Apocalyptic Charity Plan [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 4

Behind a large boulder lay a child who looked to be five or six years old, small and frail. The child had short hair and wore ragged clothes that made it impossible to distinguish their gender. At this moment, the child’s eyes were tightly shut, lips bitten and bleeding, with dark dried blood staining their mouth.

Noticing a faint rise and fall of the child’s chest, Jiang Fanxing rushed over and cradled them in his arms. He took his water bottle from his pack and poured a capful of water. The temperature was so high that the water in the cap began to evaporate before his eyes. He did not have time to mourn the loss; he carefully pried the child’s mouth open. Seeing the deep teeth marks on the child’s lips made his own mouth ache. Watching the water vanish, he quickly poured it into the child’s mouth. The child’s mouth was small, and he had poured too quickly, spilling some over the child’s chin and leaving a trail of gray black grime.

The unconscious child, desperate for relief, frowned and instinctively began to gulp down the precious moisture. As their parched and painful throat felt the soothing effects, the child finally stirred awake. As Jiang Fanxing watched the child’s eyes move under their lids, he felt a wave of relief. Suddenly, a sound like clinking gold coins rang in his ears; he had received Merit Points.

“Merit +3.”

The sound was pleasant but annoying. Jiang Fanxing directly had 110 mute the notification sounds; he had no interest in checking them right now. He felt relieved that the child had survived; if they had not woken up, he would have been at a loss. He had just fed the child three caps of water, and his bottle was now completely empty.

He had only a chloroplast in his body, and its ability to condense water was limited. He had barely managed to fill the cap earlier, and he did not dare to give the child any more now. If he did, he would truly have nothing left. Placing the child down, he looked at the grime on his white shirt and gloves. His stomach churned with nausea, but he could not blame the child. Suppressing his disgust, he patted the dirt off his clothes and looked at the child, who had now opened their eyes.

“I saved you.”

The indifferent tone and his bizarre skin color did not seem to frighten the child. The child was incredibly weak, yet they strained their eyes, trying to memorize his appearance.

“Thank you big brother.”

The moment the words were out, Jiang Fanxing watched the child’s head loll to the side, their eyes closing once more. His heart sank, and he quickly crouched to check the child’s condition. If not for the faint, steady breath, he would have thought the child had just died before his eyes. The water had earned him 3 points; it was too little. It meant the water had helped, but it was not enough to fully save the child. They needed more than water; they needed food. He had compressed biscuits, but the child was unconscious and could not eat. He would have to wait.

Thinking of the water evaporating while he tried to feed them, Jiang Fanxing grew irritable. Even if he could condense water, he could not afford to waste it like this. He needed to find a cooler place. Determined, he picked up the child again, deciding to carry them with him to prevent them from being baked alive while he was away.

As they left toward the mountains, they did not notice someone watching the rescue from nearby. Unlike the others, who were emaciated and frail, this man was robust and clearly not lacking food or water, a stark contrast to the surrounding misery. Hiding behind a ruined mud house, the man watched Jiang Fanxing’s retreating figure and swallowed hard. He then ran to a nearby rural villa.

“Boss! Boss! I saw a green person in the village. He has food and water, and he can produce water!”

The commotion broke the silence in the villa. Moments later, a dozen burly men emerged from a room. The man at the lead was actually holding a bottle of wine. He drained the last drop, tossed the bottle aside, and glared at the man who had reported the news.

The man behind the leader quickly approached, jabbing Zhao San in the ribs and whispering a warning: “Zhao San, I have told you how many times to keep your voice down!” This was their base, where they hid their food and water; if outsiders found them, they were finished.

Zhao San clutched his bruised arm, a flash of resentment crossing his eyes before he put on a fawning expression. “I am sorry, Boss. I was wrong. But Boss, I really saw a green haired, green skinned monster. He made water appear in his palm and fed it to that brat, Li Zhenyang! He took the kid and left.”

Li Zhenyang, the child Jiang Fanxing had saved, was the village chief’s grandson. After the apocalypse, rivers dried up, crops withered, and villagers had been forced to survive on meager supplies hidden in cellars. Once those ran out, chaos broke out.

Li Dazao was a well known local thug. He had once been part of a gang in the county seat, and upon returning to the village, he had made a living by extorting protection money. Once food and water vanished, he and his gang began raiding their neighbors. Anyone who resisted was tossed outside to be baked to death in the sun. But the village was small, and their stolen supplies would not last long. Then, Li Dazao’s cousin, Li Hu, suggested eating people.

The villagers, already desperate from losing their food, were then forced to watch their children being preyed upon. Li Zhenyang had only survived because his grandfather had hidden him early on. Now, with his family dead, he had escaped his hiding spot only to be found by Jiang Fanxing. Had they not met, the boy would have either died behind that rock or been found by Li Dazao and eaten. Jiang Fanxing, busy searching for shelter, knew nothing of this.

When Li Dazao confirmed Zhao San’s story, a deranged fantasy took hold. He smiled dreamily. “Tang Monk meat.”

The gang immediately understood what he meant.

Fortune favors the persistent. After crossing a dry riverbed, Jiang Fanxing found an abandoned mountain cellar at the foot of the hill. It was meant for storing potatoes. Usually, such cellars would be damp and cool, sometimes even frosted. But due to the drought and extreme heat, Jiang Fanxing walked the seven or eight meters to the end, touching the walls in the dark without feeling a hint of moisture. The temperature was only three or four degrees lower than the outside. There was not a single potato skin left; it had either always been empty or been picked clean long ago.

Jiang Fanxing was disappointed but not surprised. He laid the unconscious child on the floor, set the biscuits and the meager water beside them, and whispered, “Do not wander off. Wait for me here; I am going to find some food.” He could not stay here if he wanted Merit Points, but he could not leave the child to die either; he had to prepare enough supplies first.

After leaving the cellar, Jiang Fanxing gazed up at the endless mountains. In the distance, the trees still had withered leaves, but the ones nearby were completely devoid of life. Many trees had been stripped of their bark and eaten, and some had even been dug up for their roots. The ground was covered in chaotic footprints and countless pits; every edible plant had been dug away. Humanity had exhausted every way to survive, and even the mountains no longer offered hope. Jiang Fanxing looked toward the distant peaks, wondering if life remained there, but he could not walk that far just for food, nor did he want to exhaust himself saving one child.

With that in mind, he turned and walked back toward the village. He refused to believe that in such a large village, he could not find a single grain of rice. But as soon as he entered the village, he was surrounded.

Jiang Fanxing did not focus on the murderous expressions or the blades in their hands; he noticed their sweat and heavy breathing. He thought to himself that these people were still so active in this heat, meaning they must not lack food or drink. He wished he had the strength to rob them instead.

Li Dazao looked him up and down. Even though his face was hidden by a scarf, his beautiful green eyes were visible. Li Dazao smiled meaningfully. “Monster, I heard you can produce water. Since you are so pretty, if you give me some water, I will not kill you. How about that?” He imagined that while the monster was green and his face hidden, his body looked lithe and delicate; he would surely be soft and supple to play with.

Zhao San and the others, who had expected to kill Jiang Fanxing for meat or keep him as a human water dispenser, heard Li Dazao’s words and their gazes turned lascivious.

“Boss, once you are done playing, let us have a turn!”

“Yeah, Boss, I have never played with a monster before!”

Facing these lewd comments and disgusting glares, Jiang Fanxing’s fury burned. He wanted to kill them all, but he lacked the strength. Finding an opening, he rammed through the circle, knocking two unprepared men over. When he made contact and smelled their foul stench at close range, he almost vomited. Adrenaline surged through him, and he bolted, vanishing in an instant.

The speed left Li Dazao and his men stunned. Li Dazao quickly recovered and roared, “Chase him!”

Jiang Fanxing ran, gritting his teeth while plotting how to deal with these guys. Just wait. Next time, I will not just steal your food; I will send you all to hell!

Compared to Jiang Fanxing’s setbacks, Xie Yunqing and his squad were proving to be remarkably lucky.