The NO.1 Food Stall in the Wasteland

Shen Lu asked a few more questions, but the system just kept repeating, "Current permissions insufficient," which left her seething.

’Hmph, fine, don’t tell me. As long as I’m alive, I’ll have enough permissions eventually.’

The fishy stench in the room had become unbearably strong. Shen Lu had no choice but to open a window, even if it meant letting the rain drift in. ’I can’t just let myself suffocate from the smell, can I?’

The moment she opened the window, however, an even more intense stench hit her like a punch to the face.

Shen Lu nearly gasped and passed out on the spot.

She hurriedly shut the window.

"Oh my god." Shen Lu felt like she’d just survived a disaster. "How is anyone supposed to live through this?"

Shen Lu glanced at Fu Cheng on the bed. She had no idea if he could smell the stench. ’Maybe unconscious people lose their sense of smell?’

’That’d actually be nice.’

The smell was so overpowering and thick that it was giving her a headache. She had to come up with a solution.

After sitting on the sofa and thinking for a long time, an idea finally came to her.

’If the smell is the problem, I’ll just make a mask.’

Shen Lu had bought some extra gauze last time, which would come in handy now. She opened the System Mall, typed "charcoal" into the search bar, and the relevant products appeared a moment later.

’Charcoal can be used for grilling, so it’s classified as a kitchen tool, but it also works as a filtration material.’

’The mall also has cheesecloth. I used to use it to make my own cheese from yogurt, so it’s also considered a kitchen tool.’

She crushed the charcoal and spread it evenly between layers of gauze, then added a layer of cheesecloth. On the innermost layer of gauze, she placed two mint leaves.

She still needed a needle and thread to sew it together. She hadn’t bought any, but that wasn’t going to stop her.

Fu Cheng’s foldable medical kit had suture needles and catgut. She decided not to use the catgut; it was easier just to pull a few threads from the gauze itself.

After clumsily sewing two masks shut, Shen Lu immediately put one on.

To be fair, it couldn’t filter out the stench completely, but it did reduce the odor by about eighty percent. The two mint leaves she had added were an especially brilliant touch.

Shen Lu couldn’t resist giving herself a pat on the back.

’What an unassuming little genius I am.’

Wearing the mask, Shen Lu took a few deep breaths of the mint-scented air. It felt wonderful.

She walked to the side of the bed and put the other mask on Fu Cheng.

"I don’t know if you can smell the stench or not, but I made one for you anyway."

"You probably can’t, right? If you could, a smell this bad would have woken you up already."

The words had barely left her lips when Fu Cheng’s right eye abruptly opened. Their eyes met—or rather, their three eyes met.

Her hands were still busy tying the straps behind his head.

"Er..."

Shen Lu hadn’t expected Fu Cheng to wake up so suddenly, without any warning.

’Besides, isn’t it daytime? Why is he awake?’

’I thought he only regained consciousness for a short while in the evening.’

Shen Lu forced a stiff smile and continued what she was doing.

"I don’t know if this stench is toxic, but it’s probably better to breathe in as little as possible," Shen Lu said slowly. "Is this too tight? Can you still breathe okay? Blink once if the fit is right."

Fu Cheng responded slowly, blinking his eye gently after a few seconds.

’He knew Shen Lu was making masks, but he never expected she would share one with him.’

’She was so good to him.’

’He wished he could repay her kindness.’

’Just like that morning when the clap of thunder startled her awake and she grabbed his wrist. If only he could have held her, patted her on the back, and soothed her fears. How wonderful that would have been.’

For some reason, Shen Lu found an indescribable sadness and weight in Fu Cheng’s gaze.

’He’s probably like this because he’s so badly injured and was abandoned by his family,’ Shen Lu guessed.

’After all, he’s woken up a few times now. Even if I haven’t said anything, he should be able to guess some of it from his surroundings.’

Shen Lu didn’t know the specific details of the grudge between Fu Cheng and the Fu Family, only that there was bad blood between them. In the original story, the first person Fu Cheng killed after gaining power was the Fu Family Head.

In other words, Fu Cheng’s own uncle.

For brutally murdering his own kin, he was listed as a Level 1 wanted criminal by the Empire, setting him irrevocably on the path of a villain.

Shen Lu had no idea what to say to comfort Fu Cheng. Their relationship was awkward; they were hardly what you would call close.

"Why don’t you get some more rest?"

’It’s not good for a patient to dwell on negative emotions. It hinders recovery.’

As if he understood her, Fu Cheng gave her one last deep look before gently closing his eye.

Shen Lu breathed a sigh of relief, sat down on the sofa, and stared blankly out the window.

The downpour didn’t begin to let up until two in the afternoon.

Shen Lu had rented a ground-floor apartment, and by now water was seeping in, covering the floor in a thin layer.

Now, even with the doors and windows shut, there was no keeping the smell out.

’Thank goodness I made these masks. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have survived a single second.’

WEE-OO, WEE-OO, WEE-OO—

A rhythmic siren sounded, and Shen Lu could feel the entire building burst into a frenzy. The sounds of countless doors opening and footsteps echoed all around. In the blink of an eye, the once-empty street was teeming with people.

Shen Lu had no idea what was going on. Instead of rushing outside, she cracked open a window and watched from inside her apartment.

A small cargo truck drove into the Seventeenth District, stopping on the street not far from her building.

’What’s going on?’

Shen Lu was completely baffled, but she soon had her answer.

A man in a blue vest and a rain hat jumped down from the truck, holding a bullhorn.

"Everyone, form a single file line! You hear me? Line up to receive your items! Anyone not in line gets nothing today!"

’So these are the government workers who hand out relief supplies.’

Shen Lu looked at the massive crowd, then at the truck, which had a capacity of only about two tons. ’Is that really enough for everyone?’

Two people were in charge of distributing the supplies: one outside maintaining order, and another inside the truck’s cargo bay handing out items.

A window about half a foot high was opened in the side of the truck, and the residents lined up to receive their supplies in turn.

Each person received 500ml of drinking water, a tube of nutrient liquid, and a hard, black biscuit.

The relief supplies weren’t distributed on a fixed schedule. Sometimes they came every two days, other times it could be five.

It was just enough to keep a person alive, to stave off death from thirst and starvation.

Shen Lu didn’t go to get any. It was still raining, for one thing, and besides, she didn’t really need the relief supplies. She wouldn’t eat them even if she took them.

’It’s better not to waste the effort and to leave them for people who need them more.’

After watching for a while, Shen Lu grew bored. For safety’s sake, she closed the window again.

About an hour and a half later, Shen Lu heard the WEE-OO siren again. The distribution was over, and the truck drove away.

Soon after, a woman’s scream rang out from outside, followed by the sound of a sharp slap.

"Please, don’t go gambling again!" Cai Su cried, clinging desperately to the man’s leg. "Our child needs that nutrient liquid to live! He hasn’t eaten in three days!"