nervously, "Is Liu Ping'an here?"
He didn't know if his uncle was here. The person who led the way said he had never heard of the name, but with hundreds of people, it was possible that they didn't know each other. He still came with a sliver of hope.
Before anyone could answer him, a somewhat familiar figure rushed over, his voice filled with surprise: "Don't be nervous, everyone, this really is my nephew, it really is my nephew..."
"Is he really your nephew?"
"Oh my, your nephew actually came to see you." Someone said enviously, judging from Liu Ping'an's nephew's appearance, he was doing well.
Judging from her rosy complexion, she must be able to eat her fill.
Since they knew each other, everyone relaxed their guard and let Cheng Zhiyu and the others come down.
"Zhiyu, how are your mom and the others? Are they alright?" Liu Pingan asked, pulling Cheng Zhiyu aside.
Cheng Zhiyu saw that his uncle had become so thin that he was almost unrecognizable, and his nose felt a little sore: "He's doing well. A base has been built in Xiahe Village, and everyone is doing well there."
Liu Pingan breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good, that's good."
Someone nearby, listening, couldn't help but ask, "A base? Xiahe Village has a base now?"
Someone eagerly asked, "Can we go?"
Cheng Zhiyu had indeed considered this issue before coming. The Xiaohe base is currently quite short of people, especially since they are planning to expand planting, raise livestock, and install solar panels, etc. There are quite a lot to do.
He said that if anyone was willing to go, they could: "If you have relatives over there, you can seek refuge with them. If not, you cannot go in for the time being."
Someone panicked: "We can't go in? Then... what are we supposed to do outside?"
Cheng Zhiyu said, "We'll build a wall around the outside, and once it's built, we can renovate the houses and move in."
The group exchanged glances, hesitant and uncertain.
They had been in this remote mountain valley for quite some time, never having ventured out. They had no idea what the outside world was like, and a strange sense of fear about stepping out made them hesitant to take that step.
Cheng Zhiyu didn't try to dissuade him. Seeing that his aunt and Longlong had come out, he breathed a sigh of relief. That's great, his uncle's family is safe and sound.
"Hey! What are you doing?" The "adult" inside the cave heard the commotion outside and was a little scared. After listening for a while, he realized that this person actually wanted to take the others away, and he immediately became anxious.
If these people leave, who will take care of him? No, we absolutely cannot let these people leave!
He immediately disregarded everything and ran out.
Cheng Zhiyu looked at the unfamiliar man, and the person leading the way said, "This is the 'master' who took out the mutated wheat."
This person wasn't Xiang Qizheng. Cheng Zhiyu was still wondering if Xiang Qizheng had brought the mutated wheat here.
However, he was not so sure about what he heard on the way that the other party had fire-type abilities. After all, Xiang Qi was just an ordinary person, and the chances of him suddenly awakening fire-type abilities were not high.
If superpowers were so easy to awaken, then most people wouldn't be ordinary people without superpowers.
Now that I look at it, it's definitely not Xiang Qizheng. But the other party isn't a plant-based ability user either. So where did the other party get their mutated wheat?
Mutant wheat, what a coincidence? The wheat that Xiang Qizheng took away just happened to be mutated wheat.
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