Apocalypse: The Fat Lady Strikes Back - Chapter 8
Chapter 8: She’s An Orphan
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
There were many invitations posted outside the center for different teams but very few people actually joined.
The team leaders weren’t willing to leave the city if they didn’t get enough team members.
Instead of looking for energy stones, many people preferred to seek refuge in the suburbs nowadays. They could find a piece of land and farm there. It seemed to be more practical and easier than searching for energy stones
A pamphlet was thrust in front of Qiao Lingxiang. She wanted to accept it but the quest center staff member suddenly pulled his hand back.
He didn’t say anything to Qiao Lingxiang but from his facial expression, you could tell that he didn’t think Qiao Lingxiang could go look for energy stones. She was so fat. She would definitely be panting after taking two steps.
However, Qiao Lingxiang thought if she had to give the school energy coupons to live in the dorms, she might be able to give this a try. Hou Manrong was firm on not giving her any energy coupons. What if she could go out to look for energy stones and earn her own energy coupons?
Also, in the morning, Qiu Chen’s gaze gave her the feeling that she would be bullied terribly.
This was another reason why Qiao Lingxiang didn’t dare to go back to school. So, she stood at the entrance of the quest center, itching to give it a try.
Qiao Lingxiang took two steps forward and asked the staff who looked like a thin stick timidly.
“Hello, is it true that if we go out to look for energy stones that we can get a bag of compressed biscuits?”
She was too hungry. Her stomach seemed to have turned numb from hunger. It didn’t hurt anymore but it would rumble loudly every few minutes. She wanted to eat. She needed food to fill up her enormous stomach.
This was extreme torture to someone as big as Qiao Lingxiang.
She needed to have some food to ensure that she wouldn’t die from hunger on her journey to search for energy stones.
Hence, Qiao Lingxiang asked about the food first.
The skinny young man stood on the steps and looked down at Qiao Lingxiang who was standing below him. He was impatient.
“Go away. What are you thinking? You’re so fat; how could you lack food to eat? Don’t stop me from doing my job.”
Work was very tough. It wasn’t easy to earn money. Inflation was terrible. If it wasn’t for the monthly energy coupons, rice coupons, vegetable coupons, and meat coupons… why would he need to hand out pamphlets in this cold weather?
No one expressed interest in him and this fatty was even blocking his view. The skinny Wang Yuehan was extremely irritated.
Qiao Lingxiang sighed. She stopped talking to the skinny young man and placed her gaze on the wall outside the quest center.
It was covered with flyers looking for team members.
[Retired from the special forces garrison. Ten years of leadership experience. Looking for high-quality team members. Retirees from special forces garrisons will be prioritized.]
[Taekwondo black belt. Was once the international champion for five consecutive years. Looking for team members with a strong physique. If you think you can kill a tiger with a single punch, please contact me.]
[Member of the kick-boxing association. Killed 18 people accidentally in the past. Looking for a team. Contact no.: XXXXXXXXXXX.]
…
It’s like this?
Qiao Lingxiang felt that the entire wall of flyers consisted of powerful people.
If she wrote “16-year-old high school student who looks like a dinosaur and a burden who is, however, willing to bear hardships and work hard. Looking for a team”, would that work?
No one would probably want her on their team.
Qiao Lingxiang bit her lower lip. She just needed to go out and look for energy stones. How hard was that?
She was determined. She lifted her thick and fat legs and entered the quest center.
At this moment, her plan was simple. If no one wanted her on their team, she would form her own team.
If she couldn’t find anyone, she would form a one-man team. She just needed to leave the city and look for energy stones. The quest center hadn’t set a minimum number for the teams. As long as she could bring back energy stones and exchange them for energy coupons at the transaction bank, there was no problem.
She didn’t want to stay in the city or work hard like the majority. She wanted to leave Xiang City and survive in the wilderness. It might be difficult but there would be no one laughing at her and resenting her solely for her appearance.
When Qiao Lingxiang gave her team registration form to the staff at the counter, the kind woman looked curiously at the Xiang City High School uniform she was wearing and asked, “Where are your parents?”
Qiao Lingxiang pursed her lips and lowered her head, revealing her triple chin. She replied to the lady, “There are no adults at home. I’m the only one in my family. Auntie, if I can’t leave the city to look for energy stones, I will die of hunger.”
So this young child was an orphan. The staff at the counter, a woman who was almost 50 years old, didn’t look down on or poke fun at Qiao Lingxiang. Instead, she showed sympathy for Qiao Lingxiang and said, “You might not truly understand the situation outside the city so let me explain it to you first.”
She held up a “Guide to searching for energy stones” and said to Qiao Lingxiang seriously, “The world is collapsing quite seriously. Within the city, we can still protect you and you even managed to fill yourself to the point of getting so fat. However, once you leave the city, the people of Xiang City won’t be bothered with you anymore no matter what happens or whether you live or die. Do you understand? Aside from a bag of compressed biscuits, we won’t be providing any more food for you.”
Qiao Lingxiang nodded to show that she understood.
The woman at the counter stamped Qiao Lingxiang’s application form directly and registered her details onto the computer system.
This way, Qiao Lingxiang could form a team now. After she found some team members, she could take their identification numbers and register them at the quest center. The compressed biscuits would be given to her and she could leave the city to look for energy stones.
After the woman keyed in Qiao Lingxiang’s details into the system, she pointed to a printer in the corner of the hall and asked Qiao Lingxiang to print her team details.
Qiao Lingxiang ran over and thought for a long time in front of the printer. The entire wall was filled with high-quality invitations. If she wanted to form a team, she needed to have an element of surprise. Hence, without much hope, she drafted her own invitation.
[A master in living skills. I will provide you with the best logistics service and be the perfect partner for your journey. If you’re a master and feel lonely, you can contact me.]
She didn’t know if she would be able to find team members but she didn’t care. She didn’t have much hope anyway. Even if someone was fooled by her advertisement and came to find her, they might run away in fright after they saw her real figure.
She printed her advertisement and ran out to paste the flyer on the wall outside the quest center. She squatted by the corner and waited for half an hour.
The cold wind blew. Qiao Lingxiang was so hungry that she started to see stars. However, no one came to find her to form a team. There wasn’t even a single person who looked at her invitation.
The skinny young man who was distributing pamphlets in the cold wind kept laughing at her. She didn’t go unnoticed and he just mocked her right to her face.
“You’re overestimating yourself. What kind of invitation is this? You’re as fat as a ball yet you still want to look for energy stones?”
Qiao Lingxiang was tired from squatting so she sat on the steps. She looked up at the skinny young man quietly.
Go on, keep laughing. If no one laughs at me for one day, it might feel strange. Go on, laugh…
