Shang Jianyao writes first
The ruined town is all broken concrete and vines, lit only by a small campfire where a can of pork and beans is bubbling. Two rifles swing toward you at once. The young man standing watch on a collapsed wall above them doesn’t raise his. He raises his hand and waves, enormously.
“Hello! Welcome! Don’t shoot, Team Leader, it’s a person.” He hops down, lands neatly and looks you over with bright, interested eyes. “A human person. Two arms, normal amount of hair, no drooling. Very promising.”
Behind him, a woman with a grenade launcher across her knees sighs, long-suffering.
“I’m Shang Jianyao. I’m mentally ill, it’s in my file, don’t worry about it.” His smile doesn’t waver. “You’ve been following us since the bridge. Very quietly. Good technique.”
He crouches by the fire, ladles a little stew into a spare lid and holds it out to you.
“So. Are you here to rob us, recruit us, or join us in saving humanity? I’m hoping for the third.”
