CH 24.2

Chapter 24.2 – Cookies and Flowers

The event time was over, and the crowd returned to the room and began another long wait.

For the next five days, everything repeated itself. Most of the time they stayed inside, with occasional free time to move around, and occasionally, they could hear the broadcast of the battle situation.

The cold female voice said: [Today, the outpost in the southeast of the main city defeated the wave of insect-like infections, the defense line is currently being rebuilt…]

[The following broadcast of General Su Enqi’s speech: “I implore you all to remain calm and keep your faith during this crucial time. I have been in several such battles and I know with great clarity and certainty that the ‘Horn’ is not to be feared and that this battle is one we can win, and we will win. You are the most resilient and strongest people I have ever met, and you must unite in times of crisis…”]

[In the evening of December 1st, General Lu personally came to the front line of the main city to command the battle]

[On December 2nd, General Lu further analyzed the behavior pattern of the “Horn” and achieved a breakthrough in defensive tactics…]

[On December 4th, the fourth wave of large-scale infected creatures was repelled, and the Alliance Army held on to the front and began the next defense plan]

[At 8 o’clock in the evening on December 4th, General Lu Tinghan promulgated new defense guidelines, with the third outpost as the center, a new line of defense was fully built, ready to face the Abyss No.2 Infected Swarm.]

For a long time, Lu Tinghan and Su Enqi have been equally divided, by their own strengths and achievements. In this war, people quickly noticed that Lu Tinghan occupied an absolute dominant position.

Perhaps it was because Su Enqi was really old and had given up more power and trust.

Perhaps Lu Tinghan had grown to the point where he could monopolize the power without anyone’s command and assistance, his decision was the best solution.

Or maybe both.

Shi Yuan listened to the radio carefully every day so that he could understand what Lu Tinghan was doing.

He didn’t understand firearms and military, nor did he understand the power struggle within the Alliance. All he knew was that Lu Tinghan, with the Alliance army, was moving forward solidly, step by step, whether it was a brilliant tomorrow or the end of the world ahead.

The tremors from the ground never disappeared, and the most severe ones were almost like landslides.

Dizziness, ringing in the ears, blurred eyes.

The loud roar was interspersed with cries, and the lights in the house were shaking, as if it was the end of days.

Clutching a pillow, Shi Yuan sat on the bed and saw the restless and terrified faces. They were simply identical to Qin Luoluo at that time.

He didn’t understand their fears and could only try to comfort them as much as possible, handing them tissues when someone cried, searching his heart, and telling jokes he heard from the troupe – he never knew where the jokes were, but he knew that humans would be happy when they heard them, so he wrote them down.

People were amused by him, but Shi Yuan became tangled instead.

The battle was urgent, and the monsters were his own kind, but he didn’t want these humans to die either. He wanted that impossible peace, and he was caught between the cracks, listening to the screams of monsters and the sobbing of people at the same time, he didn’t know what to do.

Another late night, when the old lady was sitting by his bed and comforting him, Shi Yuan said, “I don’t belong here.”

The old lady was surprised: “What are you talking about?”

“I don’t belong here,” Shi Yuan said again, coiling himself up with his tail.

If he hadn’t promised Lu Tinghan, he wouldn’t have come to the shelter at all.

He wanted to go back to the wasteland.

He wanted to go back to Lu Tinghan’s side, to be held in his arms and have his head rubbed.

“Why do you say that?” The old lady took his hand. “Shi Yuan, you are a good boy. I’ve never seen anyone who is more patient than you, pouring hot water and handing tissues to everyone, telling funny stories, and listening to us chatter so much. Didn’t you just help Xiao Zhou take care of the flowers?”

When Shi Yuan looked up, he happened to see the couple. The young couple smiled at him—the wife’s eyes were always red, but she was amused by Shi Yuan’s jokes several times.

And the young people in another corner liked “The Martyr” very much. They recognized Shi Yuan on the first day, and chased him to ask about the troupe, and never tired of it.

Everyone else knew him too.

“Of course, you belong here,” the old woman said with certainty. “We all like you. Be happy, when your commander boyfriend comes back, he definitely doesn’t want to see you sad.”

She mentioned that “boyfriend” many times, and sent her most sincere blessings every time.

Shi Yuan whispered, “What if that commander is the person you hate the most?”

The old grandmother looked at him, and after a few seconds, she understood everything.

She said: “Shi Yuan, then I will bless him just as much.”

In the evening, everyone sat around. The couple talked about the story of Fengyang City. They said that there are huge solar panels and windmills there, and there is no end to the energy towers and power plants. The current flows along the cobweb-like power grid to every corner of the alliance, so the lights are lit up for a long night.

“Which city is very good?” the young wife said. “I still prefer Gleaning City. I came here to see wheat fields and stage plays.  There are too few people who can persist in artistic creation now.” She looked at Shi Yuan with a smile. “You played so well, I didn’t even recognize you before.”

“I recognized him at a glance!” another person said. “I have seen “The Martyr” twice!” He pulled Shi Yuan and asked, “Hey, is your leader very fierce? He looks like he’s not easy to mess with. I wanted to ask him for an autograph before, but I didn’t dare to go.”

“Mr. Wolfgang is just not very talkative.” Shi Yuan said, “He is a very gentle person, and he will definitely be willing to sign for you.”

The man was very happy and kept saying that he would go to another show.

“When will it be?” Shi Yuan asked him.

The man thought for a while: “I hope it’s tomorrow.”

Low laughter came from all around.

The old grandmother talked about Shanshan again, saying that Shanshan liked cookies so much that she would often bring a few with her. She slipped one to Shi Yuan and said, “This is the last one, I made it myself.”

That night, the earth shook, and the song of the “Horn” echoed in the sky. Every time it trembled, there was a loud noise, there was always the sound of various cups, pots and pans, and heavy objects landing, bang bang klang. Shi Yuan nestled in the corner of the bed, took out the cookies, and ate them in small bites.

The cookie had dried fruits, with a sweet and sour taste, he guessed it was the fruit called “blueberry”.

There was a rustling sound from the other side of the bed, and Zhou Ping’an probed and asked, “What are you eating?”

“Cookie,” Shi Yuan replied. “Grandma gave it to me.”

“Why didn’t she give it to me?” Zhou Ping’an’s eyes widened. “Is it because my love story is not good? Why does she only favor you?” He suddenly turned over and jumped onto Shi Yuan’s bed to sit side by side with him, “Give me a piece, give me a piece.”

Shi Yuan broke half of the cookie and gave it to him.

“What kind of fruit is this?” Zhou Ping’an asked, “Strawberries?”

“I think it’s blueberry,” Shi Yuan replied, “Look it’s blue.”

Zhou Ping’an: “I’ve never seen strawberries, can’t strawberries have blue color?”

Shi Yuan was in a difficult position: “I haven’t seen it either.” He thought about it and compromised, “Well, it could be blueberries, or it could be blue strawberries.”

“Forget about it, whatever.” Zhou Ping’an smiled. “Yummy.”

The earth continued to tremble, they nestled in the far corner of the shelter and finished eating half a cookie in small bites.

Zhou Ping’an said: “One day, I want to see strawberries with my own eyes, I mean, the kind that are planted in large swaths in the ground and picked by me at will. My girlfriend will definitely be happy.”

Shi Yuan said, “Then if you see it, remember to tell me if there are any blue strawberries.”

“Of course!” Zhou Ping’an agreed. “I will know one day.” He arched Shi Yuan’s shoulders and frowned. “There are still too many things in this world that I want to figure out. I won’t die, at least not today.”

Shi Yuan: “Because of the blue strawberry?”

Zhou Ping’an said, “Yes, there is also this delicious cookie.” He pointed to the bottom of the bed. “And that pot of flowers I want to give to the one I like.”

It was late at night when the tremor was over, and the broadcast said: [General Su Enqi delivered another speech on the current situation: “…I want to reiterate that the Alliance has experienced too many wars, and the situation has been extremely unfavorable. The theory of the ‘demise of mankind’ was once popular, but we have indeed come through and ushered in these 20 years of stability. At any time, we can proudly say: We have tried our best and done our best…”]

[“We have a guilt-free conscience about taking back our homeland.”]

After another two days, the snowdrops that Zhou Ping’an was thinking about bloomed.

Shi Yuan was awakened by his exclamation, and Zhou Ping’an shouted, “It’s blooming! The snowdrops are blooming!!!”

Everyone had been looking forward to seeing the snowdrops bloom.

The Alliance flower is loved by everyone, and its language, “hope and unyielding love,” is deeply felt. Unexpectedly, the warning came suddenly, and it was destined to miss the first batch of flowering.

This may be the only bouquet of flowers in the entire refuge. It was brought by accident, and Zhou Ping’an looked forward to it blooming every day.

It’s a pity that the conditions of the refuge were limited. Snowdrops should have opened a few days ago. Perhaps because of the lack of light, it had been silent, making Zhou Ping’an suspect that it would never bloom.

And now it bloomed with snow-white petals, cascading, with a faint fluorescence, so white that it was almost transparent.

It can be called a miracle.

Zhou Ping’an’s voice awakened everyone.

Soon, everyone rubbed their eyes and gathered around.

The novelty is a once-in-a-lifetime event, Zhou Ping’an’s voice was heard by a lot of people, and people from next door ran over. Men, women, and children crowded together, three circles inside and three circles outside, surrounding the small flower pot.

The power was cut off long ago in the shelter, Shi Yuan sat in front of the flowerpot, and saw their faces illuminated by the shimmering light of the petals. Perhaps the light was too weak, so their facial lines looked very soft, strange faces, gentle faces, all of them had light in their eyes.

“It’s blooming!” they said, smiling unconsciously.

Then they chatted.

“Snowdrops can bloom in a place like this.”

“Yeah, there’s not even sunlight here… It’s really amazing, it’s definitely a good sign.”

“It’s beautiful, did you grow this yourself? How come you brought it in the shelter?”

Zhou Ping’an explained, “I was planning to give it away.” He looked over at the snowdrops. “I didn’t expect it either.”

After eating compressed food for almost 10 days, it became uncomfortable just smelling it, and there was a strange smell in the direct drinking water. They didn’t know how long this kind of day would last; today’s siren only stopped for 2 hours, the ground trembled, and the bed shook badly. They gathered in this small room to watch a flower bloom.

Shi Yuan saw the writings on the wall again.

The wall next to his bed said: “Everything is meaningless, we will die one day.”

And another line of lettering in the far corner that had been ignored by him quietly floated up in the dim light of the night, like a shy fish.

It said: [The world is beautiful, we should live till the end.]