Cooking Gourmet Meals in the Apocalypse

Chapter 77: Chapter 77: Chilled to the Heart

Liang Yuncheng narrowed his eyes and stared at Yang Ruibin.

Yang Ruibin squirmed under the intense gaze, but he forced himself to maintain a composed smile.

Though he had relied on his gift of gab to become the Military Brigade Commander’s aide, his ability to read people was second to none.

How could he fail to see that the fire was an act of arson?

And the most suspicious person of all was none other than Liang Yuncheng, who was traveling with them.

He didn’t dare show the slightest hint of disrespect now, or his life would be forfeit.

”Since the fire is too intense to be put out, we have no choice but to let it be and continue with the mission! Once we reach the North Sea, we’ll contact the Military Brigade Commander. After all, they sacrificed their lives for the country. We must ensure Captain Lu and those brothers are awarded a first-class merit.”

’My ass!’

Captain Lu and his soldiers, hidden in the woods, were utterly disillusioned.

Thankfully, they had discovered the bomb in time and all managed to escape.

If they had truly been inside that vehicle, this scene would have been both chilling and tragic to witness.

The only reason they could so calmly watch these cold, heartless people was thanks to Chen Xing.

Anyone who had previously harbored doubts about Chen Xing was now completely won over.

Chen Xing stared at Liang Yuncheng.

’He shouldn’t be this careless.’

’Someone who went to the trouble of arranging for them all to be in one vehicle clearly intended to wipe them out completely. Not checking the bodies himself... that just doesn’t add up.’

Liang Yuncheng got his men into their vehicle and drove on.

A bitter feeling churned in Captain Lu’s gut.

Squabbling on a normal day was one thing, but out here, they were supposed to be on the same side. Such cold-blooded ruthlessness was deeply disillusioning.

”Captain... were we set up by the Military Brigade Commander?” Xiao Wu, having been with Captain Lu the longest, was also the boldest among them. ”The bomb was in the vehicle we drove from headquarters. It couldn’t have been planted on the road! The only person who could tamper with things inside the Military Department...” He trailed off, leaving the rest unsaid.

’If it really is the Military Brigade Commander, what will the captain do?’

The captain had followed the Military Brigade Commander with single-minded devotion.

’Being betrayed by the person you trust most has to be devastating.’

Captain Lu’s face was dark and clouded with doubt. ”We’ll do the mission first,” he declared. ”Everything else can wait until after it’s complete!”

He didn’t say whether he still trusted the Military Brigade Commander.

For him, the mission was the most important thing right now.

Once Captain Lu gave the word, everyone grabbed their weapons and set out for their objective.

Chen Xing still said nothing about the nursing home being betrayed by an insider.

The fog grew heavier, and soon they could only see a few feet in front of them.

The team of over thirty people had no choice but to advance in a single file line, one following the other.

Chen Xing’s eyesight was far better than an ordinary person’s; even in the dense fog, she could see far into the distance.

Several hundred meters away, a horde of zombies was crossing their path.

The slightest sound would draw them over.

Even without a warning from her, everyone was already moving cautiously due to the poor visibility.

Just as the bulk of the horde was about to pass, a cell phone suddenly rang out from the rear of the line.

The pitch-black, fog-shrouded surroundings were already unnerving enough; the sudden noise was absolutely terrifying.

”Holy shit... you scared me to death...” someone started to complain. ”You idiot, couldn’t you have set your phone to vibrate? I never thought the day would come when a ringtone would scare me half to death!”

”Sorry about that...”

Chen Xing saw the horde of zombies turn and start running toward them. While several men were still chattering away, she snapped, ”If you want to live, shut your mouths!”

’Their inability to see clearly in these conditions was a huge disadvantage.’

’These zombies have decent eyesight, but their hearing is even better.’

Silence fell instantly.

In the silence, they could all hear the sound of countless, frantic footsteps.

Everyone’s faces grew taut, and they didn’t dare to breathe too loudly.

Chen Xing took out a small electronic music box and hurled it into the distance.

As the music box’s melody faded, so too did the sound of the zombies’ footsteps.

Their hearts still pounding with fear, no one dared to be careless again. One by one, they all silenced their phones.

Roughly three hours later, they reached the harbor.

Countless vessels were moored in the vast harbor.

”Does anyone know how to pilot a boat?” Captain Lu asked, his gaze sweeping over the men.

They all looked at each other, but no one stepped forward.

They were army soldiers; naturally, they’d never had the chance to learn how to operate a boat.

”I’ll give it a try,” Chen Xing volunteered, seeing no other option.

In her past life, she had been forced to pilot a boat out of a harbor while fleeing for her life. She hadn’t been good at it, but she had at least managed to get it moving.

The men were speechless. ’That’s something you can just... give a try?’

They didn’t really believe Chen Xing could pilot a boat, but they had no other choice.

After the thirty-odd people boarded, they all found what they deemed to be a safe spot and clung tightly to anything that might keep them steady.

About ten minutes later, the white boat carrying the thirty-odd people slowly departed from the dock. It was a surprisingly smooth departure.

Their destination wasn’t far; the island was visible from the harbor.

Some twenty minutes later, the boat docked smoothly on a sparsely populated shore.

The island wasn’t very large. At the foot of a great mountain were about a hundred scattered homes.

Once ashore, they headed straight for the mountain.

The Military Brigade Commander’s orders were to find an individual codenamed ”nightingale” at a base on this island. This person was in possession of an important document, and the team’s only task was to retrieve it.

The Military Brigade Commander hadn’t elaborated on the document’s contents, only that its seal was marked with the image of a nightingale.

They searched the mountain until nearly dawn but couldn’t find any suspicious-looking entrances.

The houses on the island were all empty, too.

Hungry, thirsty, and exhausted, the thirty-odd people had no choice but to find an empty house to rest in.

Luckily, the farmhouse garden had some radishes and sweet potatoes, which they ate to sate their hunger.

Chen Xing, meanwhile, drank some spring water before making a wide sweep of the island.

But after scanning the surrounding sea, she saw no sign of any other boats.

’That’s strange!’

’Where could Liang Yuncheng and his men have gone?’

As she was surveying the area from the mountain’s highest point, a ship suddenly appeared on the distant horizon.

A moment later, the calm surface of the sea began to churn with waves, and a submarine slowly emerged.

Chen Xing was speechless. ’So, their real destination wasn’t this island. It was the submarine.’

Just as she was pondering how to get aboard the submarine, the two vessels drew closer and closer to her position.

’Oh, no.’

She immediately took off, sprinting down the mountain toward the shore.

Thankfully, their boat was docked on the other side of the island; if Liang Yuncheng and his men were to see it, there would be trouble.

Chen Xing moved quickly. The moment she reached the shore, she pulled the boat into her dimensional space.

However... the large boat instantly filled her entire space.

’Upgrade???’

She could only dash to the side, find a concealed spot behind a tree, and begin the upgrade process.

Meng Hu, who had been following her the whole time, stood guard.

Just as the upgrade was about to complete, a massive wave suddenly erupted from the calm sea, drenching the immobilized Chen Xing to the bone in an instant.