21: Chapter 21 Individual Rations! Xiang is confused!

Past Fang County, heading towards Zhuo County.

On the main road, the 99A chugged along, kicking up a trail of dust.

No more hiding, the cards were on the table; if the Little Japs had the guts, let them come.

Inside the vehicle, Shen Wang rested with his eyes closed, Sha Zhenjiang drove, and Ding Zhijian and Meng Guanglin were responsible for observation and security.

They had originally planned to take a break, but Ding Zhijian believed that since a major battle had just occurred, it was best not to rest in place and better to put some distance between them and the site.

As the saying goes, one who listens to advice stays well-fed; Shen Wang followed his lead and adopted the suggestion.

Except—

"Old Ding, Old Meng, Little Sha, can you guys still hold on? Don't force yourselves!"

Looking at the trio's increasingly pale faces, Shen Wang was a bit worried.

"Mr. Shen, don't worry, we can still manage!"

Ding Zhijian said through gritted teeth.

"I remember there's a hidden canyon not far ahead; we'll rest once we get there!"

Shen Wang looked at the three men who were forcing themselves to stay alert and knew he couldn't persuade them, so he could only nod:

"Alright then, Little Sha, pick up the speed a bit!"

"Yes, Master!"

Sha Zhenjiang responded, and enduring his physical discomfort, he floored the accelerator.

Shen Wang said no more and closed his eyes again.

However, it was a bit... boring.

"Let's do a lucky draw for fun."

Truth be told, this gacha stuff was really addictive.

Shen Wang's hands were itching.

"I'll just use the Bronze level to satisfy the itch."

Anyway, it was only 10 military merit points per draw; no matter what he got, it wouldn't be a waste.

His consciousness sank into the system space, and the Bronze wheel began to spin rapidly.

[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for obtaining supplies: 1 case of Border Region-made grenades]

[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for obtaining weapons: Type 38 National Army Infantry Squad (Full set of weapons)]

[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for obtaining weapons: Type 38 National Army Infantry Squad (Full set of weapons)]

[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for obtaining supplies: 10 Basic Medical Kits]

[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for obtaining skill: Basic Medicine (Can perform simple treatment for external wounds, common colds, inflammation, etc.)]

...

A string of ordinary or slightly useful prizes flashed by; while there were no big surprises, it certainly enriched his inventory.

Especially the Basic Medicine skill.

Ding Zhijian and the others looked like they were on their last legs; they likely had infections and inflammation that needed proper treatment.

Suddenly—

[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for obtaining supplies: 50 servings of Type 20 Rabbit Individual Self-Heating Ration sets, 50 barrels of 2-liter purified drinking water]

"Hey! This is good!"

Shen Wang rejoiced in his heart.

After nearly a day of rushing and fighting, he was already famished and parched.

Just then, the tank slowly came to a halt.

"Mr. Shen, we've arrived!" Ding Zhijian spoke up.

Shen Wang nodded and silently activated the [Battlefield Perception] skill; the terrain within a hundred-meter radius was instantly presented in his mind as a 3D map.

It was indeed a hidden canyon, with a narrow entrance and a relatively open interior, steep rock walls, and easy to hide in.

Furthermore, there were no red figures representing enemies within range.

In fact, there were no human figures at all.

Within a hundred-meter radius, it was just the four of them.

"It's a good place!" Shen Wang praised. "Everyone, get out and stretch; my bones feel like they're falling apart."

Sitting in a modern sedan for half a day is tiring enough, let alone a tank.

The group climbed down from the 99A, and as they breathed in the cool outdoor air again, they couldn't help but let out long sighs of relief.

By now, it was near dusk, and the afterglow of the setting sun gilded the valley with a golden edge.

Shen Wang looked at Ding Zhijian and the others; their faces were even paler, almost turning a greenish-gray.

In particular, drops of blood were still dripping from their bodies.

Clearly, the previous torture and continuous high-intensity combat had pushed their bodies to their limits.

Shen Wang felt a pang of sympathy.

Those damn Japs!

"Everyone's hungry, right? Let's get some food first to regain our strength."

To be honest, Ding Zhijian and the others were starving, but they were long used to enduring it.

Hearing Shen Wang's words, Sha Zhenjiang immediately volunteered: "Master, I'll go look around nearby and hunt some wild game!"

Ding Zhijian and Meng Guanglin also hurriedly offered to go help.

They had all escaped with nothing; if they didn't hunt some game, they really wouldn't know what to eat.

Shen Wang smiled, waved his hand, and said with a hint of mystery: "No need to go to the trouble, just wait here."

With that, he turned and climbed back into the 99A tank, and using the cabin as cover, he quickly took out several portions of the individual rations and drinking water he had just drawn from the system space.

"We're eating this today!"

Shen Wang shook the rations in his hand.

Ding Zhijian and the others looked at the packaging they had never seen before, their faces full of confusion.

What is this?

It didn't look like dry rations, and even less like canned food—just these hard, square packages.

Is this really edible?

But anything Shen Wang brought out was bound to be extraordinary, so they suppressed their curiosity and didn't ask questions.

They quickly used stones to make a simple circle under the leeward rock wall, and Sha Zhenjiang and Meng Guanglin nimbly gathered plenty of dry branches and wild grass.

Shen Wang used a small box of waterproof matches included in the ration pack, and with a "shhh" sound, he lit the kindling.

A warm campfire blazed in the deepening twilight, dispelling the valley's chill and the exhaustion of the group.

Next, Shen Wang began to operate the miraculous ration pack.

He opened one of the main bags, and the dazzling array of items inside made the eyes of the three men widen instantly.

They saw Shen Wang first take out several silver soft-packaging bags printed with different patterns; to their surprise, the characters on them were a bit strange.

They didn't look like the characters they usually saw, but they were barely recognizable.

"Rice... Rice Fried Shredded Pork... Vegetable Snow..."

Sha Zhenjiang stumbled through the characters on the packaging.

But the more he read, the stranger it became.

"It's Snow Vegetable and Shredded Pork Fried Rice! Read it from left to right," Shen Wang corrected.

"Oh, oh!"

Sha Zhenjiang finally realized his mistake, his face turning bright red.

Shen Wang smiled; this little apprentice of his, the grand-uncle of the Provincial Party Secretary, was quite cute!

As he took things out, Sha Zhenjiang read along, and he actually knew quite a few characters.

"Soy-braised Beef..."

"Spicy Pickled Mustard Tubers..."

"Compressed Biscuits..."

"Assorted Canned Food..."

"Multi-flavored Dried Fruits..."

...

"Ma... Master, are... are all these for eating?"

Sha Zhenjiang felt his understanding of the world being refreshed once again; the richness of this single pack far exceeded his imagination.

Ding Zhijian and Meng Guanglin also felt that their eyes had truly been opened today.

These two knew that the Japs were equipped with individual rations and had seen some of them, but compared to the display before them, those were simply pathetic!

Shen Wang didn't speak; instead, he picked up a staple food bag labeled "Snow Vegetable and Shredded Pork Fried Rice," took out the heating bag, and followed the instructions to add water and heat it.

Then, a miraculous scene occurred!

The heating bag actually began to heat up rapidly, even emitting obvious white steam!

The packaging bag also expanded and became hot at a speed visible to the naked eye!

"It's... it's steaming?!"

"It's heating up by itself?!"

"What kind of sorcery is this?!"

Ding Zhijian, Meng Guanglin, and Sha Zhenjiang watched dumbfounded, nearly jumping up!

It wasn't placed over a fire, yet it just heated up like that?

This completely contradicted their understanding of "heating food"!

Shen Wang still said nothing and took out several more staple food bags to begin heating.

Gradually, a rich aroma mixing rice, shredded pork, and snow vegetables wafted from the heating packages.

For the three men who had been hungry for nearly a day and spent years gnawing on cornbread and black beans, this scent was an irresistible temptation!

They unconsciously swallowed their saliva, their eyes fixed intently on the mysterious bags that were constantly emitting steam.

Looking at their shocked and longing expressions, Shen Wang couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness.

In the future, this was just the most ordinary field ration, sometimes even complained about by soldiers.

Yet at this moment, it made these three warriors, who had experienced life and death and possessed wills like steel, show expressions of wonder like children.

What a tragedy!

About fifteen minutes later, the heating was complete.

Shen Wang tore open the seal of the staple food bag, and an even richer aroma rushed out.

"It's ready to eat," he said.

However, Ding Zhijian and the others looked at each other, holding the bags Shen Wang had given them, appearing a bit lost.

Clearly, they didn't know how to start—were they supposed to gnaw on the bag?

Shen Wang understood and didn't waste words.

He picked up the cardboard included in the rations and folded it into a simple tray in a few moves.

Then, he poured the steaming Snow Vegetable and Shredded Pork Fried Rice onto the tray, added side dishes like soy beef and pickled mustard, and thus a "deluxe set meal" was completed.

Shen Wang handed the prepared meal to Sha Zhenjiang; after all, he had been calling him Master all afternoon.

"Little Sha, you must be starving..."