...
Entering the unused shelter in the camp, lying on a hard wooden board covered with a dirty canvas, he stared at the dark wall—the large fish was hanging there.
Smelling the musty and decaying odor on the canvas, Chen Zhou felt like an unclaimed corpse in a mortuary, waiting for a kind soul to take him away.
Thinking about the cats and mice at home, he turned his body and reached out to touch Lai Fu sleeping beside him.
Lai Fu was initially lying beside him, but with that touch, it fell over on the ground like it was playing dead, revealing its soft belly.
When Chen Zhou rubbed its warm belly, it let out a small hum and licked the back of Chen Zhou's hand as a gesture of flattery.
It was already deep into the night, and various night creatures were making sounds outside the camp.
The leaves were rustling in the wind, and faintly, the sound of rushing tides could be heard.
