Chapter 11: Borrowing Food

Intruder!

Upon hearing these words, Li Tianran immediately became alert.

His farm was now his last fortress, and any unexpected incidents must be prevented.

If someone forcefully tried to break in, the crisis had to be resolved at its inception.

"Scanning the intruder's appearance..."

Soon, the patrol guard transmitted the intruder's data information.

"Intruder, male, forty-two years old, no weapons carried, threat level 3!"

"Presenting the intruder's image!"

A picture appeared in Li Tianran's mind. In the picture, the intruder's identity and facial features quickly became clear.

At the gate of the farm, a middle-aged man with a cigarette was pacing outside the iron gate, with an anxious expression on his face. He wanted to reach out and knock on the door but seemed hesitant.

He raised his hand several times but slowly put it down.

"Uncle Nan?"

Li Tianran raised his eyebrows in surprise as he recognized the figure in the image.

Uncle Nan was a farmer from a nearby town who seemed to have some distant relative connection to Li Tianran. During busy farming seasons, Li Tianran would hire him to help with the work.

He was hardworking and diligent.

Li Tianran had a good impression of him.

"Why would he come here?" Li Tianran wondered and then walked towards the gate.

Soon, he reached the gate and shouted, "Uncle Nan, is there something you need?"

Startled by the sudden shout, Uncle Nan, who was anxiously pacing outside the gate, had an embarrassed expression on his face.

But in the next second, he took a deep drag from his cigarette, flicked the cigarette butt away, and walked over, gripping the railing of the gate with both hands.

"Boss Xiao Li, I... I need your help with something," Uncle Nan stammered, as if gathering courage to speak.

At this moment, Li Tianran noticed that Uncle Nan's mental state was not good.

His eyes were bloodshot, his eye sockets were swollen, as if he had just cried. He looked like he had just recovered from a serious illness, and his whole body exuded a sense of lifelessness.

Although Li Tianran felt a bit sympathetic seeing Uncle Nan's appearance, he did not open the gate.

People's hearts were unpredictable in the end times.

Perhaps, a few days ago, they were close friends, but a few days later, they could become mortal enemies.

"Speak," Li Tianran nodded.

"Boss Xiao Li, do you still have any stored food on this farm? I'm in a desperate situation. My family was robbed, and all our food reserves were stolen! The food on the market is too expensive, so... could you extend me some credit for food?" Uncle Nan's voice grew smaller and smaller until he almost lowered his head completely.

People say that the breakdown of an adult starts with borrowing money.

Uncle Nan was now deeply experiencing this feeling.

But in order to survive, he had to abandon his dignity. His family had been without food for two days, and convenience foods like instant noodles had long been emptied from the supermarket shelves.

He had been hungry for two days!, And could barely walk!

Uncle Nan was well aware of his current situation. With the world undergoing drastic changes, food prices skyrocketing, Li Tianran would probably keep the food for himself or sell it at a high price.

In the current situation, food was the most important thing.

He had already tried borrowing from several relatives but was unsuccessful, so he decided to try his luck with Li Tianran.

Although he knew that the chance of Li Tianran lending him food was almost zero, he still held onto a glimmer of hope.

"What if...?"

After hearing Uncle Nan's words, Li Tianran's initial joy from the matured ancient medicinal-grade crops diminished significantly.

With the world undergoing drastic changes, famine was beginning to rear its ugly head.

Cases like Uncle Nan's were not rare worldwide.

Famine would sweep across the entire Blue Star, and there would undoubtedly be many people who would die from hunger!

"Uncle Nan, I'm sorry... I don't have much stock left either. The batch of crops I previously planted was destroyed in the anomaly," Li Tianran shook his head and then fell silent for a moment before saying, "I can give you some provisions, but not too much."

A glimmer of surprise flashed in Uncle Nan's eyes upon hearing this.

An excited smile appeared on his face as he repeatedly said, "Thank you! Thank you!"

Soon, Li Tianran brought over half a box of instant noodles, opened it, and passed it through the gap in the gate.

Uncle Nan expressed his profound gratitude, but the worried expression on his face remained.

The reason was simple—these provisions would only sustain him for three to five days. After that, he would once again be in a situation where he had no food to eat.

Li Tianran narrowed his eyes.

He wasn't lacking in food now, and he didn't mind helping Uncle Nan. However, in the end times, helping others also had to be done correctly.

One must know how to keep something for oneself.

Being selflessly good and acting like a saint without protecting oneself would not only fail to help others but also ruin oneself.

"Tonight, I'll quietly give him the regular crops stored in the freezer..." Li Tianran silently said to himself.

Now that he and Hanhan had the radiation-resistant crops, the regular crops he had stored before had become useless. Keeping them in the freezer was just waiting for them to rot.

"This is all I can do." Li Tianran took a deep breath. "Uncle Nan, good luck to you."

He had some history with Uncle Nan, so he could provide some assistance if necessary, but he couldn't give away large quantities of radiation-resistant food to save people.

His current strength was still not strong enough to protect his own property. If he were targeted, he wouldn't be able to safeguard the farm and would likely be captured and used as a "sow" to produce continuously for others' benefit.

One must not have malicious intentions, but one must also not be without caution.

This was Li Tianran's way of survival.

"No," Uncle Nan shook his head after hearing Li Tianran's words, a hint of sadness flashing in his eyes. "May good luck come to us."

...

Night finally fell.

Since the extinction of the sun, Li Tianran thought there would no longer be a distinction between day and night. However, to his surprise, some stars in the sky completely replaced the sun as the new source of light.

Apart from the absence of ultraviolet rays and heat, the brightness was not much weaker than the sun.

And most importantly, as Blue Star continued to rotate, there was still a clear distinction between night and day.

Li Tianran loaded the regular vegetables and some meat from the freezer onto the truck, then picked up Hanhan and Xiahei and placed them in the front passenger seat.

"Big brother , are we going out?" Hanhan blinked and asked.

"Yes, I want to see how much the situation outside has deteriorated," Li Tianran nodded and started the vehicle. "And I'll also bring something for the old man who used to help us."

"Oh, that old man..." Hanhan clearly remembered Uncle Nan. Pouting, she said, "Doesn't he have anything to eat at home? That's so sad..."

Li Tianran smiled, turned the key, and the truck's engine roared to life. He drove straight out of the farm gate.

Before leaving, Li Tianran gave the combat guards inside the farm the order to be on automatic alert.

If any living beings attempted to forcefully breach the farm's walls during his absence, they were to be immediately eliminated!