“…”
Sang Ning opened his mouth, then, as if to cover his own reaction, bent to pick up the scattered chestnuts. He curved his lips as their weight settled heavy in his hands.
“This isn’t so bad, is it?” he murmured, comforting himself.
Compared to a monster that would attack at the slightest provocation, this Physalia, now given a name, relatively harmless, and quite useful—
Was very cute.
“Click, click—”
In the dim room, sparks flickered where stone struck stone.
Sang Ning’s expression was serious, at his feet lay a pile of dry kindling topped with a layer of tinder, and he clumsily struck the stones together, trying to start a fire amid the wreckage of the kitchen.
The kitchen had a traditional earthen stove, its half-collapsed hearth still holding an iron pot. Sang Ning decided to dry out the firebox first before dealing with anything else.
The stones, which had been difficult to spark in the forest before, clicked rapidly against each other in his palm, a spark leapt and caught instantly on the thin layer of tinder.
The slightly damp material sent up black smoke, Sang Ning didn’t care, bending down at once to blow on it, ending up with soot smeared across his face. When the fire finally rose, his eyes shone bright, unable to hide his delight.
He hurriedly pulled out two burning pieces of wood and stuffed them into the earthen stove, drying out the firebox thoroughly, then added chestnuts in to roast.
The kitchen had plenty of bowls and dishes buried under the cabinets, more of them shattered than whole, Sang Ning picked through and salvaged a few stainless steel bowls and a flattened plastic basket.
Thank goodness for modern technology.
He washed the stainless steel bowls and set them over the fire to boil water.
He held the flattened plastic basket over the fire briefly, then pressed it back into shape with something heavy while it was still warm, and once it cooled, the crooked little vegetable basket had restored itself.
Sang Ning worked efficiently, busying himself with these repairs, and once everything was ready, he ate a mouthful of hot roasted chestnuts along with the boiled water.
The warm water slid down his throat, and Sang Ning let out a satisfied sigh, suddenly feeling how sore his back and waist were.
The discomfort he’d been ignoring all this time washed over him at once, his eyes drooped, and he looked half-asleep.
The bright firelight danced across his face, hazy and flickering, mingling with the rippling water-blue glow. He lifted his gaze, watching the giant jellyfish through the leaping flames.
Because of the fire’s heat, it kept a little more distance than before, through the firelight, its shadow rippled against the wall, flowing with strange, water-like patterns.
Quiet. Peaceful.
For a moment, countless thoughts churned in Sang Ning’s mind as he gazed at it, lost entirely in thought.
Nights were quiet, and full of thoughts.
The ancients looked upon the same moon people look upon today, and still felt their thoughts tangle and multiply. [1]an echo of the classical Chinese poetic trope that the moon overhead is the very same moon that shone on people long dead, a thought classical poets used to evoke loneliness and longing under … Continue reading jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3194086_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3194086_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });
He supposed he really was rather bold.
“Ya Ya.” Sang Ning tugged at the tentacle coiled around his wrist, leading the monster along with him.
He climbed the stairs, his shadow folding and stretching against the corner wall, again wrapped in the rippling blue glow.
Sang Ning took one step, the jellyfish followed with one step, and so, step by step, they made their way into the suite that would be their temporary shelter.
The mattress was still damp and would need drying tomorrow, Sang Ning simply rolled up the rug on the floor and laid out a simple bedding arrangement.
In the end, he settled against Physalia once more.
Every time he leaned against Physalia, that same sinking, inescapable feeling would wrap around him, drawing him uncontrollably down into the giant jellyfish’s bell, enveloped and held by its soft body.
Tonight was no different.
Sang Ning nestled the upper half of his body against the jellyfish, wound a tentacle around himself, and wrapped his arm around it.
He drew an upside-down tally mark on the wall, if he woke up tomorrow still in Ya Ya’s embrace, that would mark the fourth day he’d survived.
“Goodnight, Ya Ya.”
Sang Ning said softly, rubbing his soft cheek against the jellyfish’s, quietly lowering his lashes.
His thick lashes cast faint, shifting shadows across his face, his brow relaxed, his quiet form like a beautiful porcelain doll, entirely enveloped by the monster.
The “jellyfish” brushed across his brow, its bell rippling as tentacle after tentacle greedily grazed his body.
【Goodnight wife, mwah~】
【Hehe, wife’s asleep】
【So cute, so cute, want to…】
…
The chaotic, disordered murmurs flickered past, slipping quickly through his eardrums without leaving a trace.
Drip, drip—
A few raindrops tapped against the window.
Sang Ning murmured uneasily in his sleep, brow furrowing, legs shifting against each other, turning over within the tight embrace to bury himself entirely against the monster’s chest.
Physalia’s tentacles drifted, its eyeballs blinking open page by page.
Its eyes turned, gazing out the window.
The rain-struck glass hissed and crackled.
Overnight, a massive acid rain suddenly fell.
Falling in a steady patter from the clouds, it drenched the world, dissolving away everything belonging to the steel cities, piercing through the gray sky, striking down onto human structures, dissolving whatever life remained in a chaotic mess.
The people whose water and power had been cut off, caught in the disaster, heard the rain and, the moment they poked their heads out, were caught off guard by the corrosive downpour. The tents and temporary shelters set up in the disaster zones were eaten away by the acid rain, whittling down whatever shelter remained overhead.
Humans, left without protection, scrambled desperately into whatever dangerous buildings remained, while monsters, drawn by the screams and wailing, licked their tongues, eager for their next meal.
In an instant, the world’s silence was shattered by screams, blood and terror once again gaining the upper hand.
Panic.
Panic.
…
None of that panic touched Sang Ning.
At dawn, he yawned, shuffled in the guesthouse’s slippers to pull open the curtains, and his pupils shook with shock at the sight outside.
He stared in disbelief at the withered, rotted scene before him, the hazy autumn beauty of the valley from just days ago had vanished, decayed in an instant.
The plants had all died overnight, the buildings had mysteriously corroded and weathered into an even worse state, several more having collapsed entirely, as if untold amounts of time had passed in a single night.
Sang Ning hurried up to the third floor, the suite there, with its large hole torn open, remained the same as before, sunlight slanting down through the gap, dreamy motes of dust dancing in the light.
Looking down from the third floor, the small courtyard hadn’t been affected at all, messy and battered as it was, it looked entirely different from the lifeless devastation outside.
Sang Ning nearly thought his house had somehow been transported to another world altogether.
Uneasy, he changed into long sleeves and pants, put on his shoes, covered his mouth and nose with a bedsheet, and cautiously made his way down to the first floor.
“Creak”
The staircase let out a groan, Sang Ning startled and scrambled down to the first floor in a hurry.
Nothing happened.
Sang Ning pulled the sheet off his face and took several deep breaths.
No strange smell, no odd red clouds. The sun hung normally in the sky.
Sang Ning hopped in place, no parts of his body seemed to have fallen off either.
…Seemed fine, then?
Feeling put out, Sang Ning carried a stainless steel bowl to the well to draw water.
He worked the handle, but before he could even get a basin ready, the water that came out first glowed faintly green, hissing as it corroded the ground.
Only after the acidic water stored in the well pipe had all drained out did clean, clear well water begin to flow.
Still, Sang Ning got a fright, holding half a bowl of water and scrunching his face up in dismay.
【Wife, so cute (*/ω＼*)】
The “jellyfish” floated behind him, a tentacle brushing across the well, and the water that flowed out afterward turned clearer and cleaner still.
“This world feels even more dangerous now, how long is it going to take for someone to come rescue me?”
Sang Ning sighed, boiled the well water to wash up, and stacked a few plastic baskets together, tying them with cloth.
“Whatever happens, let’s find something to eat first!”
He was starving!
Sang Ning slapped his own cheeks, trying to psych himself up.
He grabbed a stick to use as a walking staff and stood at the guesthouse entrance, gazing out into the distance.
The flood had receded down to the foot of the mountain overnight, exposing even more houses.
Just days ago, Sang Ning had been a dazzling celebrity, now, days later, leaning on his stick, dressed in indigo folk clothing, he looked like a handsome young mountain lad.
A handsome young lad carrying a stick, off to pick through trash.
On the day of filming, much of the mountain had been drying corn and rice in the sun, persimmon trees in the courtyards heavy with golden fruit, maple leaves fluttering down like fire over passersby, carrying the scent of autumn.
And now.
Sang Ning walked down the broken stone path, carrying his plastic baskets on his back.
Whenever he passed a house, he’d go in and pick through it.
He really did find some good things.
These days, every household had porcelain bowls, and stainless steel basins and plastic baskets were common too.
Sang Ning salvaged a stainless steel basin, five plastic baskets of varying sizes, and two intact ceramic bowls.
As he used his stick to dig through the mud, he suddenly paused, crouched down, and dug an ear of dried corn out of the ground with his hands.
The corn was caked with mud, rinsed with water, it turned out clean enough.
Without hesitation, Sang Ning bit right into it, dry and not very tasty, but he chewed it with an earnest, almost reverent expression, wasting not a single bite, forcing down mouthful after mouthful of the dry corn.
“Cough, cough—” the dry corn scratched his throat, and Sang Ning coughed violently.
Still, he couldn’t stop smiling, wiping the sweat from his chin with his sleeve, diligently scrubbing the mud off the corn before setting it beside the stainless steel basin.
He didn’t dare venture into the piles of collapsed buildings, only searching around the outside, but even so, he managed to find half a basket of edible sweet potatoes.
The autumn harvest had just wrapped up, so every household had plenty.
The sweet potatoes had already started sprouting in the mud, but Sang Ning didn’t mind, simply breaking off the sprouted parts and collecting the rest.
He couldn’t bear to throw away the sprouted bits either, planning to plant them in the ground once they’d grown a bit more.
Even if planting them in soil didn’t work, he’d seen on short videos before that sprouted sweet potatoes could be grown hydroponically, sprouting a whole bunch of leaves within half a month, and the leaves could be stir-fried into a dish too.
Sang Ning worked briskly, focused entirely on digging through the dirt, getting himself thoroughly filthy.
He felt a happiness he’d never quite experienced before, the simple joy of knowing that labor would bring a reward.
He looked up, white clouds drifted overhead, the autumn breeze warm as ever, and for a moment the whole world felt vast and clear.
He gathered up his finds and pressed his lips together, glancing to the side. “Ya Ya, let’s go.”
The soft tentacle coiled around his wrist, Sang Ning’s steps light, the great jellyfish followed, drawn along, and in a few strides they were back on the stone path, heading forward.
The world was vast, and fortunes varied wildly.
While Sang Ning was out here scavenging like a farmer, the survivors in the cities elsewhere huddled together in dark buildings for warmth, and within days, their faces had all gone numb.
Those wounded by monster attacks lay on the ground, struggling to breathe.
When the last heartbeat finally stopped, a mournful cry would rise up, quiet and raw, from anyone still sensitive enough to weep.
“When will these days ever end!”
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