Chapter 24

"Uh... cough, cough, Uncle, I'm not a weirdo, I'm a good person." Chu Ci awkwardly explained, slinging the M4A1 over his shoulder and taking out a chocolate bar to offer the little girl, "Little sister, what's your name?"

"Thank you, Uncle, I'm Cheng Rui." The little girl sensed Chu Ci's kindness and cautiously took the chocolate, tearing open the wrapper and nibbling on it.

"Cheng Rui, it's not safe here anymore. Let's leave first, and then Uncle will make you a big meal." Chu Ci scanned the area; this was not a place suitable for resting. He decided to move to a new location and then gradually find out about Cheng Rui's family situation.

"Okay." Cheng Rui had no other choice. She had been fleeing in panic for days and couldn't run anymore. The uncle in front of her, though fierce (with a gun and having killed someone), seemed gentle (giving her chocolate).

Since they needed to find a temporary and hidden resting spot, Chu Ci naturally led Cheng Rui downstream along the stream. There was a minefield he had set up, and as long as they carefully avoided the warning points of the signal receivers, they could move around safely.

After walking less than two hundred meters, Cheng Rui couldn't go on, squatting on the ground and panting heavily. She had been hungry for two days and had only eaten a little chocolate, which was clearly not enough. Moreover, she had just exerted a lot of effort to bury the dead body, and her strength was almost depleted.

Chu Ci frowned slightly, crouched down, and clapped his hands, "Come, I'll carry you."

The little girl was very light, and Chu Ci didn't need much effort to carry her back to the minefield. In a tree hollow where five trees' roots intertwined, Chu Ci took out a new lunch box, poured some water into the bottom layer to let the heat pack react slowly, and then gave Cheng Rui some light snacks to fill her stomach.

"Cheng Rui, do you have any other family members here?" Chu Ci's first question made the little girl's eyes turn red, and tears streamed down her face.

"Don't cry, don't cry!" Chu Ci's scalp tingled, and his hands and feet stiffened. He had no idea how to deal with a crying child and could only awkwardly say, "Don't cry, don't cry."

Cheng Rui sobbed for a while, and with her remaining strength almost exhausted, she fainted from crying.

"This is really troublesome." Chu Ci supported Cheng Rui's slender shoulders, slowly leaned her against the tree roots, clapped his hands, and took out a tent and a sleeping bag. He had prepared several sets of these.

Cheng Rui was very dirty, and there was no water source nearby, so Chu Ci roughly wrapped her in a large towel and put her in the tent. He then picked up the lunch box with stir-fried bitter melon and meat and ate it bite by bite.

...

Cheng Rui slept deeply and soundly.

She hadn't slept so peacefully for a long time. When was the last time? Cheng Rui didn't know. Perhaps it was the day before yesterday or the day before that, when she rolled on her mother's soft big bed. But why did it feel like so long ago?

When Cheng Rui woke up, the soft towel on her body almost made her think she was still at home. But as soon as she opened her eyes, the small tent ceiling cruelly reminded her that she was in a terrifying and chaotic game.

She pulled off the towel and checked her clothes. Her mother had said that many perverts liked little girls like her. Although her clothes were a bit messy, they were all still on her. Cheng Rui breathed a sigh of relief and whispered in the tent, "Mom! Dad! I miss you so much."

Rip!

The tent zipper was suddenly pulled open, and Cheng Rui, like a frightened little rabbit, jumped up and huddled in the corner of the tent.

"You're awake? Have something to eat." Chu Ci handed Cheng Rui an enamel bowl, which was steaming with a bowl of porridge!

Cheng Rui's mouth opened in surprise, forming an oval. In this remote wilderness, it was hard to imagine that someone could make hot porridge. The porridge was floating with a bit of oil, and there were eggs and a few vegetable leaves in it, which was truly unimaginable.

But this wasn't a dream. Cheng Rui took the enamel bowl, and her hands felt slightly hot, almost unable to hold it.

"Do you need me to feed you?" Chu Ci frowned again. Although a girl of ten or so should be able to eat by herself, Cheng Rui was too weak and probably couldn't even hold the bowl steady.

"Thank you." Cheng Rui was a bit shy, and her young face turned a rosy pink.

Chu Ci scooped up a spoonful of porridge, blew on it, and then offered it to Cheng Rui's little mouth. "Ah!" Cheng Rui took several small bites to slowly swallow it. Then Chu Ci used the spoon to crush the eggs and mix them into the porridge, scooping it up to feed Cheng Rui.

After the meal, Chu Ci fed Cheng Rui and wiped the porridge that dripped down with a towel, spending over half an hour to get her about eighty percent full.

"You haven't eaten for two days, so you can't eat too much at once. Rest for a while." Chu Ci softly comforted the wide-eyed Cheng Rui and promised to let her eat as much as she wanted for the next meal before leaving the tent.

"Really... it feels like a dream!" After eating, Cheng Rui felt even more tired. Her body, replenished with sufficient nutrients, was constantly protesting for rest. She looked at Chu Ci's busy back and murmured, her eyelids becoming increasingly uncontrollable.

"Huh? You fell asleep again?" Chu Ci looked back in surprise but didn't pay much attention, continuing to fuss with the stove. He had always used a few sticks to prop up a pot to cook, and the porridge was made by soaking rice. If he could build a stove, he might even be able to fry eggs.

Chu Ci, who only required nutrition from his food, had two cartons of raw eggs in his symbiotic insect space, ready to be fried or steamed.

He barely managed to build a wobbly stove with a few stones, took out a low-sided pot to use as a frying pan, and used an unused military knife as a spatula. The firewood at the bottom gradually brightened, and Chu Ci took out a 5-liter can of cooking oil, poured some in, and then added various raw vegetables, mixing them together.

After all, one couldn't expect too much from a bachelor. Chu Ci's ability to not burn the food was already a high standard. He added salt and monosodium glutamate, and a dish that looked terrible but was edible was cooked.

Chu Ci served the dish in an empty lunch box and placed it on a small table in front of the tent.

A small head poked out of the tent, and Cheng Rui's curious eyes stared at the "dark" dish in Chu Ci's hand, asking innocently, "Uncle, what is this?"

"Uh... cough, cough." Chu Ci felt he had coughed more today than in a whole month. He scratched his chin and awkwardly explained, "This is an experimental dish. Wait a moment, I'll make you some of my specialties."

The three specialties of a bachelor: fried eggs, tomato soup, and eggs with tomatoes. Simple, easy to make, and easy to clean up.

The red and yellow, fragrant two dishes and one soup, along with the unidentifiable but tasty large pot dish and a pot of soft, porridge-like rice, made this the best meal Cheng Rui had had in days. Under the illumination of a kerosene lamp, the two of them cleaned everything on the table.

Sitting next to Chu Ci, Cheng Rui covered her mouth, feeling very embarrassed, but she couldn't control her burps.

"What? Are you uncomfortable?" Chu Ci looked at Cheng Rui, his eyes full of amusement.

"Mm-hm." Cheng Rui's delicate neck was completely red.

"Here, drink some water. Don't swallow it immediately. Wait a moment and then swallow it, and you'll be fine." Chu Ci magically produced a bottle of yogurt from his hand and handed it to the delighted Cheng Rui.

"Uncle, is this magic?" Cheng Rui asked happily. To her, Chu Ci was like an all-powerful magician who could produce all sorts of delicious food.

"Magic? Kind of." Chu Ci didn't argue, nodding and smiling in agreement.

"So amazing!" Cheng Rui clapped her hands, her eyes sparkling with admiration.

"It's nothing." Chu Ci felt a bit embarrassed, as he was just a "half-bottle" fake magician. Perhaps he could exchange for similar magical abilities in the main god space, but he hadn't yet come into contact with any mystical knowledge.

Children are easily forgetful. Once out of danger, Cheng Rui started to chatter about wanting to bathe.

"Uncle, where is the water? I want to take a bath." Cheng Rui was well-mannered, and not bathing for two or three days was unimaginable for her. Even now, as she relaxed, she felt the stench on her body and the itching all over.

"Uh, if you want to take a bath, you need to go to the small stream over there. It's very close, just about ten meters away." Chu Ci's symbiotic insect space had water, but it was drinking water, and he didn't know how many days he would stay in this cycle, so he wouldn't waste it.

"I've already checked the area; it's very safe. You can go take a bath directly." While Cheng Rui was asleep, Chu Ci had set up a minefield and considered her bathing needs, even setting up a strong electric fence on the other side of the stream to ensure absolute safety.

"I'm not a lolicon!" Chu Ci gave himself an excuse and continued to squat on a tree, aiming his gun at the direction of the stream, "I'm just worried about someone coming down the waterway. I like mature and full-figured women."

Cheng Rui had already taken off her clothes and placed them on the rocks by the stream, wearing only a cartoon-patterned underwear. She splashed and played in the water, which was cold at night and could easily cause a chill if she stayed too long. After playing for a while, she started to wash herself seriously. The towel Chu Ci gave her wasn't for children, and it took both hands to hold it when it was soaked. Without shower gel, Cheng Rui scrubbed herself thoroughly. The towel slid over her smooth, delicate skin, and the girl's porcelain-white, delicate body, wrapped in a slender frame, looked like a slender fawn.

"Ah, what the heck!" Chu Ci, who had been watching for a long time, finally reacted, slapped himself, and continued to self-hypnotize, "I'm not a lolicon, I'm not a lolicon, I'm not..."

When Cheng Rui returned wearing Chu Ci's oversized shirt, she looked at him curiously, "Uncle, what are you doing under the tree?"

"Uh, I... I'm looking for some wild vegetables. After all, our food supplies are running low." Chu Ci lied with his eyes wide open, treating the bags of rice and dried meat in his symbiotic insect space as air.

"Oh! I'll help too." Cheng Rui squatted next to Chu Ci, trying to help him in the dark night by straining her eyes.

The fresh scent of the bathed girl wafted over, and since Cheng Rui was still young, she didn't need to wear a bra. The two small points stuck to her half-wet body instantly made Chu Ci react.

"Hey, there's a mushroom here?" Cheng Rui shouted happily, digging under the tree roots and pulling out a black mushroom.

PS: I've been busy with job fairs these past two days and had no time to write. I'll owe the second update for today and try to write it in the morning tomorrow.