Chapter 25: The Hungry Ones

If it were merely borrowing a fire, there would be no issue; An Ziheng still had some matches at home, and he could even lend a candle. An Ziheng opened the door, and standing opposite him was a tall, burly man.

The man, upon seeing the enormous serpent demon displayed in the living room as the door swung open, was stunned on the spot.

"Are you eating those monsters?" The man's eyes were filled with fear, but at the same time, a peculiar light flickered within them.

"Yes! The meat of this monster is actually quite delicious," An Ziheng replied.

The man knew full well how tasty this meat was; after all, the entire corridor was suffused with its aroma. No one could explain why it smelled so enticing—it was as though the scent burrowed right into their nostrils, making their stomachs rumble and causing them to salivate uncontrollably.

Deep within, he cried out, longing to taste that meat.

"Did you hunt this yourself?"

"More or less," An Ziheng answered.

The man rubbed his hands together, licked his lips, and finally said, "Brother, I haven't eaten all day. My wife and child are still at home. Could you spare us some meat? After all, it's such a large piece, and with the weather so hot, you can’t keep it for long, right?"

An Ziheng frowned slightly.

What the man said was true, yet it grated on him. Just because the meat wouldn’t keep in summer, was he supposed to give it away for free? How could things be so convenient? Besides, An Ziheng’s household could very well finish the meat, especially since he had five pets.

Just as An Ziheng was about to refuse, a voice suddenly echoed in his mind.

"Ding! Random quest issued."

[The Hungry Ones] [Repeatable]

Hero An Ziheng, in times of crisis, safeguarding the survival of your species is every hero’s duty. The person before you is enduring hunger—please offer him some food.

Quest reward: 100 hero points.

Upon reading this, An Ziheng’s eyes lit up.

He hadn’t expected this to be a quest.

This time, he no longer minded the man’s words, and even thought if he distributed the entire serpent demon, how many hero points could he earn?

After all, he could only earn 100 hero points for hunting a single Fang Demon.

"Wait here," he said.

An Ziheng cut off a piece of serpent meat with a knife, found a plastic bag, and packed it for the man.

It wasn’t a large piece, but it weighed about a pound—enough to fill one’s stomach.

"Thank you, little brother! But could you give a bit more? My wife and child are still at home," the man said, slightly pushing his luck.

Seeing the quest completed, An Ziheng was delighted; to him, the man’s request was merely waving hero points in his face.

"Let them come ask themselves," An Ziheng replied.

"Is that really necessary?"

"It is. They must come in person!"

An Ziheng insisted, for the matter concerned hero points, and he couldn’t afford to be careless.

"Screw it, if you don’t want to give, forget it. Stingy. Who even wants your meat?" The man grabbed the meat and matches, turned, and slammed the door behind him.

An Ziheng was taken aback; he hadn’t expected such an attitude, and most importantly, he realized that the man’s family wasn’t home.

During the Aurora disaster, his wife and child had likely gone to school and hadn’t returned yet, perhaps meeting unfortunate ends.

In that case, the man’s request for more meat was probably for himself, or to stash it away for later.

An Ziheng’s face darkened.

But just then, a woman carrying a child emerged from the emergency stairwell.

An Ziheng had seen her in the elevator before; she lived downstairs, and her child was only two—still needing formula.

"Is there something you need?" An Ziheng’s expression softened as he asked the woman.

"I’d like to borrow some water to mix formula for my child. I won’t take it for free; I’ll trade rice for it, if that’s alright?" the woman said nervously. She had clearly disapproved of the previous man’s behavior and feared it might hinder her request.

Hearing her, An Ziheng finally felt at ease.

"Alright, I’ll give you some meat as well. You haven’t eaten all day, have you? There’s plenty of meat—I can’t finish it. Besides, this meat might have special properties, maybe even improve your constitution. The world has changed; protect yourself."

An Ziheng went back inside, fetched a bottle of mineral water and a substantial piece of serpent demon meat—more generous than what he’d given the neighbor.

The woman received it, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Thank you, thank you so much…"

She thanked him repeatedly.

An Ziheng heard the system’s notification.

[Quest completed, reward: 100 hero points.]

[Received gratitude from Xu Qian, reward: 200 hero points.]

He had unexpectedly earned an extra 200 hero points.

An Ziheng was overjoyed.

Four hundred hero points—the equivalent of slaying four Fang Demons.

Earning hero points in this way seemed far more convenient than hunting alien creatures.

Returning to his room, he found Qin Hao gazing out the window.

"Qin Hao, I just got a hero system quest. Apparently, sharing food with others can earn hero points, making them easier to obtain," An Ziheng said, not hiding the news. They were all figuring out how to survive; Qin Hao had shared the serpent demon’s fatal weakness, and An Ziheng, in turn, divulged the quest without holding back.

Qin Hao looked at him deeply.

"You plan to earn hero points this way?"

An Ziheng looked at Qin Hao, puzzled.

"What’s wrong? Isn’t this method viable? That woman even gave me an extra two hundred hero points."

Qin Hao chuckled.

"And what about the first man who asked for meat? Did he give you anything?"

An Ziheng was momentarily speechless.

The man hadn’t given him any hero points.

"Nothing? A real ingrate. But who could maintain gratitude indefinitely? If you keep providing them with food, after a while, even that woman won’t thank you—they’ll take it for granted."

The hero system’s quests were indeed designed to support humanity’s survival.

Unfortunately, the alien intelligence hadn’t grasped how complex human emotions could be.

Gratitude one moment could turn to resentment the next.

Countless scenarios spawned by such quests flashed through Qin Hao’s mind, filling him with sorrow.

In the early days of the apocalypse, food was scarce, venturing out was dangerous, and heroes earned points by finding supplies and distributing food.

Some heroes were selfless, constantly seeking food for survivors, pushed to risk everything, and ultimately perished outside.

Others, upon acquiring supplies, would not hand them out freely, instead letting ordinary people starve for days before providing a little—if the recipient failed to give extra hero points, they faced dreadful punishments.

Indeed, while the hero system encouraged hunting monsters and rescuing others, it never forbade heroes from killing or tormenting humans.