Cooking Gourmet Meals in the Apocalypse

Chapter 154: Chapter 151: All at Once, or One by One?

Chen Xing was just making an excuse.

Basic Level Zombies wouldn’t stay that way for long. Before long, they would all upgrade.

Once that happens, it wouldn’t be nearly as easy for Superpower Users to hunt Intermediate Zombies.

It might seem like just one level up, but the zombies’ ferocity would increase severalfold.

If the Superpower Users didn’t advance as well, then hunting Intermediate Zombies would become much more difficult.

So... even though everyone knew Crystal Cores were valuable, they’d soon have a hard time hunting for more.

All they had to do was wait a few days. Once Crystal Cores became scarce, they could bring theirs out. Both Intermediate and low Level Crystal Cores would still be hot commodities.

With all the Basic Level Zombies upgraded, Superpower Users who couldn’t kill the stronger ones wouldn’t be able to obtain any Crystal Cores.

They would still have no trouble selling their low Level Crystal Cores.

”Alright then, we’ll do as you say!” Seeing that Chen Xing wasn’t in a hurry, Brother Xiao felt relieved.

Listening to Chen Xing was never the wrong move.

Besides, the supplies they had traded for with the Crystal Cores were more than enough to feed their group for a year. Adding that to their existing stockpile, he wasn’t too worried.

Chen Xing then introduced the two girls, Dandan and Miaomiao, to Brother Xiao.

The factory was short-handed, so anyone Chen Xing recommended was bound to be a good choice.

After chatting a bit more, Brother Xiao took the two girls back to the factory complex.

Since Dandan and Miaomiao were with him, Chen Xing didn’t rush to bring out the Crystal Cores. She just said she would deliver the goods outside the factory at noon the next day.

At that time, Brother Xiao would also bring Chen Xing her cut, along with the supplies owed for the previous batch of livestock and poultry.

The two girls were sad to leave Chen Xing, but after meeting Brother Xiao, they knew their futures were secure. They thanked her gratefully.

Chen Xing left the factory complex and headed straight for Song Yiguo’s building.

There weren’t as many zombies in Hualai City as before, likely due to people hunting them for Crystal Cores.

However, the number was still considerable.

When she got near her building, the zombies were noticeably fewer.

Getting in and out of the building was also very easy.

The password hadn’t been changed. After entering the building, she didn’t bother wondering if Hao Wenli was still there and took the private elevator straight up.

This building was indeed well-made; the power was still running.

The long-awaited solitude put her in a pleasant mood.

Of course, before entering Hualai City, she had stored the RV in her space.

She was going to stay in Hualai City for a while, and she didn’t feel safe leaving it outside.

For dinner, she simply stir-fried some beef with assorted vegetables over rice, then had three sweet and sour fried eggs and a black pepper steak.

After eating, she took a bed out into the room, comfortably laid out the soft, smooth cotton bedding, and had a long, deep sleep.

When she woke up, it was already almost nine in the morning.

She boiled a bowl of wontons, ate them with some pickled mustard greens, and only then did she head downstairs with Meng Hu.

In the lobby, she unsurprisingly ran into Hao Wenli.

Seeing Chen Xing step out of the elevator, she smiled so widely that fine lines appeared at the corners of her flirtatious eyes. ”You’re finally back? You were gone for so long, I was so worried about you.”

Chen Xing walked right past her without even a glance.

It was clear that Hao Wenli had been living well during this time. Her voice was strong, and a sideways glance revealed she had even put on some weight.

”Where are you going? Will you be back?” Hao Wenli ignored Chen Xing’s attitude.

She hadn’t been able to find Chen Xing for a while and had started to think her mission was a failure.

Fortunately, her behind-the-scenes boss told her to just stay put and wait, and she was even supplied with good food and drink, with her safety guaranteed.

To her surprise, Chen Xing had actually returned.

At that moment, Meng Hu darted out of the elevator and yawned at Hao Wenli.

Hao Wenli was so scared she fell to the ground. ”Ah...” She screamed, covering her head with her hands.

She thought she was a goner, but unexpectedly, she felt no pain.

After waiting a moment, she slowly raised her head, only to see the lobby was empty.

She couldn’t tell if it was sweat or tears sliding down her cheeks.

Chen Xing went down to the underground parking garage, got into a truck, and drove out of the building.

When she passed the road in front of the Research Institute, she deliberately stopped the truck, stuck her head out the window, and looked up for a moment.

’When I came back last night, the lights were on up there,’ she mused. ’It must still be operational.’

She now felt an itch to investigate the secret room inside the director’s office.

’On the surface, it’s not obvious how outstanding my powers are.’

’But I’m the only one who knows my abilities have been steadily improving.’

’My speed has increased significantly, and my sight, hearing, and senses are all getting sharper.’

’Especially after my space leveled up.’

’Previously, when my space leveled up, the main benefit was just that the space itself would double in size.’

’Now when it levels up, even though the capacity doesn’t quite double, my physical strength gets a noticeable boost.’

’The Research Institute, which I used to be a little wary of, doesn’t seem like such a big deal anymore.’

’If I weren’t worried about being unable to investigate my origins, I’d wipe out the entire Research Institute without a second thought.’

’But who can I blame but myself for still wanting to look into it?’

Just as she was about to pull her head back in, a head appeared above the Research Institute.

The distance was too great, so she couldn’t see it clearly.

However, one thing was certain: that head was definitely not human.

But its gaze and composure were just like a human’s, looking particularly intelligent.

After locking eyes with it for a few seconds, Chen Xing simply pulled her head back in and drove off.

’Right now, the most important thing is delivering the Crystal Cores to Brother Xiao.’

’If I get really bored tonight, I might just pay the Research Institute a visit.’

When Chen Xing appeared at the factory trade point in her truck, it was still early.

So she leaned back in her seat, took out an ice cream, and started eating.

At this time, she was wearing a loose-fitting, men’s blue jumpsuit, a baseball cap, and a pair of sunglasses.

The cap was pulled down low, almost hiding the upper half of her face.

She had swapped to this truck in the underground parking garage of an abandoned residential complex after leaving Hualai City.

Let alone a stranger, even an acquaintance might not recognize her.

After finishing the ice cream, she put on a face mask for good measure before getting out of the truck to wait for Brother Xiao.

She hadn’t waited ten minutes before three trucks drove up.

The one in the lead was Brother Xiao’s new teammate, Liang Sican.

He was a bit curious about Chen Xing’s getup.

But Brother Xiao had told him not to ask questions and not to pry—just handle the delivery and pickup, and that’s it.

He owed his life to Brother Xiao. He was the type of person who stuck to his principles, and to him, Brother Xiao’s word was law.

So, without giving Chen Xing a second glance, he collected the goods and parted ways with her.

Chen Xing was very satisfied with Brother Xiao’s arrangements.

’He was worried someone who knew me might recognize me, so he deliberately sent a trustworthy person who didn’t know me to make the trade.’

Brother Xiao had also thoughtfully rigged the three trucks for towing, so she only needed to connect them to drive them all away by herself.

After getting everything ready, just as she was about to get into the truck, she hesitated, then closed the door again. She shouted towards the woods, ”Come on out!”

’They’ve been hiding for over half an hour.’

’Even if they’re not tired, I’m getting annoyed.’

As her voice fell, people began to stand up one by one from among the trees.

A quick scan revealed there were several dozen of them.

They were dressed in ordinary clothes, but their uniform builds and posture made it obvious they were former soldiers.

”All at once, or one by one?”