WS - Chapter 130
Chapter 130
The tent was a good tent.
The rain... was truly a deluge.
This rain hadn't been in the original weather forecast for this area of Wilderness Planet. Perhaps because of the Yaoxing Storm's influence, even the weather had turned erratic.
Unlike a certain later camp that was purposely built to withstand a forecasted heavy rain, this camp was just an ordinary treehouse camp, with no pre-dug drainage ditches or rain gear. Even the best tent couldn't hold out much more than two hours before water started seeping in.
After the washroom collapsed earlier, the guests had all rummaged through their personal lockers and grabbed a change of clothes. Whether they were too tired to do more than a quick wipe-down, or like Yu Nianbing and the others who boiled water to wash properly, they'd only been clean for a few hours before the muddy water seeping into the tents made them filthy all over again.
The rain was too heavy. And their camp was at the foot of a mountain; weather and topography together made for a truly wretched situation.
Fortunately, the camp wasn't pressed right up against the mountain, and this side's slope was fairly gentle with plenty of trees, or they'd have more to worry about than just rain.
The noise of the downpour, the cramped two-person tents, and the rainwater constantly seeping in through every seam made it hard for anyone to sleep.
Yu Nianbing had, as soon as the rain started, moved Song Shiyue from against the inner tent wall toward the middle, then stuffed their discarded clothes and towels along the bottom edges.
This precaution gave their tent an extra half hour...
The camp, having lost its firelight, melted into the night.
Such heavy rain, such darkness, left people feeling profoundly insecure; hearts already restless now grew even more anxious.
Inside tent after tent, murmured voices and schemes seemed to hide within the sound of the rain.
But how could mere wind and rain drown out the efforts of those black-tech-enhanced cameras?
"Wang Daming really is a piece of work. He came empty-handed, and now he's wrapped up a bundle of clothes. What's up with Zhang Jianshi? They're two to a tent, how can he not see that extra bundle?"
"What's up... is there any point in pointing it out now? When food runs out later, people will start eyeing it. Isn't it nice having someone else carry it for you?"
"With Wang Daming's level of fighting ability, even if he gets something, can he keep it? Right now he's just free labor."
"None of them are any good. In the middle of the night, unable to sleep, they start talking about siding with Captain Yang or with Zhao Da and Zhao Er. It's not an election; at this point, might makes right."
"It's a shame about Sister Song, I don't know why she collapsed. If she hadn't, the other voices in this group wouldn't matter."
"Sigh... Yu Nianbing is having a tough time too, squeezing muddy water into that tiny kettle and pouring it out. By the time she finishes squeezing the last piece, the first one is soaked again."
"Still better than those other tents where people are scrambling around sitting in the mud. But with all this work, Yu Nianbing won't be getting any sleep tonight either."
"Sleep is a small thing. After daybreak, when this group falls apart, that's the big deal."
"Come on, with this rain, I don't think anyone's going anywhere when it gets light. Heading out into this rain would be no different from suicide."
......
The matter of the rain was, as it turned out, exactly what the StarNet viewers had been randomly chattering about.
A whole night of heavy rain. Even when it eased slightly in the early morning, the ground was still a flooded mess.
No matter how diligently Yu Nianbing wrung out clothes and towels, no matter how much water she poured away, faced with such a long, relentless rain, some lapses were inevitable, and traces of mud splatters had to be wiped from inside the tent.
Still, compared to Yu Nianbing, whose limbs were unavoidably damp, Song Shiyue's body remained dry.
Yu Nianbing carefully pressed herself against the tent wall, avoided the prone Song Shiyue in the middle, grabbed a towel soaked for who knows how many times, stuffed a freshly wrung-out garment into another spot, and then began squeezing the towel over the kettle.
The sound of rain outside the tent, the sound of water inside the tent, had been going on like this all night.
And Song Shiyue, who could only lie there, unable to help at all, had also been listening all night.
What kindness and perseverance.
How could I deserve such care from Yu Nianbing?
Song Shiyue couldn't help but feel a bit lost.
Fortunately, the brief moment of clarity the previous night had given Song Shiyue a sliver of hope.
Perhaps... I still have a chance, a chance to repay this kindness.
The heavy rain fell all night, and continued through the entire morning.
The rain had only eased slightly in the early morning, and showed no further sign of letting up.
Aside from Yu Nianbing's side, only Feng Qianqian's tent persisted in the struggle to stay dry.
Feng Qianqian's was a two-person tent. Originally, Ning Chuyang and Ni Jinghe had been inside caring for Feng Qianqian, but when the rain wouldn't stop, Mu Xingzhou squeezed over from the neighboring tent in the middle of the night.
Their method was much the same as Yu Nianbing's: using spare clothes to soak up water, then unzipping a crack and pouring it out.
But with three people, at least they could take turns resting, making it one of the only two tents that still hadn't been soaked through by the rain.
In weather like this, naturally no one spoke of continuing forward.
They even tried to hold in their personal needs as long as possible.
The rain kept falling all night, and all the next day.
Only when the rain gradually lightened, ceased, and the dark clouds dispersed did the sky fill with the glow of sunset.
The post-rain sunset was beautiful, but the soaked figures crawling out of their tents had no heart to appreciate it.
The first priority: gathering firewood and starting a fire.
All the wood around was wet, and even with a lighter, getting a fire going was a challenge.
Thankfully, they managed it in the end. Even if the smoke was thick, no one complained at a time like this. Aside from a few who couldn't hold it any longer and went off to take care of personal matters, most people's first thought was to get themselves dry.
The less fussy ones went straight to the fire to dry off; the more particular ones washed the mud off at the tap first.
Just as the rain stopped, Wang Daming dragged the half-wet dog out of the tent and tied it back to the tree. Guan Yongyi saw this and even praised him. Before Zhao Er, who had just come out of the neighboring tent, could eagerly open his mouth, Wang Daming started laughing.
"If it catches a cold, then we can't eat it." Wang Daming's smile was a little wicked as he looked at Guan Yongyi and winked.
Not only was Guan Yongyi choked up, but even Zhao Er was starting to think that Wang Daming was a bit...
Before the Yaoxing Storm, he'd been a fawning bootlicker, licking Director Zhang's boots every day. So why was he now so completely unrestrained, practically snapping at heaven and earth, with none of his former tact?
Disaster reveals true character, and money makes people swell. For some, disaster is terrifying, but also liberating. The more they were once repressed, the harder it is to control.
Wang Daming's voice wasn't low. Though he spoke cruel words, it was with the smugness of someone proclaiming it to the world.
Not only the people nearby heard it; even those in the tents farther away heard it too.
But... right now everyone was wet, cold, and hungry, barely taking care of themselves. Two people were down. Who would go looking for trouble over the unknown fate of a dog?
Yu Nianbing listened to the sounds outside for only a moment before continuing to dry her hands. She checked Song Shiyue over and over, confirming she was dry, before carefully and slowly opening the tent.
Thankfully, although the camp was at the foot of a mountain, it wasn't in a hollow, nor at the lowest point. After the rain stopped, the standing water slowly drained away, leaving only a field of mud.
Before warming themselves by the fire, Ning Chuyang and Zhuang Jiachuan both went to check on Yu Nianbing and Song Shiyue. Seeing that Song Shiyue wasn't wet at all, they naturally went to dry themselves off first before coming back to see if Yu Nianbing needed any help.
You don't know what you've got till it's gone. So fire... really is an important thing.
Once everyone was more or less dry, Ni Jinghe took two tablets and dissolved them in two bowls of water until it looked like juice. She had everyone take a sip, saying it was to ward off chills and colds.
Everyone except the two who were down took a sip.
But in places Ni Jinghe didn't notice, more than one pair of eyes began frequently glancing at her... and the tent where her backpack was.
"We need a doctor." Captain Yang took a slow sip of water, the sweet taste of the medicinal water still faint in his mouth.
Beside him, Director Zhang, who had taken off his shoes and was drying his feet, nodded in agreement, then turned to look at Wang Daming. "Go have a chat with Doctor Ni later."
Wang Daming grunted an "mm," but glanced at the strange smell starting to waft from Director Zhang's drying feet, then used that "mm" as an excuse to stand up.
Just as Wang Daming went over to chat with Ni Jinghe, Zhao Da led some people to the thermal storage boxes to fetch food.
Six bowls of dried scallop and spare rib congee, six bowls of eight-treasure congee, six servings of chicken breast and shrimp salad...
"No burgers? Not even sandwiches?" Director Zhang, who had gone hungry all day and only had a flask of water, looked back and forth at the things in Zhao Da's and Zhao Er's hands, on the verge of breaking down.
"When we went to get boxed meals last night, there were still some," Wang Daming spoke up.
"We've lost a day to the rain, so we should conserve supplies. Burgers, sandwiches, and breakfast platters are all easy to carry on the road. You don't want to eat your fill this one meal and then live on water for the next two or three days, do you?" Zhao Da looked at the people who appeared dissatisfied.
Everyone understood the logic, but after a day of hunger, each person getting only a bowl of congee and a bite of salad was still heartbreaking.
Captain Yang shot Zhao Da a look, then elbowed Director Zhang.
Director Zhang paused, then gave Wang Daming a slap.
Wang Daming: "..."
Director Zhang frowned. This was a perfect opportunity; why wasn't anyone speaking up? He had no choice but to open his mouth himself. "Actually, the injured people, if they keep hurrying along with us like this, won't be able to properly recover. How about we split into two groups? One group can go ahead and clear the path, and the other can take it slow."
At last...
At last, the topic had come up.
With one simple sentence, Director Zhang completely tore apart the facade of unity and harmony the group had been barely maintaining.
Then Wang Daming and Captain Yang seconded the idea, instantly elevating the topic above everyone's hunger. They couldn't even be bothered to hand out the congee before launching into a heated argument.
Argument was inevitable, and those who wanted to split up and those who thought they should stay together looked down on each other.
With Director Zhang, Captain Yang, and Wang Daming taking a clear stance, the three who wanted to split up felt that the fiercely opposed Ning Chuyang and Zhuang Jiachuan were simply hypocrites. Who would risk their life for people they'd only known a few days? The road was so hard, the food so scarce—why put on such a show? They had already played the villains; how hard was it for the others to just honestly follow behind and speak their true feelings? In the end, wouldn't they just put on a face of "the minority yielding to the majority," acting as if they were being forced to follow along?
Yes, Director Zhang and the other two thought that Ning Chuyang and Zhuang Jiachuan were just playing at being good people.
In their view, after the split, the only ones willing to stay behind and take care of the two who had collapsed would be those two inexplicable suckers, Yu Nianbing and Mu Xingzhou.
After all, having thrown out tens of millions, their feelings were deep and weighty; that kind of bond was hard to sever.
But to their surprise, when the idea of splitting was raised, Yu Nianbing and Mu Xingzhou remained silent, while Ning Chuyang and Zhuang Jiachuan reacted so fiercely...
Ning Chuyang, who had always been hot-tempered, even said, "Split into what groups? You just want to abandon Song Shiyue and Feng Qianqian, don't you? Abandoning them now is wanting them dead. Why talk about splitting into groups and dress it up so nicely?" She had pretty much ripped the last shred of their fig leaf to the ground.
Even Director Zhang couldn't quite withstand such a fierce attack from Ning Chuyang and had no choice but to look at the still-silent Zhao Da and Zhao Er.
Director Zhang extended a hand for help, pulling Zhao Da and Zhao Er right into the muddy water.
And Zhao Da, having observed enough, didn't much mind Director Zhang's tactic of diverting trouble elsewhere.
"We also think splitting up is necessary. Don't think the road so far was tough—what's ahead is even worse. Take what's coming up: the production team originally planned a bamboo raft crossing for the guests. Now with the earthquake and the rain, who knows if the prepared rafts are still there. If they're not, and we want to cross the river and move on, we'll have to build our own rafts. If we all stay together, carrying the injured will definitely slow us down. Then we'll have to spend time making rafts when we get there. With both of those time costs combined, we'll take too long between the two camps." Zhao Da's gaze slowly swept across the still-indignant faces of Ning Chuyang and Zhuang Jiachuan, as well as the silent others. "But if we split up, the advance team can move faster and build extra rafts to leave for the rear team. When the rear team arrives, they can use the ready-made ones, saving time—and saving food. Everyone's chances of survival will improve."
Zhao Da's words had some substance, and everyone listened quietly.
But as soon as Zhao Da closed his mouth, Ning Chuyang let out a cold laugh. "For the advance team, yes, it'll be faster. But what about the rear team? With fewer people, they'll need more rest stops, and they'll get slower and slower, taking even more time..."
"So, Teacher Ning, are you saying we all have to be slow together, and go hungry together?" Wang Daming looked at Ning Chuyang. "We're the bodyguards, so maybe it's different for us. But should the others really sacrifice their own lives for someone else? When splitting up is clearly the better choice, but you deny it just because we haven't all shared the same hardships?"
"You..." Ning Chuyang was so stung she was momentarily at a loss for words.
Zhuang Jiachuan stepped forward, shielding Ning Chuyang, and frowned. "But Song Shiyue saved us. Saved all of us. And now you want to split up, just watching her wait to die?"
"How is splitting up the same as waiting to die? We'll be up ahead, working hard to clear the path..." Wang Daming's voice weakened.
"Teacher Song isn't the kind of person who expects repayment..." Director Zhang's tone floated.
Hearing them talk like that, Zhuang Jiachuan was so angry he laughed.
Director Zhang's face couldn't take being laughed at by Zhuang Jiachuan, and he couldn't help but get a bit angry. "Teacher Zhuang, don't be like that. Who wouldn't want to all go together if we could? Look at my arm! One's wrecked, and the other's going to be wrecked from carrying a stretcher. And look at Captain Yang's leg! With one leg crippled, he should be resting properly, but instead he has to carry people the whole way. Even when we get back, who knows if it'll ever heal... And... forget it. We really can't do it anymore. Let me ask you, Teacher Zhuang, with all you're saying now, are you staying, or coming with us?"
Zhuang Jiachuan: "...Yeah, I'm staying."
"Teacher Zhuang, you... Ah... think it over some more..." Director Zhang regretted having spoken so impulsively.
"I'm staying too." Ning Chuyang didn't miss a beat.
Director Zhang: "..."
Ning Chuyang looked at Director Zhang with resolute eyes.
"Teacher Ning, you... Ah... you... don't just say that to spite me..." Director Zhang stammered a bit.
"Teacher Zhuang and I, Mu Xingzhou, Doctor Ni—we'll all stay. And Teacher Yu... Teacher Yu, you..." Ning Chuyang turned to look at Yu Nianbing.
Yu Nianbing nodded.
Now with more confidence, Ning Chuyang smiled and looked at Zhao Da and Zhao Er. "Now, counting Song Shiyue and Feng Qianqian, we're the overwhelming majority, aren't we? So, for the sake of the majority's interests, bodyguards... shouldn't you stay too?"
Comments
Post a Comment