Chapter 144: What About Now?
Translator: Letty Editor: DarkGem
"You guys are good at upsetting me in every way," Chang joked to the clones. "I mean it, every way."
"Yeah, still, that doesn't change the fact that we are older than you," the clones said in sync.
"How far away are we from He Bi?"
"I think we are almost there."
"Then what should we do with this big guy?" Chang pounded on the centipede.
"I'll look after it," Shui Qing said. "You, Zhizhi, and Sanpang should go downtown to restock our food. We can't stay for long. The migrating animals are just behind us. The city will be destroyed in no time."
"Alright," Chang answered. "What about the centipede? Shouldn't it be hungry by now? We didn't allow it to eat for a few days."
"It's all good, insects are better at enduring hunger than mammals anyways," Shui Qing explained. "Though, I think we should bring it somewhere where it could feed itself. Otherwise, when it's starving, it'll rebel and resist our commands."
"Wait, you can only control it this much?" Chang was puzzled, and his brows furrowed.
"We are its mothers, but its mind is still its own," the clones said. "Qing Shui can take over someone's mind, but we are only capable of influence. That means, we can tell somebody what is right to do, but the judgment of rightness is still its. For example, if we told it to suicide here and now, it wouldn’t listen to us."
"I see the difference now." Chang thought for a moment, and then asked, "Why don't we get a being that flies and is big enough to carry us all? Isn't that much faster?"
"Well, Chang, do you know how hard it is to catch a bird with bare hands? Or with weapons without injuring it? It's time-consuming, and we can only influence the mind when it's close." The clones raised their eyebrows. "We have more than ten people here, so it will have to be a big bird or some other thing with wings. Plus, birds are more intelligent than insects, the overall control will be at risk."
"Although, it's not impossible," Qing said after a moment of thinking. "We can try when we are safe, but now let's continue with the centipede."
While they were talking, the density of the jungle decreased.
"I think we’re getting close to He Bi." The shrubs were lower and thinner. "You guys stay here, I'll just go in and out the city quickly to retrieve clean water and food."
"Go ahead," the clones told him while sitting at the centipede's head, looking ahead.
"I'll be right back."
"Do you need me to go with you?" Jing suggested. "I can keep guard with my sensing while you search for supplies."
"No need, I'll be quick," Chang replied.
He jumped down and traced the scent of humans, seeking the shortest route to downtown He Bi.
This small town was as crumbled as Xin Xiang, the city they had just passed. The air was filled with the mixture of animal odors and the scents of plants. Chang couldn't see many traces of human activity.
The scent of human habitat led him to the downtown of He Bi.
The urban planning here wasn't the most organized; the residential area was mixed with the government complex. Besides two open stores, other doors on the street were all tightly shut. Some winged animals rested on top of the roofs, while a few more were circling in the sky, as if ready to dive down on an unsuspecting prey at any moment.
Hunting humans wasn't a complicated task for those beasts, and Chang knew exactly what they were looking for. Therefore, he dashed into one of the open stores without making much noise.
"Hey, master! Selling water or food?"
The owner was a middle-aged man, bald-headed. "Food and water?" He hesitated while identifying Chang's accent, which came from the dialect he spoke in the past. The owner also glanced up and down his dirty and wrinkled shirt. "You’re not from here."
"That's correct, I came from far." Chang was quite shocked by the owner's swift and correct judgment. "Is that a problem? I want to get some water and food in exchange for my weapons."
"Okay, but I have to tell you I’m not particularly interested in weapons." The owner then asked, "Where do you come from? The south or the north?"
"North," Chang answered honestly.
"Son, here is my idea, let’s make a different deal; tell me all you know, and I’ll offer you my food and water for free." The owner bent down and pulled out a bamboo basket from below the counter. The container was half-filled with some homemade hardtack and liquefied food in sealed packages.
"Alright. But those are not an equal worth to the information that I can give to you." Chang counted the amount of food in the basket. "And I’m not alone."
"I have more than you need." The owner shouted to the room behind his counter, and two bald-headed men in camouflage uniforms walked out. "As long as your information is valuable, I’ll provide as many resources as you want."
"Really?" Chang soon came to realize that the man in front of him must be the most influential figure in this area. It was pretty evident from the beginning - the man who could operate and maintain his business must be the leader of a local gang.
Judging from the uniforms the others wore, they must have converted from the military to this local establishment.
Now that Chang was aware that they were former military personnel, he told them everything he knew about the current situation, except for the parts involving Qing Shui.
"Can you promise me that you’re not lying?" Chang's information blew their minds, and all three pairs of eyes were left incredibly wide.
"It’s real, but it's up to you to believe it or not." Chang ignored their expressions and added, "I believe you’ll’ have a good sense of judgment whether to buy my information or not. But keep in mind, it's hard to make up the amount of information I just gave you.
"By the way, how long can the food be stored?"
"About three days and a half," the leader said.
"All right, I’m looking to get food for ten servings to a group of ten people. Then we’ll be even." Once Change said that, he didn't wait for the bald man's response and started picking up the food.
The owner took a step back, his eyes shadowed. "How should I call you?"
"Liu." Chang's hands continued stuffing his backpack.
"If possible, can you come with me to the military station? We need to verify the authenticity of your words," the bald man said with a straight face.
"It's not possible, unfortunately," Chang refused immediately. He had no time to cooperate with any investigation.
"What about now?" The bald man still spoke calmly, but this time with his gun pressed against Chang's back.