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Chapter 226: Chapter 226: The Child’s Belonging
Han Jiaojiao, sharp-eyed, saw the name of the photo printer and a checkmark beside it, immediately feeling delighted, thinking it must definitely be for taking pictures.
"Hey? Have you already collected so many?" Yan Xiao’s head popped up out of nowhere. He glanced at the list on the paper, pouted, and said, "That’s so boring... I haven’t even done anything yet, and Brother Han has done it all by himself."
Han Jiaojiao held her little face proudly, "Who told you my brother is awesome."
Yan Xiao was speechless, "Jiaojiao, can’t you come up with something fresh? Even flattering needs a new twist."
"You’re the one flattering! I’m speaking the truth, okay?"
"Well, your ’truth’ is pretty monotonous though..."
As the two were arguing, Zhou Xiaoliang’s voice rang out, "Look, there’s a library city over there!"
Everyone turned their heads and noticed a large square building with a statue of Confucius standing in front, and beside it a few golden inscriptions: Xinfeng Library Building.
What could be in the Library Building? Of course, books.
Books are definitely a good thing.
Although they can neither be eaten nor drunk, in the long run, they symbolize the treasure trove of human knowledge and the inheritance of culture.
When people encounter problems, looking up the answers in books is an ancient habit. However, although books are precious, they are also the easiest to be forgotten.
For example, when the army entered the city to loot supplies, they overlooked the Library Building. They took food, water, fuel, everything except these books.
——Everything in the Library Building was just as it had been before the apocalyptic world, except each book’s cover was covered in a thick layer of dust.
Han Jiaojiao flipped through some newspapers dated to October of the previous year, clearly production had stopped since the outbreak of the Alien Species, and she couldn’t help feeling a bit melancholic at the thought of not knowing when she would see a new newspaper again.
Yan Xiao, not sure what book he flipped to, burst into laughter. Zhou Xiaoliang, curious, came over to look, and the two started laughing together.
Han Jiaojiao asked, "What are you guys looking at?"
Yan Xiao waved the book in his hand and replied, "300 Questions to Wealth through Raising Chickens—it asks what to do if a chicken doesn’t poop, and what if a chicken poops too much, too little, if the poop is black, if the poop is green, if the chicken poops..."
"Isn’t there a problem that doesn’t involve pooping?" Han Jiaojiao couldn’t listen anymore and cut off Yan Xiao.
Yan Xiao snickered, "Oh, there is. What to do if a chicken doesn’t lay eggs, lays too few eggs, doesn’t lay eggs in the designated spot, lays eggs with black spots, chickens..."
Han Jiaojiao covered her ears and ran to Han Yi, pleading, "Brother, take that book away from Yan Xiao, don’t let him read it!"
From a distance, Yan Xiao shouted, "Hey! You can’t play like this, and you’re tattling to parents again..."
However, Han Yi looked toward the upper floors, his long eyebrows slightly raised, and said, "There’s someone upstairs."
"Ah?"
The previously relaxed group became alert, each gripping their weapons tighter.
Han Jiaojiao leaned close to Han Yi and asked in a low voice, "Brother, how many people?"
"One, a Superpower User, but looks very small... probably a child."
A child?
Everyone looked at each other.
In this kind of place, how could there be a child? Xinfeng City is a ghost town; could there still be survivors?
"Let’s go up and check." Han Yi’s tone was indifferent. It seemed... there wasn’t much danger upstairs?
Thanks to Han Yi’s Ability, they effortlessly found the child.
He was a little boy, only six or seven years old, skinny as a rail. His clothes, dirty and old, looked as if they hadn’t been washed in a long time!
He was sleeping under a row of bookshelves, deep in slumber, and when Yan Xiao woke him, his eyes suddenly widened, full of panic.
"Don’t eat me... Uncle, I don’t taste good..."
Han Jiaojiao’s eyes suddenly welled up, she held back her tears, took out the snacks from her pocket, and carefully handed them to the pale, skinny boy, gently coaxing, "We don’t eat people, and you’re so skinny, you don’t look tasty at all."
The little boy looked at the snacks in Han Jiaojiao’s hand for a long while without daring to accept them, hesitantly saying, "Then... are you planning to fatten me up before eating me?"
Han Jiaojiao was stunned.
While she was still stunned, the little boy, finding courage from nowhere, suddenly grabbed the snacks from her hand and began to eat voraciously, mumbling as he ate, "Before you fatten me up... don’t eat me... I really don’t taste good..."
Han Jiaojiao hurriedly said, "We won’t eat you, we won’t eat you, don’t worry, neither uncle nor aunt will eat you."
"Kid, how come you are alone here? Where are your mom and dad?" Yan Xiao asked him.
The little boy paused in his movements, his expression a bit vacant, "...Dad was eaten, mom... was also eaten..."
Zhou Xiaoliang couldn’t help but say, "Why didn’t this child’s parents take him to a safe base? Hiding in the city area? This place is full of Alien Species, they come out at night. It’s not safe at all."
"Maybe they died before the military rescue could arrive. The child was left unattended, hiding by himself in the Library Building, and no one discovered him," Han Yi spoke up.
Han Jiaojiao, hearing this, felt even worse, looked gently at the little boy and asked, "Have you been by yourself here all this time? What do you do when you want to eat?"
"There is a small shop downstairs, but I have eaten everything there. There’s another shop across the road that sells tasty stuff, but places further than that I’m scared to go to..."
Han Jiaojiao tugged at Han Yi’s arm, looking at him with pleading eyes, "Brother, let’s take him back with us."
This child is so young, even if he can find food for himself, when the Ice Age comes, he will definitely freeze to death here...
Han Yi slightly furrowed his brow. Taking him back was not a problem, but who would look after him afterward? If Han Jiaojiao were to take care of him, he was decidedly against it; he did not want this random child disturbing their world for two.
Yan Xiao praised with a note, saying, "Aren’t Dr. Zhou and Sister Yu without a child these past few years? It might be good to let Sister Yu take care of him for now. I see that Sister Yu likes children a lot, the way she dotes on Tiantian, she’s even kinder than her own mother."
"Then let’s first take him back and ask Sister Yu," Han Jiaojiao nodded, "If they find it inconvenient, I’ll take care of him in the meantime..."
"No," Han Yi decisively refused, "Bring him back and leave him with Sister Yu. If they don’t want to foster him then let—"
His gaze wandered between Yan Xiao and Zhou Xiaoliang, then pointed at Yan Xiao, "let Yan Xiao take care of him for the time being."
Yan Xiao was flabbergasted.
He had just wanted to say something, but seeing Han Yi’s expression suddenly turn stern, Yan Xiao was startled, thinking: I haven’t even spoken my refusal yet, and you’re already giving me a look, isn’t it too early?
Han Yi said nothing, simply made a silencing gesture, then slowly walked to the window and looked down.
The others immediately knew something was wrong. They all quietened down and tiptoed to the window to observe the situation.
After waiting a little over a minute, shapes of Alien Species started to appear one by one at the end of the street, more and more accumulating, and moving in an orderly fashion toward the same direction... 𝘯𝘰𝑣𝘱𝑢𝘣.𝑐𝑜𝑚
"...Why are there so many?" Yan Xiao frowned in disgust, covering his mouth and lowering his voice, "Have all the Alien Species in the city come out? The sun hasn’t even set yet..."
