Escape from Hunger Island

Chapter 36: Canned Food

Lu Xu’s hunch was quickly confirmed. After walking forward for about ten minutes, he and Ye Qinglan came upon a base. The outpost bore clear signs of having been built by human hands, and it was quite new—obviously erected hastily just before the heavy rain had struck. However, something must have gone wrong during that long, rainy night, as the fence surrounding the outpost had been damaged. Once he and Ye Qinglan had climbed over the fence, they saw deep red bloodstains on the ground—stains that even the torrential rain had failed to wash away. “How could this be? These people… I saw them all on the Chang’an before, but now… now they’re all…” Ye Qinglan thought she had steeled herself for this, especially after seeing that young man who had been gnawed down to a hollow shell. Lu Xu had also warned her that they were likely to witness a scene of unimaginable horror, and if she wasn’t prepared, it would be best not to look. Ye Qinglan had declined Lu Xu’s offer, but as she followed him over and saw the corpses strewn across the ground, she covered her mouth. More than a dozen corpses hung haphazardly in various spots around the outpost; some had been impaled by sharp wooden stakes, and filth littered the ground. Others had been flung onto the roof, their eyes wide open and bodies mangled; the air was thick with the pungent smell of blood. In addition to the human bodies, several corpses of mutated monkeys lay on the ground; they had all been beaten to death with blunt instruments. Clearly, after coming under attack, these victims refused to sit idly by and die; they fought back with everything they had. But the result of that resistance… “Now they’ve all turned into cold, lifeless bodies, haven’t they? They were smart—once they found this place, they quickly set up defenses to ward off unknown dangers. But clearly, their preparations were far from sufficient, and the horror of this island exceeded their wildest imaginings.” Lu Xu stared impassively at the tragedy before him. Unlike Ye Qinglan, who had run off to the side to vomit, he carefully examined the victims’ wounds. He needed to examine the wounds to determine whether the attackers were these mutated monkeys or if other enemies had been lurking in the rain-drenched night. “This island… that person lurking in the shadows who led us here—the ‘Mr. X’ you mentioned—what exactly is his purpose? Is he simply treating this as a game, engaging in endless slaughter and watching people die right before his eyes?” Ye Qinglan clenched her fists, looking indignant. She couldn’t fathom the reasoning behind such actions, as the scent of death hung heavy over the island. “A game? That’s a very insightful point, but… Mr. X’s motives certainly aren’t that simple. I might be able to try to piece together what he was thinking at the time, but… let’s head over there first. That house doesn’t look like it was built on the spur of the moment.” Lu Xu furrowed his brow; it seemed he’d thought of something, but he quickly shook his head, dismissing the thought. He pointed to the small wooden cabin at the heart of the outpost, stepping around the mess on the ground as he made his way inside, hoping to uncover more clues. “This is truly… too cruel. One by one, people who were talking to me just a short while ago have left us forever. Will I soon end up just like them?” Ye Qinglan’s face was deathly pale. As a survivor herself, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of shared sorrow. She followed Lu Xu into the cabin. By then, Lu Xu was already crouched in the corner, gathering supplies scattered throughout the room. “If you have the energy to spout those meaningless, cowardly words, you’d be better off coming over to help put these cans into the bag. To survive on this island, we not only have to fend off mutated creatures that could appear at any moment, but we also need enough food. We’re very lucky to have found these.” Lu Xu picked up a can and waved it in front of Ye Qinglan. There were more than a dozen cans scattered on the floor, which came as a big surprise to Lu Xu. “These cans… are they from the Chang’an? No, wait—they look like they’ve been stored here for a long time. And what’s the story with this wooden cabin?” Ye Qinglan frowned as she examined the cans. She quickly noticed something amiss—a series of puzzling details had emerged on this island. “Although there are no production dates on these cans, this preservation method… is probably from about thirty years ago. The patterns and logos on them are rusted and barely legible, but… this kind of canned fish, with this flavor, should be a specialty of the Huaxia region.” Lu Xu opened a can. He first gave it a light sniff, then quickly dipped his finger into a bit of the sauce to taste it. “Thirty years? Won’t it have gone bad after sitting around that long? You actually dare to eat it? And what’s the point of analyzing all this anyway?” Ye Qinglan voiced her doubts and shot Lu Xu a disgusted look; to her, thirty years was an age span that made him seem a whole generation older than she was. “Have you ever heard the story about how, after World War II ended, some soldiers refused to surrender? They hid in caves in the mountains and survived on military rations, holding out for over thirty years until they died of natural causes.” Lu Xu paid no heed to Ye Qinglan’s remarks. While carefully savoring his food, he began to talk about something that, at first glance, seemed completely unrelated. “They survived on military rations for over thirty years? Hey, you’re not saying they ate this kind of canned food the whole time, are you?” Ye Qinglan was startled. She had always been very picky about food and was herself an avid lover of fine cuisine and cooking. Never mind eating this canned food for over thirty years—even if she were asked to take just three bites, she’d feel her stomach churn and simply couldn’t stomach it. “That’s pretty much it. So technically speaking, there’s no problem with it staying fresh for thirty years in a sealed container. Besides, wasn’t the zombie meat that circulated on the market for a while also preserved for many years?” Lu Xu took a taste, put the can away, and resumed his search. He didn’t just collect the canned food; he gathered all sorts of useful items and stuffed them into a bag. “Zombie meat? Are you talking about that frozen meat shipped from overseas that’s been sitting in cold storage for years—or even over a decade? Eww, please stop talking about that—it’s just too disgusting!” Ye Qinglan, who had heard a little about it, immediately shot Lu Xu a look of revulsion. At the same time, she scanned the interior of the room. Several young women lay sprawled on the floor, their deaths looking truly gruesome. The wooden door panels lay scattered and shattered across the floor—clearly smashed open from the outside—leaving the girls, who had been hiding behind it, with no way to escape. Right here in this small hut meant to shelter them from the wind and rain, they had been brutally turned into a feast for the mutated monsters. “Gross? That’s protein that keeps the human body alive. The food we ate a few days ago wasn’t necessarily much better than this canned zombie meat. In fact, if you ignore the expiration date, it actually tastes pretty good. Try some.” Lu Xu quickly cleared out all the useful supplies in the room, filling a bag to the brim, and handed a can to Ye Qinglan. He gestured for Ye Qinglan to try the fish inside, but she immediately waved her hand. “I’m not going to try that stuff… at least not right now,” Ye Qinglan said, shooting Lu Xu a glare. But she soon realized she couldn’t be too categorical—she could only talk a big game now that she wasn’t hungry yet. When hunger struck, she’d surely eat it without hesitation, wouldn’t she?