“Hello!” A thin young man stood at the entrance of the bookstore and knocked on the door. “Your takeout is ready!”
Ling Pingan immediately stood up and took over the takeout box from the man.
The fragrance of squid assailed his nostrils.
He opened the takeout box and saw squid tentacles that were as thick as a finger. They were roasted until they were golden and crisp. The surface was sprinkled with fragrant chili powder, and the oil almost covered every part of the squid.
He immediately took a bite. “Delicious! Delicious!”
“Your praise is my honor!” The young man at the door was very satisfied. He bowed slightly. “You are welcome to order takeout from the store next time!”
“Of course, I will!” Ling Pingan said happily.
To him, there were very few things in this world that he could invest his time in, other than games and writing novels.
Delicacies were probably one of them.
“Oh right…” the young man suddenly reminded, “Customer, in addition to the squid whiskers, our store will also provide some delicacies from the deep sea regularly. The extra dish that our store is serving you today is the deep-sea fish liver…”
Ling Pingan listened and opened the takeaway box. Sure enough, he found a very tender fish liver wrapped in tin foil.
The fish liver was about the size of a fist, and its surface was very crispy. The fat was dripping from the meat, and it emitted a fragrance like fruit juice.
“What kind of fish is this?” Ling Pingan asked.
“This is the liver of a deep-sea fish caught from the deepest part of the Luzon Trench…” the young man smiled and said, “It’s natural and pollution-free!”
Ling Pingan took a bite and felt that his taste buds were occupied by the extreme taste of freshness. He wanted to eat it all in one bite.
“It tastes great!” He said, “I’ll order your supper again next time!”
“My pleasure!” The young man bowed again and then turned to leave.
Ling Pingan took the takeaway and sat at the counter to eat.
Meow!
The kitten, Bastet, jumped in front of him.
“Do you want to eat this too?” Ling Pingan asked.
Meow!
He immediately laughed and gave it a few squid tendrils and a small portion of the fish liver.
“Kitten shouldn’t eat too much oily food!” He found a reasonable excuse for taking a large half of the fish liver. “Otherwise, you’ll get fat!”
After eating supper, Ling Pingan burped and looked at the time. It was already midnight.
“Let’s watch the news and go to sleep!” He said and turned on the TV.
Soon, the news broadcast appeared on the TV screen.
“Let’s focus on global warming together!” The host said seriously. At the same time, the image of Antarctica, which had been frozen all year round appeared on the screen.
One after another of the glaciers unfolded.
However, lakes appeared between the glaciers.
“Global warming is continuing to intensify…”
“The melting rate of the Antarctic glaciers is accelerating every year…”
“Since the Gonghe era 2820, the melting rate of the Antarctic ice sheet has doubled.”
“Climatologists and environmentalists are worried about the impact of the sudden climate change on the global environment!”
Ling Pingan looked at it and nodded. “Hmm… the weather has indeed been very problematic recently…”
“Thick fog often appears in the middle of the night…”
The young bookstore owner looked at the melting glaciers on the television screen worriedly.
He was worried about the many foreign countries on the island that were affected.
It was not as if there had never been a case where the glaciers melted and the sea level rose, and then an island country was submerged.
When Ling Pingan was a child, he had seen a small country being swallowed by the sea.
Countless helpless and grieving people were forced to board the land-sea warships of the Federal Empire’s Navy and evacuated from their ancestral homeland.
That was a shocking moment.
Now, the rate at which the glaciers melted was still accelerating.
Then, did it mean that the people of the island countries might lose their homes again?
Thinking of this, Ling Pingan was worried about the islands for a second.
However, Ling Pingan knew that it was useless for him to worry about such things.
He was just an ordinary person. The only thing he could do was to donate to the Federal Empire’s Nature Foundation.
However, he had donated 500 yuan in the first half of the year.
So…
“I’ll donate again next year!” He said.
That was also the limit that an ordinary person like him could reach.
From a noticeably young age, Ling Pingan had learned the principle of doing everything within one’s means.
Zhang Hui looked at the card in his hand.
There was a story written in standard script on the card. It was an ancient story that came from Zhuang Zi’s “Emperor Ying”.
The Emperors of the North, Yu, and the Emperor of the South, Hu would often meet in the Kingdom of the Emperor of the Middle whose name was Chaos. Chaos showed them such hospitality…
That was a story that all the children of the Federal Empire knew.
It was a story about two ancient gods in order to repay the kindness of the other God, came out with a story and drilled seven holes in him, which he could use to see, hear, eat, and breathe. After seven holes were drilled, Chaos was dead.
The elementary school teacher had already taught this story. It was a principle that told people to let nature take its course and not force it.
But…
“Why did the Ling clan’s ancestor leave this story here?!”
“Is there any direct connection between it and the owner of the bookstore?!”
Zhang Hui did not know, but he vaguely knew that there might be some connections.
He took the card and flipped it over. On the back of the card, there was a line of words.
“Everyone fears death! Even gods are no exception!”
Zhang Hui frowned.
Chu Weiwei opened her eyes slightly and realized that she was sleeping on the bed.
It was already dawn.
The sunlight outside the window shone down from the windowsill.
She put on her slippers and walked to the window. She looked at the bustling streets of Xin’an city under the sun.
Her phone beeped. She picked it up and saw the message: Weiwei, come down quickly. Let’s go shopping in Xin’an city and buy some souvenirs!
She put down her phone, and a smile finally appeared on her face.
“Although I’m useless!” She said, “At least, I protected people like the captain…”
Her captain was a person who cares nothing and naturally optimistic.
After all, they had known each other for so long. But, Chu Weiwei had never seen her afraid of anything.
Furthermore, there was a legend among the Blackguards that her captain was a born lucky person. No matter what problems she encountered, she would always be able to turn the situation around.
Hence, when something happened in Beizhou, the higher officers specially sent the Blackguard who had just been promoted to captain to lead the team.
As expected, the epidemic in Beizhou resolved within a few days.
That further deepened the opinions of the higher officers towards her. Some people even began to call her a Koi.
Even Chu Weiwei’s parents had especially urged her to build a good relationship with the captain. It would be best if they could become best friends or something.
After all, no one could refuse a person who was lucky to be on their side.
And luck attributes were even more precious in the days where the spirit aura had recovered.
Only Chu Weiwei knew that all of these were not because of the captain’s luck, but because the senior expert was silently contributing.