Chapter 57 – Crabs
It was the first time Xia Huo Qu and Yin Xi Nian had taken materials out to trade, and it felt strange.
They didn’t bring much—only 100 pounds of rice along with various ropes and bags.
The truck continued forward, but the roads had become difficult to navigate, especially after the recent earthquake. The road was now even worse, with uneven ground, rocks, and mudslides blocking the way.
Even though their modified truck could handle rough terrain, the ride was still uncomfortable, and the three of them were sore and aching from the bumpy journey.
Only Xia the cat stared outside the window, still fascinated after a full day of travel.
Kong Zhi asked, “Is Yacheng town far from our base?”
“Not too far, but not exactly close either,” Xia Huo Qu replied. “Their base is quite large, so they need a wide area for operations. It used to take one or two days to get there, but with the road blocked, we’ll need to take a detour. It’ll probably take three or four days now.”
Kong Zhi asked, “Do we have a map?”
“Yes.” Xia Huo Qu pulled a map from the glove box and handed it to him. “But keep in mind, the landscape has changed dramatically. The map might not be reliable.”
Yin Xi Nian was driving. “The map used to be helpful, but not so much now. Once things settle down, we’ll need to have the gathering team make a new version.”
Kong Zhi nodded.
With so much debris on the road, their truck moved slowly. After driving all day, they arrived at a small town.
Yin Xi Nian parked the truck in a basketball court. “This town is one our gathering team frequents. It’s been searched so many times that there’s nothing left of value. The good thing is that it’s been cleared out, so there’s no danger. Let’s rest here.”
After saying that, Yin Xi Nian got out of the truck. The others followed, stretching their legs.
There was a stove and dry rations in the truck bed, and Xia Huo Qu took the stove down to cook noodles.
As smoke curled up from the stove, the sky hadn’t fully darkened yet, with the evening clouds still glowing.
The basketball court was relatively clean, with no mutated plants in sight. Looking at it, one would never guess this place had been abandoned.
Xia Huo Qu soon finished cooking the noodles, and after everyone ate and cleaned up, the sun still hadn’t set.
Summer nights took forever to come.
Kong Zhi glanced at the sky. “I want to fly up and take a look around.”
Yin Xi Nian nodded. “Good idea. Check out the road ahead. We can figure out our route after you come back.”
Kong Zhi agreed, jumping into the truck bed and starting to undress to transform.
Xia the cat, on all fours, followed closely behind him.
Xia Huo Qu grabbed his brother by the scruff of the neck, lifting the cat and looking into his eyes. “Don’t cause trouble.”
“Meow.” Xia the cat’s voice was sweet and soft. He wanted to go, too.
Kong Zhi’s voice came from the truck bed. “It’s fine.”
Trusting Kong Zhi, Xia Huo Qu relented. “Go, but come back soon.”
Kong Zhi nodded, jumped out of the truck, took a few steps, and transformed into a giant golden eagle.
Xia the cat leapt out of his brother’s arms, gracefully landing on the ground and running over to look up at the golden eagle.
The eagle lowered its head, gently picked up the cat in its beak, took a few steps forward, and took flight.
Once in the air, Xia the cat’s view expanded.
He looked down, watching as his brother and Yin Xi Nian became smaller and smaller, observing the nearly ruined town and the faint traces of roads leading out.
A tinge of sadness appeared in Xia the cat’s green eyes as he watched.
If the disaster hadn’t happened, this would have been the time when people were packing up to head home for the day. The town should have been bustling with lights and traffic by now.
Kong Zhi continued flapping his wings, flying higher, and soon they could see the road leading out of town and even the sea not far beyond.
Flying even higher, they could faintly see Yacheng town in the distance.
Xia the cat widened his eyes, trying to memorize the road ahead. However, his long-distance vision wasn’t great, and no matter how hard he strained, he couldn’t make out the details clearly.
Kong Zhi, on the other hand, didn’t seem to have this issue.
He flew along the route to Yacheng town for about ten minutes, surveying the road they’d be taking the next day before gradually turning back.
By the time they headed back, the sky was almost dark.
Xia the cat, still dangling from the eagle’s beak and feeling the cool breeze, grew drowsy.
As the giant eagle flew over roads, ruins, and a small river outside the town, Xia the cat suddenly felt something odd.
He sniffed the air—was that a fishy smell?
No, it wasn’t exactly fish, but something similar. It smelled edible.
“Meow?” Xia the cat meowed, trying to alert the eagle.
Kong Zhi glanced down but didn’t understand what the cat meant and continued flying toward their temporary camp.
Xia the cat’s eyesight and sense of smell weren’t as good as his brother’s, but he had a strong intuition.
He felt that there was something valuable in the river, and as they flew over it, he strained his cat eyes to see.
A river this large would definitely have fish; that much was common knowledge.
But since food wasn’t scarce, most people didn’t bother with the river. Without a solid footing, and with the possibility of encountering mutated fish, going into the water could be dangerous.
No one knew what kind of mutated fish might be lurking, or how big they were. Getting dragged under could mean losing your life.
When Kong Zhi landed back at the camp, he set Xia the cat down.
The cat quickly ran to his brother. “Meow, meow, meow!”
Xia Huo Qu crouched down, looking him in the eyes. “I can’t understand cat language.”
Frustrated, Xia the cat tried to write on the basketball court with his paws.
But the ground was concrete, and no matter how hard he scratched, he couldn’t make a mark.
By this time, Kong Zhi had returned to human form and was changing clothes in the truck bed.
Yin Xi Nian tapped the side of the truck. “What did you see? Why is Xiao Nong so worked up?”
There was a moment of silence before Kong Zhi answered. “Nothing particularly unusual.”
“That’s odd.” Yin Xi Nian asked, “Xiao Nong, did you find something?”
Xia the cat nodded furiously.
“Looks like there’s something good.” Yin Xi Nian jokes, “Should I grab you a pen and paper?”
Paper? No need for that!
Xia the cat saw that Kong Zhi had already finished changing. Without waiting any longer, he jumped into the truck bed and transformed back into human form, hurriedly pulling on a T-shirt and shorts.
As he got dressed, he poked his head out from the truck bed, urgently correcting Kong Zhi, “What do you mean there’s nothing unusual? The river! There’s a big river right by the town, and I bet there’s something valuable in it!”
Yin Xi Nian laughed, “There’s more than just valuable things in the river—there are treasures.”
Xia Lu Nong grew anxious. “I’m not joking! I feel like there’s something in the river, and it’s not just fish.”
“Not just fish?” Yin Xi Nian tried to think of what it could be but came up blank. “Shall we go check it out with flashlights later?”
Yan Xi Nian asked, “Aren’t you tired after driving all day?”
“With this level of activity, what’s there to be tired about? We can go for a two-hour walk, then come back and take turns keeping watch while the rest sleep.”
Xia Lu Nong was nodding vigorously on the side. “Yeah, we should go check it out. Who knows, maybe we’ll find something special.”
Xia Huo Qu and the others thought that the only thing special about the river was the fish, the difference being whether they were big or small. Big fish lived in deeper parts of the river, and since they didn’t have a boat or nets, catching them wouldn’t be easy.
But with Xia Lu Nong insisting, everyone picked up a basket, turned on their flashlights, and headed to the river.
Yan Xi Nian reminded them, “There are more snakes at night, so watch your step.”
Xia Lu Nong transformed back into a cat and perched on his brother’s shoulder, looking down from his high position, and responded with a “Meow.”
The river was just outside the town, not far—only two or three hundred meters away. It was a safe enough distance, and they didn’t drive. They moved the rice and other essential supplies into the cab, locked it securely, and then set off.
As they approached the riverbank, they heard a rustling sound in the distance, as if something was moving. The group exchanged glances under the flashlight beams but didn’t say anything, silently continuing forward.
A few more steps and they finally saw what Xia Lu Nong had sensed, leaving them all stunned.
The riverbank was crawling with crabs—huge crabs the size of plates!
The crabs scuttled back and forth along the riverbank, seemingly unaware of any danger, as if they had no natural predators.
The three humans and one cat were all shocked by the sight before them. Who would have thought that at this time of year, on the banks of such an ordinary river, there would be so many crabs?
These crabs didn’t even bother to hide. They just raised their claws, either slowly walking around or sitting still on the riverbank, blowing white bubbles.
Under the flashlight, they could see that most of the crabs had only minor mutations—maybe an extra leg or an additional claw—but they still looked pretty much like regular crabs.
The biggest difference was their size. These crabs were much larger than the ones before the great disaster! Even the so-called “crab kings” of the past were nothing compared to these crabs.
“Meow,” Xia the cat stared intently at the crabs, softly urging them to act.
If his brother hadn’t been holding him by the scruff of his neck, he would have already jumped to the ground.
Xia Huo Qu stayed still.
“Meow,” Xia the cat urged again, his tail swishing back and forth, brushing against his brother’s face.
Xia Huo Qu snapped out of it and said softly, “Be careful not to get pinched.”
“Don’t worry, my hands aren’t that clumsy,” Yan Xi Nian whispered, giving the cat a gentle pat on the back, his eyes filled with admiration. “Lu Nong, you’re our lucky star.”
“Meow!” Xia the cat kneaded his brother’s shoulder anxiously. Enough with the talking! Hurry up and start catching them!
The crabs were everywhere. As they reached the riverbank, it was like wading into a sea of crabs.
Thanks for the chapter!
Greedy cat