Chapter 51: Insane Talk, Humanity’s Last Hope
Su Ling dodged the figure, and it collided with Guan Yuxin instantly.
Guan Yuxin stumbled backward and let out a cry.
Su Ling hurried over and helped Guan Yuxin up.
Only then did they see that the person was a ragged beggar. His black clothes were covered in dirt, and his face was obscured by a heavy beard. His hair was a mess, making it hard to tell much about him except that he was a male.
Knowing he was human, Su Ling relaxed a bit.
The man lifted his head, and his eyes shone with a strange light as he looked at Su Ling.
In that moment of eye contact, Su Ling inexplicably felt as if those eyes were emitting two beams of X-rays, penetrating through her skin and flesh, exposing her completely.
She took a step back involuntarily.
"Are you okay?"
The man didn't answer but continued staring at Su Ling.
A sense of oppression emanated from those dark bright eyes, making Su Ling feel suffocated.
Guan Yuxin was already annoyed after being bumped, and seeing the beggar staring at Su Ling like that, she couldn't help but fire back, "What are you looking at? Haven't you seen a beautiful woman before? Stare too much, and I'll gouge your eyeballs out."
The man seemed intimidated by Guan Yuxin's words and pulled his neck back into his clothes, then mumbled.
"Panlong Island, mother of the Earth, humanity's last hope."
"What did you say?"
Guan Yuxin didn't catch it clearly, feeling that the man's speech was muddled and unclear.
On the other hand, Su Ling experienced something different.
Not only did she hear the man's words clearly, but she also felt her heart skip a beat, as if it had momentarily stopped.
The man got up from the ground, suddenly raised both hands, and shouted loudly, "Panlong Island, mother of the Earth, hope has come!"
Guan Yuxin was startled by the sudden outburst.
Han Qiang heard the voice and immediately ran over with Geng Hao.
"What's going on?"
Su Ling pointed at the beggar, who was still loudly repeating, "Panlong Island, mother of the Earth, humanity's hope has come. Hahaha, hope has come."
After saying that, the man ran away without looking back.
Guan Yuxin finally understood what he was shouting about and became puzzled. "What does this mean?"
Geng Hao said, "Don't bother. He seems mentally unstable. He might be a madman."
Sheng Hongye didn't say anything; his eyes slightly narrowed, showing a thoughtful demeanor.
"Do you have any thoughts?" Su Ling asked.
Sheng Hongye snapped out of it instantly. "No, perhaps he's really mentally unstable. Let's continue looking for things."
Su Ling acknowledged with an "oh," but she felt that the situation wasn't as simple as Sheng Hongye made it out to be.
"Let's go upstairs to find some things. We'll meet downstairs later."
Sheng Hongye glanced at the damaged elevator and the dark building and said, worriedly, "I'll accompany you. It may not be safe even during the day."
Guan Yuxin quickly nudged Su Ling with her elbow, giving her a meaningful look.
Su Ling rolled her eyes at her and said, "It's alright, we can handle it ourselves. You guys search for supplies."
Guan Yuxin said, "It's you who said it's okay, not me. Just now, when that beggar jumped out, he scared me half to death. Mr. Sheng, if you don't have any pressing matters, you should come with us."
"Okay."
Sheng Hongye said and climbed up the dilapidated stairs.
Su Ling looked at Guan Yuxin speechlessly and quickly followed.
As it turned out, Guan Yuxin's choice was correct.
Although several buildings above were intact, the doors were all locked. Without Sheng Hongye, they wouldn't be able to open them. It was much simpler with him around.
With a swift kick, the door swung open easily, and Guan Yuxin enthusiastically rushed in. After thoroughly searching several rooms, she had already collected a large bag of loot.
Among the loot were shampoo, body wash, and some facial skincare products. She also found some personal items like sanitary pads and tampons.
Soon, it was already noon, and Sheng Hongye whistled to signal everyone to return.
Today had been relatively fortunate; almost everyone came back with a full load of supplies. They organized the items and put them in the trunk. Suddenly, Geng Hao remembered something and took out a package.
"Sister Su Ling, you wanted seeds, right? I'm not sure if these are what you're looking for, so I brought them all."
Su Ling opened the paper package, and a hint of joy appeared on her face.
"These are seeds, cucumber seeds. Are there any more?"
Geng Hao scratched his head apologetically, "There are no more; just this package."
Su Ling smiled and said, "Even one package is good. I'll try planting them when we go back. Maybe they'll sprout."
As he gazed at her crescent-like eyes, Geng Hao was momentarily stunned.
"Sister Su Ling, you look really beautiful when you smile."
Though Su Ling saw Geng Hao as a child, she still blushed at the compliment.
"What's beautiful? I'm almost middle-aged."
Geng Hao chuckled, "That's not true. In my eyes, Sister Su Ling is an angel, always."
Guan Yuxin playfully tapped his forehead. "Alright, enough sweet talk. Let's get in the car."
Twenty minutes later, the group returned to the base.
As soon as they entered the yard, a burnt odor reached their noses, and thick smoke billowed from the house.
Han Qiang quickly jumped out of the car. "Is something on fire?"
Professor Bai was squatting in the shade, covering his mouth.
"It's Miss Li cooking. It just got a bit intense."
Guan Yuxin laughed. "Professor Bai, you're using quite an euphemism. ‘Intense' wouldn't be enough to describe it."
Li Xueying heard the sound of the car and immediately rushed out of the house.
"Brother Ye, I was trying to cook porridge, but it got burnt. I'm sorry."
Sheng Hongye glanced at the house and said calmly, "It's okay. Let's have some fast food for dinner tonight."
Li Xueying immediately turned to Su Ling. "Actually, we don't need to have fast food. Since Miss Su and Miss Guan are back, we can ask them to cook again."
Su Ling raised her clear eyes and said without reservation, "We agreed to take turns cooking. Why should I do it again?"
Li Xueying immediately argued, "I'm just learning to cook. It won't kill you to cook one more meal."
Su Ling retorted, "Would it kill you to learn to cook?"
Regretting agreeing to merge with the group, Su Ling was now even considering leaving if things escalated.
It might be a good opportunity to leave if a real quarrel broke out.
Li Xueying was about to speak, but Sheng Hongye had already reprimanded her.
"Don't complain without even trying to learn. Let's just have fast food for lunch."
Li Xueying immediately closed her mouth, feeling a strong sense of crisis in her heart.
She glared at Su Ling's back with resentment, then suddenly clutched her chest.
"Brother Ye, I feel so uncomfortable..."