Cooking Gourmet Meals in the Apocalypse

Chapter 28: Chapter 28: Changed the Password

”Remember to pay me for saving you once you’re safe!” Chen Xing didn’t bother explaining, getting straight to her service fee.

Even though the grenade had belonged to Captain Lu and his men, it was hers now, so she was going to bill them for it.

”Don’t worry, I’m keeping a tally. You won’t be shorted a single cent!” Song Yiguo actually preferred Chen Xing’s approach. It was more comfortable when no one was indebted to anyone else.

It saved them from the endless complications of favors and gratitude.

Most importantly, he never wanted to bring up the fact that Chen Xing had carried him while running. It was best to settle the score and be done with it.

”Such a money-grubber!” Yan Junxi said, though he was incredibly grateful to her.

A moment ago, Song Yiguo would have been in serious danger if she hadn’t intervened.

Seeing that the other two weren’t pressing the issue, Captain Lu didn’t either. ”Rest assured, we’ll get our payment to you as well!”

Chen Xing was very satisfied.

”Those guys won’t let this go easily. Everyone should hide quietly in your rooms tonight and make no noise!” After giving her instructions, Chen Xing headed for the stairs.

”Got any more food in that backpack? I’ll pay fifty times the price!” Yan Junxi’s eyes were fixed on Chen Xing’s bag.

Chen Xing was feeling generous. She pulled out a few portions of food. ”Fifty times the price!” With that, she went upstairs.

Perhaps the blow they’d dealt was severe enough, because the motorcycle gang never came searching for them. As a result, they all managed to get a relatively peaceful night’s sleep. That is, if you didn’t count Chen Xing dragging them out of bed before dawn.

Yan Junxi was a big celebrity, used to sleeping in. Being woken up so early put him in a foul mood. ”It’s not even light out! What are you doing?”

’This is a private room, for crying out loud! She not only barges in, but she also has the gall to shout at us to get up.’

’Doesn’t she understand the concept of privacy?’

”You have two minutes to get to the lobby. If you’re late, we’re leaving without you!” Chen Xing had no patience for his attitude.

’We’re running for our lives. Who has time to coddle your morning grumpiness?’

Yan Junxi was speechless. He was fuming.

But Song Yiguo was already getting up, so he had no choice but to begrudgingly follow suit.

Two minutes later, all five of them were assembled.

At the main entrance, Chen Xing reached out to carry Song Yiguo, but he stopped her. ”I’m much better. I should be able to manage for a while.”

He hadn’t realized it until he tried, but he could actually walk slowly now, even if he didn’t dare put his full weight on his foot.

’Perfect!’

’The last thing I want is to run around town carrying a grown man.’

So she led the way out the door, demonstrating by walking right through the middle of the zombies.

Only then did the four men realize that the zombies were completely non-aggressive.

”What’s going on?” Yan Junxi couldn’t believe his eyes.

’These zombies were absolutely rabid. How did they suddenly become so docile?’

”This is their rest period in the morning. It lasts about thirty minutes, so we need to use this time to move fast!” The journey would take about forty minutes, so they didn’t have a second to waste. ”Everyone split up and see which cars work. Even better if you can find some electric scooters!”

With the exception of Song Yiguo, whose mobility was limited, everyone instantly scattered to search for a working vehicle.

But there were no scooters nearby. They had to walk past a massive traffic jam, and once the road cleared up, they all piled into a car.

However, they had driven less than three kilometers before the road was completely blocked again.

They switched cars and drove on, but again, they didn’t get far before hitting another massive pile-up.

Nearly half their time was gone. They had wasted too much of it. At this rate, they wouldn’t reach their destination today.

Chen Xing told Captain Lu to lead the group ahead on foot while she went to find electric bikes.

She was incredibly fast. After checking two side streets, she actually managed to find a pair of electric bikes.

’Not a bad haul.’

Chen Xing immediately detoured to an intersection ahead of them. She pulled the bikes out of her dimensional space just as she saw them struggling to catch up. ”Here are two bikes! You guys go on ahead!”

The four men were reluctant to leave a young girl behind and go on without her.

But Chen Xing didn’t give them a chance to refuse. They had already witnessed her abilities and knew she could easily overtake them from behind, so they had no choice but to obey.

’This isn’t the time to be a burden.’

Chen Xing took off again in an instant.

This time, she didn’t stray too far, keeping her path parallel to Song Yiguo’s group.

’The zombies could wake up any second. I’d better find another vehicle and rendezvous with them before that happens.’

The search was starting to wear on Chen Xing. ’I heard these streets were flooded with electric bikes before the apocalypse. Where did they all disappear to?’

Just before the zombies began to stir again, she finally found one. It was a bit beat-up, but at least it worked.

Seeing the zombies turn aggressive again, Chen Xing cranked the electric bike to maximum speed.

Before long, she saw a horde of zombies swarming ahead. ’They must be chasing Song Yiguo and the others.’

Chen Xing immediately skirted around the horde, caught up to the group, and they all sped toward Song Yiguo’s apartment building at full throttle.

Soon, the building appeared in their line of sight.

But the horde behind them hadn’t thinned out at all; in fact, it was growing. Fortunately, they had managed to put some distance between them.

Chen Xing immediately accelerated, reaching the building first.

She punched the passcode Song Yiguo had given her into the electronic lock, but the door wouldn’t open.

’What the...’ In that instant, Chen Xing realized there was a problem.

She pounded on the door and deliberately rang the bell for apartment 1902, but no one answered.

She could even sense the people on the other end of the security camera, watching her and laughing.

’They must have known I was out and changed the code on purpose.’

”Song Yiguo is back! Open the door now!” Though she knew it was a long shot, Chen Xing played her only card.

Just as she’d expected, there was no response.

It seemed Mr. and Mrs. Hu also knew the world was never going back to the way it was and had no intention of showing Song Yiguo any deference.

Chen Xing stared up, right into the security camera lens.

The people staring at the monitor suddenly felt a wave of pressure. Hao Wenli, in particular, broke out in goosebumps.

Chen Xing’s icy eyes seemed to send an electric current straight through her, making the early summer morning feel as chilling as the dead of winter.

”What if Boss Song holds this against us? What will we do?” Mr. Hu was the most timid of the group. He had done as Hao Wenli said, but he was starting to worry.

”Uncle Hu, why don’t you get it?” Hao Wenli reasoned. ”This world is never going back to the way it was. No matter how powerful Song Yiguo used to be, who’s going to care about his status in the apocalypse? If you’re soft-hearted and let them in, it will only make things harder for you later. Have you forgotten that you’ve already offended that girl, Chen Xing? Do you really think she’ll let you off easy if she gets inside?”

Ever since watching Chen Xing’s livestream, she had been desperate to see her suffer.

”Lili’s right, Dad.” Hu Dawei had already spotted Song Yiguo on the monitor. ”We’ve already pissed that woman off. If she says one bad word about us to Boss Song, our lives are over. I bet she brought Song Yiguo back on purpose. If we let them in now, they’ll just turn around and kick us out. Where would we go then?”

”Tell everyone not to open the door, no matter what!” Mr. Hu could only give in. Though his tone was laced with resignation, his heart had hardened.