flstandardbreds Chapter 1030
Chapter 1030
He Chengshi's fingertips left a shallow scratch on the edge of the table. The sea breeze, carrying a salty and fishy smell, blew across the scars on his face, making those fine lines look more like dried cracks.
"Since you say so, brother, then we can be considered to share the same fate. By the way, my name is He Chengshi. This ship has always been our home."
He raised his hand and pointed at the mottled cruise ship behind him, his tone filled with helplessness: "Not long after the apocalypse broke out, our place was completely destroyed by the tsunami. We have been wandering since then. Later, after a major earthquake, we found a cruise ship that was converted from a cargo ship and came to drift on the sea.
Luckily, we found some supplies before boarding the ship, and since we were all fishermen, we were very skilled at catching fish, which is why we managed to survive all these years in the apocalypse. Thinking about it now, it's incredible. I don't know how we managed to survive so many disasters!
As he spoke, he looked Qi Mingyu and Mu Mu up and down.
Qi Mingyu and the others had just experienced the ice rain, and they were all injured. They didn't have new clothes, so they looked very embarrassed.
They seemed to be similar to Chief He's men, but their expressions were better than theirs.
Chief He concluded that the other party's cruise ship must have a lot of supplies stored on it.
However, this was not the purpose of their boarding the ship.
Chief He smiled gently and described his situation as if chatting with his family: "For the past few years, we have relied on it to drift on the sea. Including the elderly and the weak, there are more than 80 people on board."
Qi Mingyu and Mu Mu looked at each other's cruise ship which was so close to them. The shadowy figures were unclear whether they were men or women.
But there were quite a few people on the other ship.
Soon, the other party's gaze fell on Qi Mingyu like a hook: "Brother, this ship looks so spacious, it should be carrying a lot of survivors, right? Why are you and this little brother the only ones on the deck?"
Qi Mingyu's expression was calm, with a perfect smile on his lips. "We're not many people, but we do have some people. We only sent out two small teams to seek help. They haven't returned yet!"
After hearing this, He Chengshi raised his eyebrows slightly, and the surprise in his eyes did not seem to be fake: "Are they in a small boat? Going out like this is very dangerous."
Qi Ming smiled helplessly: "There's nothing we can do. We can't just sit here and wait for rescue forever."
As he spoke, he changed the subject and fixed his gaze on the other party's cruise ship. "Speaking of which, Chief He, I'm curious about something. It's been so long since the apocalypse, and the offshore oil fields are long gone. Where did your ship get the fuel to keep drifting for so long?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the smile on He Chengshi's face froze for a moment. Although it was only a very brief moment, Qi Mingyu accurately captured it.
He Chengshi quickly regained his gentle expression and said with a smile, "You don't know, we're lucky. Before the apocalypse, there were a batch of fuel containers at the port, and we grabbed a lot of them and have been using them sparingly. Normally, we never use large ships unless absolutely necessary, and always use small boats to search for supplies, which saves a lot of fuel. Now there aren't many fuel tanks left, and we're worried."
Qi Mingyu knew in his heart that He Chengshi was lying.
The other side had no space, only a batch of containerized fuel, which was not enough to support them drifting on the sea for so many years.
But Qi Mingyu didn't expose him. Instead, he continued, "So that's how it is. You guys are really lucky. We've almost run out of fuel. I'm afraid we can't hold out for much longer."
He then asked about the other party's hunger: "By the way, Chief He, the fish in the sea have almost all died a long time ago, and they are all rotting corpses. How do you usually find supplies? You can't always rely on compressed biscuits, right?"
He Chengshi's face turned bitter when he heard this. "Don't mention it. Life is hard. We're in a densely packed reef area right now. Those reefs are covered with clam shells, both large and small. We sent people to collect them. We crush the shells, grind them into powder, and mix it with leftover compressed biscuits and smoked fish. It's barely enough to fill our stomachs."
Qi Mingyu wasn't too surprised and nodded, "Yes, there are too few supplies at sea now, so we only sometimes collect clam shells and grind them into powder to fill our stomachs."
Chief He was the gentlest and most unassuming chief Qi Mingyu had ever met in the apocalypse. He pulled a small, black object from his pocket and handed it to Qi Mingyu: "This is what we're eating. It doesn't taste great, but at least it won't starve you to death."
Qi Mingyu took the thing. It was rough to the touch and had a faint smell of the sea.
He pinched it and could feel the granular texture inside. It really looked like a mixture of clam shell powder and biscuits.
He smiled and shook his head: "This thing is not very delicious."
"That's right." He Chengshi put the thing away, his tone a little tired. "I eat this every day. Every day, it's smoked fish, compressed biscuits, and shell powder mixed in rotation. My stomach feels heavy and I don't feel full. If I could find some fresh fish, even if it's dried, it would be better than this."
"Yes, but there are no living creatures in the sea now. It is basically impossible to find food other than clam shells."
He Chengshi then tentatively said, "The reef area where we are is very large, with a lot of clam shells. We have been collecting for over a year, and we have only collected a small part. Brother Qi, why don't you come with me to take a look? Your fuel is running low. If you follow us, maybe you can hold on for a while longer."
This seems like they are here to recruit people into the team!
When Mu Mu heard this, he suddenly looked up at Qi Mingyu, his eyes full of vigilance.
He knew this was probably a trap.
Once they followed He Chengshi to the reef area, they would have no room to resist because the other side was outnumbered and powerful.
Qi Mingyu did not refuse immediately, but lowered his head as if thinking for a moment, then nodded and agreed: "Okay!"
Mu Mu's Adam's apple rolled violently, and the words he was about to speak were blocked by Qi Mingyu's eyes.
The look in his eyes was as calm as the bottomless sea, yet it concealed a hint of unquestionable firmness.
It is to make him believe, and also to make him stand by.
Mu Mu slowly loosened his clenched fists and retreated half a step behind Qi Mingyu, but his eyes were still fixed on He Chengshi's gentle face.
"Since we're following Chief He to the reef area, our cruise ship must follow." Qi Mingyu turned to He Chengshi, his tone as natural as if he were discussing family matters. "But we're really running low on fuel. I wonder if Chief He could lend us some fuel first? We're willing to trade it for other supplies."
Transactions after the end of the world cannot be done with just words, and a corresponding exchange price must be paid.
Chief He seemed very interested: "What do you want to exchange it for?"
There weren't many rare things on their cruise ship, just enough food for the family for two months and a little fresh water collected every day.
But there is one more thing, which is coal and weapons.