Chapter 264: From now on we will also be her followers

"Mom, I'm so hungry, I want to eat the fruit over there."

Just then, a child's clear voice rang out, drawing everyone's attention.

Song Zhi's group followed the direction of her little hand and saw a fruit platter on the table, which they hadn't noticed before; those red, slice-shaped fruits must be watermelon, right?

Just how extravagant is this shelter, that they can actually eat watermelon!

The speaker was Song Zhi's daughter; the little one licked her lips, clearly craving the watermelon intensely, yet she restrained herself from grabbing it directly.

She remembered that fruit was an expensive food; the family's points were earned by her father risking his life in battle, and only during the New Year's vigil did they have a chance to taste fruit's sweetness.

Watermelon, she had never eaten.

Not to mention this child, even people like Song Zhi and Qin Yao, who are over thirty, have never had the chance to eat watermelon, and some squad members haven't even seen one.

For any precious fruit variety, the amount cultivated is recorded.

Those with low yields can only supply the high-ranking nobles; ordinary commoners have no qualification to enjoy them.

Everyone stared at the watermelon; although in this freezing weather they ought to eat warming food, the watermelon is too tempting—even if it would freeze their teeth, they want to try it!

Ye Heng saw this, curled the corner of his mouth, and brought the watermelon plate to Song Zhi's daughter, squatting down before her.

"Tell Uncle your name, and I'll give you the watermelon to eat."

The little girl's eyes lit up at once, and she crisply said:

"My name is Song Nuan, Uncle. What does watermelon taste like?"

"Just try it yourself and you'll know."

Ye Heng handed a slice of watermelon to Song Nuan, who quickly took it with both hands and took a cautious bite.

The next second, she exclaimed excitedly.

"Delicious! Watermelon is delicious! Dad, Mom, watermelon tastes better than sugar and is juicy—you guys should try it too!"

Song Nuan ate too eagerly and almost bit her own hand.

Seeing their usually well-behaved daughter wolfing down the watermelon, Song Zhi and his wife didn't scold her but grew even more curious about its flavor.

Ye Heng divided the watermelon among everyone, and Qin Yao's squad also each received a piece.

Qin Yao couldn't help but look at Ye Heng, feeling both hesitant and nervous.

"Brother Ye Heng, can we really eat this? What kind of supplies would we need to exchange for it?"

He couldn't believe that even nobles had to cut watermelon into small pieces to share, yet Ye Heng could give each of them a whole piece.

Ye Heng waved his hand, appearing indifferent.

"Go ahead and eat boldly; you don't need to offer any supplies as exchange. This is a gift from the goddess. As long as you've eaten it, just stop questioning the goddess or speaking ill of her."

Qin Yao and the others exchanged glances, growing ever more curious about just what kind of divine being this goddess is.

After the meal, everyone ate without any regard for appearance.

There's no helping it; the table is full of delicious treats—not only is the fruit tasty and precious, but the big pot dish is also rich in flavor, with ingredients of extreme freshness.

The vegetables eaten by commoners have wilted leaves, and their taste is even slightly bitter.

Even so, they don't get to eat such vegetables every day; most of the time they rely on unpleasant nutritional supplements to replenish vitamins and fiber.

Here the vegetables are fresh, the fruit precious, and even the meat is very tasty.

For a moment, Qin Yao wavered, and the families who followed Song Zhi instantly felt that losing their commoner status wasn't a pity.

"Captain Ye, I never expected that in these times your shelter could still eat this well. Why don't you take us to see that goddess? From now on we'll also be her followers!"

Song Zhi's wife spoke first, saying that since there are immortals in the shelter, she must certainly kneel and pray for them to bless her whole family.

"Exactly, exactly, thank you for the goddess's gift, Captain Ye. We're newcomers, so we should indeed go pay our respects to the goddess first."

The families were very receptive; compared to Qin Yao and others who often fight outside, they more easily accept the so-called deity—this is a spiritual reliance, needing little explanation, and they naturally believed.

Ye Heng's heart stirred; coincidentally, Lin Meng had just purchased another batch of supplies last time, which are still stored in the space.

Why not hold another prayer-to-the-deity event to make the goddess's name resound thoroughly?

Since Qin Yao isn't too convinced about the goddess, let him see for himself.

"Then come with me; it's perfect that we've added these people, so we can pray to the goddess for new supplies."

Ye Heng's words made everyone extremely excited.

As soon as they arrive, they'll be able to witness the descent of supplies firsthand—what great fortune!

At this moment, Ye Heng had already given a glance to the person beside him; that person immediately understood the captain's meaning, left the dining hall first, and went outside to gather troops.

Invoking the deity naturally works better with more people.

Everyone in the shelter usually prays to the goddess heavenward daily, but if they could gather together, their faith might be conveyed to the goddess more effectively.

Soon, an open space in the shelter was filled with people—those who, upon hearing the news, quickly rushed over as shelter residents.

"Today the shelter has gained new companions; to show welcome, please everyone together worship the goddess and ask her to grant us new supplies!"

After Ye Heng spoke loudly, the shelter residents knelt down without hesitation, all facing a certain direction and began to worship.

"Please goddess protect us, please goddess protectus……"

Seeing this, Song Zhi and the others also imitated, kneeling down.

Not a single one of their family members raised an objection; they were quickly infected by the natives' piety and joined the worship procession together.

Qin Yao and his team members stood abruptly at the edge, seeing this scene they were deeply shocked in their hearts, yet they exchanged glances and did not kneel.

First, they are not shelter residents; even if there really were such a goddess, kneeling might not help them.

Moreover, kneeling on the spot without any protocol—could it really be effective?

Qin Yao put a big question mark in his mind, beginning to doubt whether the shelter's supplies had some other mysterious source, and that they were merely fabricating a nonexistent goddess to cover things up.

Qin Yao increasingly felt this was possible; he would wait to see what supplies Ye Heng produced to find out.

As the shouting grew louder and louder, even the workers currently constructing were drawn by the sound.

However, the perimeter also has fences blocking the view; unless one climbs high, they cannot peek inside.

Ye Heng saw the time was about right, then suddenly shouted loudly:

"Quickly clear an open space, the goddess will bestow supplies!"

In the next second, everyone immediately stepped back, and on a small empty space suddenly appeared piles of vegetables and crops.

The lush green vegetables even still had fresh mud, and even dew drops on the leaves.

"These are fresh vegetables! How great, goddess I love you!"

"Heavens, it's actually so fresh vegetables, just like freshly picked from the ground!"

Song Zhi and his family members were all stunned, looking at those muddy fresh vegetables, only one thought remained in their hearts.

This time their choice was correct, this shelter truly has the goddess's protection!