Chapter 546: Chapter 546

Li Dayou spoke weakly, "No matter how many eggs it lays, that’s a token of goodwill from the higher-ups. Besides, we failed to deliver the mission items to their destination, misappropriated them, and even necessitated a rescue operation—this already counts as a failure. If we make it back alive this time, we’ll have to formally apologize and accept our punishment."

Wang Dan, while massaging the fat chicken, swallowed hard and said, "Ah, Captain, about what you’re saying... I just can’t help but notice how meaty this chicken is. Its flesh is as firm and plentiful as tendon meat, tsk tsk. Just look at these wings; they could feed quite a few of us." Wang Dan then moved his hand to the chicken’s thigh and shook his head again. "Look at these drumsticks, they’re as thick as my arms! If only we could treat ourselves to a big plate of chicken..."

The fat chicken under his hands suddenly stiffened. It wasn’t Tang Seng; why did everyone want to eat its meat? Weren’t the eggs good enough?

The fat chicken clucked, flapping wildly and pecking Wang Dan a few times. Wang Dan yelled out in pain but didn’t dare retaliate against the precious bird.

Flapping its wings, the fat chicken found its owner, Jing Shu. Whimpering, it rushed over, its claws flailing—although it had only been away from its owner for a short while, it missed her terribly.

"Owner, you’re finally here! WUUU, there are always rascals here wanting to eat chicken! I want to go home!" The fat chicken clung to Jing Shu’s leg, crying out.

Jing Shu raised an eyebrow, comforted the traumatized fat chicken, then asked, "I hear someone wants to eat my chicken?"

In the dim light, a woman stood silhouetted against it. She carried a huge box and a large bag, looking very much like a walking cache of supplies. Dressed in warm, thick clothes, she seemed like a deity descended, bringing endless hope.

Li Dayou said with pleasant surprise, "This... this is someone sent by the higher-ups..."

Before he could finish, a voice interjected, "Report! The higher-ups sent another person down! They just crashed into Ergazi’s house, and some Compressed Biscuits were lost. After some chaos, the villagers of Ga Mountain Valley grabbed what food they could, and then they couldn’t find... find..." The speaker trailed off as he noticed the woman with numerous bags who had suddenly appeared on their boat, but he still finished quietly, "...couldn’t find her anymore." For more chapters visıt 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩~𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖~𝙣𝙚𝙩

The boat crew finally understood: the woman standing before them was the one dispatched by the higher-ups.

Wang Dan, clutching his hand, asked awkwardly, "This... this is your chicken?"

Jing Shu stroked the chicken’s head. She looked up at the group of people in tattered clothes, so thin they were just skin and bones, looking as if a gust of wind could blow them away. She raised an eyebrow and said, "Otherwise?"

How are these people even thinner than the villagers outside?

Wang Dan grew even more embarrassed. "Please, don’t be angry. We... we were just fantasizing a bit. It’s been so long since we’ve had chicken, so we were just imagining. The higher-ups didn’t say we could kill a chicken to eat; we wouldn’t dare... Right, how should we address you? My name is Wang Dan. This is our transport team leader, Li Dayou, and these seven are the remaining members of our transport team. Three other members unfortunately died during this mission."

Jing Shu frowned. "My name is Jing Shu."

"Jing Shu?" someone exclaimed.

"She’s the primary target of our transport mission!" another chimed in.

"She’s the owner of these Seeds, the one who has performed a great service, the person who helped our country save many rare Seeds!" a third added.

Reverent and admiring gazes fell upon her from all around.

Li Dayou was helped to his feet, his large, distended belly prominent. He saluted and said, "Fortunately, we haven’t completely failed our duty! We protected these Seeds and have finally awaited your arrival!"

Jing Shu sighed. She knew how arduous the journey must have been. They had run out of food and water midway; persevering through such desperate circumstances was incredibly difficult. If they hadn’t guarded these Seeds so well, they could have eaten them when they encountered hardships on the road and then tried to find another way to survive.

"Why do you all look even weaker than the villagers outside? What happened along the way?" Jing Shu frowned, looking at Li Dayou, who seemed on the verge of collapsing. "How did you end up ? Didn’t you have Seeds to eat?"

Wang Dan quickly interjected to explain, "These Seeds are very precious; we couldn’t bear to eat them. We had to inspect their condition every day. In the end, we only picked out a few bad ones—those that were moldy or had sprouted—to eat. The captain said that as the one responsible for this transport, he absolutely couldn’t eat the Seeds, not even the bad ones."

"I know he couldn’t bring himself to eat them; he gave most of the spoiled ones to the people of Ga Mountain Valley. The captain, he survived by eating dirt. Day after day, the dirt wouldn’t digest, and recently, he can barely stomach it anymore. If your rescue hadn’t come... I’m afraid..."

No wonder his belly was so big! It was distended from eating dirt. Jing Shu’s expression changed slightly, her gaze softening as she looked at them. These admirable people were protecting these Seeds with their very lives.

Li Dayou shot Wang Dan a glare, then said, "Go with Miss Jing Shu to inspect the Seeds. We’ve lost some over this time. Then, explain what has happened to us over the past six months. Please, Miss Jing Shu, understand that our mission failed due to uncontrollable forces of nature, but we will still take responsibility for our part."

Wang Dan hesitated for a moment, then said, "Alright. Xiao Zhao, you take care of the captain. I’ll help Miss Jing Shu get familiar with the situation."

Jing Shu waved her hand. Since the Seeds had been found, it didn’t matter now if some were moldy, spoiled, or had been eaten; they couldn’t be recovered. The immediate situation was more pressing. So, she said, "That can wait. Didn’t I have the chicken come down first with a batch of Compressed Biscuits? It was clearly announced over the loudspeaker: fill your stomachs first and wait for rescue. Why didn’t you eat?"

Wang Dan said, looking a bit sheepish, "We just counted the Compressed Biscuits and estimated when you might next be able to bring supplies. The captain said that such a small amount, even dissolved in water, wouldn’t be enough for everyone for more than a few days, so we had to ration it... He said tonight we should dissolve them in water, mix it with dirt, and share it with the villagers of Ga Mountain Valley."

Jing Shu was speechless. They were practically starving to death; couldn’t they have eaten at least a little? She had lived through fourteen years of the apocalypse and had rarely encountered people so... so incredibly selfless. Yet, it was precisely because of such self-sacrificing individuals that the country could survive in these times.

Li Dayou chuckled. "Don’t we have Aunt Wang, the cook? No matter what it is, edible or not, once it’s in her hands, she can turn it into something edible. We’ve relied heavily on her during this time."

Jing Shu waved her hand. "Alright, your mission is considered complete. Now, just wait for rescue from the higher-ups. I’m hungry too. Let’s eat first, and then you can properly explain the situation here to me."

Li Dayou pondered for a moment, then nodded. "Go call Aunt Wang to cook. Hmm, just dissolve the biscuits in water and boil them. And ask the villagers if we can borrow a few roof beams for Fuel."

Over the past six months, they had burned everything that could be used for heating. Ever since they ended up in this wave-battered place, they had started dismantling houses, taking apart anything that could serve as Fuel.