Chapter 4
Yan Ning's house is not big.
A few pieces of planks that look like they were taken from abandoned buildings are stacked between two containers, a few more pieces are stood up to serve as walls, and finally a doorway is dug out to make it a home.
"Mr. Qi Heng, please be careful not to hit your head."
Yan Ning carefully put the egg aside, then picked up the stone slab that was pressing on the doorway and moved it to the side. The entire doorway was only slightly higher than Yan Ning... In other words, with Qi Heng being more than ten centimeters taller than Yan Ning, they would definitely bump into each other if they walked in normally.
Qi Heng looked at the scene before him, his polite smile froze slightly, and he sighed inwardly, "I understand."
It's not that he hasn't experienced hard times, but compared to now, even when he was the poorest, he never experienced living in a shack.
He thought so in his heart, but he really didn't mean to dislike Yan Ning's family.
After all, before being taken in by Yan Ning, he was a homeless man who didn't even have a shack. How could he have the right to look down on Yan Ning?
"Mr. Qi Heng, the house may be a little small..." Yan Ning said to him as she picked up the insect egg.
"It's okay, I don't mind." Qi Heng waved his hand. It was already good to have a place to live.
Seeing that he really didn't care, Yan Ning felt a little relieved and smiled as she led him inside.
After all, Qi Heng is an adult who has experienced the beatings of modern society, and he can see through Yan Ning's little thoughts at a glance.
He was not as arrogant as Yan Ning thought, and he could see that Yan Ning's living conditions were not good - there were good and bad houses in the slums, and the one Yan Ning lived in was only slightly better than the open air.
Qi Heng followed Yan Ning into the house, not forgetting to bend down. He glanced around as he entered, estimating the height of the interior. It was about two meters high. While it was still cramped, he didn't have to keep his head down, which made him feel relieved.
The space is not big, but it is clean.
The area opposite the door was filled with some stoves that looked like pots and pans, mostly made of wood and stone. There were some straw-like plants on the ground on both sides. Qi Heng guessed that these might be beds.
Yan Ning placed the insect eggs in the straw nest and pointed to the bed opposite him and said to him a little embarrassedly: "Mr. Qi Heng, that's where my brother used to sleep. You can sleep there tonight."
As if she was afraid that he would mind, Yan Ning hurriedly added: "Don't worry, I clean up every day."
"Thank you." Qi Heng looked at the bed Yan Ning was pointing at and nodded.
Ever since he entered Area 49, he had been mentally assessing the current living standards of the Zerg. Upon realizing that their living standards were almost regressing to those of the primitive era, he lowered his score and felt a bit pessimistic.
How could I, living in a convenient modern society, adapt to this backward world? Qi Heng didn't want to think about it any further. The more he thought about it, the more depressed he became.
"You're welcome. I should be the one thanking you." Yan Ning looked at Chongdan with a gentle gaze and said, "If it weren't for you, I would have lost him."
Qi Heng was silent for a moment, then promised, "I will do my best to cure your insect eggs."
He doesn't like to owe favors to others. Since it is essentially a transaction, it is better to be clear about it.
In fact, Qi Heng already had an idea in his mind about how to treat the insect eggs. It was also lucky for this insect egg because he happened to still remember the Zerg branch race it belonged to.
"I believe you." Yan Ning smiled at him and asked with concern: "By the way, are you hungry? Do you want to eat something?"
Yan Ning said this, and without waiting for his answer, she walked to the simple stove and took out a few, uh, I don’t know if they were potato or sweet potato rhizomes from a hidden corner, covered with some cracked mud.
Qi Heng, who had not had a drop of water since last night, was completely relying on the energy in his system to maintain his body's needs, so of course he was hungry.
So he hesitated for a few seconds, but ultimately did not refuse.
"Thank you for your help."
"No trouble, I'll go out and wash them and cook them and you can eat them."
Yan Ning picked up the rhizome and placed it in a basin. Before leaving, she asked cautiously, "Could you please take care of the eggs for me in the meantime? I'll be back soon."
"Can."
After getting his answer, Yan Ning left with peace of mind.
Qi Heng rubbed his forehead while standing there, wondering if Yan Ning was not only innocent but also a little naive... Otherwise, how could she feel comfortable enough to keep him in his house so soon after they met?
But is she really that naive?
not really.
Yan Ning respected Qi Heng's identity as an "egg breeder". His kindness in saving the insect eggs earned him gratitude, and his friendly attitude made Yan Ning let down her guard.
——All these combined formed the basis for Yan Ning to trust him.
Qi Heng had calculated this deliberately, but the only thing he hadn't anticipated was how well it would work. It was so good that it made him feel a little uncomfortable, a sense of guilt that he'd deceived a child.
Wait, if you think about it carefully, it seems to be correct.
Yan Ning has a tender face. If she didn't have balls, he would definitely suspect that Yan Ning was a minor.
While Yan Ning was away, Qi Heng walked to the insect eggs and used the system's scanning function to scan them. He then compared them with the information in the system database. After the comparison was correct, he had an idea in mind.
…
Yan Ning held the wooden basin and turned left and right, finally turning to a not-so-wide river.
He had just found his usual spot to squat when he heard his name.
"Yan Ning."
"It's Yuntian." Yan Ning washed the cassava quickly with his hands, and smiled at the brown-haired boy in front of him with squinted eyes.
"Who else could it be if not me?" Yuntian sat down beside him helplessly, and after hesitating for a moment, he asked the doubts in his heart.
"I just saw you walking with an unfamiliar insect. Who is he? And didn't you say you were going to send the egg away? Why did I see it still there?" Yuntian said a little worriedly at the end.
"You saw it..." Yan Ning immediately understood who Yuntian was talking about, but didn't know how to explain it, so she fell silent.
Yuntian didn't notice his change and said, "I'm not the only one who noticed it. The Zerg walking next to you is so tall that it's impossible for the Zerg not to notice him."
"I've never seen him before. He probably doesn't live near us."
Yan Ning said "hmm".
It is definitely impossible to hide the fact that Mr. Qi Heng does not live nearby. The area around here is so small that most of the insects are familiar with each other. The appearance of unfamiliar insects will easily attract attention.
"Then why did he come back with you..." Yuntian was a little curious.
Yan Ning didn't know how to answer this question. After hesitating for a while, she said, "I, I have to go back and cook. I'll tell you next time."
"All right."
Yuntian saw that he didn't want to talk much, so he patted his shoulder and turned to another matter: "I know you don't want to give the egg away, but it's not good to keep it around. It will only make you sadder the more you see it."
Yan Ning wanted to tell Yun Tiandan that he was still alive, but she didn't know how to say it. In the end, she could only say dryly, "I know."
He had not yet asked Mr. Qi Heng whether he was willing to let other insects know his identity, so he could only hide it from Yuntian for the time being, even though this made him feel a little guilty.
Yan Ning picked up the basin and suddenly thought of something before leaving: "Yuntian, is your father at home?"
"Here I am."
"Do you have something to do with my father?"
"Well, it's a little thing."
Yan Ning left the river and went to Yuntian's house.
Yuntian’s home is not far from his home, but it is much more spacious and has a small yard where a lot of clothes are hung out to dry.
Yan Ning went in and greeted Yuntian's father. When he came out, he had a small basket with clothes in his hand. He held the basin in one hand and carried the basket in the other hand as he went home.
Five minutes later.
"Mr. Qi Heng, I'm back." Yan Ning put down the things in her hands, walked up to him and put down the basket of clothes.
"This is for you."
Qi Heng noticed what Yan Ning was holding when she came in, but he didn't expect it was for him.
Seeing that he didn't speak, Yan Ning hesitated and said, "It's like this, I see your clothes are a little old... Well, you don't like the clothes I brought you."
Qi Heng stood up from the stool and replied, "No, not at all." It was just a little unexpected.
He originally wanted to solve the clothing problem later, but he didn't expect Yan Ningqiang to solve it first.
Feeling Yan Ning's kindness, Qi Heng felt a little uncomfortable.
He picked up the clothes and pretended to compare them on his body, avoiding Yan Ning's gaze and coughed lightly, saying:
"Stop calling me 'Mr. Qi Heng' and stop calling me 'you' all the time. This will cause unnecessary trouble to other Zerg."
Qi Heng noticed that Yan Ning looked a little strange and explained, "I don't want other Zerg to know my identity for the time being."
"If you don't want to call me by my first name... I'm older than you, so you can just call me 'brother' if you like."
Yan Ning felt a little confused when listening to his words, but it did not prevent him from understanding the meaning of the last sentence.
"Then I'll call you Brother Qi." Yan Ning gave him a big smile.
"Um."
Qi Heng responded calmly and turned around, feeling lucky that his hair had grown longer, otherwise it would not be able to cover his ears which were a little hot.
Compared to his own impure motives, Yan Ning's kindness was straightforward and easy to understand - but it just so happened that he was least adept at dealing with this type of person.
The change in address broke down the last remaining barrier between them, at least in Yan Ning's eyes.
"Brother Qi, please try it first. If it doesn't fit, I'll change it." Yan Ning's tone became much lighter, without the previous restraint.
"I'll go out first." Before Yan Ning finished speaking, the person had already run away.
Qi Heng didn't waste any time and changed his clothes directly.
After putting them on, he touched the material of the clothes on his body, and a smile of interest appeared on the corner of his mouth.
It's getting more and more interesting.
In the backward slums that are obviously out of touch with assembly lines and industrialization, there are such "modern" clothes.
The material of the clothes is not of good quality, but they are indeed new clothes, and the whole set of clothes is complete from inside to outside.
From the moment he entered Area 49, he felt that the Zerg's living environment was very strange. Their living standards were similar to those of ancient people, but their clothes and some details were full of traces of modern civilization.
Perhaps he could consider letting A0 out of the small dark room - although it was not impossible for him to collect information on his own, it would be a waste of time and, in his opinion, completely unnecessary.
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