PSW - Chapter 93
Chapter 93
"Go find some larger containers from the houses," Zheng Yi said softly. "Or get the fish-drying racks ready."
"I caught a lot of fish and shrimp. You can decide whether to salt them or air-dry them," she said. "They're all for you."
The women were clearly emotional, even trying to refuse. Zheng Yi had already saved them, and now she was preparing food for them… They had no way to repay her.
But Zheng Yi didn't seem to mind. As she cooked the fish porridge, she said, "Come eat in half an hour. It's best if you bring your own bowls and chopsticks."
The women looked at each other before scattering to find clean bowls, chopsticks, and containers to store the fish and shrimp.
The woman whose tendons had been severed and the one missing her eyeballs stayed behind. The woman with the empty eye sockets held yesterday's little girl, who wasn't scared of her at all. The girl snuggled in her arms, looking curiously at Zheng Yi before letting out another yawn. Thanks to Zheng Yi's treatment, the woman with the severed tendons could move a little, though with great difficulty. The few other children remaining in the village gathered together, not running around. Fear and curiosity filled their eyes. The oldest among them was no more than eight, which was one of the reasons the women had taken them in.
Zheng Yi took a moment to hand Yu Yinan two bags of fruit-flavored hard candies. Yu Yinan paused, then took them and walked over to the children, giving one to each. Then she gave a handful to each of the two women. Yu Yinan helped tear the wrapper and placed a candy in the blind woman's hand. "Have some."
Perhaps…
Compared to the children, who didn't yet fully understand the world, these women needed a sweet candy even more.
It was very likely they hadn't tasted anything sweet in a long, long time, perhaps even forgetting what sweetness was like.
The women soon found iron and plastic buckets. Someone even brought over a red plastic bathtub more than a meter in diameter. There were larger water vats in the backyards of some houses, but those were too difficult to carry over.
Water materialized from thin air as Zheng Yi washed all the buckets and the tub. Then, large blocks of ice encasing the mutated fish were placed directly into the large bathtub, one stacked on top of the other. As for the buckets, they were quickly filled with various sea fish and shrimp, with even a few crabs of different sizes mixed in.
"Come have some porridge. You can deal with these after you've eaten," Zheng Yi said, rinsing the bowls and chopsticks they had brought. She lifted the lids of the pot and steamer, giving each person a large bowl of exceptionally delicious fish porridge and a steamed bun, which was more than enough to fill their stomachs.
Yu Yinan stood to the side, handing out the rest of the candy before joining Zheng Yi for a bowl of porridge.
The marinated fish slices had almost no fishy smell. They were smooth, tender, and savory, melting in the mouth without any bones, with a slight hint of salty freshness. The mutated fish tasted even better than imagined. Its increased size hadn't affected the texture or flavor of its meat; instead, it provided a better, fresher, and more abundant source of food.
After a bowl of porridge, Yu Yinan felt a warmth spread through her body. It seemed there really were benefits for ability users who ate mutated fish, and these benefits were different from those of the special rain. That rain caused ability users pain, but this mutated fish… was pure enjoyment.
Yu Yinan couldn't resist getting another bowl.
"What are we doing later?" Yu Yinan asked in a low voice as she ate her porridge.
"You're going for another swim," Zheng Yi said. "I'm going to fill their water vats."
"Let's let them use the shower room, too," Yu Yinan said, looking at Zheng Yi. "Is that okay?"
"If you want to, of course." She had given it to Yu Yinan, so it was hers to use as she pleased.
After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Zheng Yi cleaned the bowls and utensils. She returned the women's bowls and chopsticks to them and stored the rest in her personal space. She took out the shower room and placed it on the ground floor, briefly explaining its function to the women and telling them to use it as they wished.
Once she had done all this, the third-day-of-the-month prayer from Zhongshan had clearly begun. Zheng Yi started receiving a dense stream of Saint Points. She watched the points continuously increase as she gave each water vat a simple rinse before filling it with water.
[Ding! Detected that the host's cumulative Saint Points have exceeded 30,000! Reward: Special Comprehensive Nutrient SolutionUnlocked, Saint Exemption1]
A Special Comprehensive Nutrient Solution? Zheng Yi glanced at the store. This newly unlocked item wasn't cheap. A single vial was only 20ml, but it cost five Saint Points. According to the description, it could instantly replenish all the elements the human body needs, make a person feel energetic, accelerate stamina recovery, and provide a feeling of fullness.
Five Saint Points for a vial of a hunger-sating, nutritional version of a stamina potion.
Compared to the Stamina Recovery Pill, which cost thirty Saint Points, this Special Comprehensive Nutrient Solution was clearly a much better deal. Zheng Yi looked at the flavors. There were six options: sour, sweet, salty, spicy, bitter, and unflavored. These flavors could be freely combined to create tastes like "sweet and sour," "salty and spicy," or even "sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, and salty." The flavor didn't affect the efficacy, nor did choosing multiple flavors affect the price.
'Is it water-soluble?'
[Of course! The Special Comprehensive Nutrient Solution is colorless and transparent, soluble in water, and has no expiration date.]
Zheng Yi nodded and continued filling the water vats. Yu Yinan, however, didn't go for a swim, instead staying by her side. Zheng Yi glanced at her and casually redeemed a vial of the salty and spicy nutrient solution, handing it to Yu Yinan to try.
The vial was tiny. Even with the salty and spicy flavor, it was completely transparent, seemingly no different from water, and it didn't feel viscous when shaken.
"What's this?"
"A new little drink I bought," Zheng Yi said with a smile. "Want to try it, Jiejie?"
Yu Yinan had never doubted Zheng Yi. Hearing her say that, she took the vial and drank it in one gulp. The moment it touched her throat, the spiciness made her choke. A potent salty and spicy flavor quickly spread throughout her mouth. Yu Yinan started coughing, her face flushing as she instinctively wanted to spit it out, only to hear Zheng Yi say softly, "That's five Saint Points, you know~"
"…" Her face crimson, she forced herself to swallow the "drink" and looked at Zheng Yi with a slightly wronged expression.
"It replenishes all sorts of elements, speeds up stamina recovery, and can replace a meal. It's a special nutrient solution," Zheng Yi said with a smile. "I specially chose the salty and spicy flavor for you, Jiejie. You don't seem to like it?"
"…I like it." Yu Yinan gazed at Zheng Yi, her eyes slightly red from choking, but her expression was incredibly soft. Of that entire explanation, she had only heard the word "specially." "I like anything you choose."
This time, it was Zheng Yi who fell silent. She reached out and gently pinched Yu Yinan's cheek, not using much force, but said nothing more and simply went back to filling the vats.
By the time she had gone through the village and finished her work, the flow of Saint Points from the Zhongshan base had ended.
This round had provided a total of 5,261 Saint Points.
Host: Zheng Yi
Saint Points: 12,123
Inventory Slots: 11
Abilities: Water / Healing (Advanced) / Personal Space (Beginner)
Perhaps because Zheng Yi and Yu Yinan hadn't been gone for long, or maybe because Base Leader Feng's promotion was effective, the number of Saint Points from each round remained more or less the same, without any major fluctuations.
Zheng Yi redeemed a vial of sweet-flavored Special Comprehensive Nutrient Solution and also bought the painless induced abortion medicine. She walked directly over to Lu Lingying and handed both items to her. "Once you've decided, drink them both."
"Thank you! Thank you, Saint!" Lu Lingying showed almost no hesitation. She was about to kneel and kowtow, but Yu Yinan stopped her. Still, she couldn't stop her tears as she thanked her profusely.
"Go inside. I'll heal you," Zheng Yi said, then looked at the quiet blind woman and the disabled woman. "You two come as well."
Advanced healing… couldn't regrow eyeballs, but it wouldn't hurt to treat them anyway. As for the one with the severed tendons, a few more healing sessions would at least make her movements less clumsy and difficult, giving her basic self-sufficiency and the ability to survive.
Lu Lingying went into the house, tidied the bedsheets, and then lay down, drinking both vials of medicine. The golden light of healing enveloped the other two women as Zheng Yi raised a hand to conjure a stream of water, her eyes observing Lu Lingying's reaction.
After about three to five minutes, the medicine took effect. Lu Lingying could clearly feel contractions in her stomach and a sensation below, but it wasn't painful. With the painless induced abortion medicine combined with the nutrient solution, her stamina was now abundant, and her spirits were high. Still, facing this, she couldn't help but feel a little scared.
The clear water was stained with blood. Seeing that Lu Lingying was still conscious, Zheng Yi asked directly, "Do you want to see it afterward? Or should I just burn it?"
"…" Lu Lingying, who had been pushing, froze. Zheng Yi's question made her hesitate. After a second or two of silence, she said in a low voice, "Just burn it… Thank you."
The entire process took twenty minutes. Zheng Yi controlled the various pieces of flesh enveloped in bloody water and sent them to Yu Yinan, who used her ability to incinerate and destroy them along with the water. Only then did the golden light of healing envelop Lu Lingying's body, helping her recover.
When it was all over and Zheng Yi withdrew her ability, Lu Lingying was amazed when she tried to get out of bed and felt no discomfort. Was it really that fast and easy? It was truly painless, and… it seemed like she hadn't been affected at all?
"Rest well for the next couple of days," Zheng Yi said. "Haven't you used the shower room? You can go take a hot shower now."
"Saint!" This time, Lu Lingying dropped to her knees and gave Zheng Yi a genuine, heartfelt kowtow before getting up. "Thank you."
Seeing her do this, the disabled woman and the blind woman in the room also knelt, sincerely calling her Saint and offering their earnest thanks.
Zheng Yi glanced at them but said nothing, only taking Yu Yinan's hand and leading her out of the room.
In the Wasteland, Zheng Yi could only save them for a time, help them for a time. If they truly wanted to survive, they could only rely on themselves.
"Where are we going now?" Yu Yinan looked at her hand intertwined with Zheng Yi's, unable to suppress the smile on her face. Her eyes curved as she looked at Zheng Yi and asked softly.
"To the sea." Zheng Yi glanced at her. "For your second time in the ocean, you'll have to swim back and forth across the center at least three to five times."
"…" Yu Yinan's foolish grin froze on her face.
"Jiejie? You drank the nutrient solution, too~" Zheng Yi's smile, however, turned sweet. Her voice became soft and delicate as she gently shook Yu Yinan's arm. "Surely not? Surely there isn't an ability user who'd drink a nutrient solution and still have such poor stamina? How could such an ability user even exist? Right, Jiejie~"
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