This certainly doesn't sound like something a city with normal human life would experience.
The woman tactfully told them that it was best not to walk at night as it would be unsafe. Tang Rou followed the words and asked the woman if she could stay here for one night.
The woman welcomed them very much and made a small room for them to rest, but she did not invite them in and insisted that they eat their food first.
Take a candle out of the cupboard and light it with a pulse pen.
The dim light swayed, illuminating the woman's thin cheeks, making her look a bit eerie.
The food was the same, a shallow layer of starchy paste at the bottom of the bowl, no fresh vegetables, land poultry or seafood.
No wonder women and children look so malnourished.
Tang Rou looked out of the glass window, and saw sky-high buildings like huge tombstones that split the sky. The entire city was shrouded in night, and the tops were filled with glowing rotten green smoke.
The moon hates firelight.
He sat down behind Tang Rou and pursed her lips tightly. Tang Rou looked at him through her hood and found his eyes.
The two small clusters of fire reflected in the hollow indigo eyes looked particularly clear and lovely, as if they were dotting the eyes.
Tang Rou quietly shook his hand again. It was warm and smooth, even softer than her female hand.
Looking back, they found the woman staring directly at them.
"Your brother doesn't take off his hat?"
"Well, he's a little afraid of strangers."
Saying this, Tang Rou pushed the candle further away.
"He doesn't like light?"
"His eyes have been feeling uncomfortable recently."
The woman's decadent and gray face had a lifeless look, and she looked very gloomy when she stared straight at people.
"Your brother is very fair. Where is he from?"
Tang Rou smiled, "Sorry, these questions are our privacy and it is not convenient to answer them."
The woman didn't say anything. After a while of silence, she glanced at the time on the wall and asked again, "You are outsiders. Where did you come from? Haven't you encountered any strange things in your city? Are you still allowed to pass?"
Like deliberately delaying time.
From a certain point on, the boy stopped looking at Tang Rou.
He lowered his eyelashes and slowly licked the paste in the bowl. His eyelids were a little red.
Children can't always hide their worries, even children who are good at acting.
The woman stared at them closely, as if to make sure they swallowed the food.
But even if she acted, Tang Rou didn't want to eat it.
Seeing the boy finish removing the paste from the bottom of the plate, he asked warmly, "Do you want more? I'm here..."
"he does not want."
The woman reached out to cover the boy's plate, looking wary.
He just had to tell Tang Rou that there was something wrong with the bowl of food. After she said it, she was obviously a little embarrassed.
He added, "You guys can eat, children can't eat that much."
In this above-ground city where resources are extremely scarce, many people are struggling to survive. Without food, there is no way to survive, and without water, civilization will be lost.
In a sense, starch paste is a food they can use more readily.
Tang Rou stood up, pulled the young man beside her who was following suit, and said warmly, "I'll take my brother back to his room to eat. He's more afraid of strangers."
After hesitating for a moment, he added, "He has some social anxiety and autism."
The woman said meaningfully, picked up the bowl, and said, "I'll help you bring it in." Then she said, "You must eat it, food is very precious."
Tang Rou still smiled.
The room was very simple. I checked around and found no surveillance equipment.
Jellyfish looked gloomy, took off his hat, and hugged Tang Rou from behind while she was checking the power socket.
Like a white koala, his slender arms and legs wrapped around her shoulders, pulling her into his arms from behind, resting his chin on the top of her head, and nuzzled her.
The soft hair fell on Tang Rou's forehead, which made her feel a little itchy.
"What's wrong?"
Tang Rou raised her hand and touched his face.
The delicate and cool cheek moved downwards and pressed against her hand, motionless.
Tang Rou struggled to turn back in his embrace.
Too sticky.
"It should be soon."
Tang Rou found those empty, beautiful eyes between the drooping silver-white hair, and comforted him like a child, "Do you want to go to the beach?"
The boy didn't speak, just like a sunflower that didn't see the sun, drooping his head glumly.
……Quite cute.
"elder sister."
Suddenly there was a voice from behind, and the little boy was lifting the curtain and walking in.
"Have you had your dinner?"
Tang Rou had already quietly poured away the layer of paste, and handed the empty bowl to the boy, "Eat it."
"How is the taste?"
"Well enough."
"Will it be salty?"
Tang Rou looked at the boy's eyes and inhaled slowly.
Then he said, "It's a little sweet, but I don't think it's salty at all."
"Because mom likes to eat sweets." He looked relieved and looked away, no longer daring to look at Tang Rou. "Sister, please go to bed early."
But suddenly I saw something white on the corner of the table, slightly reflecting the light of the candle.
If you look closely, you can see that it is thin spider silk.
Why are there cobwebs in my home?
Thinking about it, he raised his head and saw countless slowly flying white spider threads spread out behind the young black-haired woman, like a huge net, slowly spreading out behind her.
I only saw it for a moment.
The candle was extinguished with a flicker.
A soft female voice came from the darkness, "It's time to rest. Go find your mother."
…
The time passed very long in the darkness. Tang Rou lay on the bed, leaning against Yue calmly, looking at the sky through the glass window.
There were no stars, and a dim green mist filled the air, wisps of it, strange and weird.
Shadowy figures could be seen in the surrounding residential buildings, but no one turned on the lights.
The weak ones went out one after another, and the city fell into darkness.
Tang Rou opened her eyes quietly in the dark, feeling the slightest sound of footsteps and the unpleasant smell approaching through the curtain.
A thin hand lifted the curtain and looked inside.
Probably wanting to know if they were asleep.
The boy next to her was holding her in a koala-like posture. His slender hands and feet rolled Tang Rou into his arms, like a beloved pillow.
Thanks to this shape, the woman has no doubt that they are asleep, and a faint light lights up in the palm of her hand, as if she is sending a signal with a communication device.
A stronger unpleasant smell came over.
First, it came from under the door, and then the smell came from outside the street. It could even be felt through the gap in the window.
Many people, many people are approaching here.
But they all stopped at a place not too far away, not taking another step forward, as if they were waiting for something.
What are they waiting for? Tang Rou thought casually.
There is no doubt that he and Xiaoyue are outsiders. They may have brought weapons. The sound of the collision of knives can be vaguely heard in the darkness.
These people must be here to kill, she has no doubt about this, but why not do it?
After persisting for a long time, hunger and fatigue hit me.
Tang Rou thought irritably that if they didn't do something, she would fall asleep. Once she fell asleep, she would not be able to stop Xiaoyue from doing anything.
The more I think about it, the more annoyed I become.
Tang Rou unconsciously squeezed his fingers, causing the boy to gasp slightly, then pulled her hand away tremblingly, shaking her head in aggrievedness.
At this moment, a crisp sound of "dong dong dong" came from the bell tower in the distance.
It took a total of twelve knocks.
As the last bell rang, the figures hiding in the darkness began to move.