Cooking Gourmet Meals in the Apocalypse

Chapter 22: Chapter 22: That’s More Like It

”Get your ass down here!” Brother Li knew shouting would attract zombies, so he kept his voice down, but the menace was still there.

Chen Xing didn’t hesitate for a second. She immediately jumped down and looked up at him.

He hadn’t expected the madwoman to jump down so readily.

Never mind a young girl—even grown men were usually too intimidated by his presence to look him in the eye.

But this girl’s fearless, direct gaze left Brother Li feeling a bit deflated.

’Has my presence gotten this weak?’

”You fucking almost got me killed, you know that?” Brother Li brandished the long blade in his hand, waving it around Chen Xing.

He was wondering how he should carve her up to appease the hatred in his heart.

”Not almost.” As the word left her lips, Chen Xing took a step forward. A dagger materialized in her left hand and sliced across Brother Li’s throat.

”How dare you talk ba—” Brother Li was genuinely furious. He didn’t feel any pain in his neck, only a sudden coldness, and then he could no longer make a sound.

He had sacrificed the lives of several friends to claim the supermarket for himself, and he’d successfully used the zombies to block anyone else who had designs on it.

But this little bitch, with a single axe swing, had ruined the supermarket he had worked so hard to secure.

Brother Li was filled with indignation, his eyes glaring and bloodshot.

How he longed to demand where all the supermarket’s goods had gone.

He’d been gone for less than ten minutes. How could everything have been cleared out so quickly?

But no matter how many questions he had, he would never get the chance to ask them.

Leaving the supermarket, Chen Xing set her sights on a gas station not far away.

She had noticed it before entering the supermarket. But with the streets swarming with zombies, how could she get there safely and successfully obtain what she wanted?

The distance was about seven hundred meters. Making a direct run for it wasn’t out of the question.

However, grabbing the gasoline before the zombies swarmed her after she got there seemed a bit difficult.

But no matter how difficult, she couldn’t pass up this gas station.

Chen Xing moved cautiously, hugging the supermarket wall. At first, no zombies noticed her.

But past the supermarket was a wide road. She would have to cross it and then walk another few hundred meters to her destination. Exposed for such a long distance, it was impossible she wouldn’t be discovered.

’I’ll just have to force my way through!’

Chen Xing braced herself to charge, taking a deep breath and preparing to sprint across.

But before she could even begin her run, a military truck came barreling in from the distance.

Judging by the way it was swerving, it was out of control. It crashed through several cars blocking its path before a piercing screech of brakes echoed out, and the military truck tipped over onto its side.

All the zombies on the street were drawn to the commotion.

Chen Xing seized the opportunity, leaping over the guardrail and sprinting toward the gas station.

Gunshots and the roars of zombies continuously echoed from behind her.

Chen Xing didn’t look back. She ran all the way to the gas station in one go and ducked behind a barrier wall.

After catching her breath, she peeked out to look.

The zombies had completely surrounded the military truck, making it impossible to see what was happening inside.

Some of the zombies that couldn’t get close were no longer drawn to the truck and began to disperse, with a few heading toward the gas station.

Chen Xing picked up a small pebble from the corner of the wall and threw it at a distant car. A car alarm immediately blared, attracting a portion of the zombies.

Making the most of her time, Chen Xing immediately ran toward the fuel pumps.

The moment her hand touched the pump, liquid began to flow into the hollows within her space. In an instant, the 95-octane gasoline and diesel filled two of the hollows.

Chen Xing immediately pulled her hand away and ran into the gas station’s convenience store.

Her space was almost full. If she could successfully upgrade it to create another hollow, she could collect the 92-octane gasoline as well.

The convenience store was a mess, with many items thrown on the floor.

Chen Xing wasn’t picky; they were in packages, after all.

After collecting all the food and water, she was still a little short. So, she put various maintenance fluids, oil cans, and the like into her space.

Upgrade...

Although this place wasn’t perfect, the upgrade process only took about five minutes. She should be able to wait out the danger.

Chen Xing immediately entered the adjacent restroom, went into a stall, and locked the door behind her.

Instantly, she was frozen in place as her space began to upgrade.

’Now *that’s* a smell!’

The air she breathed in carried the foul stench of urine, so acrid it made her choke.

Although the restroom smelled awful and the door wasn’t very sturdy, it was still better than being out in the convenience store.

About halfway through the upgrade, her sharp ears picked up the sound of chaotic yet numerous footsteps outside.

”...” ’It sounds like a zombie army!’

’Please don’t come in!’

At this moment, there was nothing she could do but pray.

Perhaps her prayers weren’t sincere enough, because the footsteps soon reached the convenience store outside... then the restroom...

The restroom door was slammed repeatedly until it finally gave way.

Peeking through the crack in the stall door, she saw two people in military uniforms enter the restroom and immediately brace the door shut behind them.

The pounding from outside continued, and it seemed the door could be broken through at any moment.

”Captain... what do we do?” the younger soldier asked, wiping sweat from his brow with his shoulder.

He wasn’t crying, but his voice was thick with a sob, laced with deep-seated fear.

The captain was slightly older and more composed than the young soldier. ”Stop making a goddamn sound...” ’How the hell should I know what to do?’

He was using his entire body to hold the door, maintaining it with all his strength.

’Besides waiting for a miracle, what else could they do?’

To his utter disbelief, a miracle appeared.

Inside the stall, Chen Xing’s body unfroze, and she regained her mobility.

If she kept hiding, she would soon have to face the surging tide of zombies anyway.

Chen Xing stepped out of the stall, meeting the two soldiers’ astonished gazes.

Still under their stunned gazes, she walked toward the air vent near the ceiling.

There was no fan in the vent, just a small, square opening. She took an old cell phone out of her bag, started playing music on it, and tossed it out.

Instantly, the zombies outside stopped ramming the door and swarmed toward the phone instead.

As the soldiers let out a breath of relief, their bodies went limp, and they slowly slid to the floor.

Chen Xing paid them no mind, instead watching through the vent as the zombies were drawn away by the music.

’Someone or something needs to lure the zombies further away before we can get out.’

”Thank you...” Having survived the close call, the young soldier suddenly and idiotically expressed his gratitude to Chen Xing.

The captain tried to stop him, but it was too late.

Under Chen Xing’s murderous glare, the zombies were successfully lured back.

’In this tiny space, all they could do was wait to die!’

Chen Xing resisted the urge to beat them up, pulling the soldiers away from the door. ”I’ll lure the zombies away. You two use the chance to escape!”

With that, she charged out the door.

Seeing that Chen Xing was about to sacrifice herself, the two soldiers exchanged a look of disbelief and immediately followed her out.

As soldiers, they couldn’t let a civilian risk her life for them.

Seeing the two soldiers chasing after her, Chen Xing felt a stampede of ’what the fucks’ galloping through her mind.

’She was trying to ditch them, not be a good Samaritan!’

There was still a lot of fuel in the station’s tanks, and she needed to get it as soon as possible.

’No other choice!’

Chen Xing could only pick up her pace.

As soon as she sped up, the two soldiers behind her began to struggle.

Her steps didn’t even look particularly fast, yet they just couldn’t keep up, and the distance between them only grew wider.

’Looks like we were worrying for nothing!’

Feeling like he was just a burden, the captain shouted, ”Hey... Young lady...” forcing Chen Xing to turn back.