Chapter 49: The Internet

After hearing this, Qiao Jiajin didn’t hesitate and handed over the cloth bag at his waist. Lin Qin quickly followed suit.

Tian Tian glanced at the two of them, her expression slightly uneasy. But since she was at a disadvantage, she thought it over and eventually handed over her own cloth bag as well.

Qi Xia took all the bags, sat down, and began tinkering with something. Before long, he discarded an empty bag, stood up, and said to the three of them, “This time, we earned enough for five people—ninety-five ‘Dao’ in total. That number isn’t divisible by four, so we’ll have to add the one we had left earlier to make it ninety-six. That’s twenty-four each.”

He held out three cloth bags and said, “I’ve packed them for you. Count them right now—I won’t acknowledge any discrepancies afterward.”

Tian Tian quickly reached out, took the bag, opened it, and counted. Sure enough, there were exactly twenty-four ‘Dao,’ not a single one missing.

Lin Qin and Qiao Jiajin simply reattached their bags to their waists.

“Aren’t you going to count them?” Qi Xia said. “I *am* a conman, you know.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Lin Qin shook her head. “If I find out later that some are missing, I’ll just take them from you.”

“Yeah, cut the act,” Qiao Jiajin waved his hand dismissively. “Where to next?”

Qi Xia glanced at the bear arm in Qiao Jiajin’s arms, thought for a moment, and said, “Let’s go get something to eat…”

……

Their plan was simple: if they could cook this bear arm, they’d eat it—no matter how it tasted, as long as it filled their stomachs.

But in this ruined city, finding the necessities for cooking was incredibly difficult.

Clean water, a stove, a pot, a lighter—none of these things were readily available.

For over an hour, they wandered through the abandoned buildings of the city, finding nothing.

When they reached a derelict restaurant, Qiao Jiajin finally had enough.

“This isn’t working,” he said, tossing the bear arm onto the ground and flexing his sore wrist. “Carrying dozens of pounds of meat around—we’ll die of exhaustion before we starve.”

“Thanks for your hard work,” Lin Qin said with a smile. “Want me to carry it for a while?”

“Nah, I’m good.”

“I think this place has potential,” Tian Tian said, scanning the restaurant. It wasn’t as heavily damaged as other buildings.

Sure enough, after a quick search, they found an aluminum pot under one of the tables.

It looked relatively clean, though slightly dented.

“As for firewood, it’s everywhere here,” Qi Xia said, eyeing the broken furniture scattered on the floor. “But we’re missing water and fire.”

“I’ll check the kitchen,” Tian Tian said, heading toward the back. “There might be water there.”

Qi Xia nodded slightly and began searching the room for other useful items. After a few seconds, he reconsidered and called out to Qiao Jiajin, “Hey, Qiao Jiajin, go with Tian Tian. Watch out for ‘locals.'”

“Good point,” Qiao Jiajin agreed, heading toward the kitchen. But before he’d taken three steps, he heard Tian Tian’s voice from inside.

“Huh? What are you doing here?”

“Wow! Sister, you’re here too?”

The voice replying to Tian Tian was another woman’s.

Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin immediately rushed to the kitchen. When they opened the door, they saw a slightly chubby girl standing there.

She reached out, affectionately linking arms with Tian Tian, and said to the group, “You’re all here too? What a coincidence!”

Qi Xia stared coldly at the girl, his expression unimpressed.

“You’re following us?”

“Huh?” The girl looked genuinely shocked. “No way! I was here first!”

Qiao Jiajin wasn’t sure what to make of the situation. Why would this girl be waiting for them here?

“Are you looking for something?” the girl asked.

“Yeah, water and a way to start a fire,” Tian Tian answered.

“Water and fire?” The girl smiled again. “That’s perfect—we’ve got both here.”

Under Qi Xia’s wary gaze, the girl led Tian Tian to a cupboard. She stood on her tiptoes, opened the door, and revealed several plastic buckets filled with clean water.

Then, she pulled a lighter from her pocket. “See?”

Qi Xia couldn’t help but feel this was all too convenient—as if it had been arranged.

Tian Tian happily took the lighter and asked, “Little sister, are you really letting us borrow this?”

“Don’t be so formal,” the girl said with an innocent smile. “We survivors should help each other out.”

Tian Tian immediately took a liking to her and thanked her profusely.

“What do you want in return?” Qi Xia asked bluntly.

The girl turned to him, confused. “Want? I don’t want anything. I’m just helping.”

“Good,” Qi Xia said, turning away to gather firewood.

“That guy’s really weird,” the girl said, blinking her big eyes. “Why’s he so suspicious of me?”

“That’s just how he is,” Tian Tian said with a laugh. “You’ll get used to it. What’s your name?”

“Call me Xiao Xiao, sister.”

Lin Qin studied Xiao Xiao from the side, feeling something was off.

The girl was slightly plump with broad shoulders, wearing an oversized T-shirt, yet her face was oddly thin—out of proportion with her body.

“Xiao Xiao, why don’t you stay and eat with us?” Tian Tian offered. “There’s more than enough bear meat for four people.”

“Sure!” Xiao Xiao nodded cheerfully.

Seeing that Xiao Xiao was deliberately hiding something, Qi Xia decided not to press her. He just hoped she wouldn’t try anything foolish—like attempting to deceive him in front of everyone.

Qiao Jiajin stacked a few bricks into a makeshift stove and lit some scrap wood inside.

With Xiao Xiao’s help, Tian Tian cleaned the pot, boiled water, and prepared the meal.

Meanwhile, Qi Xia worked on the bear arm.

Though he cooked often at home, he’d never handled bear meat before. He decided to treat it like chicken.

After briefly scalding it with hot water, he plucked the fur, peeled off the skin, and rinsed away the blood. He insisted Xiao Xiao stay away from the food, and no one objected.

Qiao Jiajin found a rusty kitchen knife, sharpened it slightly, and chopped the prepared bear arm into two large chunks before tossing them straight into the pot.

This was the best they could do under the circumstances.

Bear stew.

As the water in the pot began to boil, making a low *gurgling* sound, the group gathered around, silently watching the pot.

After a while, Lin Qin spoke up. “Will bear meat taste good?”

“Oh yeah,” Qiao Jiajin said immediately. “Ever had bear paw?”

“You have?” Tian Tian turned to him.

“Once, by chance,” he said. “The taste was unforgettable. If I ever get out of here, I’m eating it again.”

Tian Tian sighed and shook her head. “You’re such a desperado.”

“Desperado?” Qiao Jiajin laughed. “Tian Tian, are you dumb? I wouldn’t kill a bear myself—I’d just go to a restaurant.”

“Eating bear paw is illegal,” Tian Tian added. “No matter how good it tastes, you really want to end up in jail for it?”

“What nonsense are you spouting?” Qiao Jiajin gave her a dismissive look. “Since when is eating bear paw illegal?”

Tian Tian frowned. Sometimes she and Qiao Jiajin got along well, but other times, they were on completely different wavelengths.

“You really need to spend more time online,” she sighed. “Stop acting like ignorance is some kind of virtue.”

“Online?” Qiao Jiajin scratched his head. “You mean… that ‘Internet’ thing that got popular a few years back?”