Chapter 147
Su Shi was in a hurry to confirm his hunch, so he immediately took the key from around his neck and put it into Yuan Zheng’s hand.
After having the key stuffed into his hand, all the things that he wanted to say got caught in his throat. Yuan Zheng chuckled softly as he looked at the silent urging in Su Shi’s black eyes. His tone was still as gentle and indulgent as before when he said, “So anxious? Then wait here. I’ll go and see [if I can find some cocoa powder]…”
Before he could finish speaking, Su Shi had already nimbly escaped his arms, dove back under the quilt, and wrapped himself into a spring roll.
Unexpectedly, his status was not comparable to that of hot cocoa. Yuan Zheng finally couldn’t help laughing. He stood up with a good temper and teased Su Shi with a smile: “You’re so eager to rush me out the door. Does that mean you don’t want to eat noodles anymore?”
Support the translator. Read this on vmnovels (dot) com
Hearing him mention noodles, Su Shi could not help but be tempted. He was about to change his mind, but then his expression collapsed.
Dr. Dark helped him clean the pot, but he didn’t have time to bring it with him when they left Base B. Most likely, the pot got blown up along with the laboratory.
Over the past few days, Yuan Zheng has already mastered the ability to read Su Shi even when he was silent. He bent over curiously and took measure of Su Shi’s expression. He sat back down on the bed and rubbed the young man’s head. “Is the pot really lost? It doesn’t matter. I’m going to the supermarket anyways. I’ll bring a few more pots back for you, all right?”
[T/N: Omg, the puns with the pot in the last two paragraphs… LMAO]
“I’ll go too.” Su Shi said.
He would be more reassured if he were to carry the pot himself. Su Shi immediately cheered up, jumped off the bed, pulled out his clothes, and put them on neatly. The small pitcher plant that he was carrying with him shook, and suddenly poured out a lot of bottles and jars. He pushed them all to Yuan Zheng.
His sudden movements surprised Yuan Zheng. The man picked up a reagent bottle and looked at it. His expression changed slightly: “Where did this come from?”
“The lab. I took all the useful ones.”
Su Shi concentrated on vacating the inner space of the pitcher plant. Once he was satisfied, he twisted his hand and turned the plant back into a seed to store it away. Then he grabbed Yuan Zheng’s wrist.
Facing the rare nervous expectation in those eyes, even Yuan Zheng couldn’t help but wonder what the hot cocoa tasted like. When Su Shi grabbed his wrist and led the way, Yuan Zheng felt inexplicably content. He couldn’t help raising the corners of his lips. With a flip of his hand, he firmly took hold of the young man’s hand, and helped him ward off the nighttime chill.
The two went to the supermarket at night and brought back a lot of pots, but they couldn’t find any cocoa powder.
After the apocalypse, factories in various places shrunk dramatically, and after barely restoring stability and restarting production, a large number of unnecessary production lines were also stopped, and everything was transformed into infinite practicality.
Translations are by vmnovels [dot] com, if you’re reading this anywhere else, then it was stolen.
Chocolate could be counted as a necessity to carry around to replenish physical strength. But drinks such as cocoa powder that needed additional brewing and preparation have long disappeared in the supermarkets of post-apocalyptic times.
Su Shi didn’t want to give up. He went around the supermarket a few times before finally have to face the reality, and was led back listlessly by Yuan Zheng.
“No worries. This is just one supermarket. Perhaps there is some base out there that is still producing cocoa powder. I will continue to look for it.”
It was the first time that he saw a feeling of despair and discouragement in those eyes, but it made the whole person seem to have a more vivid and lively aura.
Yuan Zheng had a helpless and warm smile in his eyes. He rubbed Su Shi’s head comfortingly, took the person into his arms, and skillfully cooked noodles for him.
Although Yuan Zheng didn’t know why the young man cared so much about hot cocoa, since the two of them came back, Mu Shi no longer resisted his overtures. The young man even took the initiative to come over to him when he was cold or hungry, which made Yuan Zheng feel very gratified.
Yuan Zheng added two ham sausages to the instant noodles. He also found a package of unexpired cheese from the supermarket and specially added a slice for the young man.
[T/N: It might sound weird to add cheese to instant noodles, but since cheese is a dairy product, it thickens up the soup base and makes it seem richer. It adds a cheesy scent to the noodles though, so some people might like it and some might not.]
The heat was roaring. Translucent drops of water sparkled on the windowpanes.
Su Shi could not help looking at it. After staring for a while, he turned his head to meet Yuan Zheng’s gaze.
“What’s going on outside? Are they still chasing you guys?”
These days, they’ve been staying inside the Unbounded City. Life was very comfortable here and there were enough supplies to go around. The team members got along very well with the residents of the city. In this cold post-apocalyptic world, this place was almost like a real paradise.
But Su Shi knew very well that Yuan Zheng was still thinking about matters outside of the Unbounded City.
They were the first generation of children born into the post-apocalyptic world. Ever since Yuan Zheng was a child, the base has been cultivating him to become a guardian. So even thought the base betrayed him, he was till unable ot let go of his responsibilities.
Translations by Vanilla Muse.
No matter how rotten the upper management was, the lower-ranking soldiers and residents were mostly innocent. People were all struggling to survive in the cold winter with no hope in sight. The cruel environment led to icy, ruthless laws, but it still could not kill off the emotional connection between people.
Seeing the concern in the young man’s eyes, Yuan Zheng was slightly stunned. His brows eased and he handed Su Shi the cooked noodles.
“It’s strange. There’s been no news recently. The base even completely blocked all exits and stopped all outgoing missions. It’s as if something had happened on the inside.”
Thinking of the promise that Dr. Dark made to him back then, Su Shi’s eyes narrowed slight. After calculating the passage of time, he had a good inkling of what was going on.
“I was sent to the laboratory. When I was half awake, I heard that Dr. Dark and Sun Shuo had some conspiracy…”
As soon as he finished speaking, his body went tense as he wrapped his arms around himself, making it seem like he had suddenly remembered something. Then he gradually relaxed again.
However, Su Shi didn’t plan to tell him to just avoid him. He put down the pot and stood up, meeting Yuan Zheng’s vaguely complicated gaze.
“I know very well what he plans to do. You must go back and save Base B, otherwise it will become a second hell.”