Surviving the Apocalypse with the Young Miss - Chapter 56

Chapter 56: Confirmation

“Exactly. So the problem must lie with that meat porridge and the buns,” Song Ge mused. “But one thing doesn’t add up. Yue Yao ate them, but we didn’t. Aren’t they afraid that if we see her acting strange, we’ll get suspicious?”

Hearing this, Tong Xiangyu looked at Song Ge. Seeing that Song Ge was genuinely puzzled, she couldn’t help but say, “Regardless of whether they did that or not, haven’t you been ‘suspicious’ of them this whole time?”

Song Ge tilted her head. “I suppose that’s true.”

Tong Xiangyu was momentarily speechless by how calmly Song Ge admitted it. She asked, still not quite understanding, “Song Ge, since you’re already certain they’re a problem, why did you go out of your way to provoke Zeus?”

Song Ge countered, “What, and let them treat me like a soft target they can manipulate?”

“No! In times like this, you should hide your light under a bushel! You should hide your sharpness so they let their guard down, and then we strike when they least expect it…”

“Alright, alright, I get it—you’re good at literature.”

Seeing Song Ge was still in the mood to joke, Tong Xiangyu grew anxious. “I’m being serious! You offended him like that. If something happens later…”

Song Ge interrupted, “I’m counting on it.”

Tong Xiangyu froze at those four words and looked at her.

Song Ge said, “I want them to know I’m difficult to deal with. That way, if they truly decide to move against us, they’ll target me first. I’m more durable.”

Tong Xiangyu stared blankly at Song Ge. Seeing how casual and calm Song Ge was—as if this was the most ordinary thing in the world—her heart began to race. But following that was a mix of worry and anger. “What do you mean you can ‘handle it’? You’re our only combat power. If you fall, won’t we just be meat on a chopping block?”

“What else can we do?” Song Ge looked at her with a smile. “Who told our innocent, kind ‘Milk Tea’ to believe everyone and insist on entering this wolf’s den?”

Looking at Song Ge’s smile and hearing those words, Tong Xiangyu’s nose suddenly crinkled, and tears began to fall.

Song Ge had only meant it as a joke. Seeing Tong Xiangyu cry without warning, she was startled and instinctively reached out to wipe a tear away. “Why are you crying? Can’t you tell I’m joking?”

“It’s all my fault…” Tong Xiangyu sobbed, wiping her eyes repeatedly in a mix of grievance and self-blame.

“How could it be your fault? I was just talking nonsense,” Song Ge said. “They had so many people. They were just playing nice before the force. Even if you hadn’t agreed, they would have brought us here by force anyway.”

Tong Xiangyu stopped sobbing and looked at Song Ge with teary eyes. “Really?”

“Mhm,” Song Ge replied. She thought to herself that while an immediate escape might not have been entirely impossible, there was no need to say that now. She changed the subject. “As for what you said…”

Just then, a song ended.

Song Ge took the opportunity to stop the conversation and handed the microphone to the tearful young lady. “Which button do I press?”

Tong Xiangyu looked down, her vision blurry. She wiped her eyes, and then, using a damp, slender white finger, she guided Song Ge’s index finger onto a button on the microphone. “Press this one.”

Song Ge pressed it.

A gentle, lyrical ballad began to play. It wasn’t suitable for masking their voices, so Song Ge unhesitatingly pressed the opposite button. Sure enough, it returned to the previous track—the upbeat intro of a popular pop song started again.

Song Ge continued, “As for you saying I should pretend to be gullible and weak, that won’t work. From the first time we met, that dwarf likely realized roughly how much strength I have.”

“Then what should we do?” Tong Xiangyu looked at Song Ge with a face full of worry.

“We do what we must,” Song Ge said. “Soldiers to block the gate, water to be covered by earth. Besides, everything is just my speculation. At the end of the day, there isn’t much to gain from the three of us—unless that Zeus recognized you as the daughter of Kecheng’s richest man and plans to use you to blackmail your dad.”

Tong Xiangyu didn’t know why Song Ge had said so much about the problems here only to end with “it’s just speculation.” She retorted, “My family isn’t the richest in Kecheng.”

“Your opinion doesn’t count. Everyone says so, and the minority follows the majority.” Song Ge felt relieved seeing Tong Xiangyu’s attention shift. “Alright, Miss Heiress, hurry up and brush your teeth so we can sleep.”

The song on the microphone played twice. To keep up the act, while Tong Xiangyu was washing up, Song Ge figured out how to use the microphone and, accompanied by the loud backing track, sang a common, trashy pop song with great passion.

Though Tong Xiangyu had never heard it, she had a good ear for music. Wearing her headband and revealing her clean, beautiful face, she hummed the chorus Song Ge had just sung. Realizing Song Ge’s second rendition was in a completely different key than the first, she walked out of the bathroom with her toothbrush still in her mouth. “Song Ge, you’re out of tune!”

Song Ge glanced at her but only sang louder into the mic.

The man sitting in front of the monitors immediately ripped off his headphones upon hearing that “voice,” complaining with disgust, “Damn, where does this tone-deaf girl get the courage to sing? She’s nothing compared to the one before.”

In the middle of the night, everything was still.

Tong Xiangyu, who had been tossing and turning, had finally fallen into a deep sleep, though her hand still nervously gripped a corner of Song Ge’s shirt.

Song Ge lay on the bed with her eyes closed, maintaining a clear consciousness. With the young lady finally settled, Song Ge could continue to parse the suspicious points. That woman, Nana, had said that when they first arrived, they spent every day and night clearing out bodies and rooms, and that disinfection took a long time.

There were two red flags here.

First: how did these people dare to confirm the compound and rooms were absolutely safe from monster attacks before entering? Second: in a life-or-death situation, finding a safe shelter is already a rarity. Why would their first priority be tidying up and disinfecting? Even saying they were fortifying the defenses would be more believable.

Song Ge derived two conclusions from these points. One: these people have great ambitions and want to use the chaos to build an organization that runs contrary to, or even in opposition to, the state; they found this compound to set up camp and recruit. Two: this place was their “organization’s” base from the very beginning, and every room has surveillance, which is how they knew exactly which units had monsters and which didn’t.

But regardless of the conclusion, Song Ge still didn’t know the reason they were being forced to stay. They had the advantage in numbers and strength, yet they didn’t use force; they “invited” them with hospitality.

It couldn’t just be to add three insignificant members. There were over six thousand people here; would they really care about three females who couldn’t provide much labor value?

Wait. Labor value?!

Song Ge’s heart sank instantly.

In society, what women can provide is not just labor. They bear offspring; they are the indispensable carriers of life’s reproduction and heritage. In many cases, women are also a—resource.

Song Ge recalled everything she saw that evening. The dinner tables were mostly occupied by the elderly and energetic children. There were very few women, even middle-aged ones. As for the “core members” who came to look at them later, they were all men.

Could this be a coincidence?

Song Ge thought back to the mark behind that woman’s ear. Her heart sank further. Even without the current collapse of social order, even in normal times, there were frequent reports of kidnapping and sex slavery.

She remembered Old Yan, the woman sweeping the floor when they arrived. The old woman had shaken her head to herself, clearly knowing a lot of the inside story.

Song Ge found a breakthrough point and finally felt a bit relieved. However, her interrogation skills were poor; she would have to let the young lady handle it.

At dawn, Song Ge woke up first. She didn’t get out of bed but kept her eyes closed, waiting. Around seven o’clock, Tong Xiangyu woke up as well. Similarly, she didn’t open her eyes immediately but tentatively touched Song Ge’s hand.

Song Ge touched her back instantly.

OK, the secret signal was confirmed.

The two of them exchanged messages under the blanket through “finger-tracing.” When Tong Xiangyu realized Song Ge had written “Breeding Tools,” she frowned, thinking she had made a mistake, and traced a question mark back.

Song Ge rewrote two other words: “Sex Slaves.”

Now, Tong Xiangyu could no longer pretend to be asleep. She sat up immediately and ran into the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth, though her hand holding the toothbrush was trembling slightly.

Imprisonment? Breeding tools? Sex slaves?! For girls, there was nothing more terrifying than that!!

Tong Xiangyu and Song Ge went downstairs to find Old Yan, but there was no one there. Other areas were lively, however.

The sun hung high. People were already fertilizing and watering the crops in front of the houses, and some were carrying basins full of dirty clothes to wash. Children played in the halls outside the buildings. Although there were nowhere near six thousand people visible, quite a few had come out.

Tong Xiangyu didn’t know if she was influenced by Song Ge’s words, but she noticed that almost everyone she saw was male. There were very few females, and without exception, their expressions were numb, cold, and exhausted—not a single smile. They looked like they had endured great suffering.

Seeing this, Tong Xiangyu turned to look at Song Ge compassionately.

Song Ge knew exactly what this “Little Bodhisattva” was thinking the moment their eyes met. She said, “You’re a clay Buddha crossing the river yourself, and you’re still worried about others?”

Tong Xiangyu whispered, “If they really are those kinds of bad people…” Why couldn’t they gather all the oppressed women here to find a way out together? There would be strength in numbers…

Song Ge said, “Then have you considered—what if I’m wrong?”

Tong Xiangyu asked, “Would you be wrong?”

“Probably not, but just in case, we need to find a way to confirm it.”

“Confirm what?”

“Confirm whether that mark really is a hickey.”

Song Ge looked at Tong Xiangyu as she spoke. Tong Xiangyu looked blank. “How do we confirm that?”

“I actually tried it on myself.” Song Ge showed Tong Xiangyu her arm. There were two faint red marks on it, shaped very strangely. “I didn’t know how a hickey was formed. I pinched myself a few times to create sha, but I’m certain it’s not like that.”

“Pinching? It’s a ‘kiss’ mark, so of course it’s not pinched! It’s made by kissing with the mouth, kissing it out!”

“Right. So this one is pinched, and this one is sucked—neither looks like it.”

Tong Xiangyu was confused by Song Ge. “So it’s not a hickey?”

“No.” Song Ge looked thoughtfully at the area behind Tong Xiangyu’s ear. “I’ve been thinking, and I believe we should reduce the variables. By kissing the same spot.”

Tong Xiangyu froze. Two seconds later, she realized what was happening, and her cheeks flushed deep red. “No, no, no! No way!!”

Song Ge looked at her and said, “I haven’t even said anything yet.”

Tong Xiangyu’s beautiful face was burning. She covered her hot ears with her hands, turning away in shame, not daring to look at Song Ge. “You’re not allowed to kiss me!”

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