14
Tao Sai opened his eyes when he heard the alarm clock. The system panel displayed clear subtitles: Countdown to the insect swarm is 18 hours, 12 minutes and 54 seconds.
Time was running out, so they got up early in the morning, packed up, and went straight to Xu Zhuang to pick someone up.
Tao Sai untied the rope and went to the cockpit, started the engine, and controlled the direction with both hands on the steering wheel.
The operation of the fishing boat is basically the same as that in the game. The only difference is that the game uses both mouse and keyboard, while in reality it requires manual control.
Tao Sai knew the route in this area by heart. First, he needed to drive straight along the Yangtze River for about 10 kilometers, then turn right into the tributary Qinghe River, and drive 5 kilometers upstream to reach the destination.
It was her first time sailing a boat in real life, so Tao Sai took a cautious approach and didn't use the engine at full power. After an hour, she finally managed to get the fishing boat to the small ferry crossing in Xuzhuang. They chose a berth close to the shore and tied up the rope.
Zhou Ning and her family drove over and soon arrived at the small square at the ferry terminal. Zhou Ning spotted a middle-aged couple dragging suitcases from afar. She quickly dialed the phone and waved from the deck.
The couple came up, followed by an old lady in sportswear.
"Hello, Xiao Tao!" Li Yinzhu, wearing a sun hat bought on the roadside and holding the sunglasses he had just taken off, waved warmly and elegantly.
"Xiao Tao, thank you for taking us out to play." Grandma Zhou said.
"Wow! Xiao Tao, your boat is pretty good, so impressive!" Zhou Weixing looked at the brand new fishing boat.
"Hello Aunt Li, hello Uncle Zhou, hello Grandma." Tao Sai greeted them politely one by one, then jumped off the boat to help them carry their luggage.
They didn't bring much luggage, just a suitcase and a backpack, because Zhou Ning told them that Taotao would take them to the river for a few days in the family's fishing boat, so they didn't prepare much except for a change of clothes and toiletries.
After stuffing the suitcases and backpacks onto the deck, Tao Sai and Uncle Zhou helped Aunt Li get on the boat first.
After sending the people on board, Tao Sai waved to the boat and said, "Uncle Zhou, Aunt Li, I'm going to buy some things. Please wait for me for a while."
Xu Zhuang is a scenic spot. Now is the peak season for tourism. The small square at the ferry is surrounded by small shops. Tourists gather here and the place is bustling with people. It can be regarded as a small market. There are also some roadside stalls selling special snacks.
Tao Sai had long planned to buy more food to treat Zhou Ning and his family. They'd been eating either self-heating rice or bread, a kind of post-disaster experience. The food was bland and bland, and if they didn't eat now, they'd never have another chance.
Tao Sai stepped on a low stone block and looked around. He saw a stall selling shengjian (stir-fried dumplings) and walked in that direction.
At this moment, two figures suddenly flashed through the crowded crowd and disappeared in a flash.
Tao Sai couldn't help but stop, and after a few seconds, his whole body began to tremble.
She quickly walked back and stood on the low stone pillar where she had been, looking out, trying to find the two figures again. She looked around and around without finding her target. Suddenly, her vision froze, and she suddenly saw the outlines of a man and woman from behind, more than ten meters away.
The man had a muscular build and was wearing a black sports vest, and the woman had flaxen curly hair. They walked hand in hand in the crowd towards the alley in the east.
Tao Sai jumped down from the low stone pillar, avoided the crowd and chased after him.
Turning into the alley, the crowd became increasingly crowded. Seeing the couple's backs getting farther and farther away, she could only try her best to squeeze forward, and it was natural that she would be scolded on the way.
Soon after a fork in the road, the tourists were diverted and the congestion eased slightly. When Tao Sai caught up with the two people, they stopped in front of a roadside stall selling grilled squid.
Tao Sai closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and walked straight forward as if he had made some kind of decision.
"Hello." Tao Sai greeted them from behind.
Hearing the sound, the tall and strong man turned around, and the curly-haired woman also turned around and asked in confusion: "What's the matter, sister?"
Seeing their faces, Tao Sai froze for a moment, then he reacted and smiled awkwardly, "Sorry, I recognized the wrong person."
"It's okay." The man smiled foolishly and turned back to pick out more generous squid skewers for his female companion.
Following the direction of the crowd, Tao Sai walked back woodenly. She was 100% sure that she must have seen those two faces in the small square at the ferry just now. She would never forget the owners of those two faces.
In Tao Sai's "previous life", Nanzhou City was one of the last areas to be affected by the insect swarm, and the rescue resources organized by the government were already seriously insufficient when they were transferred here.
She was one of the lucky ones, as a small rescue ship docked near their refugee camp. The rescue ship was full of survivors, and after she boarded, she was squeezed into a corner, close to everyone else, and the various odors of sweat, rottenness, mold and stench mixed together, making it almost suffocating.
The rescue ship's destination is an island camp one thousand kilometers away, and the journey is expected to take three days.
After setting sail, the rescuers on board distributed compressed biscuits to each survivor. Tao Sai also received her share, as she had been hungry for two days.
After taking two bites of the biscuit, Tao Sai carefully put the remaining biscuit into her pocket to store it. Food was extremely scarce in the apocalypse, and she was unsure whether the rescue workers would distribute food again. She had temporarily alleviated her hunger, so she left half a biscuit in case of emergency.
But Tao Sai didn't notice that the man sitting opposite her saw her hiding something and immediately held out his hand and said, "Take it out."
The man was in his early thirties, wearing only a black tank top, revealing a cyan tattoo on his chest. His arms were thick and strong, and he looked like a frequent gym goer, showing off his protein powder.
The man in the vest noticed Tao Sai sitting opposite him early on. She was thin and frail, had no companions, and must have endured everything in silence.
He and his girlfriend had been hungry for two or three days. The two compressed biscuits that the rescuers had just given them were not enough, especially for someone of his size, who needed more food.
This woman kept some food for herself because she couldn't finish it, which made him very angry.
"No." Tao Sai refused flatly.
"Damn it, I told you to take it out!" the man roared and then looked around.
The rescue workers on the ship were not in this cabin, so he stood up even more unscrupulously, raised his hand and slapped him, and with a crisp sound, it hit Tao Sai's face.
Tao Sai was hit so hard by the slap that he saw stars and fell to the ground.
The other survivors in the cabin all looked over here at the same time. The blonde woman behind the man quickly tried to smooth things over, "This little bitch stole our things! How shameless!"
So everyone "understood" and once again looked away at the same time, continuing to play deaf and dumb. No one was willing to step forward and no one was willing to get into trouble.
The man rushed forward and started to grab it, reaching his hand into Tao Sai's clothes to grab the half compressed biscuit.
Tao Sai bit the back of his hand without any hesitation. If he had not broken free in time, the flesh on the back of his hand would have been torn off by Tao Sai.
"You're a fucking dog! I'm really fucked!" The man kicked Tao Sai twice angrily, rubbed the back of his hand, and still felt unsatisfied.
Fortunately, the rescue workers on the boat came back at this time, and the man was able to sit back in his original seat.
Tao Sai tried hard to hold herself up. In order to avoid being noticed by thieves, she swallowed the compressed biscuits cleanly in one gulp.
The man and woman opposite stared at her intently. The man's mouth moved silently, and he mouthed: "Smelly bitch."
Tao Sai huddled against the bulkhead with her back pressed against it. She stared back at them, breathing rapidly, never letting her guard down for a moment, not daring to close her eyes even though she was very sleepy.
But late that night, someone discovered that several bugs had eaten away at the steel plates on the side of the hull. Although the bugs were quickly removed, water continued to leak from the gaps in the hull.
Rescuers began emergency rescue efforts, but the cabins on the deck were still in chaos, with panic, noise, pushing and shoving everywhere, and everyone was in danger.
The man in the vest took advantage of the chaos to squeeze next to Tao Sai, and his strong arms clamped her. She was unable to move in the crowded crowd. She watched helplessly as the blonde woman came up to help her. The two of them pushed her into the river openly. Tao Sai's thin hands clung to the railing tightly, but she could not withstand the brute force of the man in the vest and the scratching of the blonde woman.
As a child from a water town, Tao Sai was actually a good swimmer, but when she fell into the dark water, she was still extremely desperate. She swam in the boundless river and almost died before she swam to the shore, but in the end she could not escape her fate and was swallowed alive by the swarm of insects.
Tao Sai tried hard to distance himself from the memories of his "previous life", forcing himself to take a deep breath and slowly loosen his clenched fists.
Returning to the small square at the ferry, Tao Sai stopped at various snack stalls to buy food, including various pastries, pickled pepper duck feet, air-dried beef, and pan-fried buns. Soon, her hands were full of large and small bags, all of which were used to entertain Aunt Li and her family.
Tao Sai suddenly discovered that there were people pushing carts selling golden pillow durian.
She really likes eating durian, but this tropical fruit is too expensive. She would definitely not be willing to buy it under normal circumstances. However, she has to buy some today. She doesn't know if she will have the chance to eat it again in the future.
She walked over to the stall and selected two.
"Girl, 308 yuan, I'll give it to you as 300 yuan," the boss told her the price after weighing it and generously rounded off the decimal.
Hearing this number, Tao Sai's heart started bleeding, and she was about to take out her mobile phone to scan the code to pay, but she found that Zhou Ning had sent her a WeChat message a few minutes ago.
There was no time to figure out why Zhou Ning sent a WeChat message instead of calling, and the content of the message made Tao Sai's eyebrows twitch.
"Taotao, there are several men who want to get on the boat."
"They told us to take them to the other side and pay us, but I don't think they look like good people."
"I'd better not let them come up."
"He attacked our ship, Taotao, come back quickly!"
The last message was sent five minutes ago. Tao Sai grabbed the phone and shot out like an arrow.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
