strictlysupreme Chapter 6 Rest and Food
Chapter 6 Rest and Food
Su Qingyuan probably sensed what he meant.
Her index finger was wrapped around Jiang Che's thumb, and she didn't let go.
Her gaze was fixed straight ahead, her pace steady, as if nothing had just happened.
But the color on the tips of her ears never faded; instead, it deepened, turning from pink into a color close to red.
The two of them moved forward silently, leaning on each other, awkwardly, step by step.
The rear guard passed them.
The young armed man glanced at them, his gaze lingering on Su Qingyuan's face for a moment before quickly looking away—probably because he didn't dare to look at the face of a superhuman for too long.
He didn't realize that all his attention was now focused on one thing—not falling.
If he falls now, Su Qingyuan will definitely be pulled down with him, and the two of them will fall together on the gravel road, a scene so comical it would be like a post-apocalyptic comedy.
He would be so embarrassed by this that he would want to crawl into a hole and disappear.
"Can you walk?" Su Qingyuan suddenly asked.
"Yes," Jiang Che said.
"Then why are you leaning all over me?"
"...I didn't," Jiang Che said.
But he found that he had unknowingly put most of his weight on Su Qingyuan, like a drunkard leaning against a wall.
He quickly braced himself against the outside, but his right knee buckled suddenly, and he almost fell.
Su Qingyuan pulled him back again.
"Don't be stubborn," she said. Her voice wasn't loud, but it carried a "If you dare let go again, I'll tie you to me" implication.
Jiang Che dared not move again.
He was half-dragged and half-carried by Su Qingyuan as they walked through the ruins.
The entire ruined city resembled a giant tomb, and they were like tiny, still-living insects crawling within it.
Finally, an open area appeared ahead.
At the end of the ruins was a field—overgrown with waist-high weeds, swaying in the wind like a gray sea.
Zhao Lie had already led the vanguard to clear a path, the wild grass was flattened and shimmered with a silvery-white luster under the moonlight.
"It will be easier to walk once we reach open ground," Su Qingyuan said, a hint of relief finally appearing in her voice.
Jiang Che nodded.
His right knee was numb with pain, and the wound on his left shoulder was bleeding again, but his eyes were still looking ahead.
He knew that tonight's experience would be etched into his very bones.
The old man died in front of him.
It wasn't because he was running slowly, it was because he was alone, because no one in the convoy was waiting for him.
Su Qingyuan was still supporting him.
Her hand was still clasped on his shoulder blade, and her body heat still emanated through his clothes.
He knew this wouldn't last forever, and might not even last very long.
But now, at this very moment, in the early hours of this late autumn morning, someone is helping him walk forward.
Jiang Che took a deep breath and opened the system panel in his mind.
Current favorability rating: 35. 19 points away from 50.
He needs to accumulate 50 points as soon as possible to exchange for [Basic Constitution Enhancement].
I don't fight to become stronger; I fight so that I won't be a burden to others anymore.
It was so that next time Su Qingyuan wouldn't have to help him walk, and he could walk side by side with her.
Even—able to walk ahead of her.
The group quickened their pace in the morning light.
As the eastern horizon begins to lighten, the most active period for the Shadow Ghosts is about to pass.
But no one stopped to celebrate the safety, because everyone knew that night would soon fall again.
Jiang Che slowly shifted his weight away from Su Qingyuan.
It wasn't out of bravado; I genuinely felt that I had regained some strength.
Su Qingyuan sensed his change and loosened her grip slightly, but not completely.
Her fingers were still loosely clasped around his arm, as if to make sure he wouldn't suddenly collapse.
They walked on like that, without saying a word.
But Jiang Che noticed something—Su Qingyuan's pace had been matching his rhythm from the moment they started.
It wasn't him following her; it was her following him.
He kept this discovery to himself and didn't say it aloud.
Some words lose their meaning once spoken.
【苏清鸢对宿主好感度+2×2亲密度＋1×2。当前好感值：39，亲密度：9。】
As dawn broke, Zhao Lie finally relented and ordered the troops to stop.
It wasn't out of kindness.
The road ahead was blocked by a landslide, and the advance team needed time to clear it.
Zhao Lie, grumbling, gave the order: "Rest for an hour. Eat and drink as usual, and don't wander off."
As soon as the words were spoken, everyone seemed to have lost their bones, collapsing in twos and threes by the roadside.
Some people lay down flat, some leaned against their backpacks with their eyes closed, and some shakily took out half a block of compressed rations and nibbled on it.
Jiang Che leaned against the slope of the roadbed, his right knee swollen and shiny.
He rolled up his trouser leg and took a look—his knee was deformed, and the bruises under the skin were frighteningly purple.
He rolled up his trouser legs, not wanting anyone to see.
Hunger felt like a claw digging upwards from his stomach.
He finished half a piece of compressed rations last night.
I didn't eat anything this morning, I just drank a couple of sips of water.
My stomach feels empty, and I can hear the stomach walls rubbing together.
He closed his eyes and opened the system panel.
Current favorability rating: 39
39 points. Temporary enhancement costs 30 points and lasts for 60 seconds.
But what he lacks now is not fighting ability, but the most basic things to survive—food, water, and medicine.
He mentally opened the redemption section and found the item:
"Basic Supply Replenishment - Requires 15 Affinity Points (Compressed Rations x3, Disinfectant Tablets x5, Bandage x1)"
3 PM.
I gritted my teeth and changed it.
"15 favor points have been used to exchange for basic supplies. Items have been distributed."
Jiang Che reached inside his coat—there was an inner pocket there, bulging and bulging, though he didn't know when it had appeared.
He touched the hard edges of the compressed grain, the aluminum foil packaging of the pills, and the soft feel of the bandages.
He didn't dare take it out to look at it. He just counted them one by one with his fingers.
Three pieces of compressed rations, five pills, and a roll of bandages.
There weren't many things, but his hands were trembling when he held them.
It wasn't because I was moved. It was because I was hungry.
He looked down and around. Everyone nearby was busy with their own things, and no one paid him any attention.
He quickly pulled a piece of compressed food from the inner bag, stuffed it into his mouth, and took a big bite.
Hard, dry.
Like gnawing on a brick.
But the moment the taste of grain spread in his mouth, his stomach clenched violently, like a starving beast finally smelling blood.
He practically swallowed it whole, stuffing the entire block of compressed rations into his stomach in just a few gulps.
I'm still hungry.
But I'm not panicking anymore.
He took out another piece of compressed food, hesitated for a moment, and didn't eat it.
He forced himself to stuff the grain back into the inner bag.
What about the other one?
He exchanged three pieces in total, ate one, and had two left.
He tidied up the inner bag and stood up.
Su Qingyuan sat at the base of the broken wall about ten meters away from him.
She hadn't eaten anything, and the kettle was placed at her feet, appearing to be empty.
She closed her eyes, leaned her head against the wall, her lips were chapped and peeling, and her face was as white as paper. She shared her food with the elderly and children who couldn't make ends meet, and she herself could only eat a little bit of food each day.