Chapter 21
Liang Luan pulled out a chair and sat down. Su Su brought over a set of clean dishes and chopsticks. She couldn't help but look at him a few times, and finally met a pair of smiling eyes directly: "What's the matter?"
Su Su's scalp felt numb and her hair was about to explode. She said hurriedly, "It's okay, it's okay." After that, she took her bowl and shrank into the corner. She leaned close to Qiu Shi and whispered a few words.
Liang Luan was originally filled with resentment. He picked up his chopsticks quickly and forcefully, as if he was venting his anger with hot pot. He picked up a piece of meat, dipped it in the sauce, and stuffed it into his mouth with resentment. His eyes lit up: "Hmm!"
Lu Chenyuan looked at his old friend with tears in his eyes and felt a little embarrassed. He moved away silently and said, "You have a bright future."
Liang Luan swallowed and asked vaguely, "Do you eat these every day?"
"Not really." Jiang Zihan continued, "We don't usually have so much meat and seasonings. Gaota withheld our supplies, and we were starving in the middle of winter, so we went to get some back."
Halfway through the meal, Kui Feng suddenly got up and went out. When he came back, he was holding a big pot. Qiu Shi and Su Su immediately stood up to make space on the table to put the food. As soon as the lid of the pot was lifted, a rich aroma immediately wafted out.
Su Su's mouth was wet, and he swallowed a few times, his eyes almost falling into the pot. Qiu Shi glanced at him with disapproval, his right hand tightly gripping the chopsticks: "It's rare to have so much meat and vegetables, if we eat it all in one meal... it's not a good idea."
It is difficult to go from luxury to frugality. How can they afford to eat coarse food when they go back now?
Kui Feng held a large soup spoon in his hand and said, "Don't worry, there's still a pot of soup in the kitchen. If you eat it sparingly, it'll be enough for many days. Doctor Jiang said that if you don't eat it, it will be bad if the people from Gaota come and take it back."
Liang Luan choked and couldn't help choking. Seeing everyone looking at him, he immediately understood that the big chef said that on purpose.
He straightened his back silently. "Don't worry. The tower is currently under the temporary control of the military. They won't take these supplies back."
Ye Sheng rolled his eyes and immediately smiled: "As expected of a big boss in the military, you are so generous. Come, eat some vegetables. I just pulled them out of the ground. They are very fresh."
His eyes curved with laughter, and the leaves above his head swayed, and his whole body exuded a faint scent of grass and trees.
Liang Luan happily picked up the green vegetables and lowered her eyes to hide her deep thoughts.
In this small bungalow, three kittens huddled around a large bowl, devouring their food. The large phantom cat snatched up the egg yolk Jiang Zihan had offered it, curling its tail around her wrist as if offering alms. A red-feathered chick stood on a wooden rack, pecking at dried insects.
People and war beasts live in harmony, and the environment is freer and more peaceful than the war beast breeding bases he had visited before.
His mind was turning over and over again, and when he looked up again, he had already made up his mind. It was like a huge stone had been lifted off his shoulders, and he stretched out his body and began to concentrate on enjoying the food.
Lu Chenyuan withdrew his gaze and suddenly a large amount of broth was added to the bowl. He looked up at Jiang Zihan who was sharing the food, and seemed to be hesitant to speak.
Jiang Zihan felt his gaze and immediately urged, "Drink quickly, or you won't get any later! You need to drink more to replenish your body so that your wound can heal faster."
Lu Chenyuan pursed his lips and drank up the soup in the bowl in a few gulps.
After a full meal, Liang Luan collapsed on the ground, looking in surprise at the others who stood up, took out quilts from the cabinet and started to make the beds. The temperature in the room was just right, so sleeping on the floor was acceptable.
"Are all of you sleeping on the floor here?" He tilted his head. Aren't there many rooms outside? Why do we have to be so crowded together?
"Winter is coming, so we need to be frugal with our supplies," Kui Feng explained. "If everyone were to gather here, we could save a lot of firewood for heating."
Liang Luan was puzzled. "Are winter supplies so scarce? Doesn't the Federation ship in supplies regularly?"
He had watched the live broadcasts of the anchors in the central area several times. Aside from some people deliberately creating effects to attract attention, the living conditions of the others were not too bad. Although there were not many people in the room, it was clear that their overall strength was not bad. It shouldn't be possible for them to not be able to grab even this little bit of supplies.
Su Su curled her lips and said, "Those supplies have long been monopolized by the people in the central area. They have formed an alliance and are unwilling to share even a piece of bread."
Qiu Shi smoothed the quilt, turned on the solar panel on the top, and lit up several heating lamps. The room soon became warm.
Liang Luan's gaze grew colder. He knew the higher-ups had organized a livestream, but no matter how bad the situation was, it wasn't enough to force people to survive on a deserted island. Cliques and factions existed everywhere, but how much of it was condoned by the tower?
"Actually, conditions are much better now." Lu Renshuang smiled. "I used to worry every day about whether I could see the sun the next day. Now I can even think about food and clothing. I'm very content."
Several people laughed at the same time, and the dark cloud of distortion crisis that had been hanging over their heads was dispelled. Liang Luan looked at them and seemed to be hesitant to speak. Distortion is not so easy to cure. Are they being so careless? Are they trusting Jiang Zihan too much?
Suddenly, he felt a pat on his shoulder. He turned around and met those gray-blue eyes. His back stiffened suddenly, and after a pause, he followed his footsteps and walked out.
The evening breeze picked up outside the house. Lu Chenyuan pulled up his collar and asked, "What on earth do you want to do here?"
Liang Luan put his hands into his other sleeve and exhaled a breath of warm air: "I came here to offer warmth on behalf of Gaota. I was afraid you would starve to death here, so I ran here as soon as my feet touched the ground. And now you are eating delicious food and drinking spicy drinks here."
He couldn't help but grit his teeth. How could he be fooled by the hard work he put into hunting during the live broadcast?
He pointed to the large bag inside the house and said, "Besides some nutrient solution, there's also a thick winter coat. As long as you don't freeze in the snow for too long, you should be able to hold out for a while."
"Has Gaota decided how to compensate the anchors whose supplies were withheld?" Lu Chenyuan didn't believe what he said and suddenly asked while leaning against the wall.
Liang Luan had come here to discuss the subsidy issue with Lu Chenyuan. He moved closer and asked, "How do you think this should be resolved?"
Lu Chenyuan glanced at the room and said, "Then follow your rules. As long as it's fair and just, it's fine."
The two chatted for a while and then walked out along the path. The snow along the way had not melted yet. Several war beast cubs were chasing each other happily in the snow, which was completely different from what they had seen in the breeding room.
Liang Luan slowed down his pace and suddenly asked, "Are you still accepting war beasts?"
Lu Chenyuan glanced at him: "Highly distorted?"
"Almost." Liang Luan sighed, "But he's still conscious. I've been looking for a war beast sanatorium, but I've seen many, and none of them seem ideal."
His war beast had been fighting on the battlefield for several years, but had to retire early due to severe distortion. He felt very sad when he saw it.
Several nearby star regions were extremely wary of distortions, and there were only a few sanatoriums willing to take over retired war beasts. No matter how he looked at it, he felt that something was missing. After seeing the war beasts here today, he also hoped that his own war beasts could be as free and unrestrained as them.
Lu Chenyuan: "I can't make the decision on the war beasts, but I can ask for you."
Liang Luan: "You can think about it, I will pay for it."
When he came back, light snow had started falling from the sky again. Jiang Zihan wrapped his coat tightly around him and sat under the eaves, staring blankly at the sky with a cup of hot tea in his hand.
Lu Chenyuan followed her gaze, but saw only the snow-covered wilderness. "What are you looking at so intently? Aren't you cold?"
Jiang Zihan came back to his senses and reached out to catch a snowflake. "Just now, the kids were playing in the snow outside, but soon they were shivering with cold and have now all gone back inside."
She withdrew her hand, "I wonder how the other war beasts in the mountains survive the winter."
The system had just released a new quest: rescuing a bird war beast would earn an extra 100 points. This was the first time the system had issued a quest specifically for a specific war beast type, but where could she find a bird war beast in this freezing weather?
Lu Chenyuan looked into the house through the window. The little cubs were huddled under the heating lamp, hiding among the thick fur of the Wind Chasing Tiger, squinting their eyes and looking drowsy.
He sat down beside her, was silent for a moment, and suddenly said, "The war beasts out there rarely have a good end."
Jiang Zihan was startled and turned to look at the other person. The moonlight reflected from the snow shone on his sharp profile, softening his cold expression a little.
"War beasts that have been fighting on the front lines for a long time will distort very quickly, and will basically retire before they reach retirement age." The deep voice was emotionless, as if it was just a trivial matter. "As for those that are seriously injured, most of them are sent to sanatoriums. But since war beasts are no longer valuable, we can't expect them to pay much attention to them."
Jiang Zihan raised an eyebrow, feeling that he was hinting at something: "What do you want to say?"
Lu Chenyuan leaned back slightly: "Since you like war beasts, why not try to receive some."
Jiang Zihan blinked and looked him up and down: "I didn't know you were such a kind-hearted person."
"It's not out of kindness." He chuckled and turned around. "It's for profit. If you can accept retired, highly deformed war beasts, even if it can only alleviate some of the deformation, it will solve the urgent problem. Not only can we exchange them for medical supplies, but we may even be able to establish a long-term cooperation."
Jiang Zihan fell into deep thought. Her identity wouldn't stand up to scrutiny. If she were asked where she learned these medical techniques, she wouldn't be able to answer. If she could get to know more powerful people, it would also be a guarantee for her.
She raised her head and suddenly saw snowflakes falling on the man's long crow-feather eyelashes. She reached out and brushed them away. The eyelashes trembled slightly and suddenly shrank back slightly.
Jiang Zihan was stunned for a moment, then continued, "I think your suggestion is good, but the current space is a bit insufficient. It's cold now, and we can't let all these war beasts live in one room."
Lu Chenyuan cleared his throat and said, "Since they have something to ask for, we can ask them to expand the facility. In addition to the clinic, we can also set up a recuperation area."
Convalescent area?
Jiang Zihan's gaze fell on the wilderness again. It would indeed be a good idea if this area could be utilized.
She smiled slightly and said, "Okay, ask them to send the war beast over some other day."
Snowflakes were falling. She took a deep breath and let the cool air enter her lungs. It seemed that she had to plan for the future.
…
Early in the morning, the tower's material transport truck stopped outside the gathering place.
Several large boxes were piled in front of the house. These were compensation for the materials that had been withheld. Liang Luan jumped off the car and directed his subordinates to move them.
The two cages were removed, and two goshawks walked out of them, staggering with gloomy and listless looks.
The moment he saw the goshawk, Jiang Zihan was stunned. Was the system predicting the future or was it just a coincidence?
She squatted down and tentatively reached out to touch the back feathers of one of the goshawks. Their wings drooped limply, and it seemed that they had no ability to fly.
"How long have they been like this?" she asked with a frown. The feathers were covered with distorted energy and felt extremely rough. The situation was worse than she had imagined. If this continued, the distorted energy would spread throughout the body, and it would only be a matter of time before it turned into a vicious beast.
Liang Luan sighed: "It's been more than half a year. He's still conscious, but he can't fly anymore."
The military had wanted to retire them a long time ago, and he had finally gotten the right to relocate them. He just hoped that they would be well on the island in the future.
"Oh right," Liang Luan pointed to a large recuperation cabin being built not far away. "I heard from Mr. Lu that you guys don't have enough space, so I built one at my own expense with its own constant temperature system. If the other war beasts want to rest, they can put them in there too."
Jiang Zihan looked at the staff members who moved swiftly and asked in surprise, "You have such talented architects in your tower?"
Liang Luan shrugged. "These are all from our military. Some of them used to work in the Ordnance Department. Building a recuperation cabin is not a difficult task."
With a long "beep" sound, the top of the recovery cabin flashed a few times, and the circuit was connected, and part of the energy storage device was actually connected.
Jiang Zihan was really grateful now. This was much more useful than their small solar generator. "Thanks. How about staying for dinner?"
Lu Chenyuan went to the mountains to hunt a wild deer early in the morning. The aroma of barbecued meat had already spread, making people's mouths water.
Jiang Zihan cut a few pieces of fresh venison and walked to the goshawk. The war beast retreated vigilantly and cowered in the corner of the cage.
She squatted down, her mental power lingering slightly at her fingertips, and an invisible white light wrapped around the piece of meat like mist.
"Try it?" She shook the piece of meat and tempted in a gentle voice.
The male goshawk's pupils suddenly constricted, staring at her hand intently. After being stiff for a few seconds, he moved forward slightly, lowered his head and took a bite. Then he turned around and called the female eagle over, and then the two of them began to devour the food together.
Liang Luan held the plate, feeling a mixture of emotions as if a spice bottle had been overturned. "I've been feeding them for several months, and they're only willing to eat a little."
Lu Chenyuan slowly flipped the skewers on the charcoal fire and sprinkled a handful of crushed seasoning powder on them. "Maybe your appearance makes them lose their appetite. I understand."
"..." Liang Luan gritted his teeth, glared at the other person, and wanted to smash the plate in his hand on the other person's head.
But looking at the golden and greasy roasted deer leg in his hand, and thinking about his own barbecue skills, he silently retracted his hand. Forget it, let's talk about it after dinner.
Jiang Zihan squatted in front of the cage, looking at the two goshawks eating intently, and said softly, "It will be fine."
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