Chapter 103: Some advice
There was a small lull in the conversation. What did they think about what they were seeing? They thought a lot of things. It was just a matter of whether to say it.
"The world’s gone to hell," Jon murmured.
That was the first thing Jon thought when he saw everything. The second, that he wanted to tell the universe to go fuck itself, he didn’t say.
"The world has been in hell for a long time. We’re the ones who have been killing it," Verdana replied. "Now, it’s probably purging."
"Would explain why so many people keep dying," Jaylin responded. "Good thing we’re all doing pretty good right now."
"Many more might die if the food situation continues," Jon thought about the things on the roof when he said it. "Maybe we should help some more people," he murmured.
He looked up at Kain and found him looking back at him with a raised eyebrow. The small, amused smile made Jon aware that Kain heard him, but whether to help, it was unlikely.
"Good thing we have food," Paige sighed.
"A lot of food," Jake chimed.
Heads turned in his direction. They never asked before how much they had. Sure, they would go hunting, but they didn’t just eat marrow. They could eat normal food. It didn’t have Source Energy, but it filled them up.
Their appetites had grown with the introduction of Source Energy in their bodies, but the food seemed never-ending.
"How much food do we have?" Ian asked, almost innocently. He stared at Jake, waiting anxiously for the answer.
Ever since the tuna incident, everyone knew Ian was the kind of man who pursued the ’blessing of the stomach’. He would eat until he couldn’t move.
Jake didn’t respond immediately. He turned to Kain, looking to him for approval. Only when Kain nodded did he respond.
"Even if we live for ten lifetimes, I don’t think we can finish all the food," Jake said, spreading his arms.
The statement made them look over at Kain. Not suspiciously, more like wondering. It was an open secret that Kain had secrets. They didn’t push. The food was there. They didn’t need to think about it.
But just because a few of them didn’t think about it, it didn’t mean others weren’t.
As for whether some people could get the food, it was better for them to stay quiet and never think about it.
"Alright, no more food talk. Let’s think about the matter at hand," Amelia said, tapping a finger on the table. "What we need to talk about are the glowing waters and the dead zones."
She looked at the map they were given.
"If what I’m seeing is right, we have one glowing water to the right and a dead zone to the left. The few neighbours we had were taken by the barge; now we only have wasteland, so to speak.
They haven’t gone into the water to know for sure why the water is glowing. We only know they haven’t caused any issues to those close to them. They were even willing to risk people crossing, but the waters were still stationary.
As for the dead zones, they didn’t lose any people, but they had seen people enter and never come out. Being honest, I’m itching to go and take a look," Amelia spoke softly, whether it was because she was excited or because she was resting against Kain, no one knew.
Either way, it was a tone she wouldn’t normally use when others were around.
There was some more small talk before Marcus asked Kain directly, "Why did you want this? What are you trying to show us?"
Silence fell. Kain was not surprised by the question. He had expected it. It’s normal to ask such a question when it’s clear they have no use for the knowledge.
Rather than answer, Kain asked, "How do you feel after receiving this knowledge?"
Marcus frowned. How did he feel?
Ever since what happened before, he hadn’t thought about the future; he was currently living for each day. It was good enough that no one tried to drug him. He had planned on living day to day and figuring things out along the way.
Following Kain was a kind of security he hadn’t expected. While he couldn’t say he would be the most loyal, as long as Kain didn’t cause him any trouble, he had no problem following orders.
As for what was on the table, the only thing he felt was that the world had changed. So he voiced his opinion.
"The world is different. Before, if there were millions of people disappearing or dying, the government would step in. The dwindling food would cause an upsurge in people looting or buying food.
In short, it would be chaos, but someone would be there to keep the order."
Kain nodded, "Order. That’s exactly it. There is no order here. No one is going to swoop in and help. There is no government, they disappeared a long time ago. All we have now is ourselves and whoever we choose to trust.
The way we live is already a luxury. That’s what I want you all to see. We are living much more comfortably than everyone else. There is food, clothes, and shelter. We don’t want for anything.
That’s why I need everyone to toughen up. Don’t think about rescue. Don’t pretend to be a saint. Don’t save people who aren’t worth it. Take care of yourself before trying to take care of others. Finally, remember the oath."
Kain leaned back. He hadn’t planned to say any of that. He had to admit that life was much more comfortable now than before. What he said was just as much for them as it was for him.
He didn’t need to be so comfortable; he needed the adversity.
One month. In one month, this group of people would know adversity. They might hate him for it, but that didn’t matter. People cannot grow in comfort.
