Meng Chao's words made Shen Yuanbao's eyes widen, his gaze frozen for a long time.
Then, he slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, seeming to age ten years all at once.
"I remember, back then, A Biao was still very small, probably only three or four years old."
Shen Yuanbao murmured, "At the time, though I was already a burly half-grown lad, capable of carving out a world with my own fists,
"the times were simply too hard. Everyone was like Garbage Worms, curled up deep within the ruins, trying to scrape together a few scraps of leftovers.
"No matter how well you could fight, you couldn't feast on fish and meat every day, eat your fill, and drink your fill.
"Once, I was hired to fight a bloody battle with the Mad Bear Gang. I killed three tough bastards sturdier than Sword Halberd Demon Pigs, but I broke seven or eight bones myself. My face and body were slashed open with more than ten wounds, leaving barely half a patch of unspoiled flesh.
"My payment that time was five cans of beef canned goods produced on Earth just before the traversal.
"At the time, beef canned goods were incredibly rare. Many people went from the traversal to their deaths without smelling their scent even once in most of their lives. Some were even willing to sell everything they had for one can of fragrant beef canned goods—strength, kidneys, wives, even their souls.
"I took the beef canned goods home for the family to eat. Everyone was starving so badly their stomachs were howling. The moment they smelled the aroma, they pounced like wolves, wishing they could gnaw even the tin casing clean.
"Only A Biao refused to eat. Instead, he kept crying. He carefully hugged me and, trembling,