Chapter Forty-Two: Cerebral Domain

Mao Yixuan was someone Liu Chang had met a few days ago, during the so-called "Great Death Period." He used to work in the army, managing the mess hall and cooking meals for the officers—a small-time leader in charge of the kitchen. Now, during these extraordinary times, he had leveraged his position to become a minor leader in the military rations management group.

Liu Chang had met him in a simple way: a few people were roasting snake meat in the kitchen when Mao Yixuan showed up to collect supplies and saw them. Since both sides had their own motives, they chatted and reached a consensus about exchanging food—at that time, Liu Chang traded some of their surplus snake meat for over a dozen biscuits.

Both sides benefited; Liu Chang and his group obtained food that was easy to store, while Mao Yixuan got meat—a win-win deal. Yet in the process, Liu Chang suffered a slight loss, which he understood well; for meat that would spoil if not traded, urgency inevitably depreciates the value, and the other side hadn’t pressured him too much, making Mao Yixuan a rather decent fellow.

A straightforward, honest man from Shandong.

So, after that first transaction, Liu Chang took the initiative to seek him out again.

“Hey, buddy, take a look at what I’ve got this time!” Liu Chang strode into the kitchen, exaggerating his expression in an attempt to raise the value of his goods. “Chicken, real chicken meat! How long has it been since you’ve had chicken? Back in the day, this was proper meat, not like last time with snake. Surely this chicken meat can get me a better biscuit exchange?”

“Ha, chicken meat, nice, very nice!” The Shandong man’s eyes flashed green as he repeated his approval, then praised, “You're something else—getting meat twice in just a week. There aren’t many in the whole camp who can manage that!”

“Just lucky. So, what do you think? This rooster weighs around fifty pounds. I’ll give you thirty pounds, just exchange ten pounds of biscuits for it!” Liu Chang placed the rooster on the stove and asked.

“Ten pounds? You’re a bit greedy, aren’t you? You know, though the chicken weighs fifty pounds, how much of that is actually edible? Plus, this meat can't be stored—when trading for preserved food, the ratio can’t be two to one. Biscuits, after all, are running low in the army.” The Shandong man bargained, his honest face making his haggling seem especially sincere.

But Liu Chang wasn’t buying it. This meat was risked with their lives, and it was meant to save lives.

“Come on, those army biscuits—even with the best preservatives, they’ll spoil soon, maybe last two or three more days at most. Better to trade them to me than let them go to waste!” Liu Chang frowned, adopting the look of an old lady haggling at the market—a manner he used to detest. “Besides, even with thirty pounds of chicken, you can get at least twenty pounds of edible meat. And it’s meat! You’ve heard, I’m sure, that those who eat meat gain strength far faster than those digging up wild herbs every day. That’s the power of protein!”

“And as for your claim that meat’s hard to store—nonsense! With so many people in your unit, twenty pounds, two hundred pounds, it’d be gone in an instant. So storage isn’t an issue for you at all. This is a guaranteed profit—ten pounds of biscuits for over twenty pounds of meat. I won’t haggle!”

“Fine, fine.” Mao Yixuan glanced at the rooster on the stove and laughed. “Alright, since it’s chicken, I’ll trade you a bit more this time. Wait here.”

With that, he left the kitchen. Moments after he walked out, the little girl arrived with Li Qingshui and Fatty.

“Xiao Jing told us you got meat today,” Li Qingshui said, glancing at the chicken on the stove. “How are you planning to handle it?”

“Trade for biscuits, eat the rest, just like last time,” Liu Chang replied.

“Oh.” Li Qingshui nodded, saying nothing more.

The others knew what was coming next. After boiling a big pot of hot water, everyone waited quietly for Mao Yixuan’s return.

Soon enough, Mao Yixuan came back, lugging half a box of biscuits. He smiled at them, then took the boiling water and began plucking and bleeding the rooster.

Afterward, he weighed the rooster and took his share according to their agreement.

“By the way, when I went to get the biscuits, the higher-ups asked about the situation. I was honest, and they seemed interested in you. They checked your records and it looks like you’ve traded meat with the army before. Seems you’re not new to hunting. The leadership is hoping you’ll join them, teach them your hunting methods,” Mao Yixuan said as he packed the chicken meat into plastic bags. “Also, if any of you are brain-domain mutants, you’ll be safely sent to the provincial capital. Our unit has made contact with them lately. Apparently, they’re especially interested in brain-domain mutants, promising secure housing and plenty of food for anyone who goes.”

Finishing the formal message, Mao Yixuan waved his hand. “I’ve delivered their words, it’s just routine. Don’t take it too seriously. From what I know, brain-domain mutants are rare—our unit has only one. So you might want to focus on teaching hunting methods instead.”

With that, Mao Yixuan didn’t linger. He picked up his plastic bag and left, leaving the group deep in thought.

Brain-domain mutation?

Liu Chang pondered the term and glanced at the little girl and Li Qingshui. The former could sense other lifeforms, the latter possessed remarkable memory and calculation skills—both could certainly be considered brain-domain mutants.

So…

“Let’s all act like we don’t know about this and keep doing what we’re doing!” Li Qingshui interrupted everyone’s thoughts with a loud voice. “Every time we get meat, it’s a reason to celebrate—a rare treat. Don’t let outside words ruin our mood.”

“Yes, yes!” Fatty laughed. “First, we should be grateful we’re alive, and second, we’re better off than most. If it doesn’t concern us, don’t dwell on it!”

Fatty glanced at the little girl.

She caught his look, turned to Liu Chang, and said, “I don’t want to go anywhere,” then tugged at his sleeve and fell silent.

Only Zhu Lin looked at Li Qingshui, then at the little girl, but said nothing.

Fortunately, the silence lasted only a moment. When Fatty called out “Time to eat” for the second time, the group became lively again. The allure of meat seemed to make everyone forget the earlier conversation. Liu Chang smiled, patted the girl’s head, and began another round of stewing meat.

After the meal, Liu Chang leaned back, savoring the lingering taste of meat in his mouth, while Li Qingshui walked over to the box of biscuits and examined the packaging.

“They really won’t keep much longer,” Li Qingshui said, tossing a pack to Liu Chang. “Your nose is sharp—see if they’ve started to smell.”