Kisaragi Station || Apocalypse Paradise #3

186: A Steaming Chicken Fried Rice

"The weather seems to be getting colder."

Lin Sanjiu woke up from her sleep, too cold, feeling as if her bones were contracting and her blood had congealed. When she half-opened her eyes hazily, all her muscles ached from shivering.

She emerged from the blanket, which still held a bit of warmth, and shivered as she put on her flowery jacket, wrapping it tightly around herself. Since it was later in the day, the room had grown darker, and she could only make out the vague outlines of the furniture. Silence enveloped the outside world, so profound that not a single sound was audible, as if the world had forgotten this small hotel room.

Lin Sanjiu turned on the light and glanced at her Teru Teru Bozu. Seeing no reaction, she left the room for the corridor. Waking up alone in the dark, cold silence, she longed for conversation and knocked on Douglas's door, calling out, "Douglas, are you there? What time is it now?"

She called out for him and knocked on the door but was met with silence from the room. After waiting and calling out again, she still heard nothing.

"Did he go out?" Lin Sanjiu wondered, her anxiety mounting as she remembered the oddities of this world. She tried the doorknob but found it locked and noticed dust particles falling from her fingers, indicating the doorknob hadn't been touched in some time.

She went down to the lobby and walked around but found no trace of Douglas or Greenie.

Lin Sanjiu didn't know what happened during the doomsday. Half the red carpet was flipped open, couches were strewn all about the lobby, and a thick layer of dust covered the tables and reception desk. The lobby told a story of abandonment.

Doomsday must have arrived suddenly. A woman's clutch bag lay in the lobby's center, with her foundation and lipstick scattered on the ground. A pair of men's leather shoes was tucked under the reception desk, their owner missing.

There was no sign of any living being, nor any human activity.

Outside, the environment was dusky and desolate, eroding Lin Sanjiu's confidence. "Did I really meet a man named Douglas, or was that just a dream from exhaustion?" she wondered, unusual doubts creeping into her mind.

Lin Sanjiu slumped onto a couch, disturbing a layer of dust as she sat in a daze. Frowning, she realized she couldn't prove that she had really met Douglas

Lin Sanjiu remembered the Kisaragi Station story, but that didn't mean much. It was a story she had heard before and momentarily forgotten. Just as she began to doubt herself and considered going upstairs to check, she heard a voice outside grumble, "Why do people throw their shoes everywhere?"

"Thud." It sounded like someone kicking something hard.

"Douglas!" Lin Sanjiu's eyes lit up. The white fog clouding her mind and her vague fears dissipated instantly. She sprang up to greet him. "You're back!"

Carrying a large plastic bag, the man with a round face looked slightly surprised to see her in the lobby. "You're awake? Were you waiting for me?"

Feeling a tad embarrassed, Lin Sanjiu stumbled over her words, "Well, not really... It's just that you weren't back yet..." She mumbled something unintelligible before swiftly changing the subject, "That's quite a haul of food. Where did you find it all?"

With her lips turned purple from the cold, she pondered whether to eat immediately for some much-needed warmth.

"I've eaten everything in this hotel. These I found in the residential buildings nearby. Thankfully, food isn't scarce or dangerous here," Douglas was happy when he talked about this. He rolled up his short sleeve and showed Lin Sanjiu what he collected. "Look at this. I've got rice, noodles, and luncheon meat. I can even use the fire in the back kitchen. There are all sorts of seasoning and spices there."

This wasn't the best part of it. Since the water and electricity were still running normally, there were a few pieces of hard, frozen chicken breasts in Douglas's plastic bag. Lin Sanjiu, who couldn't remember when she ate a warm bowl of rice and a plate of hot dishes, felt her stomach growling.

She clapped with her stiff, cold hands. "Let's cook! It would also be a good way to warm up."

"Aye," Douglas replied, heading to the back kitchen with his plastic bag. While he walked, he laughed, "I feel alright. When I first arrived here, it felt really cold. But I think I have adapted to it."

Both of them were feeling high-spirited. Douglas even joked about the flowery cotton-padded jacket that Lin Sanjiu was wearing. They soon reached the back kitchen. As they worked individually, Douglas realized his cooking skills were stronger than Lin Sanjiu's. In the end, he got her to wait by the side. He used the chicken, luncheon meat, and some chopped onions and cooked a plate of fried rice with chicken, which he quickly placed in front of her.

White steam rose from the rice, which had a sheen of oil. The fragrance which wafted into her nose was extremely tantalizing. Lin Sanjiu ate a mouthful. Once she swallowed the mouthful of warm rice, it suddenly became a bone-chilling coldness that spread through her body. She felt as though even her organs were frozen. Her face turned green. She couldn't move her body for some time. It took a while before she felt her heart struggling to beat despite the cold. It pumped for a few times, and she felt a slight warmth. Lin Sanjiu's fingers trembled; she was in disbelief when she touched the bowl, which was still a little warm.

She looked up and saw Douglas looking at her with his small eyes.

"Why aren't you eating?"

"I..." Lin Sanjiu wanted to speak, but her teeth chattered from the cold, hindering her words. Even if this didn't happen, she would have realized that something was wrong. Douglas's round face was flushed and lively as he ate the fried rice from the same pan, his rapid eating causing him to sweat slightly.

Lin Sanjiu could tell he was oblivious to the issue. "For some reason, I feel cold eating after eating this rice," she said, managing a smile. She felt her circulation slow and noticed her hand's veins turning purple. "Have you experienced the same situation before?"

Unexpectedly, Douglas nodded. "Yes, but it was brief. I had no food; it was eat or starve. Despite the cold, eating made me feel better. Go ahead, eat!"

"Is that so?"

Silent, Lin Sanjiu stared at her rice. With only two days' food from the Garden of Eden and needing to survive 14 months here, she reluctantly took another spoonful of rice.