Apocalypse Escape: Day One of Survival

”Xiao Fei’s mother, your cooking is really good.”

”It is! Stop fussing and come eat with us.”

”It’s okay, I’ll take care of it. You all go eat. I’ll just tidy up the kitchen; it’ll be done in no time.”

”Since everyone is happy with Xiao Fei’s mother’s cooking, we’ll pay her eight hundred Contribution Points a month from the team’s funds from now on.”

Song Shijun, busy shoveling rice into his mouth, made an OK sign. ”I have no objections.”

”Me neither.”

”No objections.”

Old Mrs. Song said with a wide smile, ”The old man is too slow. I’ll finally have a good helper from now on.”

Yu Xiaofei’s mother, Cen Yun, ran out of the kitchen wiping her hands, looking embarrassed. ”That’s too much. The current rate isn’t this high, and Ms. Yueyue helped us so much before.”

”It’s settled then,” Xie Ning said with a smile. ”For the Starfire Team to have long-term success, we need to recruit some non-core logistics staff. Aunt Cen, you’re the first.”

”Three meals a day is tedious work; you’ll be busy. This amount of Contribution Points is nothing, really, so please don’t turn it down.”

For the members of the Starfire Team, eight hundred Contribution Points really wasn’t much.

After all, even a simple meal cost twenty Contribution Points nowadays.

But in reality, the pay for this job was quite generous.

Song Kexin, holding her bowl, said with a wide smile, ”Sis, are we expanding our recruitment?”

”Of course. Our team is going to be the number one team in the Capital, right, Ms. Ning?” Xiao Huang Mao said with a grin, squatting nearby. ”Aunt Cen, if you need any heavy lifting done in the future, just call me.”

Cen Yun was overjoyed. ’Her daughter’s classmate is truly a great benefactor in our lives.’

’This was a true escape from death, and it led us to a benefactor. Now that the danger has passed, our future is bound to be smooth sailing.’

”Aunt Cen, as a non-core logistics staff member of the Starfire Team, there’s just one thing you need to be mindful of: you must be tight-lipped. Don’t casually talk about the team’s affairs to outsiders. That includes what we eat, what we drink, or what benefits we get. Don’t say a single word.”

”Yes, yes, I’ll remember. Don’t worry, Captain, I won’t say anything.”

’These people are the great benefactors who saved my precious daughter. From now on, I wouldn’t utter a single word, even with a knife to my throat.’

’Besides, I’m not stupid. I already figured it out on my first day cooking for them—the Starfire Team’s benefits are exceptionally good. Lunch was a huge pot of chicken soup, served with several other meat and vegetable dishes. With bowls of white rice being served one after another, they were clearly not short on money. One year into the apocalypse, to be able to eat and drink like the Starfire Team was, frankly, unheard of.’

Song You’ai stood up and pulled Cen Yun toward the table. ”Stop cleaning. We’ll all help clean up later. Come eat with us first.”

”Did you save some food for Xiao Fei?”

”Yes, yes, we did. Just now, Yueyue helped me set aside a lot of food and a big bowl of chicken soup, too. It’s more than enough, thank you so much.”

”We’re all on the same team now, so don’t say such formal things,” Song You’ai said, patting Cen Yun with a smile. ”Eat first. Work after you’ve filled your stomach.”

”Xiao Fei is too weak. He needs to get some proper nutrition from now on.”

”Xiao Fei’s mother, don’t worry. He’s young and has a good constitution. As long as he gets enough nutrition, his recovery will be excellent.”

”Mhm.” Cen Yun nodded, choking back tears. ”I know. Everything will be better from now on.”

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.

The sudden knocking made everyone sitting around the table look at each other.

Song Shijun started shoveling rice faster, mumbling indistinctly, ”Eat quickly!!”

Everyone, well-drilled, frantically grabbed more food and ate with all their might. After divvying up all the food in the serving bowls, they each picked up their own bowls and quickly ducked into their rooms.

Cen Yun also reacted instantly, hurriedly carrying the empty serving dishes into the kitchen.

Xie Ning followed her and said with a smile, ”Aunt Cen, could I trouble you to cook two large pots of preserved egg and pork congee later? I’ll have Tai Xian from the team bring you the ingredients and containers in a bit.”

”Captain, please don’t say that. It’s no trouble at all; this is part of my job,” Cen Yun said, waving her hands hurriedly. ”Just have someone bring them over whenever. I’ll start cooking right after I finish eating.”

”Alright! You all go back to your rooms first. I’ll go see who has the nerve to drop by right at mealtime.”

’If it were Xiao Gu or Xiao Lu, they would have been shouting from outside the door long ago. Only a stranger would knock so insistently without saying a word.’

Xie Ning turned and walked to the door, her hand resting on the doorknob.

The knocking on the door resumed.

However, the person outside was reasonably polite. Though the knocking was rapid, they did pause in between.

Xie Ning turned the knob, opened the door, and raised an eyebrow at the few young men standing outside.

’They were acquaintances.’

’Yang Yiling might not recognize me, but I’ve met him once before.’

’It was over a year ago, at the Tongjiang Tunnel. I personally witnessed Comrade Gu Chen dragging this guy out of the tunnel like a dead dog...’

’A past incident filled with so much comradely love.’

Yang Yiling stood stunned for a long moment. A teammate behind him quickly stepped forward and whispered in his ear, ”This is her.”

Yang Yiling gave Xie Ning a peculiar look, then a smile instantly blossomed on his handsome face. ”You must be the base’s Sixth-rank Gold Ability User, the captain of the Starfire Team, right? A pleasure to meet you.”

Xie Ning stared at him with a half-smile. ”What do you want?”

”I am...”

”Yang Yiling, what are you doing here?”

Comrade Yang Yiling hadn’t even started his self-introduction when he heard a familiar voice from behind him.

’That voice is practically my nightmare, always echoing in my ears.’

Suddenly hearing Gu Chen’s voice, Yang Yiling’s expression tightened, and he whipped his head around to look.

Sure enough, he saw Gu Chen strolling over with Lu Wei, Zhai Ruobai, and Bald.

’How unexpected.’

”What’s he doing here?” Yang Yiling’s expression changed abruptly, and he turned to look at his teammates.

’Damn that Gu Chen, he has to compete with me for everything. Is he here to snatch the Sixth-rank Superpower User? Does he want to take this Sixth Rank Gold Element user to the mission location?’

One of his teammates, as if recalling something, quickly tugged on his sleeve and whispered, ”Captain, I think I... I heard a rumor that...”

”What is it?”

”That... that Captain Gu is apparently dating someone... a very powerful Superpower User... I think her name is... Xie Ning or something?”

Yang Yiling felt as if a bolt of lightning had struck him from a clear blue sky.

’What?’

”Yang Yiling, you punk. You didn’t come all the way here just to invite my girlfriend to go on a mission with your team, did you?”

”What... what do you mean?”

Gu Chen sauntered over, a smug look on his face, and slung an arm around Xie Ning. ”It’s exactly what you think! My girlfriend. Girlfriend, get it?”

’This kid must be brain-dead. How dare he try to recruit my girlfriend?’

’Such an ignorant fool. Doesn’t he ever bother to get the gossip?’