Apocalyptic Charity Plan [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 13

After contacting the survivor base, Jiang Fanxing continued westward on his tricycle. Along the way, he encountered two more villages. The situation in Jinji Village was an anomaly; in these new villages, there were either no survivors to be found, or they were like the first village he had encountered, where criminal gangs exploited the common people.

In the abandoned villages, he left behind a few thermal mugs filled with water, a mobile phone that still functioned as a recording device, and a hand-drawn map. As for the villages controlled by criminal gangs, he stayed as far away as possible. Having been burned once, he had no interest in gambling on the conscience of the survivors or fighting the gangs. He reminded himself that the bruises on his face from the previous fight had not even healed yet.

He was distressed about the oil drums seized by the gangs, but he was even more worried about the people of Jinji Village. Since he had left maps in every village he passed, there was a high probability that the criminals would head toward the Ice and Snow World and inevitably cross paths with the Jinji villagers. To ensure their safety, he contacted the survivor base again to explain the complex situation. Only after they promised to evacuate the people of Jinji Village within two days did he feel secure enough to continue.

When the sun was at its peak, he stopped to build a makeshift shelter in the wilderness, spread out his sleeping bag, and slept for three hours. Once refreshed, he rode on. Toward dusk, he arrived at another village, where he witnessed a horrifying display of coercion regarding the choice of eating or not eating.

Perhaps because the temperature was milder at dusk, dozens of survivors had gathered in the village square. Jiang Fanxing had hidden himself as soon as he heard voices, so they were unaware of his presence. As he quietly approached the square, he saw a group of men and women surrounding a gaunt mother and her child with grim expressions. Jiang Fanxing initially thought they were about to beat them, but then he heard a chilling conversation.

The mother begged, “Please, let Xiao Long go. I will give you all our food, just please do not eat him!”

Xiao Long, the child in her arms, appeared to be about three years old. It was a miracle that a child so young had survived this long in such an environment, a testament to the care his mother had provided.

A woman in the crowd looked at the mother and child with seething hatred. “Why?! My child was eaten by you people, and now that it is Xiao Long’s turn, you refuse? Why did you not refuse when you were eating my son?” she shrieked, her voice filled with grief and vengeance.

Jiang Fanxing felt a chill run through him. This was child swapping for survival.

The mother froze for a moment before tremblingly pulling two pieces of dark red dried meat from her pants pocket. “Take it back. I will not eat it, just please do not eat my son.” Her voice lacked conviction.

The woman cried as she stared at the meat, shaking with rage, unable to speak. The elder, who appeared to be the group’s leader, hurriedly comforted the woman while looking at the mother with disappointment. He said, “Huilan, we all agreed on this together. You have not refused so many times before; this makes things very difficult for us.”

The famished crowd stared at Xiao Long with glowing, predatory eyes. One person seized the opportunity to say, “If she does not agree, then we take her too!”

Aside from the mother, the group remained silent, watching her with hollow, haunting gazes. Fear flickered in the mother’s eyes, and her grip on her child slowly loosened. Little Xiao Long, however, remained oblivious, playing with his mother’s hair.

Jiang Fanxing closed his eyes, unable to watch any further. He slipped away, his heart heavy. This group was organized and disciplined, treating children as survival rations to maintain a grim balance. Every one of them was both a beneficiary and a victim, but the innocent children were the true tragedy. In the eyes of some parents, since they had given their children life, they felt entitled to take it away. It was a pathetic world.

Without lingering, he collected the necessary information and fled. Only when he was safe did he silently take out the communicator and call the base.

“Hello, this is…”

Jiang Fanxing interrupted the woman on the other end. “XX Province, XX City, XX County, Reservoir Village. The people in this village are very united in their cannibalism. Come as quickly as you can.” Otherwise, there was no telling what kind of nightmare this village would eventually become.

The woman was silent for a long time before replying, “Understood. Thank you for the information. A convoy has already departed, and I will relay this message.”

Jiang Fanxing gave a soft grunt of acknowledgment, hung up, and let out a long, weary sigh. He looked back toward the direction of Reservoir Village. He wanted to save Xiao Long, but he was terrified of dying. He should have left, but his feet felt rooted to the ground. He thought of the child he had met before, who had been just as helpless until a hand reached out to help.

Two voices argued in his mind: one urged him to save the boy, while the other coldly warned him to run and not throw his life away. He roared, “Shut up!” and the voices vanished.

Jiang Fanxing bit his lip, his gaze hardening. He could not go back to the real world anyway; it was all meaningless. He had nothing to lose, so he might as well do this!

Despite his resolve, his only weapon was a Swiss Army knife. The people of Reservoir Village had plenty to eat, and while they were thin, their collective strength was not to be underestimated. Close-quarters combat would be a death sentence. What could be used for a ranged attack? Bombs were impossible to find, and he did not know how to make explosives. However, he had one final trick up his sleeve, though he was not sure if it would work.

Reservoir Village

After the child was taken from her, the mother’s spirit broke; she sat with her head hung low, muttering to herself. The villagers ignored her, feeling justified in their actions. To rationalize the horror, the elder had suggested they make offerings to their ancestors in the ancestral hall before eating, as if that would absolve them.

Compared to the previous village that simply roasted their victims, Reservoir Village was well-prepared, complete with spices like Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, and soy sauce. Someone even grumbled, “It would be better if we had some scallions, ginger, and garlic.”

While they prepared their pots, they were unaware that Jiang Fanxing was already above them. He stepped carefully on the roof tiles of the ancestral hall, trying to make no sound. Behind him lay several electric scooter batteries and gas canisters. He found his position and carefully removed the tiles. To prevent the sunlight from revealing the opening, he covered it with a black cloth.

Below, the crowd clamored for the elder to begin. The man holding Xiao Long refused to let the child walk, fearing he would get bruised and ruin the meat. Jiang Fanxing’s eyes sharpened. This is the moment!

He shoved the heated batteries and gas canisters through the opening. The crowd below was distracted by the man holding the boy, so when the heavy objects rained down, several people were struck and knocked to the ground. The man holding Xiao Long threw him aside and scrambled backward.

Before they could react, more objects fell.

“Bang!”

“Clatter!”

The familiar sound of an explosion echoed. Jiang Fanxing felt a mix of satisfaction and embarrassment. Since arriving in this world, he had twice torn off roof tiles and triggered explosions; he felt more active than a master thief. Of the six batteries he had brought, only two exploded, and none of the gas canisters detonated. However, one battery fell directly into the boiling pot. The internal components, already unstable from the heat, reacted violently with the boiling water, causing a massive blast.

Scalding water and ceramic shards showered the room, sparing no one. Even Jiang Fanxing, still on the roof, was caught in the blast as he stepped into a loose section of tiles, nearly getting stuck.

He scrambled off the roof, and a second later, a massive shockwave threw him several meters through the air. He hit the ground, seeing stars. The gas canisters must have finally gone off.

He stood up, brushing off the dust, trembling with a lingering fear. He had only wanted to target the adults, but was Xiao Long still alive?

After two minutes, the shattered shell of the ancestral hall fell silent. Jiang Fanxing swallowed hard and walked toward the carnage. The scene was worse than the last; little remained of the bodies. Xiao Long was gone. He is dead, he thought. Saved, but it would have been better if I had not tried.

Just as he was trying to comfort himself with the thought that death by explosion was better than being eaten, he heard a faint sob. He stood still, listening carefully, and pinpointed the sound to a corner near the ancestral hall door. He walked over slowly.

A woman lay crumpled in the corner, her back shredded by the blast, but she was cradling someone in her arms. It was Xiao Long’s mother, shielding her child with her body.

Jiang Fanxing looked on with a complex expression. It was impossible to judge this mother. She had been willing to eat another child to survive, yet when it came to her own, she had ultimately died to protect him. He did not dwell on it; he gathered Xiao Long from her arms, found the three other children who had been held captive, and led them out of the village through the night.