Chapter 47: The Small Village

Chapter 47: The Small Village

Light-colored eyes swept over Shenchi, taking in his condition at a glance. Cao Kun analyzed that he had injuries, none of them severe, but being exposed to this environment was not sustainable.

Cao Kun looked at the small patch of sky trapped by the rocks, tilting his head to peer through the gaps and getting a rough idea of the outside scene.

Cao Kun said, "It hasn't been long since the nuclear explosion."

Shenchi acknowledged with a sound. The temperature was very high, at least forty degrees. They couldn’t have slept for a day and night because the melted ice shield still had some ice chunks left. So they must have only been unconscious for five or six hours after the crash.

From what they could see, they were at a relatively safe distance from the epicenter of the nuclear blast.

Cao Kun pursed his dry, cracked lips. "We need to leave here quickly. Let's find somewhere to hide first."

Cao Kun moved his stiff wrists, twisting them vigorously, then asked Shenchi, "Can you move?"

Shenchi softly responded, slightly twisting his body in the cramped space. He then placed his hands on the ground and arched his back.

Cao Kun held his breath, concentrating all his strength in his limbs, ready like a coiled leopard.

The stifling air seemed to pause for a moment before spinning rapidly!

Cao Kun shrugged his shoulders, and an invisible force surged upward, lifting all the rocks pressing down on them. Both men rolled out simultaneously—

Immediately, an explosion rang out, and countless shards rained down. The shockwave chased after them relentlessly.

As they were about to hit the wall, the residual force slammed into them, sending them flying with a sharp crack. They nearly tumbled over the wall.

Cao Kun blocked the impact with his hand, preventing his ribs from being injured again, but his hand, already severely damaged during the plane crash, couldn’t withstand the force and fractured.

Seeing Cao Kun’s limp right hand, Shenchi guessed it was broken. He was about to help him set the bone when Cao Kun used his other hand to fiddle below for a moment, then sighed in relief, cursing, "Damn, almost lost my balls!"

Shenchi turned away with a grim face.

After worrying about his own injury, Cao Kun gripped his arm and with a snap, reset the bone himself.

Both of them were already soaked, and now covered in mud after rolling on the ground.

Shenchi didn’t dare to pat himself clean; instead, he carefully removed his shirt, flipped it inside out, and wiped his belly from top to bottom.

He wasn’t sure if radiation had spread here, though their enhanced abilities post-apocalypse would usually protect them. But caution was always wise.

Shenchi glanced around. As expected, this was a typical rural village, with only a few scattered houses and vast, barren farmland.

The fire in the distance wasn’t large, but it showed no signs of dying down. The surroundings were eerily quiet, and the commotion hadn’t attracted any attention.

If it weren’t for this, they might have been devoured by zombies while unconscious.

Cao Kun climbed up and looked down from the left side, then waved Shenchi over.

Shenchi, pondering how they would get down, walked towards Cao Kun.

A thick tree stood next to the house, about two meters away. It was roughly five meters tall, tapering from bottom to top, with a rough surface and fallen branches and leaves on the ground.

Shenchi took off his pants, flipped them inside out, and handed them to Cao Kun. He was left wearing only a vest and boxers, revealing straight, slender legs and a slightly protruding belly.

Cao Kun couldn’t help but stare, finding him incredibly sexy.

Shenchi didn’t notice Cao Kun’s gaze; in fact, he felt somewhat awkward himself.

After ensuring his shoes were tied securely, Shenchi flexed his wrists and ankles, then pushed off the wall and jumped down—

Cao Kun saw a figure flash past, the vest rising to expose a stretch of pale waist.

Shenchi grabbed the tree trunk, bowing his back to protect his belly. His muscles tensed, fingers gripping the trunk tightly, and his legs clamped around it, alternating between tight and loose. In less than five seconds, he landed on the ground.

Upon landing, Shenchi immediately scanned the surroundings. Finding nothing suspicious, he looked up at Cao Kun, just as he leaped from the rooftop onto the tree. The pant legs flapped in the wind, and his strong legs kicked against the trunk, causing the tree to sway. Then, his entire body plummeted faster than Shenchi’s!

"Of course."

Always protecting his jewels.

Exhausted, they still found a distant house to hide in.

Most houses in this small village were two- or three-story buildings, each floor spanning over a hundred square meters. They didn’t split up, knowing they were both injured and vulnerable. Encountering ordinary zombies wouldn’t be a problem, but a second-level zombie could be dangerous.

The house was covered in thick dust, showing no signs of recent activity.

Both the first and second floors had kitchens, with pots and pans scattered everywhere, not a grain of rice left, and no water running.

Shenchi went up to the third floor, locking the rooftop door and thoroughly checking every corner of the house.

Clearly, someone had searched the place, leaving things strewn about. Shenchi used a hanger to pry open the closet door among the scattered clothes, dust flying everywhere. Inside, the clothes were tossed in disarray.

Shenchi carefully removed the clothes piled on top, finding a few relatively clean ones.

The third floor had four bedrooms and a bathroom, with several stacked buckets. Each bucket contained a bit of water, but it was black and foul-smelling.

Sighing, Shenchi turned to see Cao Kun’s wounded back, remembering how he had protected him during the jump.

Sighing again, Shenchi retrieved a bottle of water from his storage space, pouring a little to avoid suspicion.

Handing the clothes and a 500 ml bottle of mineral water to Cao Kun, Shenchi raised an eyebrow. Cao Kun noticed the opened cap, drank a couple of sips, and handed it back, "Where did you get this?"

Shenchi took it and drank a few sips. "Found it under the bed in the adjacent room."

They rested in a room on the third floor with intact windows. As soon as they settled, Cao Kun’s aftereffects emerged, his hands shaking uncontrollably.

Though Cao Kun’s symptoms weren’t obvious, Shenchi, who had spent time with him, immediately noticed something was wrong.

Shenchi frowned as he watched Cao Kun fumbling to put on his shirt, shivering like an elderly man unable to take care of himself. After struggling for a while, he still couldn't get the shirt over his head. The sight of mud, split wounds, and his dangling arm only added to Shenchi's frustration.

Shenchi reached out to stop Cao Kun from continuing.

Cao Kun looked at him with questioning eyes.

Shenchi said expressionlessly, "I'll bandage you up."

As he spoke, he rummaged through the pile of clothes he had brought and pulled out a few cotton shirts, tearing them into irregular pieces of cloth. He wet the clean side and used it to wipe Cao Kun's back in one direction. With each stroke, he rolled the cloth to use the clean part again.

After using seven or eight strips of cloth and most of a bottle of water, he finally revealed fresh flesh beneath. It turned out that besides large areas of abrasions, there were also numerous sharp cuts, likely caused by wind shear.

Shenchi used the patched-together strips of cloth to secure Cao Kun's chest and helped him put on a round-neck long-sleeved T-shirt. He also tore a triangular piece of cloth and used a magazine found in the bathroom to hang Cao Kun's arm around his neck.

Cao Kun: "Thanks!"

Shenchi ignored him and walked outside, taking off his own clothes and tossing them aside to clean the dirt from his body. The dust on their bodies might be radioactive and needed to be thoroughly cleaned.

Shenchi also had several abrasions, but they were much less severe than Cao Kun's. Even so, he used a damp clean cloth to wipe his wounds, trying to prevent infection.

When he returned, Cao Kun had finished cleaning himself and was struggling to pull up his pants with one hand, probably because he wasn't wearing underwear and it was causing some discomfort. His face was contorted with pain.

Cao Kun, seeing the pants were at least three sizes too big, used strips of cloth to tighten the waist and legs.

He turned to look at Shenchi; they differed in height by eight centimeters, and Cao Kun's frame and muscles were noticeably more robust, making the clothes at least two sizes larger than what Shenchi would wear. Now, these oversized clothes looked passable on Cao Kun but gave Shenchi a boyfriend-style look.

Shenchi went over, lifted the bedsheet, wrapped it up, and threw it outside. Then he spread a clean sheet, and together with Cao Kun, tucked the corners into the mattress, smoothing it out. Shenchi then sat cross-legged on the bed.

By now, beads of sweat had formed on his forehead, and his brows were furrowed in discomfort. The wide neckline exposed a long stretch of his neck, making it appear slender and vulnerable.

"Are you feeling unwell?" Cao Kun asked, sitting on the edge of the bed, concerned about Shenchi's appearance.

Shenchi: "I'm fine, just the normal reaction from overusing my ability."

Cao Kun reached out to wipe the sweat from Shenchi's forehead, but Shenchi turned his head away, avoiding the touch.

Cao Kun: "..."

Shenchi glanced at him and said, "Go to sleep first. I need to absorb the crystal core."

Cao Kun didn't argue and lay down on the other side. "Wake me up in half an hour."

Shenchi: "Okay."

Shenchi closed his eyes, and his temples throbbed intensely, as if someone were repeatedly stabbing him with a needle. All the nerves connected to this area were stimulated, sending waves of pain throughout his head, making it feel like it was about to explode.

Shenchi knew this was the aftermath of overusing his ability, and he would continue to experience this state for the next few days, unable to use his ability during that time.

He took out a crystal core from his pocket, which he had previously taken from his storage space and placed there. Both his and Cao Kun's backpacks were left behind in Wanqian City, along with the crystal cores they had collected. However, Shenchi believed Cao Kun wouldn't keep all their resources in one place, so he could tell him this was one he had kept in his pocket.

Indeed, the difference was that the crystal core he had kept in his pocket had already disappeared.

Shenchi slowly relaxed his body and calmed his mind. As his breath became longer, he could hear more sounds around him, making the environment increasingly noisy.

The crystal core in his palm slowly floated upward. Shenchi felt as if he had entered a semi-mystical, semi-real state. He could sense the energy within the crystal core being absorbed and refined, gradually repairing the cracked meridians in his body. Although the healing process was slow, the suffocating exhaustion began to ease.

At the same time, he could hear the sounds outside, forming a vague three-dimensional image in his mind without any specific form, only indistinct shadows.

Half an hour later, the crystal core turned to powder. Shenchi, now a level-two ability user, no longer needed hours to absorb a level-one crystal core.

Shenchi woke Cao Kun up. Cao Kun opened his eyes, looked at Shenchi, and tried to sit up but suddenly felt dizzy.

Shenchi held him steady, frowning slightly when he touched Cao Kun's feverish skin. "You have a fever."

"A low fever, nothing serious," Cao Kun said, supporting himself to sit up. "Get some rest. When you wake up, we'll find something to eat."

Shenchi had no better solution. He handed another crystal core from his pocket to Cao Kun and lay down, falling asleep instantly.

Author's note:

Thank you, little angels, for watering the nutrient fluid!

Thank you to the readers "Shi Di" for watering +10 bottles of nutrient fluid! And to the reader "Bai Tu who doesn't like white radishes" for watering +1 bottle!

Thank you very much for your support. I will continue to work hard! ^_^