Chapter 4: Shi Yaoyao

Shi Ersao’s eyes were lifeless as she groped her way forward.

Tears streamed down her face as she collapsed to the ground in front of everyone.

She looked completely helpless, as if she couldn’t even move.

No one would ever suspect that a blind woman who could barely take a step without falling could carry a corpse away to dispose of it.

So, nobody doubted that the eldest son of Old Chen’s family was dead.

Someone lifted the tarp for a look.

Inside were only the two strange, disabled members of the Shi family.

He called out, “Chen Da is gone. Let’s all go home. What’s the point of bullying a widow and orphans?”

But Chen Lao’er wasn’t having it. He pointed at Shi Yuebai under the tarp.

“She’s faking it. Don’t be fooled by how fat she is—she’s vicious.”

The few who had come with the Chen brothers to bully Shi Ersao all nodded in agreement.

“That’s right, we all saw it.”

Shi Yuebai lifted her round, doughy face, looking bedraggled and soaked. Her clothes were tattered and filthy.

There simply weren’t any clothes in this world that fit her size.

When Shi’s mother left, she’d sewn a makeshift dress for her out of a scavenged bedsheet.

Shi Yuebai’s jowls quivered as she spoke.

“If you hadn’t come to bully my second sister-in-law, would you even know if I’m vicious or not?”

“Look at me now—I can’t even move. If I could, even a little, I’d have killed every last one of you.”

She was telling the truth.

She couldn’t move, so she could only kill whoever came close.

If she could move, none of them would have gotten away.

The other survivors whispered among themselves, glancing at Shi Yuebai and then at Shi Ersao, who was still groping around on the ground.

Someone pointed at Chen Lao’er.

“Who knows what you bullies are thinking. Just stop already—you’ve got wives and kids too.”

“Yeah, life’s hard enough as it is. Don’t make things worse for everyone.”

Women had no protection on the wasteland.

Any woman who looked even halfway decent—sometimes even girls—were in constant danger.

Let alone now, when all the men in the Shi family were dead.

Even in families where the husband was still alive, sometimes they could only watch helplessly as their wives and daughters were bullied.

There was only one reason for it.

They were too weak.

If a man was too weak, he couldn’t protect his wife or daughter.

If a woman was too weak, she couldn’t protect herself.

When the weak were harmed, there was nowhere to seek justice.

It was the same whether in the survivor camps or in the city.

This state of affairs on the wasteland had long since stirred resentment among many survivors.

If it happened to Shi Ersao today, tomorrow the Chen brothers could sneak into anyone’s tent and go after their wives and daughters.

So everyone seized this opportunity to denounce Chen Lao’er and his cronies.

That was all they could do—denounce them.

Shi Yuebai watched coldly as Chen Lao’er was surrounded, people pointing at him, saying he shouldn’t bully women, saying that such things wouldn’t be tolerated in their survivor group.

What a joke. As if saying these things would actually make Chen Lao’er and the others feel any moral shame.

Chen Lao’er said nothing, his eyes dark and brooding as he watched Shi Ersao grope around on the ground.

Outside the crowd, a blind woman moved with surprising speed, feeling her way into the Shi family’s tent.

“Yaoyao, Yaoyao.”

On her way to dump the body, Shi Ersao had been worried sick about her unconscious daughter.

She hadn’t even dared to check her daughter’s wounds, afraid she’d find a head injury.

“Mom.”

A soft, timid voice answered. Shi Yaoyao was sitting on the ground, her hands pressed against the gravel, crawling a short distance toward Shi Ersao.

Shi Ersao pulled her into her arms.

Her hands touched Yaoyao’s head and came away wet.

She brought her fingers to her nose and sniffed, then jumped in fright.

“Ah! Blood, it’s blood! Yaoyao… wuwuwu…”

Heavens, how were they supposed to survive, just the few of them left?

This wasteland hadn’t just turned her once lively, energetic daughter into this—it had also taken her husband.

Taken all the men of the Shi family.

Her own eyes had been blinded by radiation, and now her daughter’s head had been bashed in by the Chen brothers.

How were they supposed to go on?

Ahhh…

“What’s all the noise?”

Shi Yuebai’s impatient voice cut through, cold and sharp.

“She’s fine. There’s not even a scratch on her head. Feel for yourself.”

Shi Yuebai had always been short-tempered, used to being in charge.

She had no patience for the weak.

But now, she was the weakest of the weak.

Living among the vulnerable, Shi Yuebai’s patience was always on the verge of snapping.

Shi Ersao was long used to her spoiled temper.

Shi Yuebai had always spoken bluntly.

She reached out and carefully felt Yaoyao’s head. “Huh…”

Aside from the blood, there really wasn’t a single scratch or bump.

Soaked and bedraggled, Shi Yuebai said,

“Chen Lao’er won’t let this go. Help me up.”

She was lying on the ground, unable to see or hear much in this position.

Under the abandoned bridge, the ground was littered with all kinds of rubble.

Big and small stones everywhere.

It was because of these stones, used as cover, that this survivor group could camp here.

Each family had their own tarp for shelter.

The Shi family’s tarp was set far from the others, tucked against a pile of rocks at the base of the bridge.

Which meant that if Shi Yuebai could sit up, leaning against the rocks, she’d only have to watch the front.

Shi Ersao wiped her tears, told Yaoyao to stay put, and crawled over to help Shi Yuebai.

Shi Yuebai mustered some strength herself, forming a hand seal as Shi Ersao pushed her.

The heat stored in her fat slowly seeped from her limbs and bones into her fingers.

She converted it into a faint strength, and with Shi Ersao’s help, managed to roll herself over.

Once she was turned, Shi Ersao went to lift her legs.

Those legs were like four giant slabs of meat—thick layers of fat on her thighs and calves.

Each chunk of fat was as big as a tabletop.

To have survived this long in such a body, the original owner must have been tough.

Shi Ersao struggled to arrange Shi Yuebai’s legs into a comfortable position.

Shi Yuebai braced herself on the ground, and with Shi Ersao’s help, managed to sit up.

By the time she was propped against the pile of rocks, she was sweating again, her hair a tangled, damp mess.

She reeked of sour sweat.

Given her current situation, Shi Yuebai couldn’t afford to care about her living conditions.

She took a deep breath and looked down at the huge, round mound of fat on her belly.

“Auntie.”

Yaoyao scooted over, her dirty little body unbothered by Shi Yuebai’s stench, and flopped onto her thick, round belly.

Shi Yuebai, who had just managed to catch her breath, nearly suffocated again.

She gasped, “Yaoyao, get off!”

But Yaoyao reached out her small, blackened, skinny hand, holding a sprouting potato.

“Auntie, eat, eat.”

Her father had scavenged it a few days ago.

Yaoyao knew her aunt had a big appetite, so she wanted to share her own ration with her."