Zhen Zi's observations were sharp. Tang Xuhai suddenly pulled Fu Shiwu away. Fu Shiwu indeed overreacted, but it wasn't jealousy—it was more about the towel incident earlier. It was because Fu Shiwu had suddenly taken off his glasses!
Tang Xuhai took it upon himself to maintain Fu Shiwu's aloof image in public. He didn't even let Wen Zhaoming see, let alone these miscellaneous people around!
Accidentally, Miao Jia, along with Zhen Zi and their companions, got grouped with the miscellaneous people.
"Why the sudden rush?" Fu Shiwu was puzzled.
Tang Xuhai pulled him hastily, forcing Fu Shiwu to put his glasses back on.
With a stern face, Tang Xuhai said, "I suddenly thought, the water in the Mirror Lake might have complex components. There might be harmful bacteria. Let's take care of your wound quickly!"
It was a genuine concern. Although Fu Shiwu found it a bit odd, he accepted his companions' goodwill.
In such a large resort, there had to be a medical room. It not only had medicines but also almost all the instruments a local hospital might have, except for major surgeries. It could even handle childbirth...
While searching for the treatment room, Tang Xuhai accidentally had his visual senses shocked by a birthing bed.
"Over here," Fu Shiwu gestured from the end of the hallway.
Splitting up to search, Tang Xuhai's luck seemed rather poor.
With a somewhat grim face, Tang Xuhai entered the treatment room, identified some unopened disinfectant cotton swabs, and dabbed them with antiseptic for Fu Shiwu's wound.
The sting from the wound made Fu Shiwu's brow twitch slightly, but he calmly remarked, "Surprisingly, everything here is quite intact, without much damage."
"Yes," Tang Xuhai lightly responded, adding, "When we arrived, didn't we find a few bodies? This resort couldn't have had so few people. It was likely used as a temporary refuge when the aliens first appeared."
"Perhaps," Fu Shiwu agreed.
The food and other items were stored together, a typical arrangement.
"The ones who died last must have been the ones who held out the longest. They must have hidden the bodies, or we'd see more now," Tang Xuhai said indifferently.
Tragic scenes like this were everywhere now, leaving him numb.
Fu Shiwu fell silent too. He wasn't as analytical about things beyond his expertise as when they left Tianjing Garden.
Experiencing the two months from when the sky opened, Fu Shiwu could somewhat imagine how desperate the atmosphere was in this resort at that time.
No weapons, no barriers, struggling in an eco-tourism spot far from the city.
Although it usually took only two hours on the highway from the provincial capital, in the current situation with aliens everywhere, they could hardly make it halfway without facing casualties.
"We're lucky," Tang Xuhai murmured, avoiding looking at Fu Shiwu directly, "Taking these supplies and medicines along, once we reach the military base in the capital, we can sell them to useful organizations or the government and find a new place to settle."
"Yes," Fu Shiwu softly agreed after a pause, then added, "Only now do I realize how fortunate I am. Living in Tianjing Garden, being your neighbor, going through thick and thin together, despite a few close calls, we survived. All because you took me along when we escaped. I haven't properly thanked you yet."
Unexpectedly, Tang Xuhai raised his head. Fu Shiwu sincerely and earnestly said, "Thank you, Xuhai."
Even with Tang Xuhai's tough skin, Fu Shiwu's sincere gratitude made his ears warm and his face flush.
"Ah, no need for... for thanks!" Tang Xuhai brushed it off, ruffling Fu Shiwu's still-damp hair, saying, "We've helped each other throughout, right? If you're thanking me, then I must also thank you for saving my life. Without you accompanying me, with my infected leg wound, I might have died there. Even after my ability awakened and I had a fever, without your timely treatment, I might have ended up a fool or a cripple."
"I did what was necessary," Fu Shiwu replied, smiling.
"I did what was necessary too. You said it right: 'going through thick and thin.' We must support each other. Surviving in this apocalypse, one day, we'll eliminate all these aliens and have peace. We'll be neighbors by then!" Tang Xuhai's spirits lifted, expressing, "Yes! I'll surely be a reliable friend. We've made that pact!"
Happily tending to Fu Shiwu's hand, Tang Xuhai belatedly noticed neither of them had changed into dry clothes.
Though the damp clothing might cause a chill, Fu Shiwu believed he wouldn't catch a cold. However, Tang Xuhai disagreed with him wearing the wet clothes.
After a search in the medical room, they found some clothes left by someone. There was a light-striped shirt and a fleece vest.
"You can wear this," Tang Xuhai wrinkled his brow, "Unfortunately, no pants. This vest is pull-over. Later, give it to Old Wen or Miao Jia."
Struggling with his tight fingers due to Tang Xuhai's bandaging, Fu Shiwu attempted unbuttoning.
"Let me help," Tang Xuhai intervened, noticing Fu Shiwu had put on a checked shirt earlier, but it wasn't damp like now.
Effortlessly undoing the buttons, Tang Xuhai's gaze inadvertently fixed upon Fu Shiwu's collarbone.
Fu Shiwu's skin, tanned from the recent sun exposure, was two shades lighter than Tang Xuhai's, a light wheatish hue.
The intense summer had made him slightly darker due to his good base tan.
"Not that pale..." Tang Xuhai muttered absent-mindedly.
"Pale?" Fu Shiwu was puzzled.
Momentarily awkward, Tang Xuhai swiftly changed the topic, focusing on Fu Shiwu's neck, "You shouldn't wear pull-over clothes there. How do you survive in winter?"
"Winter?" Fu Shiwu pushed his glasses and realized he wasn't quite clear; he decided to find something to wipe them. Then he continued, "I've never worn pull-over thermal wear. In recent years, I've worn layered, thick-lined clothing. For colder times, just a coat, or I'll add a down jacket."
Recalling, Fu Shiwu said, "Back then, when I didn't know what was going on, I refused to wear fall attire. So, I'd wear a waistcoat over my shirt and just a cardigan when it got colder, layering up. Somehow, I always made it through winter."
"That's inconvenient..." Tang Xuhai lifted his eyes helplessly, then returned to saying, "Don't you feel cold without a scarf in winter?"
"It's fine. I usually choose high-collared coats, and my down jackets have thick, hooded collars," Fu Shiwu said embarrassedly
. "I feel like I just have an aversion to crew-neck pull-over clothes. With larger collars or those with button-up styles, I'm probably okay."
He understood the root of his psychological issue, knowing which types triggered his discomfort and which he could try to accept.
"So, anything around your neck is fine?" Tang Xuhai was surprised. "That widens your clothing choices."
Pointing to the third button on the shirt, Fu Shiwu explained, "Up to here should be fine."
Opening up to that position would genuinely make it a large collar.
Tang Xuhai was speechless; in men's clothing, only sweaters had such large collars.
After buttoning up for Fu Shiwu, they left the medical room to change their clothes and returned to the shore.
When they arrived, the lively crowd had dispersed, leaving only their team discussing the huge black fish.
"How was it? Did you get the fish?" Tang Xuhai asked.
Wen Zhaoming, who had just arrived, responded, "This fish weighs seventy-eight pounds."
"Did you actually weigh it?" Tang Xuhai chuckled. "It doesn't matter; it's going into our stomachs today."
"A black fish this big is a rare sight," Horn Ting remarked.
"Yeah, it's been years since I've seen such a large black fish," Ma Dong added.
"I think this fish must have been in this lake before, I mean before the eco-tourism area was established," Liu Zhao analyzed. "Otherwise, it wouldn't have grown this big in just a few years since the area was established. The Mirror Lake had excessive fishing before. This fish managed to escape, then with the ecological recovery efforts and the introduction of many fish, it had plenty of food and started growing rapidly."
Liu Zhao's analysis seemed plausible.
After all, it would take over a decade for a fish to grow over a meter long.
However, Tang Xuhai wasn't bothered; he was more focused on planning the menu for this black fish.
The fish was massive; eleven people couldn't finish it. There was no fridge, and it couldn't be kept, so they decided to give part of it to Zhou Weihua.
An hour later, their belated lunch was an extravagant whole fish feast.
Not only did it fulfill Tang Xuhai's wish to eat thrice, but it exceeded expectations.
The black fish's meat was incredibly delicious, everyone praising its taste.
Even Liu Zhao said, "Are all mutated species this delicious? The meat from the powered mutants was great, and this black fish is equally outstanding."
"That's not guaranteed; wasn't the mutated corn's texture just average?" Liu Peiqi shook his head.
"That's because of the corn variety. Maybe other varieties would be different," Liu Zhao persisted, believing that mutated meat would be better.
"In that case, the aliens and the sky opening did one good thing, enhancing human cuisine. It's not so repulsive now, huh," Zhen Zi cracked a very chilly joke.
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