After changing clothes, Qi Heng lifted the cloth curtain and stepped out in front of Yan Ning.
Yan Ning stared at him for quite a while before finally reacting.
“Brother Qi, you look really good dressed like that.”
“The clothes fit well. Thank you.”
Qi Heng raised an eyebrow and accepted Yan Ning’s rather extravagant compliment.
“You’re welcome. I’m glad they fit.”
Yan Ning looked a little embarrassed. He scratched the back of his head, tilted his face up toward Qi Heng, and said:
“I wanted to say this when we first met. Brother Qi, you’re really tall.”
Qi Heng smiled without replying.
He had never thought much about his height. Being over 1.8 meters tall was certainly considered tall, but it had been perfectly ordinary in the region where he used to live.
As far as he remembered, the Zerg’s average height was not particularly low either. Yet the Zerg here were generally more than ten centimeters shorter than him.
Thinking of the “food” Yan Ning had taken out earlier, Qi Heng suspected that inadequate nutrition was probably the cause.
The Zerg diet was similar to that of humans, though they had a stronger preference for meat. Plant roots were mostly starch. How could that provide enough nutrition for proper physical development?
Countless thoughts raced through Qi Heng’s mind, though hardly any time passed in reality.
“Ah! I almost forgot I was supposed to cook.”
Qi Heng returned to his senses just in time to hear Yan Ning exclaim. Before he could say anything, Yan Ning had already hurried past him and rushed back into the house.
Qi Heng looked over.
Yan Ning ran to the stove and set a smoothly polished stone pot over it. Then he took two white stones, each about the size of a pebble, from his pocket and struck them together above and below several thin pieces of wood he had placed inside the stove.
His movements were smooth and practiced. It was obvious that he did this often.
Were those flints?
Qi Heng was still considering the possibility when a sizable flame suddenly appeared between the two stones. It immediately licked fiercely across the wood, which began to crackle as it burned.
Qi Heng looked faintly surprised.
If those really were flints, was the size of that flame not a little excessive?
Yan Ning did not notice the confusion on his face. He tossed one of the stones into the stove, and the flames grew even larger.
Although they had started a fire indoors, one side of the stove had been built up with packed earth to form a chimney that directed the smoke outside. Very little smoke remained inside the house.
Under Qi Heng’s watchful gaze, Yan Ning took out a stone knife that had been sharpened to an edge no less keen than metal. With several rapid chops, he cut the roots into small pieces and threw them into the pot. He then scooped a ladleful of water from a barrel nearly half his height and poured it in.
Once he had finished, Yan Ning dusted off his hands.
“All done.”
“Now we only have to wait for it to cook.”
As he spoke, Yan Ning turned around and found Qi Heng staring at the pot with apparent curiosity.
“Brother Qi, have you eaten blue cassava before? It actually tastes pretty good when it’s cooked this way.”
Qi Heng fell silent for a moment, considering how to evade the question. Then he heard the second half and changed his answer.
“I’ve never eaten it, but I’ve seen it before.”
So it was blue cassava.
Now that Yan Ning had named it, Qi Heng remembered.
During the early development of the Zerg civilization, blue cassava had been used as a staple food to fill people’s stomachs. Later, he had even ordered research into increasing its yield, leading to the development of many related products.
After ten thousand years of painstaking progress, everything had returned to where it began overnight.
Even the method of eating it had regressed to its earliest form.
“Oh. Then try some first, Brother Qi, and see whether you can get used to it.”
Yan Ning gave a dry laugh while inwardly worrying himself sick.
Blue cassava was the only food left in the house. Yet anyone could tell from Brother Qi’s appearance that he must have lived very well before. It was perfectly understandable if he had never eaten blue cassava or looked down on it.
After all, given a choice, other foods certainly tasted better.
If it came to that, Yan Ning would have to find some other food later.
He remembered his older brother once saying that edible animals could be found in that place, provided they could catch one…
Yan Ning propped his cheeks in both hands and stared blankly at the pot.
“Don’t overthink it,” Qi Heng said.
Everything Yan Ning was thinking was written plainly across his face. Qi Heng found it difficult to pretend he had not noticed.
“I’m not that particular about food,” he reassured him.
“But you must have lived very well before, Brother Qi,” Yan Ning said hesitantly.
Qi Heng’s fair skin and healthy complexion made it obvious that he had never performed heavy or exhausting labor. Even the way he carried himself and spoke was different from everyone here.
Perhaps he resembled the district chief a little?
No, no.
The district chief was nowhere near Brother Qi’s level. Brother Qi had a better temperament and was much better-looking.
“You could say that,” Qi Heng replied.
Even Qi Heng could not bring himself to claim that his current life was better than his previous one.
While they spoke, the food in the pot finished cooking.
Yan Ning removed the lid, revealing a soft, thoroughly cooked porridge-like mixture inside. He filled a bowl and handed it to Qi Heng first.
“Brother Qi, you eat first.”
“Thank you.”
The contents of the bowl looked much like food prepared for an infant.
Fortunately, Qi Heng had already prepared himself mentally. He scooped up a spoonful, blew on it until it cooled, and placed it in his mouth.
In truth, he was also rather curious about what food from the game tasted like.
The texture was soft and slightly grainy. Blue cassava possessed a mild natural saltiness, so the porridge tasted reasonably good.
It was indeed worthy of being called the “miraculous plant” that had once supported half the civilization single-handedly during its earliest era.
After eating several spoonfuls, Qi Heng asked:
“Yan Ning, I’d like to walk around the area later. Is that all right?”
Yan Ning froze for a moment before quickly answering:
“Of course it is.”
“But…”
“But what?” Qi Heng asked.
Yan Ning raised his wrist to show him a metal tag tied in place with a cord.
“This. I don’t think I saw one on your wrist.”
“If the patrol sees someone outside without identification, they’ll report it to the district chief.”
Qi Heng: “?”
Yan Ning’s words surprised him.
Even a slum had a district chief. From the sound of it, the position also carried responsibility for governing the area.
And then there was the matter of identification.
It was not that Qi Heng looked down on the current Zerg, but considering the state to which they had fallen, he had not expected them to still possess identification documents.
Furthermore, the object tied around Yan Ning’s wrist with a cord looked less like identification and more like a numbered tag.
The sense of incongruity was overwhelming.
Without making his scrutiny obvious, Qi Heng examined the metal tag around Yan Ning’s wrist.
It was a standardized, mass-produced industrial item. A string of recessed serial numbers had even been stamped into its surface.
It was yet another object that should not have existed in their present surroundings.
“I lost mine on the way here,” Qi Heng said without changing expression.
His wrists were completely bare. He wore no ornaments at all, let alone anything like that.
“Then that’s bad.”
Yan Ning frowned anxiously, never once considering the possibility that Qi Heng might be lying.
“We were seen when we came in through the entrance. The patrol must already know about you. They might even come here soon.”
“Would being taken to the district chief be serious?” Qi Heng asked.
Compared with Yan Ning’s anxiety, he appeared exceptionally calm.
“I don’t know.”
Yan Ning shook his head, then seemed to remember something.
“But my older brother said it was best not to become involved with the patrol…”
“Ah! I remember now.”
“I think I put my brother’s tag away.”
Yan Ning hurried over to the bedding where the Zerg egg rested and searched through it. After a moment, he pulled out a cord threaded through a metal tag.
It resembled the one around his own wrist, though it was considerably older.
“I found it.”
“Brother Qi, see whether you can wear this.”
Qi Heng looked at the metal tag Yan Ning had pressed into his hand. Despite its age, it had been carefully preserved.
“This belonged to your brother. Shouldn’t you ask him first?”
Yan Ning’s expression dimmed. He shook his head.
“There’s no need. My brother is gone…”
“I see.”
Realizing that his question had touched upon something painful, Qi Heng did not press further.
“I’ll take good care of it.”
He tied the cord securely around his wrist.
At the same time, he understood that he now owed Yan Ning yet another favor.
Still, he had no real reason to refuse. Until he had a clearer understanding of the situation, coming into contact with the patrol or the district chief Yan Ning had mentioned would not be a good idea.
“Yan Ning.”
“Mm?”
Yan Ning looked at him in confusion, his clear emerald eyes resembling those of a cat.
Qi Heng understood that his public identity was a problem. Before anyone else noticed something suspicious, he and Yan Ning needed to agree on a story.
The metal tag had provided him with the perfect excuse.
“Tell everyone that I’m someone you’ve accepted as an older brother.”
Yan Ning let out a startled “Ah,” unable to believe what he had heard.
Qi Heng continued:
“If anyone asks, say that I left another district and had nowhere to go. Then I happened to meet you, and you took me in.”
“While I’m staying here, if you’re willing, I wouldn’t mind having a younger brother.”
Qi Heng was not the kind of person who could simply ignore kindness offered to him.
Since he could not pretend not to see everything Yan Ning had done, he might as well accept it openly and repay him in other ways later.
What kind of grown man hesitated and fussed over something like this?
If he wanted to do it, he should simply do it.
“Do you understand?” he asked gently.
Yan Ning nodded in a daze.
The expression on his face reminded Qi Heng of the stray cats that used to live beneath his apartment building. Without thinking much about it, Qi Heng reached out and ruffled Yan Ning’s hair.
“I’m going out to gather some perilla leaves. Your egg needs to be soaked in a liquid made by boiling them before he can recover.”
Qi Heng still roughly remembered what perilla leaves looked like. He had also noticed quite a few growing along the roadside on their way back.
However, he would need a large quantity, so gathering enough would take some time.
Yan Ning had still been dazed, but the moment Qi Heng mentioned the egg, he immediately returned to his senses.
Confused and anxious, he asked:
“What are perilla leaves? Can they really save the little one? Is there anything I can do to help?”
“I’ll go with you.”
Seeing how flustered Yan Ning had become, Qi Heng sighed helplessly.
“You’re staying here.”
“I…”
“If you come with me, who will look after him?”
Qi Heng pointed toward the Zerg egg.
“We won’t be able to work while carrying him around.”
“Besides, curing him is something I promised you. I can manage it by myself.”
Yan Ning still wanted to argue, but under Qi Heng’s gaze, his resistance gradually faded.
He finally nodded.
“I understand. I’ll stay.”
Twenty minutes later, Qi Heng left Yan Ning’s house and turned right.
On the system map visible only to him, two locations had been marked with red circles.
One was the dead-egg pit.
The other was Yan Ning’s home.
Naturally, gathering perilla leaves was not Qi Heng’s only objective.
It was a little after nine in the morning, leaving approximately seven or eight hours before nightfall.
He could use that time to investigate the surrounding area and gain a clear understanding of the local environment.
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