173. New America, How Did It Become Like This
"Reid. Reid!"
"Hm?!"
Solomon Reid jolted awake and opened his eyes to see Song Zhaomei calling to him from beside him.
After instinctively giving the surroundings a brief, vigilant scan, Reid slowly let out a breath.
They were currently staying in a house on the edge of Dogtown. It had once belonged to a group of outsiders and drifters, but after Carl's people recruited them, the place had been left empty. Reid and Song Zhaomei had moved in temporarily.
Reid had stayed here before. The New American President he had once served had also taken shelter here. Now, as a wanted criminal of New America, he was using the simple tactic of hiding in plain sight to make this place his hideout with Song Zhaomei.
But perhaps because he had remained on high alert for days and his mind had been pushed to its limits, even someone like him had unconsciously fallen asleep and needed Song Zhaomei to wake him.
"Your brow was all furrowed while you were asleep," Song Zhaomei said, eating from a can as she handed one to Reid. "What were you dreaming about? That doesn't seem like you, Reid."
"I dreamed about some strange things. Like when I was protecting Myles back then, the time I shielded her from bullets." Reid accepted the can Song Zhaomei offered him, his gaze lingering on the label for a moment. There was a touch of self-mockery in his voice. "Maybe I've been thinking too much. To dream about something like that..."
He paused. After taking a closer look at the can, a flicker of surprise crossed his face. "This canned food..."
"Relief rations."
Song Zhaomei continued eating the canned luncheon meat made from insect larvae and Choon-Yi wheat protein, seemingly