The next day, Zhao Lun awoke to the sound of rain tapping against the window.
Maria, curled up in his arms, opened her large violet eyes, clear and sparkling like crystals, as she gazed at the rain outside. A faint smile appeared on her lips, as though she had spotted something amusing.
Zhao Lun looked at her, and in just two days, the little girl seemed to have changed so much.
When he had first seen her upon waking, her big eyes were swollen and red, resembling those of a little rabbit. Her small face was dirty, much like a painted cat, and even after cleaning her up, her complexion was pale, and her overall appearance seemed weak and dull, evoking a sense of pity.
But now, her face had become rosier, her eyes brighter, and she appeared much more spirited, like a little imp, full of liveliness. The only flaw was her tattered clothes, which concealed her newfound glow. She looked like a poor village girl, shabby and inconspicuous. Now that the weather had grown colder, her clothes were full of holes, and with the wind blowing, she trembled with cold.
This reminded him of the reality they were in.
"It seems I need to find some money and buy her some clothes," Zhao Lun thought to himself.
Suddenly, Maria's stomach rumbled.
"Brother, Maria is hungry."
With Zhao Lun, Maria never hesitated to speak her mind.
"Alright, I'll cook right away."
Due to the limited supplies, today's meal was no different from usual, but it was enough to fill their stomachs.
After the meal, the rain continued to pour. Zhao Lun told Maria to stay inside while he put on a plastic sheet and braved the wind to head toward the seaside. Their food supplies were running low, and he couldn't afford to miss any opportunity to collect food.
The rain and wind by the sea were intense, and the plastic sheet hardly protected him from the rain, quickly becoming soaked. By the time he reached the traps he had set earlier, there was nothing to be found. He glanced one last time at the turbulent sea and reluctantly made his way back.
By the time he returned, it was nearly noon.
"Ah, Brother, your clothes are wet."
Maria, spotting him from a distance, quickly turned around to find something to dry him off. After searching for a while, she couldn't find a towel, so she resorted to using her own clothes to wipe the rain off him.
"That's enough, Maria. You don't need to wipe anymore. I'll just change into something dry."
Zhao Lun gently stopped her. Maria didn't have many clothes as it was, and now they were wet, so she wouldn't be able to wear them.
Zhao Lun quickly threw on some old, worn clothes he had found somewhere. He also lit a fire, simmering fish bone soup and drying his clothes. The twigs they had collected were damp, so he also put them by the fire to dry.
Today, with the rain and strong winds, it wasn't suitable for collecting food, and staying inside with nothing to do wasn't an option either. Once everything was tidied up, Zhao Lun began looking for something to occupy his mind. He rummaged through some newspapers and magazines he had found in the corner and started to read them. He recalled that both his father and mother had taught him to read, in both British and Chinese characters. Although he had struggled to learn as a child, he had always enjoyed looking at pictures in books. Now, however, he found no difficulty in reading.
The newspapers were filled with recent news, advertisements, and entertainment reports, none of which seemed particularly useful.
The magazines were similar. After searching for a while, he found nothing of interest until, in a rather inconspicuous corner, he discovered some relevant clues.
One of the magazines contained a drawing of a round shield with a red, blue, and white star on it. It looked strangely familiar.
Additionally, several particular company groups appeared frequently, especially a few newspapers, which gave him an odd sense of unreality.
Horn Daily? Planet Daily? And what about these gangs? They seemed very active… Wait! What is this? People turning into attack-force police officers? Are they the ones causing instability in society? Does the World Underworld support them? A bunch of so-called experts with their ridiculous theories.
Familiar things kept emerging, and as Zhao Lun flipped through the pages, he couldn't help but mutter in frustration.
"Brother, the food is ready." Maria called out from behind him.
"Okay, I'll be right there." Zhao Lun put down the papers and went to eat, all the while still pondering over the implications.
He had seen similar things in movies before – mutants, the underworld, Horn Daily, and Planet Daily. Was this world really as dangerous as in those films? Would things escalate like they did in the movies?
These were concerns Zhao Lun couldn't ignore. The comforting thought, however, was that he wasn't living in the most chaotic areas but rather in a relatively peaceful village, far away from the center of disaster. Aside from some petty criminals, the area was calm.
But then, looking back at the shield, his mood soured. With the appearance of a shield bearing the insignia of a captain, was the arrival of aliens not far off? Even if he stayed in the wilderness, no place was absolutely safe. Who could say that one day, aliens wouldn't descend, conquer Earth, and wipe him out along with it?
Zhao Lun ate his meal in a mix of thought and frustration, continuing to flip through the materials. Maria was responsible for cleaning the dishes.
Time passed unnoticed, and before long, it was evening.
He put down the magazines, rubbed his face, and looked up to find Maria resting her chin in her hands, staring at him. Watching him struggle with his thoughts, her face mirrored his own, and whenever he sighed, she sighed along with him. Zhao Lun couldn't help but smile and reached over to ruffle her hair, messing it up.
"Why are you copying me?"
"Brother—"
The tension lifted, and the mood in the cabin returned to a more lively one.
"Hey, there's a leak. I'll go fix it."
Usually, the two of them were so focused on gathering food that they didn't have time to repair the house.
The cabin wasn't very high, so fixing it was easy, if only it weren't for the rain outside. Wrapped in the tattered plastic sheet, Zhao Lun found something to place under the leaking spot and used a mixture of leaves and mud to seal it up. In less than ten minutes, it was done. By the time he finished, Zhao Lun was out of breath.
As the sky began to darken, Zhao Lun knew he needed to prepare dinner soon or else it would be pitch black by the time they ate.
The ingredients had already been prepared, and there were no special requirements for cooking. He simply threw them into the pot.
Despite the simplicity of the meal, both of them ate with great relish. They weren't particularly picky about food, as long as they were full. This meal was a vast improvement over the spoiled bread they had previously eaten. To be able to enjoy such a meal was, for them, a great blessing.
The rain continued to pour, and the outside world grew darker. Inside, Zhao Lun sat by the firelight, reading through the magazines and newspapers, trying to understand the situation in this world.
The development of the world was still in the age of paper media, much like the 1980s in the world Zhao Lun had come from. Even in advanced countries like America and Britain, there was nothing too futuristic. Everything seemed normal.
The world was polarized; as long as America and Russia were at odds, crime syndicates flourished, and the world felt alive with activity.
The most chaotic area was still the Middle East, where the Iran-Iraq war had plunged the region into conflict.
The people from war-torn countries and those from developed nations lived in entirely different worlds. To those far from the battlefield, war was merely a topic for casual conversation. Despite the calls from humanitarian organizations urging people to care for those suffering, the fact remained unchanged.
As they often said: everyone has their own life to live, and with their own problems to deal with, who could spare the time to worry about others?
Of course, the international magazines didn't explain things clearly. All of this was inferred by Zhao Lun based on his understanding of the general direction of the world, and although it wasn't perfectly accurate, it was close enough in the grand scheme of things.
Looking at all this, Zhao Lun sometimes felt a thrill at the thought of witnessing certain historical events.
The light dimmed further, and Zhao Lun no longer read the magazines and newspapers he had seen countless times. Faced with reality, those things seemed distant to him. What he needed to do now was escape the current predicament, starting with the basics—food, clothing, and shelter. Without these, all his knowledge of the world was nothing more than a joke.
At that moment, Maria, already drowsy, held a comic book and tilted her head, her little face bobbing up and down until she finally couldn't hold it any longer. The book slipped from her hands and fell to the ground.
She looked rather adorable.
Zhao Lun couldn't help but smile at the sight.
"Brother…"
Maria yawned.
"Maria, are you tired? Don't you want something to eat?"
"No, I've already eaten."
"Alright, if you're sleepy, go ahead and rest."
The fire remained lit, keeping the food warm, and there was no rush.
The wind and rain continued. The next day, the rain finally stopped, but the sky remained overcast, and the temperature had dropped significantly. Maria seemed to have caught a cold; her face looked pale, and she appeared to have a headache.
"Are you sick?"
"It's fine, Brother."
"Today, stay inside. Drink the soup, lie down, and get some rest. Sweat it out, and you'll feel better."
"Brother…"
"Be good!"
"Okay."