A faint cracking sound, like that of a twig snapping, quickly cut through the morning air. Before the sound faded away, Lin Sanjiu suddenly opened her eyes and sat up silently.
Even though she didn't walk out of the wooden hut, she could still feel the forest surrounding the campsite. The rustling of leaves, the snapping of twigs, and the flying of birds were the only sounds that could be heard in the forest.
The night dragged a long gray dress behind her, and the thick fog hung in the sky, making the sky outside the window look murky. The sun had not fully emerged yet, and the chilly air condensed into a thin layer of mist and dew on the glass window.
Lin Sanjiu got off the bed and stared at the glass window as she slowly approached it.
Last night, her grand prize had lit a fire in the fireplace. Compared to the cold forest park, the interior of the wooden hut was much warmer.
She stretched out her hand and used her fingertips to wipe away the mist on the window. With a squeaking sound, the glass window slowly cleared up, revealing the true colors of the outside world.
The face was dark red, the skin was yellowish, and the pair of round, unmoving black eyes. A stiff, unfamiliar face peered into the hut from outside the window and met Lin Sanjiu's eyes.
Lin Sanjiu took a deep breath and stood up. She stretched out her hand to pull open the window. The person outside seemed to be startled by her action. He turned around and ran. As he ran, he shouted, "They're awake! They're awake! Get ready! They're coming out! "
"So, it's another lunatic." Lin Sanjiu patted the window frame and exhaled. Behind her, her grand prize was also startled awake by the shout. Only Qing Jiuliu, who had a hearty drink last night, was still in a deep sleep.
Lin Sanjiu stood up and opened the door of the wooden hut. The damp, chilly air from outside immediately rushed into the hut along with the morning air. Before she stepped out of the hut, Lin Sanjiu blinked her eyes and unleashed her Higher Consciousness. Her Higher Consciousness flung a small black shadow that was flying toward her into the forest.
"Doggie, what are you doing?!" The skinny old man from last night poked his head out of the wooden hut with a basin in his arms. "Put the stone down!"
The man who was stuck to the window, also known as Puppy, bent down to pick up the stones on the ground. He threw all the stones at Lin Sanjiu. He was still shouting, "Don't lie to me! You're not human! I know you're not human! You killed the Earthlings! It's you!"
Lin Sanjiu frowned. She hit the stones with her Higher Consciousness, and the stones scattered in all directions. The puppy froze for two seconds as if it had seen a ghost. Then, as if it had found a big piece of evidence, it shouted, "Aliens!"
"Go back!" The old man put down the basin and moved his skinny legs over to Lin Sanjiu, panting. After he chased the old man away, he apologized to Lin Sanjiu, "I wake up early, so they wake up early as well. Sorry for disturbing you …"
He lacked nutrition for a long time. Under the gray sky, he looked like a skeleton with a piece of skin hanging on it.
Lin Sanjiu wouldn't lose her temper at him, so she just nodded. She turned around and saw two faces stuck to the window of the other wooden hut. As soon as his eyes met hers, the two faces immediately shrank back.
"I will boil some hot water in the morning," the old man pointed to his wooden hut and said to Lin Sanjiu and her grand prize, "Before you leave, why don't you wash your face and drink some hot water?"
Lin Sanjiu found it funny that he was reminding her that they were leaving even though she hadn't said anything. She didn't want to make things difficult for him, so she nodded. The grand prize was even happier. He even asked if he could wash his hair.
Just like him, the old man's wooden house also exuded a faint stench of decay and old age. The old man introduced himself as Ke. He even made a self-deprecating remark about how his surname was a curse to many people around him. When he said that, his crazy son was standing in the corner of the hut, staring at Lin Sanjiu and her grand prize with a wary and fearful expression.
"It must be hard for you to take care of them alone, right?" Lin Sanjiu looked around the hut and asked.
"There's nothing difficult about it." Old Ke held a pot of boiling water with some difficulty. His thin, dry, and black arms were covered with veins due to the strength he exerted. He poured a cup of water for each of them and said, "If it wasn't for the fact that I still have to take care of them, I would have died a long time ago."
His body was so weak that he had to rely on a small amount of injections to sustain his life. Old Ke relied on his skinny body to sustain the lives of the mental patients in the campsite. Such a burden was unimaginable even before the apocalypse.
When Lin Sanjiu looked at the steam rising from the plastic cup, she suddenly realized that she couldn't help the old man at all. She couldn't let the old man eat, nor could she help his son recover.
"Young lady, do you want to wash your hair?" Old Ke didn't forget her grand prize's request. He put down the water pot and asked, "I don't think this pot of water is enough. Give me a minute, I will boil some more …"
The grand prize's shoulders jerked. He retracted his gaze and immediately relaxed his brows.
"No, I don't want to wash my hair," he smiled, "I don't want to trouble you."
Old Ke didn't stand on ceremony. He probably didn't have enough energy either. He sat down on the chair opposite them and said, "Alright, alright … Drink some water, drink some water."
Even posthumans would burn their tongues if they drank the water. Lin Sanjiu held the cup without moving. Just when she wanted to ask him something, she heard a commotion outside. Old Ke sighed. Before he could stand up, the door of the wooden hut was pulled open.
A skinny man who was almost as skinny as Old Ke stood at the door with a gloomy face. When his eyes fell on Old Ke, he lowered his voice as if he was reporting to a secret agent. "I just found the two aliens that were left behind. One is unconscious, and the other is being caught by a puppy …"
Before he could finish his sentence, he saw Lin Sanjiu and Ji Shanqing. His jaw dropped and he couldn't continue his sentence.
Lin Sanjiu rubbed the space between her brows. She could already hear Qing Jiuliu grumbling unhappily. Old Ke had an embarrassed expression on his face. He quickly said, "I'll go and settle this." Then, he stood up and walked out of the door.
Lin Sanjiu listened attentively to the commotion outside the door. She was still worried, so she walked to the window and looked outside.
Old Ke's wooden hut had a good view of half of the campsite. The window on the other side faced the wooden huts of the other mental patients. Lin Sanjiu could see their huts with just one glance. The curtains that blocked her view had been removed, probably so that she could detect any abnormalities in time.
At this moment, Qing Jiuliu was standing between the puppy and Old Man Ke. His brows were furrowed as he rubbed his temples. There was a pained expression on his face. He was still suffering from a hangover when someone grabbed him and yelled at him. It was obvious that his headache was getting worse. After a while, Qing Jiuliu nodded his head and walked towards the wooden hut. It was unclear what Old Man Ke said, but Qing Jiuliu nodded and walked towards the wooden hut.
Old Ke sighed. After he gave a few instructions to another mental patient, he walked shakily to Lin Sanjiu's wooden hut and closed the door. At least, he didn't have to worry about Magus for the time being.
Lin Sanjiu felt a little relieved.
Just as she sat down, Qing Jiuliu pushed the door open and walked in. His action startled the crazy son in the corner. He shuddered and his square face twitched. He looked around lazily and threw himself into the chair that Old Ke was sitting on and crossed his legs.
"Is Magus alright?" Lin Sanjiu asked.
"Why didn't you ask me? She is much more comfortable than I am. " Qing Jiuliu looked as if he was about to melt into the chair. He rested his head on the table weakly, "I have a terrible headache now. It would be great if I could have a glass of whiskey …"
Lin Sanjiu ignored him. She didn't call the liquor cabinet out either. She knocked on the glass and said, "I only have water."
Qing Jiuliu immediately groaned.
"Come to think of it … it's a little strange." The grand prize looked at his glass of water and rubbed his chin, "All the mental patients here have the same delusion. Why do they have to be aliens?"
The man in the corner shivered when he heard that word.
He had been asked by his father to stay in the room alone with the "aliens". His square face had already turned pale from fear. Qing Jiuliu glanced at him and smiled, "This father and son pair sure look like polar opposites."
Listening to the noises outside the wooden hut, Old Ke seemed to be trying to coax the mental patients back into the hut. As an "alien", Lin Sanjiu couldn't go out and help. She could only sit there and look at Old Ke's wooden hut with boredom.
Other than two beds and a table and chair, Old Ke had very few belongings. Lin Sanjiu didn't know what kind of life he had been living. The only change he had was two sets of clothes, which were hanging on the coat rack along with a towel. Other than that, he only had a basin and a pair of slippers.
The door of the wooden hut opened with a creak. Old Ke walked in with an embarrassed look on his face.
He held an old teacup in his hand and placed it in front of Qing Jiuliu as if it was an apologetic gift, "I can't help it. They act like this when they see outsiders. They think that other than the people in the camping area, the rest of the aliens are all wearing human skin … Sigh, they are easy to control when no one comes, but when there are people, they can't control them. "
Lin Sanjiu suddenly understood why Old Ke always wanted them to leave. When she realized that not only did she not help him, but she had also caused him trouble, she couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed. Lin Sanjiu raised the glass of water and smiled apologetically, "Thank you for the warm water. We will leave immediately after drinking it."
As she said that, she raised the glass to her lips. The water was no longer as hot as before. Lin Sanjiu felt rather comfortable when she held the warm water between her teeth until she tasted the sweetness of the water.
Old Ke's eyes narrowed into two crescent moons and the corners of his mouth curled up.
"Drink it," he said softly, "You aliens."
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