Chapter 50: Bear Paw
Lin Qin, who was stirring the pot, heard this sentence, her hand trembling, nearly dropping the utensil to the ground.
The word "Internet" was something she had only ever seen in history books.
Tiantian's eyes also flickered slightly. She looked at Qiao Jiajin and asked seriously, "Qiao Jiajin, the last time you said... what year were you born?"
"Didn't I tell you? 1979." Qiao Jiajin scratched his nose with one finger and said nonchalantly, "1979, what's wrong?"
Tiantian slowly stood up, staring cautiously into Qiao Jiajin's eyes. "You're not joking with me, are you? If you were really born in 1979, you should be over forty years old by now."
Lin Qin was slightly stunned by this, turning to look at Tiantian. "That doesn't seem right..."
Qi Xia ignored the arguing group and instead ladled himself a bowl of meat.
Qiao Jiajin frowned, finding Tiantian's words very hard to understand. "What's wrong with you, Tiantian? Starved silly? How does a vigorous, handsome young guy like me look over forty?"
Yes, he didn't look it.
With his appearance and physical condition, there was no way he was over forty.
Xiaoxiao, who was off to the side, heard their conversation but, like Qi Xia, made no move.
Lin Qin's lips moved slightly as she asked, "Qiao Jiajin, what year is it now?"
Qiao Jiajin looked at her suspiciously. "2006."
He turned his head and found Tiantian and Lin Qin staring at him in disbelief, which made him feel even stranger.
"What are you all staring at me for?"
Lin Qin felt an indescribable eeriness about the whole thing. She turned back to Tiantian and asked, "Tiantian, what year are you from?"
"I'm from 2019..." Tiantian said with a furrowed brow. "What's going on here?"
Lin Qin felt weak all over and slowly sat down. "Everyone... I'm from 2068..."
"Huh??" Qiao Jiajin was stunned. "2068??"
Qi Xia listened and nodded silently.
Yes, she really did seem like someone from the future.
That explained everything.
In her era, she would have had to wear a mask from childhood, and masks would have been as common as ordinary clothes from birth.
So when she wasn't wearing a mask, she showed an unusual expression, as if she felt naked.
With the rapid development of the internet, she wouldn't need to know what a "flyer" was; online advertisements were already overwhelming enough.
Qi Xia shook his head silently. He hadn't expected everyone to notice this issue.
"Isn't this even stranger..." Tiantian's lips trembled slightly as she said to the group, "We're not from the same year, yet we've all gathered here on the same day. Could this really be something done by 'God'..."
Lin Qin also said incredulously, "If we're not from the same day, then the 'earthquake' we experienced before coming here isn't the same either..."
She turned to Qiao Jiajin again. "But in my memory, I haven't heard of a large-scale earthquake in the area where you're from..."
"And what about you?" Tiantian suddenly asked Qi Xia. "What year are you from?"
"I'm from 2022," Qi Xia said.
"What the hell is going on?!" Qiao Jiajin felt dizzy. "Liar, why is this happening? You're so smart, have you figured something out?"
Qi Xia shook his head. No theoretical knowledge he possessed could explain the situation before him.
Why were they all from different time periods?
Was "God" selecting these people at random, or was it intentional?
And how long was the time span among the participants?
"In any case, we're only going to be gathered here for ten days." Qi Xia looked out at the dark red sky through the window, his gaze very firm. "I don't care whether all of this was done by 'God' or not. I just want to fill my stomach now and find the 'Path' as soon as possible. Even if you're very concerned about this issue, I don't recommend that you try to find the truth."
Hearing Qi Xia's words, everyone slowly sat down.
Yes, Qi Xia was right. They needed to get out.
No matter what year they were from, they all had the same goal: to escape this damn place and return to their original lives.
Spending a few days investigating the "time period" issue would only go against their objective.
The five of them fetched small bowls from the dining area, each ladled themselves some meat soup, but their expressions were still unnatural.
The mysteries of this place seemed to be layered one upon another, and there were many things everyone wanted to figure out.
But as Qi Xia had said, trying to seek the truth would inevitably waste a lot of time.
Which was more important: the "truth" or "escape"?
"Yeah... let's stop thinking about it." Tiantian sighed. "Haven't we experienced enough 'unbelievable' things?"
Lin Qin and Qiao Jiajin exchanged a glance and both shrugged helplessly.
Tiantian picked up an old ladle, slowly tore the meat off the bear's arm, and put some into everyone's bowls.
The bear arm had been stewed until it was falling apart. With a light touch, the meat separated from the bone. A meaty aroma wafted out, carrying hot, rich juices that assaulted everyone's nostrils.
"It's... actually quite fragrant." Qiao Jiajin swallowed his saliva and took his bowl.
Qi Xia also held his bowl in his hands but didn't move.
He glanced sidelong at Xiaoxiao. After seeing that she had started eating, Qi Xia waited silently for a while.
Only when he was certain that the food in front of him was completely safe did he tear off a strip of white meat from the bone.
He brought the bear meat to his nose and sniffed. The aroma was strong. He then tossed the meat into his mouth and gave it a light bite. The hot meat juices exploded in his mouth.
"Phew..." Qi Xia was scalded and quickly exhaled a few breaths of hot air, then chewed haphazardly and swallowed the white meat down.
Terrible.
He had never imagined bear meat could be so awful.
The texture in his mouth was greasy and fatty, and after chewing a few times, it left a strong gamey aftertaste.
Maybe it was because they had no seasonings, or maybe bear meat just tasted like that. In any case, after just the first bite, Qi Xia didn't want to touch the bowl again.
He glanced at Lin Qin beside him. She also had her brow furrowed, her features twisted together as if she had eaten an extremely sour lemon.
Qiao Jiajin and Tiantian, however, didn't seem affected. They chewed the meat heartily while looking at the other two.
"What's wrong? Doesn't taste good?" Qiao Jiajin asked.
"What do you think?" Qi Xia replied. "We're from different eras—are our taste buds different too?"
"It really is terrible." Qiao Jiajin said with his mouth full. "But we have to survive, Liar. I bet you never ate leftovers from the trash when you were a kid, did you?"
Qi Xia found Qiao Jiajin's words a bit interesting. He put down his bowl and said with a hint of mockery, "Qiao Jiajin, your usual diet must be quite varied. Not only have you eaten bear paw, but you've also eaten trash?"
"Liar, you're getting a little too bold..." Qiao Jiajin stuffed another big piece of meat into his mouth and said, "Do you know how much older I am than you? From now on, call me 'Uncle Qiao.' I'll have your back. Your Uncle Qiao here has eaten more trash in his life than you've eaten bear paw."
"I'll say it again: I've neither eaten bear paw nor trash."
Tiantian and Lin Qin were amused by these two again, and even the food in their hands seemed to taste a little better.
Yes, no matter what era they came from, they were comrades now.
Qi Xia stopped bickering with Qiao Jiajin and picked out a few more pieces of meat from his bowl and ate them.
No matter what, eating something was better than going hungry. They didn't know what kind of game they would have to play next, so they needed to maintain plenty of energy.
The bear's paw part happened to be in Qi Xia's bowl. He had thought that the so-called "bear paw" might taste different from other parts, but as soon as he took a bite, he couldn't stop gagging.
This part was even fattier and greasier than the rest. In his mouth, it felt like a piece of snot with the taste of fat, unbearably rank and gamey.
"Did ancient people really consider this a delicacy?"