Cooking Gourmet Meals in the Apocalypse

Chapter 104: Chapter 101: Entering the Duole Safety Zone

Commander Lü liked this fake daughter, Chen Xing, even less now. ’Isn’t she just making trouble for me?’

Everyone was on edge. Who knew what the situation was like outside?

If the buildings were all gone, these people would have to sleep on the streets.

If he made an exception for one person, everyone else would want one too. Wouldn’t that make his job impossible?

”We have rules. No special exceptions for anyone! Cao Guangrong, is your family coming in or not? If not, get out of the way!” Commander Lü wasn’t giving anyone any face right now.

The Duole Safety Zone had a limited capacity; he didn’t dare make decisions on his own authority.

Cao Guangrong grew anxious. After staring at Chen Xing for a long moment, he said, ”Then you all go in first. I’ll stay here!” He was putting on a perfect show of a doting father sacrificing himself for his child.

Chen Xing was speechless. ’I really want to be moved.’

’But... that same thought was still in her head. They haven’t even confirmed anything. Would he really do this for a stranger? I don’t believe it!’

”No!” Old Mrs. Cao objected. ”If you don’t go, we’ll have no one to rely on.”

Her gaze drifted toward Mrs. Cao.

Mrs. Cao understood the old woman’s meaning and said helplessly, ”Mom’s right. This family can’t function without you! As much as I can’t bear to part with Xuexue, for her safety, I’m willing to stay behind! Xuexue, wait for Mommy!”

”Dad, how about I stay?” Cao Nan couldn’t bear to see his mother suffer, let alone be upset. ”We just found Xuexue, and now Mom has to be separated from her. She definitely can’t bear that! Besides, I’m a man. It’ll be more convenient for me here. Once you figure something out, you can get me over!”

”Absolutely not! You’re the Cao Family’s only male heir. What if you run into danger here?” Old Mrs. Cao was making it crystal clear she wanted her daughter-in-law to be the one to stay.

Chen Xing just watched.

”Have you decided yet?” Commander Lü was clearly getting impatient.

”I’ll be the one to stay, then!” Mrs. Cao said, glancing aggrievedly at Old Mrs. Cao. ”Mom, please take good care of Xuexue for me!”

Old Mrs. Cao was finally satisfied. ”Xuexue... come with Grandma. It’ll be safe inside!” She paid her daughter-in-law no mind at all.

Chen Xing didn’t stand on ceremony and followed them in.

They walked out of the subway station and onto the underground road that had previously been open to traffic. A bus was parked there.

When they boarded, there were already quite a few people on the bus.

Seeing a family of six get on, many people inside looked over with envy.

After all, it wasn’t easy to get into the Duole Safety Zone.

Getting in alone required power. A whole family? That was truly impressive.

Chen Xing naturally noticed this.

The people on the bus were almost all silent. She knew right away that the parents she had just ”found” had an impressive background.

Her gaze fell on her big brother and sister-in-law, who were sitting at the very front.

Her big brother was wearing a suit made of fine material, and his shoes also looked expensive.

His looks were average, and he was of medium height.

Looking at her sister-in-law, who was also wearing a suit, she had a curvy figure, and her looks were on a completely different level from her brother’s.

Although it looked like a simple suit set, it couldn’t hide her sharp, capable aura.

’It seems that, aside from his good background, my big brother is a bit of a mismatch for his wife, isn’t he?’

Then she looked at the old couple, her grandfather and grandmother, in front of them. They looked much more harmonious.

They were leaning on each other after getting on the bus; one look and you could tell they had weathered many storms together.

Cao Guangrong seemed to sense her observing the family. A look of understanding crossed his kind face as he explained, ”Your grandparents have been together for over fifty years and have never fought! If... if I hadn’t lost you back then, our family would also be happy and harmonious!”

Chen Xing looked up at Cao Guangrong.

’Old Mrs. Cao doesn’t seem like an easy person to deal with. Someone who could be so harsh to her daughter-in-law—how could she possibly always be pleasant to her own husband?’

’He’s obviously lying!’

”Your brother and sister-in-law fell in love over time while working at the same company...” When Cao Guangrong spoke of his son and daughter-in-law, the satisfied smile never left his face.

But... Chen Xing wasn’t listening at all.

Because... the bus had started moving.

After a ”couple” in their thirties boarded, the full bus began to move.

Chen Xing’s gaze fell on the man and woman who had been the last to get on.

After they boarded, there were no adjacent seats left, so they were forced to sit separately.

The man didn’t seem to mind, walking straight to the last seat and sitting down.

The woman, however, looked very displeased. She shot a glare at the middle-aged man next to her who had taken the window seat. ”People traveling alone should be more considerate and not take up a two-person seat!”

The man who had boarded with her heard this and frowned slightly. Seeing her look back at him with an unwilling expression, he immediately shot her a fierce look.

The woman bit her lip and could only sit down obediently.

Why was Chen Xing paying so much attention to these two?

Because she recognized the man... or more accurately, she knew of him.

His name was Wu Qinglong. In her previous life, they had met once.

It was in the second year after the apocalypse began.

He hadn’t looked so clean and dapper back then. He had been a disheveled mess, begging for help.

She, Hao Wenli, and the others had just joined a team at the time and had rescued him and his wife.

’Of course... this arrogant woman with him now was definitely not his wife from the last life.’

It was just that... not long after they were rescued, his wife died.

She didn’t know how she died, but... his reaction was particularly unforgettable.

He didn’t cry, nor did he seem sad. He just looked indifferently at his wife’s cooling corpse and didn’t even seem to want to investigate the cause of death.

After a hasty burial, he left the team.

’Now that he’s appeared in this life, why is his status so different?’

Soon, the bus stopped in front of a heavy, massive gate.

A dozen or so guards stood watch in front of it, and on either side, cannons were aimed at the road.

And looking at the massive iron gate itself, it wouldn’t be easy for an ordinary person to get it open.

Under the direction of the guards, everyone on the bus disembarked.

Although Wu Qinglong was sitting at the back, he was the first to get up. He walked to his woman’s side and called out, ”Honey, let’s go!”

”Okay!” Hearing Wu Qinglong call her ”honey,” Wang Shiqi stood up with a smile on her lips.

Before leaving, she didn’t forget to shoot another glare at the man in the seat next to her.

The man had once been a person of some standing. Now, being glared at and scoffed at by some disreputable woman, he was starting to lose face.

’Since when did some gold-digging mistress get so arrogant?’

As he stood up, he deliberately moved a step faster than Wu Qinglong, shoving Wang Shiqi aside to get off the bus first.

Wang Shiqi was knocked against the seat back, a sharp pain flaring in her chest.

She was just about to shout a curse when Wu Qinglong pulled her along, saying, ”That’s enough!”

Wang Shiqi could only swallow her anger. She smoothed out her clothes before following Wu Qinglong off the bus.

Cao Guangrong acted as if he hadn’t seen the incident. Seeing the line ahead start to move, he spoke gently to Chen Xing, ”Let’s go!”

After the soldiers counted the people and checked their names, one of them made a phone call, and the massive iron gate finally opened.

Due to its weight, the gate opened very slowly, with a CREAKING sound.

They had expected to see another world behind the gate, but instead, there was a square elevator, just big enough to fit everyone from the bus.

As Chen Xing entered the elevator, she glanced up and saw several surveillance cameras above.

As she lowered her gaze, she inadvertently caught Wu Qinglong looking away.

’Had he just been looking at her?’