CH 10

Updated: Apr 11, 2021

Gu Changjin entered the room with two huge bags of vegetables in his hands.

The whole planet was now inundated with radiation. Although in the city, the radiation was marginally lower, however, after being irradiated, the molecular formula of plants still changed and mutated. The wild plants cannot be consumed and growing crops in the city was very difficult.

Despite the fact that Shi Qingyang disliked vegetables, he was aware of their price. Gu Changjin held two bags containing items worth tens of thousands of credits.

Regardless of the fact that the country now has multiple protection services, including not only relief funds but also shelters, there was still a significant gap between the bottom and the top. His life and status after becoming stronger was beyond common people's comprehension.

“Gu….Grandpa Gu, he… the meat he cooked was delicious." Cheng Ran quickly jumped up when he saw Gu Changjin and was so excited to describe that he stumbled when he spoke. He glanced at the old man even more nervously.

‘Why does Cheng Ran seem to be scared of Gu Changjin?’ Shi Qingyang was perplexed, but he turned to face Gu Changjin with a grin. "Uncle, have you eaten? I'll make more if you want to eat."

Gu Changjin glanced at Cheng Ran and sighed.

"Thank you, it's troublesome." He finally answered.

"I'll go get it, Uncle." Shi Qingyang had set aside a some for Gu Changjin.

As he came out with the barbecue, he saw Gu Changjin and Cheng Ran conversing. Cheng Ran quickly raised his head and smiled at him when he saw him return, but Gu Changjin was nonplussed.

‘Maybe you want to be the only one who cooks for the young master?' Shi Qingyang just pretended he hadn't observed Gu Changjin's indifference. After all, the current meal had greatly improved his friendship with Cheng Ran. Even though Gu Changjin was dissatisfied, the benefits outweighed the drawbacks.

Furthermore, he specially picked the best pieces for Cheng Ran. There were no other concerns except the fact that it was not a whole slice of meat. Even the meat he left for Gu Changjin was decent.

Shi Qingyang consumed the most food, but was the first to finish. He could only watch Gu Changjin and Cheng Ran eat silently after he finished his meal.

While Cheng Ran was very inexperienced in certain respects, and was unlike the very talented and communicative fellows Shi Qingyang had seen, the way he ate was obvious the sight of a young master.

Even though Shi Qingyang had held a high position in his former life, he had not learned to eat in such a gentle manner. He had little opportunity to learn at first. Later, there were people everywhere who fawned over him, so there was no need to learn. During the time, even if he devoured a huge plate of treats at a dance party, some would just applaud his true temperament, and some would even join him.

Cheng Ran was very cultured when dining. Even the way he glanced at Shi Qingyang from time to time, and the grin on the corner of his mouth was always hanging, letting people know he was in a good mood at a glance, was very refined.

After seeing him like this, Shi Qingyang was in a bad mood. He ought to improve his demeanor.

He did note, however, that Gu Changjin kept staring at Cheng Ran while saying nothing.

‘What was wrong?’ Shi Qingyang was perplexed, but did not enquire further. He was now assuming the role of a simple sixteen-year-old boy. He grew up in a simple environment and didn’t think deeply.

After Gu Changjin had finished dining, Shi Qingyang wondered aloud. "Uncle, what did you want with me?”

"You were planning on enrolling in Spark Academy? I'd like to be your sponsor." Gu Changjin answered directly.

A sponsor, as the term implies, was someone who funds the studies of others.

Building new cities, hunting mutant beasts, laying optical fibers outside the city, and so on, all depend on Rad-Warriors, which raises the value of Rad-Warriors, especially intermediate and advanced Rad-Warriors. But, in order to have that kind of strength, you must make a significant investment in the early stages... Shi Qingyang went to great lengths to garner Cheng Ran's support.

"Uncle, my test results were double C-, and I can become a third-level Rad-Warrior at most…”Shi Qingyang hesitated. In normal conditions, an individual with both Rad-tolerance and Rad-control C was likely to become a third or fourth level Rad-Warrior. His C- result meant he could only exceed to level three.

"It's okay," Gu Changjin said with a smile, "You’re a good boy, I won’t lie to you, I only hope you will take care of my young master in school. If you're able, your tuition and living expenses will all be taken care of.”

"Grandpa Gu?" Cheng Ran was surprised.

“Uncle, even if you don’t sponsor me, I will take care of my classmate.” Shi Qingyang said.

Gu Changjin cast a glance at Cheng Ran, then at Shi Qingyang. “You should be aware that this is the right choice. I know you have a part-time job and can cover your own fees, but if you want to be a Rad-Warrior, it is not enough to cover the tuition. I inquired at Spark Academy about the cost of renting a training room there, and they said it was really cheap compared to outside, but it still costs 20 credits per hour. After you start your studies, how long can you work every day after school to earn enough money? Furthermore, if you want to make the rad-power in your body obey you as a Rad-Warrior, you must take medication, a bottle of mass-produced most simple soothing medicine costs one thousand credits, better ones are more expensive. Can you get the money if the rad-power in your body gets restless?"

Shi Qingyang fell silent.

He had no funds in his former life to rent the school's training room, so he could only go to city’s entrance. Oral practice. No soothing potions. When his body's rad-power rioted, he gritted his teeth and endured the agony... His school years were riddled not only with suffering and exhaustion, but also with an accumulation of hidden dangers to his health that letter was his downfall, rendering all he went through as a joke.

"Because you haven't been subjected to radiation energy for long, you might be unaware that it is extremely violent. Those with rad-power can be backlashed by the rad-power in your own body if you are not vigilant. That's not all; if you want to hit Levels 3 and 4, you must use medication." Gu Changjin continued.

Shi Qingyang, according to Gu Changjin, may not have understood the rad-power was caused by radiation and was extremely violent. Almost all Rad-Warriors died in rad-power riots after this energy was first discovered, before someone invented the medicine.

Certain mutated herbs found in the wild were poisonous for common citizens, but after refinement, they may be used as potions to cure radiation exposure or to appease rad-power riots in Rad-Warriors.

Besides that, the higher the level of the Rad-Warrior, the greater the demand for medicine; as a result, a specialty, the pharmacist, was formed.

"I understand." Shi Qingyang fell silent.

His mother was a junior pharmacist, and his parents had planned to plant some herbs outside of town that would be purchased in bulk…

His parents' deaths effected him. Shi Qingyang was still a bit depressed despite the fact that it had been twenty years. Though, he soon recovered and saw Cheng Ran's hopeful eyes.

"Thank you, Uncle; I will definitely look after the young master." Shi Qingyang stated solemnly.

The stone in his heart had finally fallen.

He will take care of Cheng Ran, and he will have a different outcome!

“I… My name is Cheng Ran. Call me by my name and I’ll call you Shi Qingyang, okay?” Cheng Ran spoke up unexpectedly, shattering the somewhat solemn mood.

"Okay, Cheng Ran." Shi Qingyang grinned, sighing for Cheng Ran's innocence.

He and Cheng Ran had not exchanged names, yet Cheng Ran was able to call out his name… Anyone in this position would feel uneasy if they suspected they were being investigated. "How do you know my name?"

"We're both in Class 10." Cheng Ran couldn't help but beam, because he didn't know how to conceal it.

Gu Changjin, who was sitting next to him, breathed a sigh of relief as he saw this scene.

Shi Qingyang eventually spoke with Gu Changjin and discussed their future plans.

For example, he couldn’t keep washing tanks at Tao Rubao. After all, the city's entrance was so far out. In reality, according to the sense of taking care of Chang Ran, Shi Qingyang's job delivering food should also be canceled, but Shi Qingyang refused.

While he had put in a lot of effort to encourage Cheng Ran and Gu Changjin to support himself, he didn't intend to rely on them entirely. He intended to return all the money in the future.

Moreover, it was a part-time job that had little effect on him and would not cause a delay in his studies. After all, he learned those things a long time ago in class. In fact, if it wasn’t mandatory to study to be an official Rad-Warrior, he wouldn't have a problem even if he didn't attend Spark Academy.

Shi Qingyang insisted on working a part-time job, but he agreed to all of Gu Changjin's requests to relocate to this villa.

He lives a little further away from the Starfire Academy, and it took a long time to go back and forth. He had already decided to pursue Cheng Ran to the Spark Academy, so there was no reason for him to insist on wasting money to rent another home.

After a long conversation, Shi Qingyang eventually left. It was already late, but he had already called Tao Rubao, so all was fine.

With everything done, new changes awaited close to horizon.

Shi Qingyang was in such a happy mood that even the gray skies seemed cute, and he couldn't help but want to eat something to celebrate.

He subconsciously touched his pocket, thinking of eating, only to remember that the jerky on his body had been given to Cheng Ran.

There was still a lot of jerky left that he made a few days ago at home. He’ll needs to put another bag on his body when he returns... Shi Qingyang tapped his nose and quickened his pace.

He usually carries food on him. With food close by, he feels at ease.

***

Shi Qingyang has already fled, but on the other side, Gu Changjin still frowned as he observed Cheng Ran.

No one knew more about Cheng Ran's health and stomach than he did. It used to be fine. At most, he ate less than others. Cheng Ran, however, became highly resistant to radiation since the rad-medicine was injected four months ago.

For a while, even a small amount of meat couldn’t be consumed because the meat of insects still contained some radiation. Only a handful of humans themselves didn’t have radiation in their bodies now.

Cheng Ran had improved. He use to not be able to eat even a small bite of meat and relayed solely one vegetables. Gu Changjin had signed a delivery deal with the vegetable cultivation plant in Spark City and purchased a large quantity of vegetables.

He intended to make Cheng Ran something to eat when he got home, but he didn't expect to see Cheng Ran eating meat as soon as he returned... Technically, he could avoid it right away, but Cheng Ran suddenly stood up to assist Shi Qingyang in speaking, therefore he said nothing.

"It's alright, Grandpa Gu, it's just a bit of meat." Cheng Ran beamingly grinned.

"Master, you should know that eating so much meat will make you really uncomfortable." Gu Changjin felt helpless.

He tried to speak to Shi Qingyang about this before, but Cheng Ran was watching, and he knew Cheng Ran desperately wanted friends… Seeing Cheng Ran's persistent smile, he didn't say anything in the end.

“Grandpa Gu, I...I want to eat meat… myself… it’s really nothing.” Cheng Ran's words were quick and jarring.

Gu Changjin found some medication for Cheng Ran.

"You don't want to be like this in the future, Master. If you can't bear it anymore, tell him right away; else, he'll realize you were uncomfortable after eating meat, and he'll blame himself."

Often the boy was at a loss for words when it comes to refusing. It's fine to have such a character at home, but he'll struggle when he goes to school.

Cheng Ran took the medicine obediently.

As he heard of the fact that Shi Qingyang might blamed himself when he learned about this,, the boy's face became tangled.

"Grandpa Gu...just say I like veggies, okay? Don’t say I can’t consume meat!”

“You…” Gu Changjin couldn't help but sigh some more.

Cheng Ran's parents only saw him once a year, and his other relatives were uninterested in him. He had never attended school before. The number of people he interacted with were a less than normal.

Maybe it’s a good thing to come to Spark City. At the very least, Cheng Ran would be able to meet a few more people. Shi Qingyang seemed good. The old man hopped he’ll be kind to Cheng Ran…

Cheng Running inevitably had diarrhea and ran last night. After many trips to the bathroom, the whole person felt a little tired. Gu Changjin was saddened by the situation, but he was also delighted.

This was the first time his young master had a friend.

When it was midnight, things finally calmed down. Cheng Ran ate a small bowl of mashed potatoes and returned to the room. He touched the jerky in his pocket, slightly disappointed.

He just had diarrhea, so these jerky can't be eaten right now...

Although this thing was hard to chew, it just had a mouthful of scum after chewing for a long time, but it was offered to him by a new friend. The meat of the high-level insect beasts was most tasty.