Cooking Gourmet Meals in the Apocalypse

Chapter 88: Chapter 85: A Little Trouble

Seeing that the other party already knew who they were, Captain Lu stepped forward to keep the attention off Chen Xing. ”I can tell you what happened on the island!”

’Chen Xing is too conspicuous,’ he thought. ’Drawing attention will only bring her trouble.’

The man leading the United States team was middle-aged and of average height, with sharp brows, a high-bridged nose, and a powerful, muscular build.

He took a step forward, his gaze sweeping past Chen Xing and the others before locking onto Captain Lu. ”Alright, let’s hear it.” His tone made it unclear whether he was genuinely interested or just humoring him.

Captain Lu gave them a rough account of how Liang Yuncheng had killed Captain Rick. ”Liang Yuncheng is definitely still on the island. You can go look for him. As for the deal with your country, I know nothing about it!”

Wilson was an Admiral. He had fought in countless wars, had powerful backing, and was accustomed to being in control. ”We’ll settle the matter of compensation for the deal later,” he said. ”But we lost an entire crew and our submarine was destroyed. It’s only natural that we settle that score with you, the only survivors! How can I be sure this Liang Yuncheng you mentioned is even real?”

Captain Lu hadn’t expected them to just accept the facts. ”We’ve told you the truth. If you plan on using your numbers to throw your weight around, you should know we’re not afraid of a fight!”

Wilson couldn’t believe the tone this low-ranking soldier was taking with him. A flash of displeasure crossed his arrogant face. ”Us, throwing our weight around? Ridiculous! Our entire team died on this island, and your squad is the only one left alive. How do you expect us to believe a word you say?”

Captain Lu laughed, a hint of resignation on his resolute face. ”I’m not asking you to believe me. I’m just telling you the facts. Whether you believe them or not is your problem.”

When it came to sheer presence, he could hold his own against anyone.

In fact, facing an aggressive opponent only fueled his fighting spirit.

Admiral Wilson: ”...”

’This is the first time I’ve ever been treated with such disrespect!’

’As an Admiral, I’m fawned over everywhere I go.’

’How dare this stripped-of-his-rank, low-level captain speak to me like this?’

The rage rising on his face became impossible to control. ”The way I see it, you used the deal as a pretext to ambush our fleet! I will see this matter through to the end!”

As he spoke, he gave a subtle glance, and the naval soldiers standing behind him surged forward.

Captain Lu did a quick count. There were at least two hundred of them.

His own group numbered only 36, or 37 including Chen Xing. They were vastly outnumbered.

If a fight broke out, they would be at a serious disadvantage.

But they absolutely could not show any weakness!

”If you insist on thinking that, there’s nothing we can do!” Captain Lu’s expression was nonchalant, but behind his back, his hands were already gathering his superpower.

Wilson grew even more furious at his nonchalant attitude.

This was no longer a personal matter.

”Captain Lu, you will pay the price for your insolence!” Losing control, the enraged Wilson roared, pinning a fabricated charge on Captain Lu. ”You plotted to murder our Captain Rick and our one hundred and ten sailors! We are arresting you—all of you—effective immediately!”

With that, he took a step back.

Seeing that a fight was imminent, Chen Xing, along with Xiao Wu and the others, took a step forward, showing they would stand with Captain Lu to the death.

When Wilson saw he hadn’t intimidated them, his expression soured further. ”Since you insist on resisting, we won’t hold back!”

’Good, let them resist,’ he thought. ’That gives me a legitimate reason to kill them all!’

’I have over two hundred men here, all of them soldiers enhanced with superpowers. Victory is assured, no matter what.’

But before he could give the order, he heard the sound of approaching vehicles and was forced to hold back for the moment.

Less than half a minute later, several military trucks pulled to a stop in the mist before the two groups.

Wilson had a bad feeling about this.

His face, still red with anger that had yet to subside, was now overlaid with a look of bitter reluctance.

Chen Xing: ”...”

Captain Lu: ”...”

’The Song Family of Song Yiguo?!’

The trucks stopped, and the dashing figure of Vice General Du emerged from the dense fog.

With a brisk and upright posture, he strode directly to Chen Xing and gave her a polite nod. Then, glancing at Wilson, he asked her, ”Trouble?”

”Just a little trouble,” Chen Xing replied lightly.

Her casual dismissal of them as ”little trouble” was incredibly insulting.

’What?’

’He, the great Admiral Wilson, was nothing more than ’little trouble’ in her eyes?’

’But... he didn’t dare fly into a rage in front of the Song Family.’

Wilson was familiar with the Song Family’s reputation.

After the apocalypse began, several major factions had risen to power in Huaxia, and the Song Family was the most prominent among them. Even his own Great Commander wouldn’t dare to openly clash with the Song Family.

”Hello... I am Admiral Wilson of the United States Navy. I’ve come to the North Sea because...” He gave a sanitized version of events, glossing over key details about how his team had died. ”...we suspect Captain Lu murdered them to silence them. We hope the Song Family can give us a proper account!”

It infuriated him that he, an Admiral, had to speak so deferentially to a young upstart like Vice General Du.

’But he was in their territory, and they clearly had more people. He had no choice but to swallow his pride.’

A questioning look appeared on Vice General Du’s handsome face. ”As I understand it, Captain Lu was sent on this mission as part of a deliberate setup. He’s lucky to have survived at all. How, then, could he have planned all this, as you claim, Admiral?”

”Well...” Wilson was taken aback, surprised that Vice General Du knew inside details. ”That’s his version of events. The fact remains that we lost a submarine and over a hundred crewmen! Furthermore... the deal fell through, and Nightingale escaped from their custody... Song Family...”

”Admiral, I believe you’ve misunderstood why I’m here,” Vice General Du said, cutting him off before he could listen to any more nonsense. ”I heard Captain Lu was framed and I came to help him, not to mediate your personal grievances. As for the deal, you can sort that out amongst yourselves later.”

Wilson: ”...” His expression was incredibly foul.

”Are you saying that you’re going to protect him regardless of whether he had anything to do with Captain Rick’s death?” Even a fool could see that Vice General Du was siding with Captain Lu.

”If the Admiral insists on interpreting it that way, so be it. I am simply following my orders. I hope you can understand, Admiral.” His tone was so humble and polite that it was impossible to find fault with.

Wilson was seething with rage but had no way to vent it.

The Song Family had arrived in several trucks. And while only Vice General Du had disembarked, Wilson, as a military man, knew exactly how many soldiers those trucks could be carrying.

”In that case, I won’t make things difficult for you,” Wilson said, his tone compromising. ”However, am I to take this to mean you no longer wish to maintain friendly relations with us?”