While others seek survival, I engage in flirtation Chapter 34: Sleeping in the Same Bed

No wonder we had to sleep together with just one big blanket by the fire.

I woke up to find Margaret's chest pressed against my face in the darkness.

I shot up suddenly, and when I glanced back, there was Margaret, looking at me sleepily.

"What's wrong? Did something happen?" She rubbed her eyes, clearly unaware of what had just happened.

The other girls were still asleep, so I kept quiet.

"I'm heading to the camp over there today to ask for supplies. If I'm lucky, they might tell me where to find some goats." I explained to Margaret and was about to head out.

But then, she grabbed my arm.

"I'm coming with you." She nodded firmly and started putting on one of the few complete outfits we had in the camp.

I was still naked, but everyone was used to it by now, whether it was the girls in our camp or the strong man we met yesterday.

I didn't really want to take Margaret along. Her foot was injured, and she wasn't very strong. If something happened, I'd have to take care of her.

But she insisted she wouldn't slow me down and demanded to come. I had no choice but to let her tag along.

"If you get tired, let me know, and I'll carry you." I pointed to her ankle, "You're still recovering, so don't push yourself."

"Don't worry, I'm fine." Margaret nodded quickly.

Even though she said that, I knew her injury wasn't healed. If she overdid it, the wound could reopen, and I didn't have any anti-inflammatory meds or sage to treat it.

On the way, Margaret didn't seem tired, just walked slowly. When we reached the camp, she was even chatting with the people there.

But something was off. The people at the camp seemed really nervous like they were scared to get close to other survivors.

There were old folks and kids in this camp, making it look like a makeshift setup. Half the people were either elderly or children.

They had big eyes, like scared deer, avoiding eye contact but still sneaking glances at me.

"You followed me! Are you trying to get yourself killed?" It was the first time I saw the strong man angry.

"I just want to ask you some questions." I spread my hands to show I meant no harm, but the strong man wasn't having it. He still looked at me warily with his arms crossed.

I had some fishing nets and food in my hands, which I planned to give them as gifts.

"Whatever you want to ask, ask it here," he said. He didn't refuse the gift and allowed me to ask my questions.

"I want to raise some goats but don't know where to catch them." I pointed to the goat pen in their camp.

It was a fenced circle, about as tall as a person, smooth inside, and perfect for raising livestock.

And most importantly, there were three or four goats in the pen. One of the female goats looked pregnant, bleating with a big belly.

Honestly, before coming to this camp, I didn't expect anyone to be raising animals.

"I advise you to give up." The man looked at the goat pen and then shook his head at me.

"These goats were a lucky find. There aren't any herds nearby," he explained sincerely. "We found these in the forest, and it didn't seem like a place where goats would normally live."

Just when I thought I had a lead on goats, it slipped away again.

I nodded and decided to search for goat tracks elsewhere.

Man, they were so lucky to stumble upon stray goats... I wish I had that kind of luck!

Besides the goats, I was really curious about the supplies they had in their camp.

I wasn't suggesting they took anything from me, but their camp was pretty well-stocked and organized.

I was lost in thought when someone suddenly pushed me from behind.

"Bad guy, bad guy!" A timid-looking little boy came up, kicking and hitting me.

"What did I do? Why do you hate me so much?" I had no idea what I did wrong. I thought about it for a long time but couldn't figure it out.

I asked around but got no answers.

So, I just sat in the corner of the camp, feeling a bit lost.

"Why haven't you left yet?" The man seemed impatient seeing me still hanging around.

But more than that, he seemed to be waiting for something. He kept glancing at the sky, urging me to leave.

Of course, I wasn't going anywhere! The more he acted like this, the more suspicious I got.

"Alright." I nodded and pretended to leave the camp, looking dejected.

But I didn't go far. I hid nearby to watch. Sure enough, after I left, a bunch of people came out of the camp.

They all looked tired, old and young alike. Among them was a woman holding a baby.

"There's a baby in this camp!" I whispered excitedly to Lilian.

Under these conditions, having a baby was a big deal.

They seemed to take great care of the baby. A lot of the baby's stuff looked brand new like they had prepared specifically for it.

And then I saw a familiar face among them.

It was my classmate, Nora Adams.

She was a top student and well-liked in class.

It looked like she had bonded with these people.

They were still wary of me, always watching the camp's perimeter and carefully hiding a lot of supplies, even though I had "left."

One of those was a big box.

I saw clearly that the big box they had was exactly like the one I salvaged from the sea.

Those were our supplies!

I was about to confront them when Lilian grabbed my hand.

"They don't seem like bad people. Otherwise, that man wouldn't have talked to you so much... and the camp wouldn't have taken in pregnant women and babies." Lilian probably saw I was about to do something rash and held me back. "Maybe they really have some difficulties?"

Hearing Lilian's words, I realized I was being too impulsive.

If it weren't for some compelling reason, they probably wouldn't have taken those supplies.

After all, there were so many boxes there, but they only took this one.