Capítulo 35: Evening at the refugee camp
Jiang Liushi and the sisters would have loved to take showers, but they had not refilled the truck's water tanks. They could settle for the wet wipes or go into one of the abandonned houses. The sisters settled for the 1st option. Liushi could connect the pumping hose of the truck to the water network of a house and refill the tanks during diner. They could enjoy a shower after that in the safety of the truck.
After finishing their preparations, they left the Doomsday Ride and went to the main room of the house.
Zhuying had explained that all people capable of fighting were in charge of collecting food while the others took care of domestic tasks. Most of the survivors were in the hall, classifying the diverse ressources gathered that day. Zhuying used that chance to introduce him to the rest of the survivor group, with a proud face. He was welcomed by most of them.
Usually, Zhuying would be sitting at the head of the table, but when Liushi arrived, she placed him there and sat on his right. Xiaotian sat on his left, and Lu sat next to her. Yang Quingping sat next to Zhuying, followed by Sun Kun and then Zhang Hai.
It was to be noted that only the paranormals ate at the table in the hall, while the rest ate in the kitchen. Having 3 non-supernatural there was schocking for the survivor group. Qingping had tried to object, but Zhuying wouldn't hear any of it. She was the boss, and her words were to be followed.
Kun and Haizi were a bit doubtful at the sudden change of hierarchy, but choose to follow Zhuying's wishes. Quingping, however, was displeased. She couldn't completly hide the scowl from her face, something Lu and Xiaotian noticed. The other members of the survivor group had roughly the same opinion as Kun and Haizi. A mighty truck? An armored SUV? Firearms and protective gear? Paranormal or not, the newcomer was definitly an important asset.
"Brother Jiang, what you're going to eat may be the best meal you've ever eaten" said Haizi.
'Do they have a real chef in the team?' he though.
When the food was brough to the table, Zhuying immediatly picked up a chunk of meat and placed it on Liushi's plate. He took a bite, chewed, stopped for a second and swallowed.
"Mutant beast meat?" he asked for confirmation.
"Yes?" Haizi replied in surprise. "You already ate some before?"
"Yes. On the second day after the outbreak, we were attacked by a mutant boar. He was bigger than my armored SUV. I used some of the heavy tools in my truck to deal with it. We still have more than 6 tones of meat in the trailer."
The supernaturals were stunned, and the curly haired girl among them almost choked. But while the guys were impressed, Qingpping got even more irritated. She felt that she deserved it more than them.
"... Brother, mutant beast meat is very valuable for supernaturals. It replenish the energy expanded with the use of our abilities and help improve them. It can be traded for weapons with the military."
"Wait! Trade? You got into contact with a proper military camp nearby?"
"Yes! It's called Sattelite Town, right outside of the city. That where most of the refugees from the city got. I ordered a customized weapon there."
"Customized weapon?"
"Yes. They have the technology, materials and equipment. Many survivors in Jinling cooperate with them. We collect food ourselves, but we go to them for weapons. What the military needs varies, but standart items are mutant meat and medecines."
"Excuse-me, why don't all the survivors go there?" asked Xiaotian.
"It's a frontier camp the army left. The main force has already withdrawn, and only around 1000 people are left. The camp size is limited, and they don't have the manpower to send survivors to safe areas. The nearest safe area is in the mountains, remote and difficult to reach."
Xiaotian nodded in thanks, and Liushi resumed the conversation.
"So, for your customized weapon, you need to exchange some ressources, right? How much do you need?"
"5 tons of mutant beast meat."
She stopped, remembering something, and took something out of her pocket.
"A mutant beast core! Well, it makes sense for you to have one if you managed to hunt a mutant beast."
'Starseed, why didn't you detect this mutant beast core?'
[Your sister's energy level is higher than that of the mutant beast core. She masked its presence by keeping it in close contact.]
"Yep. This little thing can be exchanged for a ton of meat with the military."
This attracted Liushi's interest. These cores were extremely useful, as demonstrated when he used them to make/upgrade the vehicles. They were also a completly new ressource to the world, with probably more uses than he was currently aware of.
"What uses does the military have for it?"
"They seem to use it to study the mutant virus" his sister replied.
'Ah, they are focusing on the biological side since they are a result of the outbreak. I, on the other hand focused on its uses in engineering. And they are still on the research phase while I already skipped to practical use. They don't know its true value yet!'
"My adorable little sister" he stated semi-seriously. "I have use for the core. I will happily give you 4 tons of meat for it."
That surprised the other 3 paranormals. Mutant beast meat was too valuable for them to imagine someone giving it away like that.
"What? No way!" she replied with a face pale from shock. "It's too much brother! Even 2 tons is my limit!"
"Then take 3 tons. Complain all you want, I'm still giving you that much."
Liushi and the Wen sisters didn't need as much meat as the paranormals. What they had was too much for themselves. On the other hand, his sister needed it to get stronger. He was going to do anything he could to support her growth. It would also prevent ill will from growing among the other refugees. Though some people were jealous of him for having that much meat, or jealous of Zhuying for having such a good brother. The rest of the meat was kept for future trade with other groups.
The rest of diner passed in a relatively good mood for everyone, except for Qingping. Her jealousy over the possessions of Liushi had grown. She couldn't accept that a non-paranormal could have so many good things while they had been struggling. Especially since Zhuying was basically giving her brother a higher position than her in the group.
After diner, the Wen sisters were able to enjoy a nice shower in the truck. Instead of waiting for them to be done, Zhuying took her brother to the bathroom adjoining her room. The master room of course. Liushi was taking his clothes of when his sister came in to give him a towel. She froze in place when she noticed the wound dressings.
"... Brother?" she asked with a pale face.
"Oh. Don't worry about it. I wasn't hurt by zombies. No infection, I won't turn."
"Still! You were hurt!" she nearly shouted while rushing tohis side. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. I'm actually recovering at a good pace."
"What happened?"
"Lu and I fought a small swarm of mutant bees, the size of a big cat, with long and sharp limbs. We didn't have any firearms at that time, and even if we did, we would have run out of ammos before killing them all. There were quite a few close calls, the last one resulting in my injuries. We won."
She took him in her arms and held him tightly, barely restraining her tears. When the outbreak occured, she new that her brother would do his best to reach her. She expected him to face some difficulties, but was optimistic because he told her he was making preparations beforehand. When she reunited with him, seeing the vehicles and equipment he had with him, she though he didn't encounter serious difficulties. Now, she realised that her brother very nearly died on his way here. That scared more than anything that had happened since the world changed.
"Hey, calm down, I'm fine now" he said softly before separating from her. "Now get out. I have a shower to take."
"... Won't you need my help with your injuries?" she asked teasingly.
In response, he turned her around and led her out of the bathroom by the shoulders. He ignored her pouting face with puppy eyes. There was mischief hidden behind, he knew from experience.
Once alone, he proceeded to enjoy a nice warm shower. When he got out, he found his sister ready to go to bed. It meant wearing a white camisole, no bra, and a black tanga. She was lazily lying on her belly across the bed, reading a book. It was a sight that made him pause for a few seconds.
"I see that you're done" she said as she turned her head toward him.
Seeing his reaction, Zhuying failed to properly contain her grin. Noticing this, Liushi mentally sighted. The naughty girl that she was had exposed herself on purpose to tease him. She may have been his sister, but he definitly wasn't immune to her charms, and she knew it. That reminded him of Lu, and he was certain that, under Zhuying's leadership, they will make his life harder in many ways. Then her grin faded.
"You're going back to your truck?"
"Yeah. After all the excitment of the day, I'm mentally tired and eager to get some sleep."
"Can you stay with me?"
All traces of mischief were gone from her face.
"Eh? Why?"
"It's just, after being worried about you for days, I've finally been reunited with you" she said with a bit of shyness. "I don't want to be separated from you again so soon" she added while lowering her face. "Please, can you stay with me tonight? Please?"
Hearing her and seeing her pleading face, Liushi easily caved. Besides, he too wanted to stay near his sister. And if she hadn't already etablished a base here, she would be sharing his bed in the truck. With his agreement, a joyful smile spread on her face. She hopped of the bed to reach him and happily dragged him down to the bed with her.
PENSAMENTOS DOS CRIADORES 
Tonyorobsky
Tonyorobsky The original use the term "mutant meat" for mutant beast meat. I don't like it because, to me, the paranormals are essentially mutants. It makes me feel as if the term included human meat... So, from now on, instead of "mutant beast meat" (which is a mouthfull), I will use "monster meat".
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