Chapter 343 Dawn Will Be Seen
There were two staff members inside. After the woman in the red cotton-padded jacket dragged the body in, several men examined it and then had another man move it to the back.
To Meng Shiwan's surprise, the man who was cleaning up the bodies was actually an ice-type ability user.
After obtaining the body, he used his ice-based powers to freeze it solid and then threw it into a shipping container.
Ye Sangyu also sensed something was wrong. "Sister, ability users are an important resource for the base. We wish we could use every ability user to their fullest potential. Are the ice-type ability users here just here to freeze corpses? This is a huge waste of talent, like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut."
Meng Shiwan frowned, feeling that something was off.
The man in front handed four cans of food to the woman in the red cotton-padded jacket.
The woman in the red cotton-padded jacket ran up to Meng Shiwan and handed her one. Meng Shiwan eagerly opened one, grabbed the minced meat inside, and stuffed it into her mouth in big mouthfuls, wishing she could just dump it all into her stomach at once.
Meng Shiwan examined the can in her hand. It was about the same size as a dog food can and was a rather deep cylinder.
For women with small appetites, one can of food should be enough to make them feel full.
The surface of the can is the color of stainless steel, without any patterns or packaging printing.
Clearly, this was produced after the apocalypse.
Canned goods from before the apocalypse would inevitably have brand names and production dates.
Meng Shiwan looked at the can of food that the woman had already opened. It was dark brown and the meat was very tender, just like the cat food she used to feed Taxue.
It smells faintly of meat, but mostly of fishiness.
Meng Shiwan asked her, "What does it taste like?"
The woman had already finished a box of meat and was licking the juices stuck to the edges.
As she licked it, she mumbled, "It smells delicious, like meat, with a hint of saltiness."
She was so hungry that she couldn't taste any fishy smell. Now, whatever food she was given tasted delicious.
The woman looked around and noticed that some people were subtly watching her. She became worried and didn't dare keep the remaining two cans, fearing they would be stolen. She quickly opened another can and continued eating.
If you have food to eat first, it's better to finish it all at once if someone else tries to take the rest.
The woman looked around, then walked to a secluded corner and squatted down, curling up into a ball, head down, trying her best to block others' greedy gazes.
Meng Shiwan walked over and squatted down next to her, asking, "When did this body recycling station start existing, and when did it begin exchanging corpses for canned food?"
The woman thought for a moment, "It seems like it started after the canopy was built. Back then, they said that because of the hot weather and the slums' dirty and chaotic environment, if the bodies weren't disposed of promptly, they could rot and cause a plague, which would affect the entire base."
A body disposal station was set up within the base; whoever brought in a dead person would be rewarded with a can of food, a practice that continues to this day.
She took a bite of the canned food and mumbled, "Actually, the body recycling station was originally there to dispose of corpses collectively and prevent plagues. But later, people had fewer and fewer ways to get food, and when they couldn't get enough to eat, getting a can of food by moving corpses became our lifeline. Gradually, it turned into what it is now, where people snatch corpses whenever they see one."
If that's the case, then body recycling centers are indeed excellent.
When the canopy was erected, it should have been at the tail end of the extreme heat, before the acid rain arrived.
At that time, humanity faced severe challenges: water shortages, food scarcity, and excruciatingly high temperatures that could kill people. Many could not withstand the heat, and the daily death toll soared.
In extreme heat, corpses decompose more easily.
Dealing with these dead bodies, left unclaimed, rotting and breeding viruses, can also provide people with some food sources, offering only benefits and no drawbacks.
What Meng Shiwan didn't understand was, "Why are they giving out canned food instead of something like biscuits? Isn't meat more expensive?"
The woman's mouth was covered in meat paste, but she patiently answered the questions from the people who had given her a good meal that day.
"The base found a meat storage warehouse with a large stockpile. It's said to be strategic reserves, zombie meat hoarded from World War II. The upper class doesn't want to eat it, so it's given to us commoners."
"Eat it if you want. As long as we can live and have enough to eat, we don't care whether it's from World War II, the Qing Dynasty, or the Qin Dynasty."
Meng Shiwan pondered, "Who told you that?"
That's what everyone's saying.
Meng Shiwan fell silent. She stared at the entrance of the body recycling station as more bodies were carried over.
The corpse had a bloody hole in its chest, indicating that it had been murdered.
The people who collect the bodies check whether the person is completely dead, not caring at all how the person died. Once they confirm that the person is completely dead, they give the person who moved the body a can of food.
The bodies were frozen and thrown into the containers behind.
The shipping container was made of metal and was very tall, so you couldn't see inside or how many bodies were inside.
A chill ran from the soles of Meng Shiwan's feet to the top of her head, and she felt cold all over.
Under the current circumstances and system, is it really still just about picking up corpses?
Human beings are complex; they will do anything to fill their stomachs, to survive, or even for a can of food.
In this filthy shack, in all the slums of the Fierce Bear Base, how many killings are hidden for a single can of food?
The construction of body recycling stations was initially well-intentioned, but now, is there really any need for them to exist?
Meng Shiwan had been here for so long, and she hadn't seen any law enforcement team or anyone trying to stop her.
How much evil is hidden in this filthy slum?
Meng Shiwan thought that in her previous life, she had experienced enough, from being starving and emaciated to being killed by a horde of zombies, and had witnessed too much darkness in the apocalypse.
Now it seems that the darkness of the apocalypse is beyond her imagination.
Sai Xishi tilted her head and asked, "Wanwan, what are you looking at?"
Meng Shiwan stood up. "It's nothing, we should go."
Ye Sangyu asked, "Where to?"
Meng Shiwan: "Go and confirm something."
Upon hearing that they were leaving, the woman quickly grabbed Meng Shiwan's trouser leg with her greasy hands. "Take me with you, take me with you. I know you are not ordinary people. I can serve you and do anything you want. As long as you take me with you, I want to live."
Sai Xishi quickly went over, slapped the woman's hand away, and then patted Meng Shiwan's already dirty trouser leg.
"I told you, you're not allowed to touch Wanwan, you're not allowed to touch her, why won't you listen? Do you want to die?"
Whenever someone offends her, she assumes that the other person is jealous of her and that they are trying to smear her reputation as Sai Xishi. But now, she has surprisingly lost her temper.
The woman withdrew her hand and quickly apologized, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. I just want to stay with you and not touch you anymore. Please take me with you."
Meng Shiwan glanced at her and said, "Live well, and you'll soon see the dawn."
Seeing that Meng Shiwan had no intention of taking her away, the woman gave a helpless bitter smile, "Dawn? In this godforsaken place, in this godforsaken apocalypse, how could we possibly see dawn?"
"You will see it. Live well, and you will soon see the dawn."
After saying this, Meng Shiwan left with Ye Sangyu and Sai Xishi.
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