Cooking Gourmet Meals in the Apocalypse

Chapter 177: Chapter 174: That Is Her Only Companion

She was afraid!

’Where did this fear come from?’

It was a bone-deep dread that instantly made her feel shackled.

That’s right!

It was the feeling of being bound, just like how she had been tied to the bed when she first woke up.

After taking a moment to compose herself, Chen Xing frantically opened her eyes.

There were no monsters, nor any other objects.

Before her was just a large, entirely white room. From the ceiling to the walls and even the floor, everything was made of white glass.

Behind the glass were rows of white lights, their glare deeply unsettling.

Chen Xing’s fists clenched. She scanned her surroundings carefully but couldn’t find any way in or out other than the door she had entered through.

The completely empty room did nothing to lessen her unease and fear. Instead, it gave her a strange sense of déjà vu.

”It’s fine!” Chen Xing told herself.

But her clenched fists still trembled uncontrollably.

’Maybe if I stay here a little longer, I’ll remember something?’

But she was certain that if she stayed, she would suffocate to death before she could remember anything.

So she quickly backed out of the room.

The moment the door closed, her unease and fear vanished as if they had never been there.

She slowly placed her hand on the door again, but in the end, she lacked the courage to open it.

At least for now, she couldn’t bear the terror this room induced.

She glanced up at the tightly shut door, then turned and walked to the one on the opposite side of the hall.

’What will be behind this door?’

To be honest, that completely empty room had been more terrifying to her than the previous one with the giant dog-monster.

The fear that rose from the depths of her heart wasn’t visual; it was a profound, instinctual dread that she resisted from her very core.

She opened the door, and this room was surprisingly normal.

It was an office.

Desks, chairs, computers, books—it looked just like a perfectly ordinary office.

The room was empty, but jarringly, all the computers were still on.

It was as if the room had been full of people just a moment before.

Chen Xing walked over and looked at a computer screen.

There were several documents open, but they were all blank.

She checked several computers; they were all the same.

Disappointed, she walked over to a filing cabinet in the back row.

From the rows of stacked documents, she randomly pulled out a file.

”...” She stared at the file in her hands, stunned.

Hao Wenli’s name was printed clearly at the top.

’This is too much of a coincidence!’

She didn’t believe in coincidences; she felt this had been deliberately arranged.

So she pulled out several more files, but they were all for different people.

’That’s a terrifying coincidence!’

With trembling hands, Chen Xing opened Hao Wenli’s file.

’Number 00086. She’s a lab rat, too...’

’So... I wasn’t wrong.’

’The file I got from the Research Institute before was a fake!’

’Hao Wenli isn’t a member of the Research Institute. She’s one of their lab rats... just like me?’

But one thing struck her as odd.

When they discussed how everyone who escaped the Research Institute had lost their memories, it was obvious how scared Yu Heng was. That proved he was also missing his memories, which explained his resistance and fear.

’But... Hao Wenli didn’t seem worried at all?’

’Could it be that her memories are completely intact?’

’Then what does this file mean?’

Just as Chen Xing was lost in thought, the files in the cabinet before her spontaneously combusted. The file on Hao Wenli in her hands also went up in flames, and in the blink of an eye, they were all reduced to ash.

She looked again; the filing cabinet and everything else nearby were completely unharmed.

Chen Xing immediately spun around, but there was no one in the office.

Just then, the voice of Number 00002 drifted down from upstairs. ”Who are you people? Why did you bring me here? Let me out...”

The voice wasn’t loud, but it was enough for Chen Xing to pinpoint the general location.

Since the files were all destroyed, she had no reason to linger here any longer.

Chen Xing immediately left the room and ran for the stairwell.

Judging by the voice, Number 00002 was probably three or four floors up.

After running up to the third floor in one go, Chen Xing opened the door from the stairwell.

It wasn’t dark inside, just cast in a dim, yellowy light.

The unfinished concrete walls, illuminated by the dim yellow light, gave the place a desolate look, like an abandoned building. It was extremely unsettling.

Number 00002 had been silent since that first shout. All she could do was search.

As Chen Xing stepped onto the concrete floor, she felt a wave of force rush at her from the wall.

She tried to dodge, but the concrete wall seemed to have an attractive force that made it impossible for her to get away.

Just like that, with no power to fight back, she took a solid punch to the back that sent her flying and knocked her to the ground.

The taste of blood filled her mouth. She couldn’t hold it back and spat out a mouthful. Her chest burned with a searing pain, as if she were on fire.

Before she could even catch her breath, she was hoisted into the air again.

’But... there’s clearly no one in front of me. I can’t feel anyone here either?’

Suspended in the air, she was slowly drawn toward the wall.

Chen Xing’s body was dominated by some force, leaving her with no control.

It was a force as powerful as a magnet attracting iron.

After she was pulled against the wall, she felt another force surge from behind, another fist aimed at her back.

’If this punch lands, it’ll leave me half-dead!’

Before the blow could land, Chen Xing poured all her strength into her hands, twisted the hilt of her knife, and viciously plunged it into the wall behind her.

The incoming force vanished instantly, and she fell to the ground.

With no time to worry about her injuries, she immediately ran through a nearby door.

Opening the door, she saw Number 00002 collapsed by a sealed window in the dimly lit room, their expression a mixture of misery and terror.

On the other side of the room, a person lay on the floor, their chest a dark, bloody red.

They didn’t seem to be completely dead yet and were still struggling.

Chen Xing went over, delivered the finishing blow, and took the Crystal Core.

This person was too powerful; she didn’t dare leave them alive.

If he hadn’t gotten arrogant and slowed his attack just now, she might not have been able to injure him.

After catching her breath, Chen Xing went to help Number 00002 up so they could get out of there quickly.

Before she could even touch Number 00002, she received a wave of fury from Meng Hu.

It seemed he had run into something that made him furious.

That was followed by a distress signal from Meng Hu, and then a roar mixed with agony that echoed throughout the Agricultural Research Institute.

Hauling Number 00002 to their feet, Chen Xing ran outside.

The location Meng Hu had sent was outside a building by the river.

It took her only a minute to reach the spot where Meng Hu had sent his last signal.

But... around the empty building, where was any sign of Meng Hu?

Meng Hu had simply vanished, and sent no further messages.

Rage ignited in Chen Xing’s heart.

’They could have done anything. They could have hurt me. But why did they have to touch my Meng Hu?’

’He’s my only companion!’

The rage in her heart felt like a current of energy, surging through her entire body and rushing to her head.