Before getting on the car, Chen Nan once said that he would pay three crystal nuclei as a payment for accepting him to follow them. Shen Shian didn’t care. The crystal nucleus was important, but it was not an indispensable necessity. Moreover, he didn’t want the crystal nuclei to be the only thing that brought Chen Nan and him together.

However, Chen Nan apparently took this matter to heart, and regarded it as a promise that must be fulfilled, not letting go of any possibility of obtaining crystal nuclei along the way. It’s just that the crystal nuclei were not easy to obtain. Evolved zombies were already rare. Shen Shian also made sure to take a route that had fewer chances of encountering zombies. Even if he tried hard, he couldn’t accomplish his goal every day.

On the night that he didn’t complete his goal for the second time, Shen Shian{n1} discovered that the palm sized notebook was missing. In it, he carefully wrote what food he consumed today and how many crystal nuclei he owed. After that, he was more active and desperate.

Note1: I think it should be Chen Nan but in the raw it’s Shen Shian, maybe Chen Nan found the notebook, it wasn’t explained.

Shen Shian did not say anything, nor did he stop him.

He really didn’t need Chen Nan’s crystal nuclei, and the food in the space was enough even if he kept an army, but he couldn’t let Chen Nan enjoy the resources during the trip. It was good to help others, but it was often too much help that often made dependence and greed that could not be filled.

Cooperating with each other and working together, paying attention to each other’s contributions and always being grateful, this was how a long-term partnership should be. He liked Chen Nan’s character, and if this character could stand the test of time, he would give back double the goodwill.

The atmosphere on the journey was getting more and more harmonious. If anyone else in the three-member team was not satisfied, it was the dog.

This human who joined halfway seized An An’s attention too much, the dog grinded his teeth, and these days he had been thinking about how to secretly eat the human without being discovered by Shen Shian.

In the evening, Shen Shian parked his car beside a pond. There were grasses on the edge of the pond, and several willow trees on the water. The water quality looked good, and there were small fishes the size of a finger swimming back and forth, rushing to eat small flowers that fell to the water. After eating, Chen Nan still took the initiative to wash the dishes. Shen Shian added some firewood to the fire and put a pot on top of it to start boiling water.

The water was used to bathe the child. Because there was another person here, there was no way to take a bath in the space. Fortunately, the road they chose was remote. It was not difficult to find non-polluted water between the countryside. It was everywhere, they just needed to use some effort to boil the water.

However, bathing with warm water was Shen Xun’s privilege. As for him and Chen Nan, they were physically fit and healthy. It was not cold in mid-May. They would just jump directly into the pond and use cold water to bathe, although it was still unsatisfactory.

“Brother Shen,” Chen Nan finished cleaning up and came to tell Shen Shian, “I’ll go to the pond first.”

Shen Shian nodded, “Tell me if there’s anything.”

“En.”

After Chen Nan left, Shen Shian took out a bathtub from the trunk where there was a spare tire on its outside. He poured hot water and cold water to make the right temperature. After confirming the right temperature, he beckoned to Shen Xun, “Come here.”

While rubbing the child’s hair, he whispered to him, “Do you have any opinion on Chen Nan?”

Shen Xun pretended, “No.”

Shen Shian believed it was strange. He grinded his teeth at Chen Nan in the middle of the night when he thought he couldn’t hear it. A stranger suddenly joined, many things had to be restricted, even a normal child could not adapt so quickly, not to mention Shen Xun was just a dog who had become a human in less than half a year. He hasn’t seen through his lie, and continued to pay attention to the foam so it doesn’t get into the child’s eyes, “Chen Nan has a good character, we are still a long way to the capital, and we will face not only zombies, but also the military and potentially hostile abilities owner, and many unpredictable situations. The more dangerous it is, the better it is to find a companion than to rely on the two of us alone.”

Shen Xun whispered, muttering softly, “He is too weak , I can beat him a hundred times, and he is useless.”

“People will always grow, he has an ability, and can absorb crystal nuclei, it can’t always stay like this. His ability and the black dirt is also suitable, the things planted in the black land cannot be planted twice, and the quality of the things he produced cannot be controlled,” Shen Shian rubbed carefully, seemingly inadvertently, “If we could cooperate, there will be endless and increasingly delicious cherries and strawberries in the future.”

As soon as he said that, the child’s eyes lit up. Shen Shian flicked his head, “Close your eyes, I’m going to wash you.”

At night, after saying good night to each other, Chen Nan got into the tent outside the car just like the other day. The tent, including the sleeping bags, were provided together with the professional field camping equipment that was collected by Shen Shian in the mall. The canvas and the frame were very strong, and the zombies couldn’t enter. There were also simple warning devices made of bamboo poles and bells with ropes around so they didn’t worry too much about security.

Shen Shian laid in the car, covered the child with a blanket, and kissed him on his forehead again, “Sleep.”

Shen Xun hugged his arm sideways, his dark green eyes rounded, and with a milky voice, he said, “An An, even if you have other companions, you will only like me, right?”

Shen Shian’s heart warmed. He smiled, raised his hand and rubbed the child’s hair, “Of course. You are my son, if I don’t like you, who else should I like?”

The dog was satisfied. After Shen Shian fell asleep, he secretly licked his wrist a few times.

Heng, he’s mine. Whoever steals him will die.